An interview with Laurie Avadis

Posted by Jazmine Saunders on 5th March, 2024

• ... "It has been a highly fulfilling creative journey which has developed as my circumstances and environment have changed."

  Jazmine Saunders

  1. Can you share a bit about your artistic background and what inspired you to become an artist?

  Laurie Avadis

  I started drawing my own magazines and cartoons in my early teens and this developed gradually into a fascination with art in general. I really never stopped creating from that point and my practice has changed completely over time. 5 years ago, I was creating and exhibiting bright abstract photographs with some paintings and now my practice is almost all paintings with very little photography. It has been a highly fulfilling creative journey which has developed as my circumstances and environment have changed.

  Photographic Credit: Photos provided by Laurie Avadis

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  Jazmine Saunders

  2. What specific media do you work with and how do you choose the materials for your work?

  Laurie Avadis

  I use a mixture of oil and chalk pastels in combination with watercolours and mixed media. I am drawn to the medium by the vibrancy of the subject matter. I use many different kinds of paper including the pages of antique French books. Sometimes the titles or words inspire the contents.

  Photographic Credit: Photos provided by Laurie Avadis

• ... "I start with a pencil or charcoal sketch"

  Jazmine Saunders

  3. Could you describe your creative process, from concept to completion, for a typical piece of artwork?

  Laurie Avadis

  I will take multiple photographs of a scene that fascinates me from different angles and with different exposures and experiment with these before choosing one to paint. I start with a pencil or charcoal sketch, adding a wash or just painting in with pastels or watercolours and then adding layer upon layer.

  Photographic Credit: Photos provided by Laurie Avadis

• 

  Jazmine Saunders

  4. How do you draw inspiration for your work and are there particular themes or subjects that resonate with you?

  Laurie Avadis

  I am a huge lover of animals – dogs and cats in particular, of the sea by which I live in Felpham, in which I swim and by the English, Spanish  and French countryside. The animals I have loved often find their ways into my paintings. Water, sand, shadow  and sunlight are fascinating to me and the ways in which they shape our environments over seconds, years, millennia. I am also a runner and cyclist and this has impacted on the way I see and experience my environment – fast, exciting, challenging, undulating and most of all joyously colourful.

  Photographic Credit: Photos provided by Laurie Avadis

• Jazmine Saunders

  5. Can you discuss any challenges you've faced as an artist and how you've overcome them?

  Laurie Avadis

  I am dyslexic and I think that the death of my father when I was a child shaped my creative journey. I experienced a great number of challenges as a result of this during my childhood and that has changed the way I experience art and my vision of the world.

  Photographic Credit: Photos provided by Laurie Avadis

• ... "COS was pivotal to my journey as an artist."

  Jazmine Saunders

  6. What role does the Chichester Open Studios Art Trail play in your artistic journey and why did you choose to participate?

  Laurie Avadis

  We moved to Felpham in July last year and becoming involved in COS was pivotal to my journey as an artist. I have long admired the extraordinary variety and quality of the art showcased in COS and was determined to be part of that.

  Photographic Credit: Photos provided by Laurie Avadis

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  Jazmine Saunders

  7. Are there any specific pieces you'll be showcasing during the Art Trail that hold special significance to you, and if so, why?

  Laurie Avadis

  I will be showing a number of pieces which depict local views including ‘Sitting on Felpham Beach with my Cat’ which has a special place in my heart because I recently lost her after 22 years.

  Photographic Credit: Photos provided by Laurie Avadis

• Jazmine Saunders

  8. How do you hope your audience will engage with or interpret your artwork during the Chichester Open Studios Art Trail?

  Laurie Avadis

  I hope that people will enjoy the vibrancy and the movement of the pieces and enjoy the depiction of local scenes they may already be familiar with but from a slightly different perspective.

  Photographic Credit: Photos provided by Laurie Avadis

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  Jazmine Saunders

  9. What do you enjoy most about being part of the local artistic community and how does it influence your work?

  Laurie Avadis

  I have been able to meet a large number of local artists in particular via Arundel Art Society and by exhibiting in Chichester, Emsworth and Littlehampton. More recently I have made contact with members of the Felpham artistic community who are taking part in COS and hopefully, these will be links that can become long established.

  Photographic Credit: Photos provided by Laurie Avadis

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  Jazmine Saunders

  10. Can you share your thoughts on the importance of community support for local artists and events like the Chichester Open Studios?

  Laurie Avadis

  It is hugely important to appreciate and support COS. Other areas outside of larger cities are not fortunate enough to have access to such a passionate and talented group of wide-ranging creatives and this needs to be embraced by the local community.

  Photographic Credit: Photos provided by Laurie Avadis