Dale Lewis studio visit

Dale Lewis | British visual artist, based in London

2006 University of Brighton, MA in Fine Art, Brighton, UK

2002 London Guildhall University, BA in Fine Art, London, UK

More About Dale Lewis

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 Why did you decide to go to art school?

I am from a really ordinary working-class town; Harlow Essex. I saw the life that is on offer there and knew I had to do something polar opposite. I could not have that life. I was gay as well, and I think that saved me. The social structure there at the time meant I was not accepted so I had to leave. Apart from that I had always drawn and painted. That was the only thing I liked in school, so doing history of art made sense.

You studied at John Moores, Guild Hall and in Brighton. Where did you develop the most momentum for your work?

Probably in Liverpool, I had a really good drawing tutor. We would see each other for maybe an hour a week, it was almost a counselling session. I would take a few rolled-up drawings I had made during the week and we would talk about them. That one hour a week was better than the rest of the four days. I liked the ethos of learning through practice.

Tell me about your daily routine. Do you work for intense periods of time?

I usually start at 10 am and then work until 1 pm or 2 pm. I then have lunch and sometimes I sleep for half an hour. After that I paint again until maybe 9 pm. This is my natural body clock so I know my peak hours. You can't be distracted or look at your phone, or social media. Any distractions mean it takes twenty minutes to get back into it.

Do you consciously identify as an artist?

I think I am only really an artist when I am here, in the studio. Then I shut that curtain and it is just me, the rest of the world doesn’t exist. I don’t have many friends but the ones I have are not very interested in art. That means I go out of this and don’t really exist as an artist, but I become this observer and sponge for information. I am able to switch off; I will go home and watch trashy TV, have a glass of wine and a bath. I can't have too much of this, I already spend ten hours a day, five days a week in the studio, I couldn't take it home.

Do you have any obsessions or rituals you do while you are working?

I always panic. My heart starts racing and I get jittery when I start a painting and when it starts to go well. You are controlling it but it is controlling you, it is an out of body feeling.

“If the painting goes well it is a far more intense experience than being drunk or having sex or being on drugs. You feel higher than on any stimulate. ”

I am also obsessed with Renaissance paintings between the 16th century and mid 19th. The paintings then are terrifying, but look so old they seem ridiculous and people are not frightened of them anymore. We are not god fearing anymore, these heaven and hell scenarios would have been stronger than anything today.

I get the impression you appreciate peculiarities in society?

Yes, I enjoy seeing these funerals with horse drawn carriages in East London, then you watch the number twenty bus overtaking it. The setting is all wrong but I like things when they look out of place and odd. I like ordinary things; for this painting I saw someone getting arrested in MacDonald’s carpark, so it is called 'Happy Meal'. The man seemed like this beautiful Cranach type figure, with red hair and porcelain skin. That is how the painting starts; I will reference what they look like to something I have remembered from a Renaissance painting that I love.

What is the right direction for you and your art now?

To carry on making these for the rest of my life, and not worry about money or second guessing things. For years I cared about what people thought, I do not now.

“Once I stopped caring about myself and the work, it became the real thing. You need confidence as an artist, you feel so insecure. It is important to push that insecurity aside. ”

 For instance, I was really drunk a while ago and was pulling Cadbury’s cream eggs out of a drag queens bra on stage… I had that horror of sitting up in bed the next morning thinking oh my god. I have had many moments like that. I have learned over the years to let them go. Be kind to yourself.

Do you think it takes a certain character to be an artist?

It is a kind of schizophrenic life; I don't think many people can cope with it. In everyone there may be a part that thinks like this, but not many people act on it is another question. The solitary part of being an artist could be hard for a lot of people. I think most people are typically social and like to work as part of a structure or hierarchy. They like to bitch, impress people, and hang out with others’. They feel this sense at the end of the day that something has happened, for me being in the studio is something happening.

How would you describe the purpose of art?

I believe in art and beauty, Oscar Wilde's version or Dorian Grey's version of beauty. Life is so ugly, violent, aggressive, noisy and frightening. I think art has to exist to dilute and balance that out. People need a distraction; something to take them out of everyday life. Art is just a great thing to do, it creates a conversation.

What is your relationship with social media platforms like Instagram?

I just use Instagram purely for art and not for personal gain. That is as much as I can cope with because you want to switch away from that world to produce work. Instagram is full of posts of people on holiday or when something interesting is happening;  I normally just post close ups of me working in the studio.

“Once you post something it dies, it kills the painting because it is just down a list. I think they deserve more privacy. I like them being here and that they have this relationship to each other in this space before they are digital or separated into collections.”

Fat, Sugar, Salt, Dale Lewis Solo Exhibition at Edel Assanti, London

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