Our Head of Art Luke Baker recently had the privilege to sit down with Little Van Gogh artist Ruth Bateman, where they discussed the importance of art, it’s healing nature the natural instinct of humans to be creative. As well has Ruth’s connection to the landscape and how this plays in an important role within her practise.

Why do you make art?

I’ve always been creative, since I can remember, and I’ve always had a fascination and curiosity about creating things. I make art because it’s a way of articulating how I feel about the world, making sense of myself as a person, processing emotions and feelings that perhaps I wouldn’t be able to explain or access/portray without the means of paint or other materials. I make art because it’s important, it’s a voice, my voice; it’s also something that I’m driven to do, I can’t actually put into words what it is that drives me, it’s part of me the essence of who I am. I feel lost without it, I’ve created art all my life, and not questioned it really, it’s just been like second nature, like breathing. Even when I’ve been at my lowest or my most euphoric, art and painting has still played a massive role within my journey as a human. Art is an interesting thing, it’s a conversation with both oneself and yet with an audience; it’s feelings, it’s about expression and it’s an alchemy. I don’t know why I am driven to do it, I just have to, need to. Its not something that I question. I know that when I can’t paint I feel like I’m void, I’m lost and I’m anxious. The act or ceremony of putting paint to paper or canvas just opens up a whole new otherworldly experience and it’s timeless, it’s just an important and fundamental part of being a human. Everything is born of creativity, even life itself is creation and it’s happening around us all the time and art is no different, it is that bridge between conscious and unconscious, it’s something very magical, precious and a true gift.

The Landscape and our connection to it plays an important role in your work, as well as concerns around climate awareness and environmental preservation – How have these concerns shaped your practise?

The landscape is extremely important to me. It’s the place where I find the most connection to myself and to something greater. There’s something about seeking the sublime and that feeling of utter amazement and awe about this entity that’s beyond mankind. It just puts everything perspective and how insignificant we are. It somehow frees me from the tethers of society and everyday life. It makes you reflect upon something deeper than just the surface and materialistic world that we live in. The fact that we are made up of the same elements of the stars is mind-blowing. And being connected to the landscape is deeply comforting for me. It’s the place where I think I meet myself in the worst and best ways. Especially as I have grown older and witnessed man’s effect upon the earth and the exploitation for our own gains has only highlighted how we as a species are missing the important symbolic and natural interrelationship to our existence, this is deeply worrying and profound to me. We wouldn’t be here without the trees, the water. Everything that we have been gifted is what has made us and keeps us alive. So, it’s extremely important for us to respect and to find harmony again and an equilibrium with the very thing that supports life. It’s not just about the landscape but it’s also about the living things within it. The whole idea about climate change and environmentalism is interesting, especially within this whole green surge, whereas everything’s got a consequence and sometimes that consequence can be just as bad as the very thing that we’re trying to walk away from. I think also what environmentalism, especially in my work, shows me is that it’s more than just correcting things, it’s about taking accountability and really learning to take ourselves out of the driver’s seat, allowing nature to dictate. I want to use my work as a way of, I suppose, trying to understand my own place within this world, to exercise my frustration, my concerns, to educate and to show that even when things look like they’re okay or they’re fixed, there’s always an air of uncertainty and discord. Nothing in nature is stable, it’s everchanging, it’s moving, it’s fluid and I like to think my work is a reflection of that. You see things, you feel things, it’s an ever-evolving subject and I like my work to be fluid; allowing people to go on a journey of discovery. Perhaps it’s about looking more inward or really taking stock of what we do, who we are and where is our place within this world. So it’s extremely important; ultimately my paintings are my journey through that, through the good times, the bad times, the moments of frustration and anger and sadness but also those moments of pure bliss and unadulterated happiness or contentment.

Dancing with the Stars

Odyssey

Where do you find inspiration?

