Congratulations to Emma Wicks for earning her place as a Winner in the Boynes Monthly Art Award [August Edition]!

Who are you?

I’m Emma and have been pursuing art for around 3 years now. I studied art all the way through school and was always very interested in trying to make a career out of it. When it came to going to university I decided to study graphic design instead - I should have definitely stuck with what I knew! After an awful experience in my placement year at university, I realised it was art I really loved all along. In my final year of University I started to draw again, posting my work regularly on instagram. Before long I had started getting requests for commissioned work, especially pet portraits, and have been focusing on this ever since! It’s only been recently that I’ve decided to focus on my own original pieces and take a step back from commissions.

What inspired you to utilize colored pencil as a medium?

I love the level of detail I am able to achieve through coloured pencils. I’ve always enjoyed how easy they are to blend to create such a smooth finish to pieces. Previously to coloured pencils I painted with acrylics but I could never get the appearance I was hoping for - maybe now is the time to try again!

How would you describe your ARTwork?

I try to make my drawings as realistic as possible, focusing heavily on the small details. In my recent work I have tried to challenge myself with difficult/detailed drawings to test myself on how much I can achieve with this medium.

Can you discuss the inspiration and thought process behind your winning work?

I saw this drawing as a challenge. The lighting in the reference photo has lots of different shades of warm and cool tones as well as different focuses/depth of field. The constant blend between the stripes was also something that inspired me.

Can you walk us through the technical steps of creating your winning work?

I always start with the eyes and work outwards from there. With this piece I focused on the reflection in the eye and the changing directions of the hairs surrounding it, making sure to pay attention to the changes in tone and warmth to capture the light. I layered bright greens and blues as a base and added darker and darker colours on top of this to build depth in the dark stripes.

I completely filled the white stripes white first and added different colours on top as this way I can always work it back to light if I make any mistakes. Once I had finished the piece I went in with a small blade to scratch off the top layer of dark pencil to reveal tiny hair details and blend the stripes together.

What do you hope to communicate to an audience with your work?

I hope to communicate the connection we have with animals, to show their importance in the world and to us. I think the eyes of animals can be captivating, especially in my latest drawing as the eye is the main focal point. I always make sure to pay extra attention to the details in eyes as I feel this creates the strongest connection to an audience.

Can you talk about your biggest learning experience during the process of creating your work?

I had been experimenting with a few different ways to create even more detailed hair, especially when two hair colours meet. In this piece I used burnished layers of light pencil underneath dark areas to allow me to scrape off the top dark layer, revealing the light beneath and creating a detailed hair texture. It was the first time I used this technique and I am very pleased with the outcome! I chose to try it with this subject especially as the stripes allowed for a lot of repetition, adapting the new technique as I went.

Can you discuss your biggest success since starting your artistic journey?

This is the first time I’ve ever won anything, so probably this! It makes me very happy to see that my work is being recognised by others and find it amazing that somehow my work has stood out amongst so many talented artists.

I was also shortlisted last year for the Visual Art Open - another one I am amazed to have been recognised in as the competition were all incredibly talented.

Can you share with us the best piece of advice you you wish you had known at the start of your career?

Don’t rush! Take everything at your own pace and don’t compare yourself to how well other people are doing. I spent such a long time thinking I should be doing so much more and progressing further than where I am, all because I was focusing on what other people were doing rather than myself. My skills have developed so much over the last few years and it’s amazing to look back at the progress I’ve made. If I had carried on rushing to ‘catch up’ I would never have developed my techniques and knowledge to the level I have today.

What projects are you working on currently? Can you discuss them?

My current work in progress is an elephant piece! I’ve picked up graphite again for the first time in over 7 years and I’m still trying to get the hang of it again. I definitely didn’t make things easy for myself with this one as once again I chose to challenge myself with the most detailed and difficult reference photo I could find.

I also have a series of large flower pieces I keep meaning to get back to too, but keep getting distracted by either commissions or animals! I have so many ideas going on at once, but I like it that way, as every piece takes such a long time it’s nice to mix it up a bit.

What is your dream project or piece you hope to accomplish?

I hope to finally complete a whole series!

This might sound silly but I just can’t stay focused on one project without moving onto another. I have lots of half completed projects, one day I will get round to finishing them all.

As a winner, do you have any advice for artists who want to submit to awards, competitions, residencies, etc.?

You have nothing to lose so just do it! It’s easy to tell yourself that you won’t get anywhere in competitions/awards but you’ll never know until you try. I’ve entered so many competitions over the years and it’s only been within the last year or two that I’ve made it to any short lists! Don’t give up just because you don’t make it the first time.

Lastly, I like to ask everyone what advice they would give to their fellow artists, what is your advice?

My advice is that failure is almost always a good thing! As much as not succeeding at something doesn’t feel great, it’s always an amazing thing to learn from and improve upon what didn’t go well previously.

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