Artist, Maker
“You just have to keep going”

My love for Alice’s work and process always leaves me inspired to create, but I rarely do. What I am missing is what Alice has in abundance, dedication to her process, talent, and the ability to just keep going. Couldn’t be happier to see her smashing it.

Both nursing fading hangovers and clutching herbal tea we sat down and had a good chat.

Q. I heard you hold a strong relationship and work connection with your dad, how did this start, and how does this continue now?

A, I grew up in a village called Sheet (I know) a stone's throw away from the farm my dad grew up in. He’s an interesting and knowledgeable character who is fully self-taught. He set up his own furniture business, which evolved into the restoration of furniture and interiors. He taught me so much, like what makes colour and where it comes from, the scientific compound of it, he can also identify a piece of wood and know where it came from, I love that.

I worked with him for a while after I left the RCA, assisting him in restoring carvings in Kensington palace. We’ve always had a good dialogue, I just like to learn as much as I can from him, I love knowing how things are made properly and why. It’s just amazing to share time with him.

Q: I love your frames just hanging there, they’re clearly part of your work rather than just a frame

A, My frames are made from cherry wood, I also love using chestnut and walnut, this one is built at the Framing Room in Brockley (they’re very good). But again it’s great to have my dad with me, his eye for why something would work is an inspiration and I see how this affects my creative process. We also make our own frames up in the village, artist made frames for me give the piece something extra.

Q: Would you say your work reflects your home? these landscapes don’t remind me of Deptford.

A, It is very different to Deptford but it’s good to remove yourself, I don’t think I could make this work if I was in it - I find it a bit too much like I’m looking out of my window and I’m painting what I am seeing.

Here it’s more like a biographical idea, a memory of the land I grew up in, but the feeling for my work could come from an old conversation with an ex, a random memory or music, and it takes me back somewhere. Certain sounds make me feel and remember a connection with space and time.

Q: I have seen you use canvasses next to each other before

A, Diptychs

Q: You what now?

A, If you have two canvases next to each other that make one image, that’s called a diptych if you have three it’s a triptych. I’ve also done paneling but that was because of large site-specific work. I draw a lot and use grids which reflects in my work

Q, What have you got coming up

A, Everything I’m working on at the moment is for a show in March at Blueshop Gallery in Brixton. After that, I’m planning to ride my bike across Europe and take in as much as I can, write, draw maybe finish with a show.

I would very much like to carry on some of my previous connections with clothes and fashion, there’s a lovely thin line between fine art and garments, wearing art and displaying clothes. So from an exploration standpoint printing my work on fabric is the next thing.