How I Made This - Rachel Cronin

Here at The Heseltine Gallery, we are excited to bring to you another instalment of ‘How I Made This’. We will be asking local artists to reveal the tricks and tips behind a favourite work. Each artist is allowed to interpret this task in their own way but you will learn among other things; their creative process, the methods and kit they use and their sources of inspiration. We hope this series will show you new things, amaze you and inspire you.

Our featured artist this month is Rachel Cronin

Rachel is an abstract landscape artist, based in Banbury in North Oxfordshire, currently living in Hook Norton. She has kindly agreed to share her creative process with us and also share some advice to young creatives that are venturing into and aspiring to work in the creative industries.

Rachel’s work has been shown at The Heseltine Gallery and was awarded the prize for the best 2D piece in our 2019 Open Exhibition for South Northants and North Oxfordshire. We are currently showing some of her new pieces of work in our online exhibition ‘In the Spotlight…' You can visit the exhibition here. Thank you, Rachel, for sharing your art path with us here!

Rachel Cronin, Early Stage Process

Rachel: I always begin with an underpainting. The colours and marks that I lay down first will sometimes disappear completely in the process of the painting, and sometimes they peak through at the end. I just need to get rid of the white surface and loosen up a bit. This part of the process serves as both a foundation for future ideas and layers but also as a warm-up.

I nearly always work on multiple pieces at the same time. This stops me from becoming too precious about a piece of work. If I feel that happening, I can put it to one side and work on something else. 

Rachel Cronin, Late Stage Process

When these under paintings are dry, I refer back to sketchbook work and/or photographs of source material and begin to think about colour scheme and composition. It is usually during this stage that I have an idea of the direction I would like to take the work. I also have my own list of random interests that include local folklore, witch markings, Anglo Saxon Britain, cloud formations, song lyrics, bits of poetry. At some point I might make references to all or none of these things. Scratches, words and symbols may or may not find their way into these layers and then disappear under a wash of paint, or they might remain visible. 

Below are two films showing Rachel’s process. Click on each image to start playing.

Short video showing Rachel Cronin’s creative process.

Winning the Mary Moser Award and my advice to Young Creatives

Being a full-time artist is a strange thing. With most careers you have an idea of what they might be like before you start, ideally you will have a job description, and a sense of how the years ahead will unfold, what direction your path might take. Art is quite a different beast. There are no one to ones or appraisals and, for the most part, no well-worn path to follow. You will be your own boss and the architect of your own career. And I’ve never heard of an artist retiring. So, when an institution like Oxfordshire Artweeks hands you the Mary Moser Award it feels like a thrilling promotion of sorts. 

The Mary Moser Award recognises Oxfordshire based artists who have turned to art later in life or who are now making a career out of it after working in a different field. I’m not that later on in life (I’m only 42 though that feels old enough some mornings) but I did do other things for a long time. I slogged it out in retail. I taught art classes. I was an education manager for an arts charity for over a decade. I worked in what they call ‘shadow professions’, occupations that come so tantalisingly close to the thing you want to do, you can almost convince yourself that you’re happy and fulfilled. Almost. In 2017 I was made redundant and decided to try self-employment instead. Half-heartedly at first and then with more conviction as work began to sell and my income began to creep up. One of the hardest aspects of this new trajectory has been developing the relationship with my own self trust, especially when one of my most insistent internal voices likes to suggest that I must be deluded and that I will no doubt end up destitute. When you receive a phone call telling you that, in fact, there are people who like your work and think that you are deserving of recognition, that counts as a red-letter day in my book.

I did go to art college and I went with the intention of being an artist, despite all my flippancy about the experience. The decision at the time was an easy one. Art was all I could think of to do, I had no burning desire to study anything else and degrees didn’t require the huge financial investment they do now. Pursuing art as a career is certainly not an easy choice but it is a hugely rewarding one. I also don’t think it’s necessary to know all the steps ahead of you as you set out on the road less travelled but there are some things you can start doing now that will stand you in good stead.

1.     Become a magpie and develop many interests. What sparks your curiosity? What music do you like? What film directors? Read widely and voraciously. It does not matter if the things you like contradict each other or don’t seem to make sense but over time you will notice common themes and particular ways of expression that resonate with you. These things will become the building blocks of your creative personality. 

2.     Develop your critic’s eye. If you like or hate a piece of work, ask yourself why and keep asking that question until you get down to burning essence of what it is that you love or hate, or even fear. And when you have discovered your truth, find out what other’s think. Read the arts pages of the press and watch tv about art. See if someone else has picked up on the same things you have or if they have noticed something that opens a new door for you. Which brings me on to….

3.     Have opinions but don’t be afraid to have them changed. If you spend even five minutes a day on social media or watch the news you will have noticed a common trend and it’s the inflexibility of political and personal opinion and the rise of cancel culture. You are either right or wrong, left wing or right wing, liberal or conservative. The truth is, nothing is so black and white, and art most definitely lives in the grey area in between, uncomfortable and uncertain though that is.

4.     Finally, I truly believe there has never been better time to be an artist. With the rise of social media, you now have multiple platforms on which to show your work and use your voice. You don’t need to be invited into the art world or to have your work in a particular gallery. Though those gatekeepers still exist, their influence has weakened somewhat. That being said- do your research. What galleries do you like? What art programmes appeal to you? If you are thinking about a degree, what sort of content would suit you best?

Make friends with those gatekeepers anyway and keep all your options open because you never know what is around the corner.