Meet the Artist: Elisa McLeod: Finding Passion, Calm and Creativity in Art
No, but the ultimate goal is to become a full-time artist. I work full-time in higher education and have two roles within that industry. I support students through their course, from the day they start, right through to when they graduate. My second role is running their Learning Management System, where all their online class spaces are. In essence, I have both a mentoring and a systems administrative role that I balance over a five-day week, working from home.
Where do you base your Arts Practice?
I dream of having a dedicated studio set up but, for now, I work in the corner of my lounge room next to a huge window that lets in all this natural light. I have a tilted drawing table which saves my neck and back from being too stooped over a flat surface. One aspect of my ‘studio area’ that I truly love are several 19th century antique ginger jars that were my great-grandmother’s. They house all my pens. And I have an apothecary cabinet that stores my other art supplies.
Some artists like to create their art in silence, and some like to listen to music but, for me, I like having the TV on. This may sound rather counter-intuitive, even ironic, given that when I draw it becomes a mediative experience, and the tv simply creates background noise. I’m such a visual person, that I even like the atmospheric noise to include a visual component.
Elisa McLeod | Workstation
What is your favourite time of day to work?
On weekends, I like to draw during the day. I can sit down at my drawing desk at 8am and I can draw until the light starts to fade. During the week, I have to fit my art around my full-time job, so it becomes a matter of drawing whenever I can! I prefer to draw when the sun is out because natural light is better for the drawing process, as well as soothing on my eyes. However, if I don’t get a chance to draw during the day, I always need my daily dose, and I will draw at night. The compulsion to draw every day is addictive because it’s like a fuel to me. Put simply, drawing is my passion.
Can you tell us about your creative process?
Each artwork is created using tiny pen strokes, known as mark markings. These mark markings capture the illusion of movement, and take hundreds of hours to create. In most of my artworks, I literally put pen to paper and let the pen guide the process. I like to be surprised by the end result. It’s only in a few of my artworks where I consciously have a general idea of where I want the artwork to go. In these cases, I will make some preliminary guiding pencil lines, but this is not the norm. In saying this, the artwork I am currently working on is my most structured artwork to date and it’s also the largest artwork to date.
How do you stay inspired and motivated in your work?
The more I draw, the more I get inspired. Drawing fuels my inspiration. As soon as I start a new drawing, my mind is thinking about all the other ideas I have for artworks yet to be created, however, I am still able to focus on the artwork at hand. I am inspired by nature, and patterns made in nature. As a trained counsellor, I am also drawn to the psychology of human nature, especially emotions surrounding loss, grief and healing. I see possible artwork ideas in almost everything that surrounds me – the complexity of human nature, the intricacies of nature and the beauty of our environment. I take photos of things that inspire me, but I never try to replicate any of these photos.
Elisa McLeod | Untitled Artwork | Certificate of Authenticity
Can you walk us through your thought process behind a particular piece?
In my artwork ‘Eye of the Storm’ (below), I initially had an idea of seeing what a circular artwork would look like. I wanted each stroke to fold in on one another and create this moody, whirlwind-like pattern. I also wanted to create the illusion of texture with each tiny pen stroke. This is one of the artworks where I started by literally putting pen to paper, and even though I had an idea of creating a circular artwork, I didn’t draw an outline of a circle in pencil. I let the artwork evolve organically. Once I created a somewhat circular artwork, which ended up being more oval than circular, I stopped and thought about whether I wanted it to remain as is. I put the artwork away for a little while and then when I returned to it, I knew I wanted to keep going. I wanted the artwork to become rectangular, but keep its curved appearance; I didn’t want the artwork to have straight edges. I love the idea of creating organic edges so, for me, it was like creating a living, breathing artwork. It had life within it, and it had the potential to keep going, whereas, had I straightened the edges, it would have felt caged-in and trapped. The artwork itself represents courage, strength and inner power. It’s about facing life’s tumultuous challenges – and looking the storm in the eye and standing your ground.
