Make money from making art!

  Sign up for one of our game-changing courses today – check them out here

Philippa Stanton on synaesthesia, inspiration and Instagram for artists

Philippa Stanton

Philippa Stanton is a UK based fine artist and mobile photographer. She creates still life photographic compositions using simple, everyday objects; often a cup of tea or coffee, with flowers and plants, which is then contained within a quiet sense of season on her table. Her compositions are hugely popular on Instagram, where she has over 420 thousand loyal followers.

In this interview, Philippa talks about her art, synaesthesia, her inspiration and why Instagram is a great way for artists to gain visibility. All images are courtesy of Philippa Stanton.

Philippa will be speaking at Make Art That Sells: The Global Art Gathering on June 12th in Brighton.

Browsing through your online gallery feels like walking around a country house’s garden and having a peak in the pantry! A lot of your paintings are named after scents and tastes, why’s that?

I mostly use my synaesthesia to create abstract paintings of the visual textures, colours and shapes I experience when either listening to music, people talking, or tasting and smelling.

Synaesthesia is a merging of the senses and arrays of textured, colourful shapes accompany every taste, smell and tactile feeling experienced.

They don’t intrude on my day to day sight, they simply enhance my inner abstract vision and these forms can either be visited deeply or in a more transitory way.

Philippa Stanton - Judy Garland Voice
Philippa Stanton – Judy Garland Voice

That must be a great inspiration for art, is that something anybody can cultivate? If so, are there any tips you can give to get more connected to our senses in art?

I believe that we’re all born synaesthetic but lose the capacity to acknowledge or appreciate it as we become adults. I think taking time to connect with your senses by doing things like actually thinking and concentrating on what a taste is, how food feels in your mouth, what silence really sounds like and why you prefer one scent to another, will really help to identify your own inner abstract. We generally don’t have the time to think outside of the box about everyday things which we take for granted…I think you can definitely practice unlocking your personal abstract processing.

You also have another art project called 5ftinf, how did that come about?

I first started the compositions shortly after joining Instagram over 4 years ago.

I was inspired by a lot of Japanese and Scandinavian photographers and also I was spending a lot of time at my table drinking tea, so it all happened quite organically really…I never planned it.

Philippa Stanton 5ftinf
Philippa Stanton – Rainbow Brushes | Dancing Red | 20 Teas

The results are really stunning and quite calming to look at. What about the creation process, how does that feel to you and what do people take away from your workshops?

I just get led and inspired by the flowers and plants themselves, weather, colours round and about and how I’m feeling. I never plan them, they just appear as I’m putting them together or walking around the garden. I don’t have a fixed idea at all, although sometimes I might be doing something else like the washing up or driving, and a strong idea of colours and pattern come into my head. Once the flowers are in place, I often feel the balance isn’t quite right, so other objects come into play as a way of balancing the composition, but when I really look hard at the empty space it just becomes apparent what sort of shape, texture or colour should fill the void so I don’t play around with objects too much, but obviously a little.

I never think beforehand about creating a perfect composition, and more often than not, I don’t think it ever is, but I have learned that messing about with it too much shows through.

All of the elements on the table reflect in some way how I am feeling on the day and in the moment of creating it.

I hope that people are able to be more confident with their instincts after one of my workshops, but also feel that they’ve been able to challenge their regular aesthetic patterns, even if it’s just to acknowledge how it makes them feel to sort of mess things up. I also hope that people leave with a greater sense of seeing…textures, spaces, colours, patterns…they are everywhere all the time and I love helping people notice them.

Philippa Stanton - Oranges and stamps
Philippa Stanton – Oranges and stamps

 

Your 5ftinf project is very successful on Instagram. Why do you think that specific platform works so well for you?

I’m not entirely sure, but I think it may have something to do with the comfort of repetition, the calmness of balance and the fact that hopefully I leave enough space within the composition to let people drift into their own imagination. But it’s also something to do with speaking through image…without words; I always find words complicate things and make things more rigid; images set your imagination free.

Being highly visual, is Instragram the go-to platform for all artists?

I really believe that Instagram is the right platform for visual artists. Not only can you document your work, but using the square as a digital viewfinder it can really help composition skills and give you another eye, particular for taking inspiration shots for a digital sketchbook.

But it’s also the perfect way for people to engage with you as a working artist. Artists processes vary so much and people find it fascinating to follow which invariably leads to the sale of work…people feel that they are in some way part of the process…which I suppose they are sometimes!

Branding yourself as an artist can be a daunting process, but you seem to be doing a great job of it. Tell us about your best advice and/or your best mistake!

I felt it was an important step to take especially as Instagram has grown so much over the last 12 months, and so people inevitably won’t have followed your story from Day 1 and also there’s a lot of derivative work floating about. I wanted to to be able to honestly connect with people about my work and be open about my process rather than people thinking I was just ‘styling’ for the sake of it. A lot of what I do comes from playing around with stuff, and I recognise how important that is, but at the same time I don’t want playing with flowers to put me into a ‘silly woman with time on her hands’ box, so I found it important to ‘brand’ who I am.

My biggest piece of advice is to be who you are and not be preoccupied with looking for the ideal Instagram account whose style or formula you think you can copy to become successful…identify who you are, and engage with people whose work you genuinely like…don’t just think of it as a good business plan.

You live in Brighton, UK. A lot of artists end up living in Brighton, what is it that artists love about this city?

It’s, creative, it’s by the sea, by the countryside, the light is wonderful and it has edge as well as comfort…I love it!

What are your upcoming projects?           

I have an Artist’s Open House* during the first 4 weekends in May as well as a pop up shop in The North Laines at Vine Street Vintage on May 16th & 17th and May 23rd & 24th.
You can find more information on the 64 Sandgate Facebook page and on Instagram @64sandgate

*Twice a year the artists of Brighton and Hove, UK, open their houses and studios providing art lovers the chance to browse and buy original artwork direct from the artist. Read more about this wonderful project on www.aoh.org.uk.

About Philippa Stanton

Philippa Stanton portrait
Philippa Stanton (photograph by Chika @shewhoeats)

Philippa Stanton is a UK based fine artist and mobile photographer.

She creates still life photographic compositions using simple, everyday objects; often a cup of tea or coffee, with flowers and plants, which is then contained within a quiet sense of season on her table.

Her compositions are like visual haiku; concentrating on the beauty of small things. They are meditations which arrest a contemplative stillness in the viewer, and which guide them to tiny details, natural beauty and a sense of their own creativity.

Philippa has a loyal and engaged Instagram following of over 420 thousand largely due to the calm, repetitive visual diary of her compositions on The Table, as well as documenting her creative process, inspirations, home and studio.

www.instagram.com/5ftinf
www.5ftinf.com
www.philippastanton.com
Facebook: 5ftinf and Philippa Stanton Artist
Twitter: @5ftinf

Oh, go on then, here’s another one for you! Follow www.instagram.com/5ftinf.

Philippa Stanton - Penguin Tea
Philippa Stanton – Penguin Tea

Join Philippa on June 12 in Brighton, UK for Make Art That Sells: The Global Art Gathering, our very first LIVE event and hear her speak amongst other artists and industry experts about creating a successful creative career.

MATS Live event: book your seat

Find more articles like this:

Creativity, Featured, Interviews

Leave a Reply

XHTML: You can use these tags: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>