Today we’d like to introduce you to Florence Houston.
Florence, we’d love to hear your story and how you got to where you are today both personally and as an artist.
My training began as a portrait painter in Florence, where I studied for four years at an atelier called Charles Cecil Studios. There, I was taught to grind my own paint and use the methods and materials of the old masters. After I left Florence in 2012 I moved into a studio in west London, painting portraits and still life’s but I always wanted to try landscapes.
This spring I enrolled in a two-week course at Scottsdale Art School under the wonderful Milt Kobayashi. After the course, I saw an opportunity to explore that part of the world and persuaded fellow painter Alice Boggis-Rolfe to fly out and join me on a painting road trip. Having planned our route, at a pub or two in London, we turned our hire car into a mobile studio, set off from Phoenix and travelled around Arizona and California. The landscapes were totally alien to us and though somedays we were covering 400 miles, our surroundings were so spectacular that we didn’t mind at all. We painted at dusk and dawn every day when the light was low and cast deep shadows.
We’d love to hear more about your art. What do you do you do and why and what do you hope others will take away from your work?
My medium of choice is oil paint. I love its thick buttery colors and its scope for different effects and textures.
I have been sketching people for as long as I can remember. I’ve always loved capturing a person’s likeness, not only in their face, but also in their gesture or posture; painting people from life allows me to study their mannerisms and their movement. When I am not painting portraits I paint still lives of whatever grabs me, I tend to be drawn to the more mundane and everyday objects that have an unnoticed beauty about them, like a light bulb or a telephone. I like taking them out of their context and setting them up all alone, celebrating the un-celebrated. Color is incredibly important to me and my painting. I take as much care choosing my color palette as I do planning the composition. If I don’t like the color of an object I’m painting, I don’t mind adjusting it to get the right balance. Oil paint is great for this.
What do you know now that you wished you had learned earlier?
My advice to other artists would be to continue creating and experimenting as much as possible. Enroll on a course or join a sketch club, even just being around other artists and sharing thoughts and ideas will invigorate you.
At the beginning of a project, make a note of what you hope to achieve or what excited you about it in the first place. Half way through a painting I sometimes need a reminder of my initial intentions- my eyes go stale; the model starts slumping and the whole idea starts to lose the freshness it first had. Sometimes I look back at my preliminary sketches to remind myself of what I was aiming for. Also, turning the painting upside down or looking at it in a mirror, can be like looking at it for the first time. This is often when mistakes or bad design jump out.
Do you have any events or exhibitions coming up? Where would one go to see more of your work? How can people support you and your artwork?
I exhibit all over the UK with The British Art Portfolio, and in various shows in London. You can see my work over social media, my website and in my newsletter. Instagram has been invaluable, connecting me with both galleries and clients.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.florencehouston.com
- Phone: +447837743334
- Email: FH@florencehouston.com
- Instagram: @florencehouston.art
Image Credit:
Florence Houston
Getting in touch: VoyageHouston is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