Inspiration comes from a multitude of things, from other artists, from things I see around me all the time. I’m always observing and looking at how nature and the landscape buffers up against human creations. I’m always examining the way things are juxtaposed against each other and how they fit within a pattern, within a scene. I get inspiration from what and how I feel, from experiences, travel, adventure, from living. It can just be like a thought sometimes or a concept or a question, a train of thinking can perhaps lead me down a rabbit hole of enquiry. Something has to kind of spark an interest, make me think, why does that do that or how can I process that? I am a feeling-based painter, so it comes from visually seeing/sensing or hearing things as I navigate through life; I think it has become more than just having an idea. I’m very much in tune with how I emotionally connect to the world and painting has become my natural means of expressing myself. I articulate through paint, but my vehicle of doing that is through the landscape as my main muse. When I experience these emotions within a certain place or an experience, I’ve somehow capture them like a photograph of time but within my soul; that then inspires and triggers me then to paint. Occasionally it’s just born out of pure needing to express something, not for anybody else other than myself, to understand and try to piece together what it is that I’m going through or what is it that I’m not sure about, what is trying to be said. I’m inspired by myself and my connection to this planet. What is my place and how do I fit in within this? How do I fit in within the other species contained within the world? What is nature’s place within our world and how we co-exist? So I can be inspired by so many different things, even if it’s just the way a leaf buffers up against the wrought iron shed or it’s how nature’s adapted and pushed through and overcome obstacles and barriers, how somebody dances or walks on a beach, how the changing seasons affect us, how amazing it feels to get to the top of a climb and to see the landscape from a different perspective. All these things are feeding into my resource toolbox I suppose, in my memory and from what I sense. So, a cacophony of things and of course other artists; how they have approached subjects and thought about the world. I suppose painting in a way is just about the huge great big dumping ground for exploration and discovery and that in itself is inspiring.

Artists often evolve with their work as they make new exciting discoveries – How has your practice changed over time?

My practice has changed very much over time, and I guess that’s because I’m forever adapting and changing, growing older, navigating my way through life. Because my work is integral to working out who I am and my feelings, expressions and thoughts about the world, it’s inevitably going to change, adapt and expand like me. I’ve really developed as an artist, seeking to embrace the process and discover the world, emotions processes etc, I’m excited by that. I’m not an artist that stays static. I really dislike the idea of painting the same thing over and over again. For me, it’s got to be different, it’s unique, it’s a moment of time that can never be replicated. Each painting is a process, a memory or an experience that is beautiful. Nothing stays constant, and I like that with my work. I like to see it change because it shows me that I’m growing and I’m learning more about myself, and there’s seasons for everything, and they all serve a purpose, they all lead to the same end goal, whatever that may be. painting is part of that process. So, my practice is diverse, it’s multifaceted. I’m not one-dimensional, and neither is my painting in a literal or metaphorical sense; ultimately however, at the core of it all is the essence of me.

Who are your biggest artistic influences?

My biggest artistic influences, this is quite hard because I’m influenced by a lot of artists from different eras and history; from Chagall through to Francis Bacon, to Tracey Emin, to Bonnard, Van Gogh, Jilly Seville to name just a few. The list is endless. I don’t think I have a particular person, genre/style or movement that I could say I favour. I’m just like a sponge, I will just be inspired and influenced by things or people that emit something that catches my interest. I very much find the art world extremely fascinating and I don’t just mean in the sense of painters but all creative fields, for example writing or music. I try to take influence from many contexts and like to explore all art forms and artists.

Does creating art help you in any other areas of your life?

Art has saved my life. Art has given me the tools and the way of learning about myself to process the world and to grow. It’s given me a channel for so much more than just painting. It’s opened up a whole world for me that I never knew existed. It’s allowed me to transcend beyond just the reality that I have placed myself in. It’s been and is my lifeline; in turn, it’s allowed me to discover so much about who I am and also about how I see the world.

What’s the best piece of advice you have ever been given?

That everything in life is temporary – it changes all the time. Keep going, keep believing and always be authentically you. Van Gogh quotes: … “Let’s keep up each other’s enthusiasm, and let’s encourage each other, as far as we can, to carry on working. Not in the direction of pleasing dealers or the ordinary art lovers, but in the direction of manly strength, truth, loyalty, honesty.” … “One must work long and hard to arrive at the truthful. What I want and set as my goal is damned difficult, and yet I don’t believe I’m aiming too high. I want to make drawings that move some people.”