The moral of this episode … show your work to random people in pubs because it could be life changing. London based artist, and self-described ‘pencil snob’, Nettie Wakefield is my insanely talented guest today. Listen right up there under that polka-dotty birthday girl, or you can subscribe on iTunes.
First, her “Reversed Portrait” series. Absolutely stunning – I cannot imagine getting a pencil to do this. Here are a few of my favorites, and one of them just might be Nettie herself:
Any guesses? Ok, I’ll tell you… that final drawing above is a “reversed self-portrait” of Nettie. Lovely.
Next, “Brandy the Blow up Doll” … she’s lovely too. But in a, hm, different way:
So cool! I love that she pushed herself into the world of sculpture. I’m very curious to see if her sculpture work continues.
Ok, now this is just crazy and surreal. These are a few of the drawings she did at Dismaland. Yes, that’s right… by showing her portfolio to a random guy at a pub, she ended up drawing reversed portraits at Banksy’s Dismaland. What? Who does that happen to? Answer: Nettie.
Unbelievably cool. Speaking of which, look at that close-up?! …… ok, stop looking because I have more to show you. Here’s the piece she did for Context in New York {CONTEXT Art fair NYC / Corey Helford Gallery / Pier 94} :
Sigh. That one might be my favorite reversed portrait in Nettie’s portfolio… well, maybe a close second to Liz:
Yes! This was part of a project in London to honor Queen Elizabeth’s 90th birthday … and in case you aren’t aware, I have a strange obsession with images of the Queen. It might be a Canadian thing?
Finally, a lovely photo of Nettie – the front of her, not the back of her head:
Beautiful. Thank you so much to Nettie for telling me her story, and sharing a few chopped out secrets! Thanks to Saatchi Art for supporting this episode, and as always thank you for listening. There will be more art for your ear next weekend.
Other links:
Fantastic! Also studied at Chelsea for a while.
My fave is the queen… hands down! Thanks so much for another great peek into another artists world. x
Omg gorgeous! This looks exactly like the work of my favorite artist – her name is Lauren Munns. If you all like this, you HAVE to check out her Instagram! @munnsyy
http://laurenmunns.com/
Hi! I am in the midst of listening to this episode (and yeah, should probably wait to comment…. but…) I just looked it up and Nettie is traditionally a nickname or Antoinette, Annette, and any name like “Jeanette” that ends with a “nette”. But no, not Stephanie….So you learn something new every day…! It is a cute/weird name that does seem perfect or this pretty/quirky/talented artist!
Hi! I am in the midst of listening to this episode (and yeah, should probably wait to comment…. but…) I just looked it up and Nettie is traditionally a nickname or Antoinette, Annette, and any name like “Jeanette” that ends with a “nette”. But no, not Stephanie….So you learn something new every day…! It is a cute/weird name that does seem perfect or this pretty/quirky/talented artist!
Years from now, I can see a storage locker full of small abandoned pencils. That made me laugh out loud.
me too! she was very passionate about those little guys ; )
Love your website and your podcasts! Thank you! x
thank you, louisa : )
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