Elisa McLeod | Eye of the Storm
How does your personal background and culture influence your art?
Ever since I learned to hold a pencil, I loved to draw and create art. Throughout high school, I did art and, at that time, I wanted to become a painter. As a student, I always associated art with just painting; most of the art we saw and studied was painted. I remember a lesson we had in high school, I was about 15 at the time, and we had to learn how to etch. I still remember the emotion I felt at the time; I did not want to learn how to etch, I wanted to learn to paint like the professionals. I drew a very detailed historical home in preparation to create the etching, and was shocked at how much I enjoyed drawing this detailed artwork. Well, that was that, I knew what style of art I wanted to pursue. I am highly detailed-oriented and I have always been that way. I never did learn how to paint to the level you need to, to become a professional painter!
I love history, and for years after that art lesson, I drew historical homes with fineliners. I loved all the detail in the bricks, the latticework, and all the gardens. I lived in Sydney’s Inner West at the time and I was surrounded by historical homes. I got commissioned to draw people’s homes. But after years of drawing houses, I got tired of the restrictive nature of copying photos of historical homes. I felt disconnected from my art, emotionally and I wanted to create free flowing, highly detailed and emotional artworks. I wanted my art to become transportable and not be restricted to a desk. Looking back to that time, I was finding my identity within the art world and my art was becoming an entity in itself. So, I started honing my skills and creating detailed abstract artworks, I would carry my artbooks and pens everywhere I went. I would sit in parks, surrounded by nature, at lunchtimes and draw. I would draw how I was feeling in abstract, detailed form, and I would be inspired by the detail in nature around me. I haven’t been able to stop since. I found what I was passionate about, and I found the style of art that gave me peace and a form of escapism.
As an emerging artist, can you talk about any challenges or obstacles you’ve faced so far?
There have been a few. The biggest obstacle would be self-doubt. I was always doubting my creative abilities and wondering whether I was good enough. I also had reservations about my art style and the fact that I draw monochromatic artworks in a world full of colour. Would my art be accepted; would it be even liked? I finally got to the point where I stopped trying to create art for others, and created it for myself. I then gained the courage to move forward.
The second biggest challenge is getting known. I am literally starting this journey as a nobody in the artworld, at this point! It’s an exciting journey, but it’s also a journey without a map to follow. I am following my instincts and seeing what doors open for me and learning from the experience.
How do you think technology and social media have impacted the art world?
I think technology and social media have relaunched the art world. It’s no longer a physical shopfront, your art can now be viewed on an international stage. The downfall is that people can’t emotionally connect with your art online. In my art, the emotion is in the detail and it’s hard to highlight the detail of my artwork through a computer screen. My art is very tactile and, in real life, people who have viewed it in person have stepped in closer to look at all the detail, and then they have stepped back to see the movement and the almost three-dimensional aspect of my art. This is hard to achieve when you look at my art on a computer screen.
I love how social media has connected artists all around the world. It’s allowed emerging artists to make a name for themselves. I love interacting with my followers on Instagram. It makes my day when someone comments on a post of mine. I have built up a beautiful community of artists and art lovers through Instagram. I love that you can get real-time insight into an artist’s world and you can communicate with them. I have learned so much about how to get started as a professional artist through following other artists. I also think technology and social media has increased the accessibility of art to people who would not ordinarily walk into an art gallery. The more people who see the value in art and how it can transform your world and your home, can only be positive move in the right direction.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
The art community is such a supportive, caring community. I have met so many art gallery owners, artists and art professionals who support artists, and they have all been so giving, and supportive, both with the knowledge and with their time. It’s a community I would love to be surrounded by for the rest of my life.
Where can people see and buy your work?
My artwork can be viewed and bought via my website. You can also view my artwork and see many photos of my artworks in progress on my Instagram page.
Instagram: @elisamcleodart
www.elisamcleod.com