Curtis Holder was born in Leicester in 1968. He completed a foundation year, prior to his BA in graphic design from Kingston University. A postgraduate diploma in character animation from Central Saint Martins followed in 2005.
While working as a primary school teacher, Curtis entered and won last year’s seventh series of Sky Arts’ Portrait Artist of the Year. His winning commission, a portrait of dancer Carlos Acosta, is now part of Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery’s collection. www.curtisholder.co.uk
Family is one of the most difficult drawings I’ve ever done... I had to trick myself to make that piece
Art as therapy
Self-portraits are strange things. I’ve had to get into using photography, which is better for me because I have to really think about what it is that I want to draw. Drawing an individual is about a conversation, it’s a two-way thing. With a self-portrait, it’s hideous. It’s like going to see a therapist.
Why put yourself through that? That’s one of the questions I’ve been asking myself. I think to be a good artist and have a good life, you need to keep asking yourself questions about who you are, what you are, and where you want to go. Before entering the Sky Arts’ Portrait Artist of the Year, I was a primary school teacher. I got to a stage where I thought, ok, either I’m going to be a headmaster or I’m going to be selfish and embrace that part of myself that I’ve ignored. I said, right, I’m going to stop teaching and I’m going to give this a go. It was time to flex a muscle I thought was there, but I wasn’t sure. What the show has done has fast forwarded my practice.
Denne historien er fra June 2021-utgaven av Artists & Illustrators.
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Denne historien er fra June 2021-utgaven av Artists & Illustrators.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Still life IN 3 HOURS
Former BP Portrait Award runner-up FELICIA FORTE guides you through a simple, structured approach to painting alla prima that tackles dark, average and light colours in turn
Movement in composition
Through an analysis of three masterworks, landscape painter and noted author MITCHELL ALBALA shows how you can animate landscape composition with movement
Shane Berkery
The Irish-Japanese artist talks to REBECCA BRADBURY about the innovative concepts and original colour combinations he brings to his figurative oil paintings from his Dublin garden studio
The Working Artist
Something old, something new... Our columnist LAURA BOSWELL has expert advice for balancing fresh ideas with completing half-finished work
Washes AND GLAZES
Art Academy’s ROB PEPPER introduces an in-depth guide to incorporating various techniques into your next masterpiece. Artwork by STAN MILLER, CHRIS ROBINSON and MICHELE ILLING
Hands
LAURA SMITH continues her new four-part series, which encourages you to draw elements of old master paintings, and this month’s focus is on capturing hands
Vincent van Gogh
To celebrate The Courtauld’s forthcoming landmark display of the troubled Dutch master’s self-portraits, STEVE PILL looks at the stories behind 10 of the most dramatic works on display
BRING THE drama
Join international watercolour maestro ALVARO CASTAGNET in London’s West End to paint a dramatic street scene
Serena Rowe
The Scottish painter tells STEVE PILL why time is precious, why emotional responses to colour are useful, and how she finds focus every day with the help of her studio wall
Bill Jacklin
Chatting over Zoom as he recovers from appendicitis, the Royal Academician tells STEVE PILL about classic scrapes in New York and his recent experiments with illustration