Could you tell us a bit about yourself and your work?
Hello, my name is Eleanor Taylor, I am 26 years old and I live in Brighton, East Sussex. I have been here eight months and I love it. I work from my tiny studio flat and should probably one day get a studio. My work has pretty much always been pencil based apart from a recent foray into colour. I like to use oil-based pencils and graphite sticks which I grind down using my old ped-egg! I am interested in the idea of dystopian/utopian worlds and the way that they can be used as a framework to explore ideas about the natural environment and our place within it.
Are you right or left-handed?
Right handed!
What appeals to you, or attracts you to, working in pencil?
The endless possibilities contained in a humble little stick.
Could you tell us a bit about your creative process, from the initial image or idea to the finished piece?
I tackle my work in different ways depending on the project. If it is self initiated the process is much more fluid and organic. I might delve straight in to creating quite finished drawings or small detailed segments to collage and develop the composition and idea as I go along. My ideas usually stem from things I have read or watched. If it is a set brief I have to be quite organized and have a structure. The fun bit is coming up with the initial ideas and letting the imagination go wild. After that there is an awful lot of refining and most of the time is spent perfecting the composition before finally creating the image.
How do you conceptualize/construct a piece? Do you think of it as a story, snapshot, or abstraction?
I always start with a story. It might not be fully formed but it is usually a jist of something that I can focus on as I make the work. I think its exciting not to know the whole story when you start a piece of work.
What size do you tend to work at? Do you have a preferred scale? Why this preference?
I love to work on large-scale drawings but I now work in a tiny one-room studio flat that I share with my boyfriend so I have had to downscale a little! I can’t really work on anything bigger than the table.
Do you have a favourite subject matter? What’s the particular attraction to it?
I take most of my inspiration from nature. I never tire of looking at plant forms and their alien like otherworldly qualities.
What materials do you seem to always return to?
Black spray paint and my favourite Faber Castell Pitt oil-based pencils! I hope they make them forever.
Do you have any early memories of drawing or, what’s your first memory of an image?
I would spend hours with my little brother drawing elaborate worlds on huge rolls of wall lining paper. There would be great attention to detail usually involving us having adventures in massive mansions with secret compartments and underground passages.
Do you keep a sketchbook?
I used to make all my work in sketchbooks but when I started cutting out the pages for collage I reverted to just using sheets of paper. I want to start working in a sketch book again as I think it is a way of keeping some kind of order to my drawings as they too often get crumpled and shoved in the back of a drawer.
Your work depicts elements of mythology and folklore. What draws you towards these types of stories and ideas?
I grew up without any television and spent most of my time wrapped up in books. I remember reading Pilgrims Progress and being fascinated at how fantastical situations could be used as metaphors for quite mundane things that were happening in real life. I can never tire of stories and I think folk tales can be a powerful tool to communicate as most people are familiar with them.
You also seem very interested in the human form – and contorting it, sometimes blending it with fauna characteristics. Why this type of manipulation? Are you trying to suggest or show us something precise about our physicality?
The animal is a symbol of letting go and just being. I sometimes feel frustrated and stuck and the idea of just running out into the wild naked and howling at the moon is dangerous and thrilling.
How does working exclusively with one medium – such as pencil – change your thought process, or influence the idea for a work?
I think that my work in pencil has a completely different feel to any of the other mediums I use. There seems to be a stillness and a more sombre quality. The work is more considered and thoughtful perhaps as working in pencil is a long process. I like the drawings themselves to be very finished almost like a painting built up from washes of graphite.
We read that you listened to Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake on repeat while working on an intense piece. You said the music, “somehow infiltrated through to the drawing.” Can you describe this absorption/filtration process? Has it happened again recently? Are you very influenced by sounds?
Yes, sound is a great influence. Listening to a piece of music can transport me to the world that I am creating and help to make it more of a reality. The soundtrack for Valerie and Her Week of Wonders by Lubos Fiser contains monolithic chanting as well as some of the most magical sounding flute and string sections and helped create the Mandrake series.
You were very recently shortlisted for the Jerwood Drawing Prize. How did you feel about your endeavours being recognized in this light?
I was so incredibly happy when I found out I screamed and probably sounded like I was being murdered. It almost felt like a relief as it justified a really difficult year. When I finished my MA I moved to Tottenham and tried to make work while balancing a part time job. I couldn’t afford rent or bills, I sunk into more debt and felt totally disconnected. Being in the Jerwood show gave me a confidence boost and gave me the drive to carry on making work.
What are you working on now?
I have just taken part in a show called ‘Mirror of the Open Road’ at the Wilding Festival, and now I am making work for the Rye Art Gallery Summer Show. I plan to also set up an online shop selling my hand-painted cards and prints.
What directions are you interested in exploring in the future?
I would eventually like to end up writing and illustrating books but I think that is a little further down the line.
Where can people get a hold of your work, or find out more about your previous projects?
You can find out more via my website: www.eleanortaylor.co.uk and my blog for any updates: www.eleanorsvisions.tumblr.com
Eleanor’s work appears in Issue 2.0 of Tiny Pencil, the summerzine Monsters, Mammals & Mars! Available to buy here.
This interview was brought to you by The Tiny Pencil – fine purveyors of the pencil arts and mishmosh artist Heather McCalden.
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TINY PENCIL QUICKFIRE QUIZ!:
What was the last film you saw in the cinema?
Prometheus. It’s been a long time since I have been to the cinema which is sad as I love going!
What records or pieces of music are floating around in your head these days? Do you listen to anything while you’re working?
I listen to a lot of Radio 4! But if I listen to music it depends on my mood and the type of work I am making. I particularly like sound tracks composed for films as they tell a story.
What are the books on your bedside table?
I have a huge stack – here is a selection:
Wildwood by Colin Meloy and Carson Ellis
Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
Food in England by Dorothy Hartley
Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith
The Making Of by Brecht Evans
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
Coffee, nicotine, or booze?
Coffee
Favourite city to draw/sketch/illustrate/create in?
Well I am a bit biased here, as I would say Brighton. It’s the perfect mixture of busy and bustling but also there is enough space to think. The sea looks different every day and always gives me a thrill when I Iook at it.
Favourite city in the world?
New York!
