MEET THE ARTIST | Solomon Karmel-Shann

Nov 23

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NEW STUDIO HOLDER | Solomon Karmel-Shann is a 24-year-old figurative painter who aims to create open narratives through his depictions of people and objects. He is interested in encouraging viewers to engage with his work by giving them hints of a story but not spelling it out to them. Solomon grew up in Canberra and started creating art in 2014 at the age of 17. He has had no formal training but was mentored by artist Paddy Plasto.

Solomon has been selected as a finalist in several prizes including the Lethbridge 20000 Small Scale Art Award in Brisbane (2021), the Camberwell Art Show in Melbourne (2021) and, most recently, the National Capital Art Prize in Canberra (2021). He has also exhibited several paintings at Strathnairn Arts Association (2020-2021). In 2017, he was one of five emerging artists invited to exhibit work at the Big Fat Smile Art Gallery in Wollongong. He has illustrated three books (2018-2020) published by the National Library of Australia.

In the Camberwell Art Show, Solomon’s painting, titled John (2019), received a ‘highly commended’, one of only 19 awarded out of 1200 entries. The judge Marco Corsini commented that:

‘John is noteworthy for the complexity of composition, its poetry and an empathetic description of the subject. I believe that we are seeing the development of an artist that has significant technical, visual and narrative range to sustain a significant future practice. Encouraging also is the sense of humour present as well as a deep sensitivity to the subject.’

Solomon kindly took some time out to talk to us about his practice and his new studio at Strathnairn Arts.

How would you describe your Arts Practice?

Through my arts practice I explore how strange, unexpected and invisible things are a part of our world. I’ve always been drawn to stories and images that don’t have full stops, but rather commas. In my paintings I depict objects and people doing various activities, having interactions, and having varied feelings. I say enough in the paintings where you can tell what the physical things I’m depicting are, but I don’t fully tell you the narrative, each individual viewer has to do that. I’m wanting to encourage the viewer to engage with the work, to have a conversation with it. This quality makes the artwork breathe, it’s something living, you can come back to it days, weeks, months, years later and have a new conversation. I never want to tell someone how or what they should feel.

2. Have you done any study? related to art or not?

I never went to art school, that system never appealed to me, I have this drive to create, and I felt I never needed a system to push me with that. I’ve taken various weekend art courses and did art in college. The most valuable form of study I’ve taken was being mentored by former artist and friend Paddy Plasto. She mentored me for about 4 years before she passed away. I owe so much of who I am creatively to her. I learnt confidence, philosophy, technique, she taught me the serendipity of painting but also the control, the importance of saying enough, but not too much. I would be creating very different art if I hadn’t met her. She had this amazing ability to suggest narrative in her paintings through packing so much in, but still somehow managed to make everything work together. She’s with me anytime I’m painting.

3. What do you find most inspiring about your art space?

I’ve only just moved into my studio at Strathnairn and I’m still setting things up, but I find it really important to create an inspiring environment within the studio so that as soon as I enter I get into the right mindset to create. I have sculptures, paintings, drawings, books, brushes, paints, plants, found objects, quotes, posters ect around. they all energise the space. I feel so lucky to have a Strathnairn studio, it’s already such an inspiring environment to be in. There’s a big beautiful west facing window in the studio where I can see birds, cows and horses in the field, old gum trees, and a view of the large curvy blue Brindabella mountains in the distance. I have the very talented artist GW bot next to me who I had the pleasure of meeting and talking to the other day, just hearing her in the studio next to me working away is inspiring.

4. What does a studio day in your life look like?

I get up early around 7 and drive straight to the studio. I warm up with some quick sketches for about an hour, just like how you should stretch before exercising, doing these sketches help me stay loose and get me into the flow of things. If there’s something I’m working on with a deadline I’ll paint or draw until 3:00pm and then I’ll start my day job, if I don’t have work I will continue to paint either until I get hungry or burn out, (normally the hunger gets me).

