You may be wondering why I have called myself artantics. Well, this is because my full name before I got married was Angela Rosemary Thompson. Which you've guessed it first letter of each name spells Art. It seems I was always destined to be an artist as its even in my names. Well Antics is a word I always use to talk about the drama of life so it seemed fitting for my page and business.
Where it all began
I can always remember being creative from being very little. Even as 3 years old I can remember making paint pies and mud pies. In the beginning of my life I was not too hot at school. Though I was always good at art. It's what gave me a sense of achievement and its something I always enjoyed. I won quite a few arts competition when I was little one of which sent my parents on holiday. It might have only been to Wales but it certainly made them very happy indeed. I used to love drawing with anything I could get my hands on from pen and ink to felt tips.I loved drawing nature. After I went to uni and chose a new life path that of a spiritual one I left art behind me for a few years.
South American influences
I actually did a combined degree in fine art and theology.However after university I left art behind me for a few years and I concentrated on the spiritual angle of my life for a few years. Perhaps I was fed up of people saying to me, " what you going to paint? 'Stain glass windows.' In 2002 I went to Argentina in South America to study and work with a missionary organisation called Youth with a Mission. As this experience both spiritual and cultural brought me to life it also brought the creative side of me to life as well. I found myself surrounded my creative people in all kinds of ways. There were painters, dancers, singers, circus artists. As I spent time with these people I came alive and it awakened the artist in me once again which lay dormant. I started to doodle and draw in the journal that I kept. Even though I was not planning to stay in Argentina I decided to become part of an Art's team. At this point I didnot know what I should do. I decided to start to paint, although initially I used some other materials which didnot go so well. It took me a while but after a lot of effort and soul searching and some coaching I came up with my own style. I started a collection all around treasure which I will talk about in the next post. This led to working with recycled material such as peels and sprays to create a treasure pattern, texture and colour. I really enjoyed making these and they were really intriguing to people. At the time I worked in a warehouse so fumes were not a problem now I work in my small studio in my house so fumes could be an issue. Also as I write this we are on lock down and it is not easy to get materials at the moment but watch this space to see more of this kind of work back in my collection. Finally as I finish I want to note that the colours that I came across in my time in South America have greatly influenced my paintings. The majority of my paintings have a vivid use of colour which is reminiscent of what you would see in La Boca for example.
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