A few weeks ago, I caught up with a brand-new up-and-coming artist named Egle! She produces eye-catching and calming alcohol ink pieces, two of which we have on display in the gallery.
These pieces have been framed in a beautiful black frame, with a white mount, as well as an eye-catching gold edge around each piece. These pieces just make a space pop and are ideal for any abstract art lovers out there!
I stumbled across Egle’s work when out exploring the Affordable art fair in London during the spring. After exploring the fair for a few hours, I found Egle’s display with the Radio Art Gallery and as soon as I saw her abstract alcohol ink originals, I was drawn in.
The ‘Dreams Involved Me’ collection has a combination of peaceful/heavenly blues and greens combined with shimmering gold. The organic lines gave off a calming yet lively aura within the set
Egle’s style represents her finding herself within her art. She allows herself to bring her emotions to the page. When asked what inspired her work, she mentioned that the piano was a big influence.
“I love putting on and listening to piano music when I create. The music has similarities to my work. It’s slow and calming and yet there are layers upon layers, the music flows like the ink.”
“Inspiration also comes from inside; my paintings often reflect my mood. All these factors entice all these beautiful organic lines.”
“Often, I’ll have conversations with people about my work, simply having a new perspective can give me ideas. Yet sometimes it just strikes.
For example, sometimes when I’m sitting on the train and I’m looking through the window I’ll hear one phrase and I just think “Oh wow! That’s a great idea, how can I apply what they’ve said/done with a camera and bring that style into my type of work?”
When I met Egle in London she talked about how making her artwork was a very mindful experience for her. The process itself is like a form of yoga/meditation. She went on to tell me about how she captured that peacefulness during the process. Using an airbrush – “an electrical brush with compressed air in it – It helps the alcohol inks dry quicker which is important.” Egle uses 99% alcohol, which doesn’t have a pleasant smell and she mentioned when making it she has to make sure she’s in a well-ventilated room, just so she doesn’t get a little too happy!
“With most of my art, I don’t touch them with any pencil or brush. I only use an airbrush; this is the way air flows through the tool that makes the evaporation of the alcohol happen quickly. This creates shadows and stains and creates these beautiful organic lines.
It’s not easy to control. You never know what you’re going to get in the end and it requires a really delicate touch.
With every piece, I learn new techniques. It’s impossible to re-create the same piece twice, you can choose similar colours but the piece itself will be different every time.”
Egle has explored other mediums in the past, such as watercolours, oils, acrylics and even epoxy resin, but none have quite captured her attention like the alcohol inks have.
“I am searching for my identity. I want people to look at my work and know its mine. I could never find my identity in acrylic and oils. So I started researching new mediums, I was inspired by the research I did online and from social media. That’s when I found alcohol inks. I feel like I’ve found a style that works for me, a style I feel confident in. Every time I create an artwork I love it.”
Egle has had her work displayed all over London in places such as the affordable art fair, displaying her work in art galleries in Eltham, and even held a pop-up exhibition in Battersea where she did a live drawing demo for two hours! I asked if this live drawing would be something she would be interested in doing at BHP Collectibles at some point and she said she would very much be interested!
I asked if there was anything else she would like to pass on to my readers. She ended our chat with some beautiful words of wisdom that summarise her work and personality perfectly:
“What I would like to say is to people who really love art but are shy to try, never stop when you want to show the world your artwork, because it will happen one day when people will notice you, it doesn’t matter if people judge, that’s not important. You should draw from your heart; people will notice and feel it.”