3. How have you grown as an artist since starting out?

I’ve been painting and drawing for about 6 years now. I started off painting digitally, illustrating children’s books, I did a couple of books for the national library, and did various graphic design jobs. Then I moved into acrylic painting where I started the narrative paintings that I’m still doing. I learnt a lot from these paintings, I developed composition, story, expression, and detail. I was using acrylics for a few years but found the medium would appear very flat when dry. At the start of this year I moved to oils. A lot of this year I worked on pushing my technique and developed my understanding of tone, colour, form, varied brush strokes, and now I’m thinking more about edges. With every painting I complete I feel that bit more confident and feel I’m getting closer to being able to translate the ideas from my head to the canvas. I’m always building upon what I’ve done previously, and without my previous works I wouldn’t be creating the work I am today. It’s an exciting feeling, knowing that the possibilities are endless and I’m excited to see what I’ll do next.

4. What gets you up in the morning and drives you to be a working artist?

I feel very addicted to the whole creative process, and within the creative process there are so many smaller things that I find exciting. It ranges from simple things like stretching a canvas and priming it, or buying new brushes, to developing an idea slowly into a new painting. After a long day of working on a piece I’m so compelled to get back into the studio the next day to see how the painting has rested, after not looking at a painting overnight or for a period of time, you come back with it with fresh eyes and see new things you hadn’t noticed before. I find it exciting not knowing how the piece I’;m working on will turn out, what turns it will take. Trying to figure out where the next puzzle piece in my painting goes. There’s a real thrill I get from the creative process that will never get old. There’s so many things and ideas to paint, in all different shapes and sizes and moods and colours, just knowing that there is no end to creating drives me.

5. How did you stay focussed and original when starting out?

Of course when I started out creating work it looked pretty awful, but I knew that if I stayed focused and if I put in the time, things would start to look better. I feel focusing on being too original when starting out is a pretty good way to come up with some non authentic work. Don’t force it, it’s important to experiment, steal, combine, think, and work, see what emerges from that, you’ll start to see your own work come through naturally. This won’t happen with 1 or 10 or 20 pieces, but you’ll start to see your own unique voice with 50, or 100 or 200 pieces.

6. What are the biggest challenges facing working artists and how do you overcome them?

One of the biggest challenges I’m currently facing is noticing those times where the ideas and motivation have dissipated for a period. Sometimes that passion, those ideas are abundant, there’s many clouds in the sky and it’s a wonderful feeling. Sometimes the sky is clear and there is no force pushing you, which makes it really hard to create. I always try to push through and continue to work which often works, but when it doesn’t, knowing what to do can be challenging. I’m noticing that in those times there’s a balance of holding on to the belief that it’s coming (the motivation, the urge to create), while not forcing it to be there and getting nowhere. The urge to always create can be overwhelming for an artist, to sell that next painting to pay rent, or to create their next piece because its what they love doing, but the forces that allow them to do this are always changing which makes it hard to control. It’s something that I continually struggle with but that I’m noticing more, and just noticing this challenge is the first step.

9. What do you read, watch, listen to, do to stay inspired?

I do a lot of listening and looking. I listen to artist biographies (Brett Whitleys, Francis Bacons, Jean Michel Basquaits) I listen to Talking with painters, a podcast by Maria Stoljar, a brilliant interviewer interviewing Australian artists which has been worth its weight in gold. I go to exhibitions, I went to the Know My Name exhibition at the NGA many times, a Mirka Mora exhibition that was full of feeling at the jewish museum. And Countless visits to the National Portrait gallery and the NGV.

10. Do you have any advice for young artists?

I started painting when I was 17-18, I’m now 24, I’m still a young artist. Starting out I felt like I didn’t have any natural talent, I would look at paintings I loved and felt overwhelmed with the technique and emotions they would hold. Seeing the abundance of mums sculptures in the garden and hearing the way dad would talk about art so effortlessly, and I watched the way my brother seemed to grasp drawing quickly growing up, but for me, art seemed so difficult, awkward and confusing, I knew I wanted to do it and that I loved it, I remember mum telling me multiple times that I would have to work hard and put in the time. Sometimes/often it still doesn’t come easy, but I’ve come a long way since doing little sketches of animals in my book 8 years ago. You don’t need natural talent, you just need passion, effort, and patience. My advice for young artists or those just starting out is that those 3 things can take you very far.

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