One Day That Changed My Life: #LIBERTY OPEN CALL

It’s been an absolute whirlwind couple of weeks and today, a few days early, I got the best Christmas present I could ever wish for. I’ve had Flicker Productions film crew follow me back and forth for a BBC documentary. Filming me painting at home, with my art class at ARTHOUSE Unlimited and finally, at Liberty of London.

At Liberty I walked into a beautifully decorated sales room with new product ranges on display. As I was called in, I was welcomed in by a panel of four Liberty Judge experts, top of their field in marketing, design and sales. Slightly in shock, for a moment I thought I had walked into the Dragon’s Den for an interview at the board table.

My painting was rolled out across the table. I could see surprise and awe in their expressions, as hands rolled over the colours and textures I knew the painting had caught the attention of something with each of them. Then I relaxed, enjoyed and savored the moment.

It was fun to share the journey and background of the painting that began on a day out on my daughter’s 14th birthday, photographing graffiti and visiting exhibitions on fashion. The highs and lows, the mistakes and ultimately finding my comeback, my happy place in creating this painting. It was also the first time I had shown this fresh new style of painting after a three year break, so it was amazing to get such a fantastic initial response.

At the end of the day, eating waffles with my children at my kitchen table I receive ‘the phone call’. Typically I get cut off a couple of times and had to restart and re film, while my family and I and the crew wait anxiously to hear if I become a winner.

With so many false starts and the lengthy description of the competition process I was so sure I was being let down gently. It took a moment or so to register that I had in fact become one of the winners.

What an amazing feeling and how exciting. The irony of making a set of 20 scarves to pitch to the open call, to never quite make it to pitch my wares, six years before. Randomly finding a sponsored Instagram post for the Open Call and then posting the painting I had just completed. Not a favourite as it had given me a lot of grief, an almost accidental choice, which later became perfect, as it had its own journey and own story to tell.

#LIBERTYOPENCALL

Discovering the unusual and the talented

And the winners are…

Back in September, Liberty London launched a mission to find the next big artistic talent in the UK - inviting artists, creators and designers to upload a photo of their unique work to Instagram using #LibertyOpenCall for the chance to have it immortalised in iconic Liberty Fabric. From digital drawing to illustration, over 5000 incredible entries rolled in.

After whittling down a shortlist and asking you to show the love for your favourites, our Judging Panel have selected FOUR astonishing winners .

Emma Hill : Painting, Graffiti Summer

"To be associated and seen at Liberty would be a privilege, it would give me a huge boost and reassurance, while giving me the opportunity to share my work on a larger platform. The design process itself also excites me and I look forward to taking my artwork to another level, pushing the boundaries and possibilities of my artwork even further."

Catherine Rowe: Scraperboard Illustration, Palace Gardens

"The Liberty brand ethos echoes an important message in my work - timeless style. It is very difficult in this fast-paced and trend driven time to produce such a thing whilst remaining commercial. Huge influences of mine, including William Morris, Walter Crane and Josef Frank, created designs which have stood the test of time - something I can only hope mine will do."

Duncan Grant: Illustration, Green Town

"I remember looking around Liberty as a young teenager when my brother worked next to the London Palladium. When I went to see him, I would look at the wonderful sights in Liberty. William Morris designs probably got me interested in art, so it would be pretty cool to follow just a tiny bit in his

footsteps."

Natasha Coverdale: Digital Design, Midnight in Jupiter Garden

"As a heritage-loving British print designer, recognition by Liberty is the greatest accolade I could wish for. Watching the design work within new spaces and being used for many different and exciting projects will make my heart sing."

Liberty London

TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF AND YOUR ARTWORK STYLE…

I live in Surrey with my two daughters and my husband. As a mother, my daughters are my greatest influence but also my hardest critics. I am half English and half Norwegian and have lived a year in Oslo and a year in Lillehammer. My ‘art’ education is based upon eight years of intensive searching for art and culture during my days travelling worldwide as cabin crew with British Airways. My painting journey began after leaving British Airways to have children. Since 2011, I have been employed as an art instructor/manager at Arthouse Unlimited, a charity working with artists living with complex epilepsy and learning difficulties.

My paintings today are spontaneous and intuitive, expressive and emotionally charged. Each picture begins with a single brush stroke, starting a conversation. My artwork aims to create paintings to dream into, where we can be happy. Constructing an intuitive world to get lost in, somewhere beyond our vision, past the horizon, between the sky and the sea. A place to return and revisit, to explore and rediscover and, while immersed, lose and find yourself for a moment in time.

TELL US ABOUT THE ARTWORK YOU SUBMITTED …

The painting I have submitted is called Graffiti Summer, it has been made with acrylic paint on rolled canvas. This picture has taken me on a journey, more so than many others. The multiple layers painted over and over, and some scrubbed away, have given me great pleasure and delight - but also pain and awkwardness. I feel that these highs and lows and uncertainties have created a certain depth within the painting. It has its own story within and I like that it has a raw expressive energy, while at the same time there are areas of delicate beauty, in colour and tiny detailing. I’m like a sponge inspired by everything around me; it could be anything that catches my eye within colour and pattern, culture or otherwise - hiding in the simplicity and mundane of the everyday. Mostly I’m inspired by nature, its repeat in pattern, the colours and changes of seasons - but predominantly I’m intrigued and fascinated by the sea and the sky.