This week’s Artist Spotlight shines on a very special guest: Gertie Young, winner of the Ohuhu Award.
Earlier this year, in celebration of International Women’s Day, Ohuhu was honored to sponsor an award at the Society of Women Artists exhibition. Our goal was to celebrate women in art, support female artists, and create more opportunities for their voices to be seen and heard.
Gertie’s work Orchids Listening to Gossip was chosen for the Ohuhu Award, recognized for its playful mix of imagination and daily life. This kind of creativity is exactly what Ohuhu values and is proud to honor.
In the following interview, Gertie shares her artistic journey, her thoughts on winning, and her perspective as a female artist. Her reflections on what art means and what it brings to life are truly inspiring.
Follow along to get to know this talented artist.
Gertie’s art journey
I began painting as a child, inventing comics, pretend photos and imaginary maps. At 18 I went on to study at Hornsey School of Art. Over the years I have held a variety of jobs but have always continued with my secret love of painting; filling in a series of ‘scribble books’ with bright, imaginative pieces. Following my retirement I started entering and winning various national and other open art competitions, finally successfully becoming a member of the Royal Watercolour Society.
The inspiration for her winning piece
I wish there was an easy answer to this but I am totally unable to determine my subject matter nor visualise my finished painting. I have come to realise that the logical part of my mind (which you would think could be tasked with painting something) is not, for me, the part that actually does the painting. The only way for me to paint is by knowing nothing and expecting nothing. I plunge into a journey armed with just myself, my paints, scraps of images and pieces of card. Sometimes my hands seem to know what to do and sometimes my eyes add a shape or colour. I seem to leave the logical part of my mind out of the process and trust that whatever emerges will be exactly what I want.
Orchids Listening to Gossip
How Gertie felt receiving the Ohuhu Award
I was totally surprised. It was a completely unexpected honour and I was delighted that other people thought my painting was good enough to give me an award, especially when there were so many great paintings in the exhibition. Thank you so much - it was a real joy!
Gertie’s thoughts on being a female artist today
Being an artist has always been a difficult endeavour, even more so for women. Sales can be slow, erratic or non-existent and it may be difficult if not impossible to make a living with your art. I don’t think this is anything new either. Although women have always made art in different, quieter ways; knitting, sewing, cooking, home-making, child rearing, caring these activities have rarely been recognised as ‘marketable’ art. So, in the end you need to be honest with yourself about why you are painting. For myself it provides a way of answering an internal question I’m only dimly aware of. Perhaps it’s my way of reconciling contradictions as I make my way through to some kind of sense.
