Interview With An Artist

I came across Becky Czaicka's work at grad show, and got in contact with her to find out what lies behind her colourful, dynamic portraits. Becky graduated from the University of Huddersfield with a BA in fine art, but has been painting since the age of just 14. Her influences range from Psychedelic Art from the 60's, particularly the work of Wes Wilson and the Coloured Coat to more contemporary influences such as Ben Tour, Tatiana Arocha and Erin Petson.

Steph: Do you mostly do portraits?

Becky: No, I like to draw objects and love just mark making with paint. Since I started painting like I do now, I haven't really had the chance to broaden my content, but I will so when I have the time

S: You paintings are based on pop stars- was this for one particular project or a subject you enjoy representing?

B: It's a mixture of both. We had a brief given to us last November, the idea was to create a campaign to promote the essence and richness of British Music for a museum in London. I chose the brief because I love the cleanliness seen in photographs of musicians and wanted to create a set of images of British Music Icons. It took me a long time to really get into it, and when I got to the last week, I had to start the whole project over again. This is when I developed the style you see now. I found by using the paint in such an expressive way, I could portray the emotion of the music produced by these musicians. I plan to continue doing portraits of Pop Stars and would definitely be interested in album covers and music promotion.

S: Your paintings have a great sense of energy and movement. What are your techniques?

B: I like to use a mixture of paint, ink, glue and anything that can be manipulated when shaking a canvas. Depending on the type of image I am creating, I use different coloured paint and ink onto a canvas and move it around to see how the colours integrate. I love how the glue dries clear and cuts through the colours. For my portraits, I tend to decide on the composition from the original image and then afterwards decide which parts of the image can be more interesting and expressive, like hair for example. Colour palettes are very important to me; it's all about intensity and excitement and I like bold colours as they bring an image to life.

S: What is your end goal? Would you like to have your own show?

B: At the moment, I'm starting to experiment with mark making on canvas and would like to expand my range of content within pictures. I've got lots of ideas in my head as to where my art is going and as long as it's a positive direction, then I don't get too worried about where I will end up. Having my own show would definitely be something I'd enjoy, but I've got a few more years of experimenting to do before I'd be really proud to have a show.

To check out her website, click here.