Harriet Muller-artist Interview

Q1. What inspired your passion for art and who has been there supporting you from the
beginning?

I’ve said I wanted to be an artist from the age of 3. I’ve always loved painting and drawingand my parents were very supportive of me.

Q2. Have you always aspired to be artist, or did you ever dream of following a different path?

Although I had always said I wanted to be an artist, I was encouraged to take a more academic route so I went to Cambridge to study Modern and Medieval Languages. This was primarily so that I could spend a year in Spain studying Fine Art so I got the best of both worlds.

Q3. How do you feel about the your industry today?

I think it’s a very exciting time to be an artist. One of the great things we have today is the Internet and social networking. I can chat to artists all over the world and share techniques and learn so much from them. As the YBAs are becoming slightly older and still out to shock through conceptor gimmick, I believe this will give rise in a new wave of representational work in younger artists.

Q4. Where do you see yourself five years from now?

Surrounded by paint in my studio. Definitely somewhere hot.

Q5. Is there any work you are currently working on that you would like to tell us about?

I’m working on a series of paintings inspired by the stories of the Chilean writer, Isabel Allende. I love magical realism in literature and I want to capture the essence of the genre in my painting: the infinite possibilities of the imagination and the blurring of fact and fiction.

Q6. Who have you always dreamt of working with/for and why? How would you go about
accomplishing this?

I would love to work with the Portuguese artist, Paula Rego. I met her years ago when I was studying Lusophone literature. I would like to interview her at some point and who knows,
cheekily suggest a collaboration?!

Q7. As you are starting out in your career, what steps do you plan on taking to reach your goal?

I have a very clear list of things I want to achieve as an artist. I find it is helpful to draw up a yearly plan of your goals a bit like a business plan and remain committed to it throughout the year.

Q8. Have you found that as you are starting out in your career, there are aspects that have
taken you completely by surprise? If so, what are they?

I didn’t realise that artists had to be equally talented accountants, PR, marketers and sales people.

Q9. What is the greatest thing about working in the your industry? And what would you change
if you had the opportunity?

As Confucius said, “do what you love for a living and you’ll never work another day in your life.” It’s great that I can do what I love. If  I could change anything, it would be that I wouldn’t have to deal with any of the business side of the artwork and could only focus on painting but that’s wishful thinking!

Q10. If you could have asked anyone for advice when you were starting out. Who would you
have liked to ask?

I’ve been quite lucky in that I have a few artist friends who exhibit in the big London galleries
so I can ask them questions. I also do life drawing classes every week with Valerie Wiffen who has one of her portraits in the National Portrait Gallery and she is a font of all knowledge for all things art-related. I have also been taught by Christiane Kubrick who was a great inspiration.

Q11. From your experience in the arts, what advice could you offer people looking to get to
where you are today?

Keep learning and mixing with other artists. Do not give up. Tell everyone you are an artist.
That’s how I get most of my commissions.

Q12. What courses/classes would you recommend someone take if they want to be a
professional in the creative industry?

You should find a teacher you admire and respect; this is priceless. I truly believe that the human body is the hardest thing to paint so that is why I do life classes every week to keep me up to scratch.

Q13. How many years were you fighting to get to where you are today? And what was that time
in your life like?

I’ve been a professional artist for two years now. It wasn’t an easy time and it demanded
a lot of self-belief. Slowly the temp jobs were replaced by teaching jobs which I enjoy a lot
more and soon I will be artist in residence at a school in London.

Q14. From your experience so far, what have you found to be most challenging? And how are
you dealing with it?

As an artist, I think the most challenging thing is to keep believing in your work even when you don’t make sales in that month, or a gallery rejects you. As long as I know my work is great, hopefully others will believe it too!

Q15. Share with us your proudest moment in your career so far?

The day I had my London debut solo show and the launch of my first book. One year prior tothat day it had all been a distant dream.

Harriet Muller Links and Recommendations

Harriet Muller Art Gallery

Harriet Muller`s Website