Abstract Compositions: An Interview With Artist Ruth October
Ruth October is an abstract artist who believes art has the power to heal and is key to well-being. Her expressive works are guided by how she is feeling when creating a piece. On canvas, she balances the aesthetics of a painting with the emotion behind it. Her bold colour palette is key in creating works that spark joy and bring to life the unseen.
Fig. 1 - Warmer Daze
We know you are passionate about the relationship between colours and emotions. Are there any fundamental elements of your research that you want to get across in your work?
Throughout art, history, and science, you can see that colour plays a big role in mood and how we are feeling. For me, it is less about colour theory when I am making and more about the feelings that come up while painting and what colours I want to use in the moment, as they aren't pre-planned. The main thing I want to come from my pieces is for people to feel joy or peace and allow them to explore what feelings or thoughts may come up for them when looking at a piece. However, I do love working in complementary colours, giving my pieces contrast and some sort of intrigue to pull you in.
Have you always been drawn to the abstract or is that something your practice evolved into? Have you ever tried different styles of painting?
My work certainly did not start as abstract. People may think that artists who work abstractly can't draw and this is why they work like this. Having studied the foundations of drawing and being able to create something life-like, whether this is a person or still life, my work developed beyond this while I studied for my applied art degree, specialising in textiles. Here I began creating colourful prints for fabric and accessories. It was after I completed my degree in 2015 and didn't have access to large studios to develop ideas or pieces that I started painting. During my internships, I decided to paint as I just needed a small space at home and some paint, which I already had. I still have the first piece I painted after university. I wrote something on the canvas and painted over it. Like keeping a secret for me to know and for viewers to look at and share their own, or wonder what mine was. It was the first time I made something just for me. Not with a deadline, or a brief to meet, just being creative because it's part of who I am. I have been harnessing my abstract style ever since.
Does improvisation play any role in your making?
I certainly just start a piece and see where it goes. A painting will usually have a minimum of 4 or 5 layers and I just keep going until it feels right. I love to do mark-making for whole pieces or as a starter activity to get my work flowing. The tools I use can provide a different feeling and effect on the canvas or paper. I may see a stick on a walk, take it home and use that to paint with. If something inspires me and I want to include it in my making, I do.
Fig. 2 - Vibrant Soul 3
What does your making process look like? Do you work on multiple paintings at once or focus on individual pieces?
I usually have a few paintings on the go at once. Often I know a piece is not finished but I don't have the flow to come back to it as I need time to reflect, work on something else, and gain more inspiration. When I have commissions these are my focus but I will have test pieces, or a separate piece to work on so I can have some breathing space.
When do you know a painting is finished?
It may sound strange to say, I just know. Sometimes it is hard and may mean leaving it for a few weeks and seeing it is done. Or adding one more tiny detail like a fleck of colour, or adding more details on the side of the canvas. When I have done my initial painting I then look at the piece and start balancing the aesthetics. That's when I know a piece is almost done. There will be a feeling something is missing when I look at the piece, it doesn't feel right, and then it does.
Your titles seem to be carefully chosen, from single words to sentences. I was wondering how you go about naming your work. How do you think the title influences the viewer's perception of the work?
I find that titles can take a while to think of, but then the right one comes along. It may link to the colours or often the feeling I had when painting, perhaps what the canvas is about as a clue to the viewer. As some of my pieces respond to specific ideas, and others are pure emotions expressed on canvas, I like people to experience what they see and feel, not wanting the titles to influence people's own experience too much.
Most of your works consist of vibrant patches of colours and attentive traced lines. Talk a little about your relationship with these stages of your painting process, having in mind your interest in emotions. For example, how does the way you apply spots of colour translate emotions differently than the process of applying lines?
I start by painting on the canvas in my chosen colours for that day. I will keep working on the colours until I feel the piece has enough feeling and I've had a chance to get my memories, emotions, and energy onto the canvas. I then start balancing the aesthetics of a piece. This usually means adding details with lines or marks that create contrast and intrigue. To look at the canvas a bit deeper and pull you in. I am usually in a calm state when adding these details and it can take a while to add them after the usual energetic application of the first layers of paint.
So, the bright colours hold the main emotion, with the details holding the deeper story and reflection.
Fig. 3 - Vibrant Soul 2
Fig. 4 - Vibrant Soul 1
Does your work now differ from what you were making two years ago? If so, how do you think your practice will develop shortly? Do you have anything that you are working on at the moment?
What I am making now has certainly progressed compared to a couple of years ago. My very vivid pieces have become softer and the details of contrasting lines or elements still appear, but this may be softer too. Dancing across the page and leaving more delicate marks than before. This has a direct link to being pregnant and having a baby this year. My pallet has naturally softened and I have found using pencils and fine liners to add the final details to the canvas has been the ideal development with the tools I am using. I have recently started a tiny new canvas which has pink and purple colours that I am almost finished with. I have some larger canvases that I am going to revisit in the new year and finish. Some have been waiting for months to be painted again. With the change in time and access to art materials, I have been doing more drawings recently. I call these wonky drawings as they are quick still lifes in the fine liner. Fun, and light-hearted, and I never spend more than an hour on them. This is very important to keep me making, even if it isn't painting. I also enjoy making collages and exploring the space on the page with patterns and carefully placed images.
Are there any contemporary art/creative influences that shape your making?
Creatives have and do of course inspire me. When making I do not have other artist works up or in mind as what I want to express is my emotion and experience and I do not want to try and recreate something that is key to their style. I do find an affiliation with Jackson Pollock who stopped naming his pieces because people were trying to work out what they meant. I feel the same with some of my pieces, I want people to find their own meaning, even if the pieces have a story. I also really appreciate the genius of Alexander McQueen. He understood to deconstruct and make something, he first had to understand how it was made. I like this because I think people may think I choose my style of art because I haven't been taught how to draw or paint 'properly'. However, the opposite is true. Having been taught drawing skills, how to do artist's copies, and draw things and people to a true likeness, it is this that has allowed me to keep going and push to see what creativity lies beyond the seen. I want to make the unseen seen which is why I have ended up painting abstract and I'm inspired by those who can bring a creative idea to life.
