19 LJMU art auction

from Liverpool Life 9:11 February 17 2021

Bakery business in lockdown

ARTS The art of lockdown

ROMY WILSON reports on a new online marketplace to help young artists sell their work

Much like every other, the art industry has had to adapt to the difficulties coronavirus has presented and the forever changing society that we live in, consisting of coronavirus lockdowns, unpredictable tier systems, and even beans on Weetabix for breakfast…

Like many professional creatives, artists are trying to survive and trying to make it in their industry. To provide a boost and a marketplace for new artists’ work, Caitlin Brown, 21, a History of Art and Museum Studies student at Liverpool John Moores University has set up an online auction named 12x12.

The inspiration behind the auction came from Caitlin’s idea that if 12 artists created 12 pieces in the size 12x12, she could create a platform to showcase their work, whilst the artists could get experience in auctioning off their pieces and make some money at the same time. She said she wanted to “include emerging artists who were either in university, coming out of university or those that went straight into practicing art without completing a degree”.

Caitlin said: “It has been extremely hard for artists to find work during the pandemic with most of the opportunities being online and, even then, they are quite limited. This was one of the main reasons I wanted to organise this auction for emerging artists based not just in England, but everywhere.”

The collection of pieces come from artists all over the world, including Caitlin, who lives in Curaçao. Some of the other artists are originally from and based in England, others are from Poland, Bulgaria, Amsterdam, Boston and the Isle of Man.

All of the auction prices range from £25-£300, depending on which materials have been used combined with the amount of time it took the artists to work on the pieces.

Each piece of art engulfs us and tells us a different story, Caitlin said that this is crucial when creating artwork.

“It’s important for an artist to have a story, such as what themes are highlighted in their work, what is the personal connection to those themes, their inspirations and influences and how is all of that depicted in their work.”

Faye Roberts, 19, a fine art student at LJMU, from Tranmere, is one of the artists featured in the auction, she focuses on capturing the beauty of the natural world.

She said: “I regularly go on walks through inspiring landscapes, taking images of rusted fences and decaying trees. I explore gestural application and find love through bright colours.”

Faye said that she has been more inspired during lockdown than ever before, and since she was furloughed last year she’s had more time than ever to create art.

She said: “I have always loved abstract and contemporary painting, but never felt confident enough to give it a go.

“Over the last couple of months, I have really pushed myself to experiment more. I am now at a point with my art where I feel so comfortable with the content of the paintings I am creating.”

Faye’s ambition is to become a fulltime artist. “I really cannot see myself doing anything else than making art. But it’s a hard industry to ‘make it’ in, you are constantly, subconsciously, comparing yourself to other artists wondering if you are good enough.”

She added: “It is a constant cycle of experimentation and critiquing”.

Another of the featured artists, Charlotte Halsall, 20, and also a History of Art student at LJMU, said even though she has more time to work on her art it is not easy.

“It’s harder, because there’s nothing happening for me to be inspired about and if I was motivated, which I normally would be, I probably would create a lot more work.”

Although she found it harder to be inspired with her own art she said that she found stimulation through watching and learning from other artists such as Grayson Perry.

The artwork will be available to purchase when the auction goes live on March 10.