Has lockdown got you itching to exercise your creative brain?

This week, we caught up with Madeleine Agnew, a superb figurative painter who works on commissions and specialises in animal portraits through the medium of both watercolours and oil paints.

Madeleine has her own Instagram page at @maddiepaintings where you can explore her work, as well as her own dedicated website which displays her impressive portfolio in all its splendour. She’s also a huge WSG fan – keep an eye out for one of our Deluxe Road House Dining Chairs doubling up as an improvised display holder for some of her work!

As soon as you’ve read up on the blog, head straight over to Madeleine’s online shop that offers a fine selection of paintings, cushions, footstools and limited edition prints to really get the creative juices flowing. Her recent expansion into gorgeous home furnishings is a real treat.

Here’s what she had to say during our inquisitive interview:

Q1. Hi Maddie, thanks so much for agreeing to do a quick Q&A with us! 

 My first question has to be related to your gorgeous paintings, especially your animal portraits. What is it about animals in particular that inspires you to paint? (Also, I love the way that your broad brushstrokes really capture the movements of fur and feathers, depending on the species!) 

A1. Thank you. 

I’ve always enjoyed painting animals, and have done quite a lot of commissioned pet portraits in the past, but they can only be fully appreciated by the pet owner. 

People seem to react well to the animals in clothes, and this really gives me the impetus to keep painting them. I always try to paint animals that you’d not naturally see in clothes. I thought that if I painted too many domestic animals, people might actually think that their owners make them wear the outfits in real life! 

We’ve all grown up around the concept of animals in clothes though. Beatrix Potter is a classic example, it’s part of our heritage and so I think that’s why they’re liked.

Some of the first books I owned were Beatrix Potter. I think it was Mrs Tiggy-Winkle and Mr Jeremy Fisher. One of my favourite characters was Enid Blyton’s Brer Rabbit, which was all animals in clothes, so maybe subconsciously this is why I enjoy painting them so much.

Q2. Have you always been a creative type? Artistic flair just comes naturally to some people, and this must be particularly important for a fine artist.

A2. I’ve been painting for as long as I can remember. My mother was a creative type, and so was my grandmother. So I guess it was in the genes. Being in an environment where you are encouraged to always be creative puts one in good stead for having an artistic flair. 

I have two children myself and I see that they are also creative, but we live in such a different world these days. Where I would naturally pick up a pencil and start drawing, they migrate towards their computers and devices.

I often reflect on those younger years, and the constant sketching and can’t help but think this set the foundations for being good with a paintbrush in later years. I think my daughter will be a much better digital artist than me. 

But in terms of creativity, it’s not necessarily about technical ability, as it’s about the ideas. I like to ‘think outside the box’, I guess it’s because I want to create pictures that turn heads. To create something that’s just a little bit different, that is unoffensive, but will make people smile. I am also, these days, very mindful about how the artwork will translate other things, like soft furnishings. 

Q3. Your personal website (https://www.maddiepaints.co.uk/) looks absolutely stunning! Clearly an awful lot of work went into its design, and also your distinctive logo?

A3. I am very fortunate that I can now focus on being an artist full time, but beforehand I worked in the digital industry.

I wanted a career where I was surrounded by creativity. I was a digital marketing manager, so had a good understanding of websites and so knew what I wanted when it came to my site. However, I have to confess the overall design and build was carried out by a couple of colleagues in the industry who are much more proficient than I. 

I feel like I am evolving and have some ideas about how my art will change over the next few years, and I think this will ultimately result in some changes to the look of my website and brand. So watch this space.

Q4. You must also be into your interior designs as well, judging by the range of home furnishings in your online shop. Do you have a particular favourite style of décor, such as bohemian, Art Deco or mid-century for example? These are all really popular ranges at WSG.

A4. I love interiors, in fact this is always in the back of my mind when I create my paintings, because I always envisage them on the walls of peoples' home. One of the best things ever is when I get sent photos of my paintings in situ. One of the reasons why I sell the limited edition prints in the swept frames, is because it’s about helping people to get that classical, maximalist interior look. 

I personally like a juxtaposition of styles. Big statement spaces, that are still functional. We carried out some extensive renovations on our house a couple of years ago - we used an architect to create something that wasn’t just a standard ‘lean to’ extension, I knew I wanted lots of natural light, so we had a wall of glass installed. I liked the simplicity of Scandinavian style. But more recently, that maximalist style is starting to manifest itself. 

Q5. Speaking of décor, we love that you chose to use one of our Deluxe Road House Dining Chairs as the ideal perch for your ‘badger in badges’ velvet cushion! We hope that they added some extra flair to your dining room.

A5. Yes, we love them. Particularly the tan leather. It’s such a contrast to the bottle green we’ve painted on the walls and the wooden floors we have. We’re awaiting a handmade distressed Oak French Farmhouse Dining table, which they’ll sit around. Again, it’s very much in contrast to the stark white kitchen, but I like that. The WSG chairs help to link the two styles. 

I am just looking forward to the day when we can entertain people again. They feature heavily on my Instagram currently, as the stools accommodate my cushions far too well.

Q6. I particularly love your monochrome paintings in watercolour. You seem to mainly work in both oils and watercolours – do these types of paint help you to achieve your unique style?     

A6. There’s a tenderness with the medium of watercolour that suits portrait commissions, particularly of people and especially children. The paintings really need to look like the subject, of course, but it needs to resonate with the owner, and I think that the delicacy of watercolour creates something quite intimate… I hope that makes sense. 

Oils are good for dog portraits - they are bold and are excellent for showing the great yet hapless nature of most canines. 

I love oil paints, I learned to use this medium when I did my foundation art and design course in the 90s. I was taught traditional techniques that I still use today. When I am painting for myself, which is mainly the animal paintings, I will always opt for oil paints. They are a labour of love, and much more time-consuming (and messy) than watercolour, but the colours and textures you can achieve allow for such vibrant artworks.

I must also admit that I find the smell, in my attic where I paint, a combination of the oil paints and canvases, so comforting. It is a very familiar smell. 

Q7. Finally, we like to think that many of our Saints readers have a keen eye for creativity, certainly based on their choice of furniture! Do you have any advice for anyone that might be interested in giving painting a go for the first time?

A7. Keep it away from your beautiful furniture… Ha!!

But seriously, always have a go, there’s an artist in everyone. Watercolour is a good medium to start with, oils are a little tricky, so try acrylic as an alternative. Less is more with all three of these mediums; layer up with thin layers rather than throwing loads of bold paint down straight away, that’s much less forgiving and harder to refine. You can be bold with the paint once you feel confident that it's starting to look how you want it to.

Don’t be disheartened if what you produced doesn’t look like how you’d imagine it to. Discard preconceptions. Turn it upside down, walk away and return a few hours later, to see if you can see it from a different perspective.

Never give up, you might think you can sit down and produce a Da Vinci in two hours, but even after painting for decades, the shortest time it takes for me to produce something is probably four hours. 

Never be too precious, especially if you’ve only spent a couple of hours and it’s not what you thought it would be, don’t be afraid to experiment if that’s the case, rework, try using other mixing mediums, even felts and crayons. Cut out sections that you like and discard the rest. 

There are so many resources online as well, really beautiful results can be achieved from simple techniques. 

A huge thanks must go out to Maddie for taking part in our Q&A interview this week, we’ve achieved some terrific insights here.  

We hope that we’ve persuaded you to give painting a go – there’s never been a better time to try something new during these strange lockdown times we’re all currently living in. And of course, don’t forget to visit Maddie’s website and Instagram page to check out more of her stunning works.   

That’s all for now Saints – stay safe as always.

Feel the Love!