Turning discard into art

Jon Gower 

On the occasion of his latest show of work made from discarded man-made materials in Haverfordwest, artist Richard Blacklaw-Jones discusses POP art, politics and Pembrokeshire.

What drew you to working with these materials to begin with?

I’ve only ever used found, man-made materials in my pictures. The root of this decision lies in my upbringing. We were poor Welsh who didn’t have much so I was brought up by parents who abhorred waste of any sort. As I grew up and began to think for myself I found that this horror of waste became intermingled with then (1970’s) nascent Green movement.

So, my deliberate choice of these man-made materials is making the point that this stuff should not be littering our environment. Thus, never mind the quality of the artwork, the environment is a bit cleaner ‘cos of my efforts. There is the added bonus of the materials being endlessly available and free.

Is there an environmental message in your work?

Yes. I haven’t as yet found anyone doing exactly as I do artistically, but there are lots who use man- made stuff. I’ll be very happy to be imitated (no sincerer form of admiration than imitation and all that).

In the mean time I go to schools, WI’s and various places doing workshops and it’s always nice to see people’s eyes opened as to the artistic possibilities of their own domestic waste streams.

You seem to enjoy working with colours. Does this mean you see and appreciate them in a different way to most people?

Colours have always been important to me. One of my earliest artistic influences is Andy Goldsworthy whose work is often surprisingly colourful given his choice to work with natural materials. I don’t know why colour is important to me ,it just is. I know when I’ m out searching that my eyes are good at spotting that hint of colour in the hedge or in the shingle bank of a beach and when I pick something up it’s often something interesting (to me at least).

I’ve mentioned my upbringing. My parents and grandparents were opportunistic foragers. So I grew up with the habit of “looking,” of having my eyes open. I spent a lot of time in my 20’s and 30’s mudlarking on the banks of the Thames. Once you got your “eye in” that could be very rewarding. So going out looking for whatever we could use was how I was brought up which became looking for goodies when detecting or mudlarking so my current looking for matériels is just a development of that. I like using colour in my work and that leads to it being quite busy or intense. It’s quite a Marmite sort of thing. Because my work is quite strong (colourful and graphic ) it’s not to everyone’s taste. I get that but am happy doing what I dp and won’t be changing any time soon.

Which artists inspire you?

Andy Goldsworthy, Picasso, Hockney, David Bowie, Mondrian, Peter Blake, Ben Nicholson, Terry Frost, Peter Stampfli, the Pop artists in general but Warhol and Lichtenstein particularly, Paolozzi, the Russian Constructivists, Stuart Davis, Tom Nash. Among my contemporaries, Hew Fuller, Duke Riley, Tara Bandito, Helen Duffee, Luba Chowdhary, Forman Act, Mos Art, Julia Griffiths Jones, Nic Dealm, Timothy Pugh, Tim and Sarah Williams, Lloyd the Graffiti, Nicholas Simms, there’s loads more I’m sure.

How and when do you work?

There’s no set pattern. I’m self-employed and semi-retired so I can more or less do as I please. I do some work most days, a bit here and there adds up. Most often I go to a beach at the weekend. The how of it is that I find stuff, clean it up, then there is usually some cutting and fitting together. Once satisfied I’ll glue it and wait for the glue to set which takes a few hours.

Is there something different about this Haverfordwest show to previous work ?

Well believe it or not but this show isn’t that full on super colourful as in the past. Several pictures are actually quite sombre. Also, I’ve got fed up of my being so “political” in recent years. I think it was Nina Simone who said “it’s the artist’s job to reflect the times.” Well the last few years have just been so unrelentingly awful – Brexit, Boris Johnson, Trump, Palestine, Netanyahu, and now the prospect of Farage closer to power.

I have got sick of being goaded and responding with a picture, so I have deliberately set about exploring some of the major genres of painting. In particular landscapes, but still life too. I’ve even tried some self-portraiture. I’ve tried to be a bit more jolly in the other pics. So yes, the pics are a bit less shouty and a lot less political and can hopefully be seen as happier.

You’re a POP artist, who are your fellow travellers in this regard?

To be honest I’m a self-proclaimed POP artist and to my knowledge the only one in Wales. I’m not aware of any other active artist calling themselves a POP artist in Wales. This is based on repeated scanning of the internet so possibly not completely accurate but the best I can do.

Collage is part of your technique. How do you set about building a picture?

Collage is pretty much the whole of my technique. Cutting pieces of different materials to fit together is more difficult than it sounds. There are several routes to a picture. Sometimes I see a thing or a place which gives me an idea which I’ll try and put down in a sketch with notes to self like “Blue here,” “Lino here” and so on. I know I’ve got these materials and when I’ve got them out I can start looking at how it comes together. It doesn’t always happen though.

Sometimes I find a new material which then finds its way into several pictures. Good example would be the B&M supermarket bags I’ve been finding. They’re in several different patterns, all abstract, nearly always the same range of colours. I’ve made about four pictures now with different B&M bag patterns in them – “Happy New Year,” “Two Old Queens Together,” “Trawsfynydd” and “Future Farm and City” – which are all in the current show. There’s a large element of chance in my method, what I find and how that sparks or enables an idea. I like this chance element and value that serendipity.

You’ve recently been painting wind turbines, is that part of your Green message perhaps?

Well, not consciously anyway. I was driving from H’west to Milford one evening. Just after the village of Johnston there is a big wind turbine in the field to the right. It seemed to loom against a stormy sky (no doubt a trick of the evening sunlight) but the image caught my eye and as soon as I could I made a sketch so as not to forget. Then I realised that I had a sort of metal boss which I thought would look good as the centre of the actual turbine blades.

Everything else then had to be in scale with that boss, but that suited me as I wanted the turbine to be dominant in the landscape/picture. I think it’s quite a striking picture and a reasonably realistic portrayal of that scene.

Pembrokeshire has long been a magnet for artists. Do you see yourself as part of that tradition?

I suppose so. It’s taken me a long time to be comfortable describing myself as an artist. I’ve no formal training beyond a Pottery O-level, (1974.) In my adult life I’ve made lots of things, from jewellery to beds and so I suppose I’ve always had a strong creative streak. Art sort of came upon me more than 25 years ago. I suddenly got really interested and started reading about artists whose work I liked.

Simultaneously I was starting to make pictures. I would say I’m very lucky to live in Pembs and through becoming an artist myself I’ve got to know a lot of other artists. It’s been a big boost to one’s artistic self confidence that these other established artists, whose work I like, regard me as a peer. So, yes I suppose I’ve unwittingly become a part of this tradition. I’d be proud to be included now as a Pembrokeshire artist.

Is it hard to part with work when it sells?

No not really. It’s still a big thrill when someone likes your work enough to actually splash some cash. So I’m very happy to make sales. I dream of being able to be a full-time artist selling 10 or so pictures a year at say £2,500 each. That would mean putting my prices up , so my advice is buy now while I’m cheap (I have sold a picture for £2,400 in the past so I think it not unreasonable to dream this way) Make an old artist happy!

What do you hope a visitor to the show at Haverhub will take away with them?

Well, a picture would be good. If they remember my name and the work because of its idiosyncratic nature then I’ll be happy.

Richard Blacklaw-Jones’s show ‘Find a Way’ is at Haverhub, Haverfordwest until the 7 th November.