Ignite member Nat Guinamard reflects on her practice, and current Gallery Wall exhibition in Chelmsford Museum.
The Gallery Wall is a joint initiaitve between Ignite and Chelmsford Museum to provide permanent, high quality, visual art exhibition space in Chelmsford. Applications are open once a year, with 3-4 artists are selected to exhibit each year.
I’ve always loved drawing, especially people. As a child, I would cover any surface I could find with little faces, much to my poor parents’ chagrin. This early passion eventually led me to study Fine Art at the Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art in Oxford. One of the highlights of my time there was an anatomy course taught by Sarah Simblet, whose insights were particularly inspiring and transformative for my understanding of drawing and the human form.
As part of our studies, we spent time in the dissection room of the university’s medical department. Initially it was an incredibly daunting prospect, we had to overcome our initial fears and the smell of formaldehyde(!) But soon, it became a real privilege to explore the inner workings of the body. This experience helped to enhance my understanding of anatomy and improved my ability to draw the figure. I distinctly remember Sarah reaching into various Grundon bins for the body parts we requested to draw. It was an experience that left a lasting impression!
In the years following my graduation, I experienced a few successes, including a commission to design a 2012 Olympics special edition stamp for Royal Mail, an exhibition at Alan Cristea Gallery alongside three other emerging artists, and a residency in Beijing through the Red Mansion Art Prize. However, after a few years I turned to graphic design and illustration for greater financial security. It wasn’t until lockdown that I found the time and space to immerse myself in drawing again, enrolling in online life drawing classes. I completed the Year One Renaissance Workshop with Jon Long, which focused on drawing the face and figure by learning from the old masters. This course was both enjoyable and informative, and helped me to hone my technical drawing skills.
I was delighted to be selected as one of three artists to display work on the gallery wall at Chelmsford Museum, and it has been a real pleasure to work with the curator Sarah Harvey. The exhibition, entitled “An Untamed Line” marks a more experimental phase of my drawing practice. Many of the pieces are created quickly, which encourages me to let go of my tendency to strive for precision, a crutch that can sometimes hinder true expressiveness. I start by laying down water roughly where the figure will be, then draw into the wet surface with ink, creating spontaneous, flowering marks slightly abstracting the figure. I always find it interesting how people react so differently to the drawings, each bringing their own experiences and feelings to their interpretations, much like a Rorschach test.
I moved to Chelmsford just over five years ago with my partner as his children live in the area. It has been so encouraging to see how much the art community has grown and flourished in that time. I recently joined “Artists at the Meadows” (@artistsatthemeadows), where I’ve enjoyed being part of a community and learning from the other artists. In September of this year, I took a studio in Hylands Artists Studios, and I am now offering an “Introduction to Ink” and portrait drawing workshop. You can come to visit the studio when we open to the public on open estate days.
An Untamed Line will be on at the Chelmsford Museum until 19th January 2025.
Insta: @natguinamard @hylandsestate
