KENT ARTIST PROFILE :
EMILY TULL
ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT
EMILY TULL IS FASCINATED BY FACES AND IT IS THIS FASCINATION , AS WELL AS HER LOVE FOR NATURE , THAT HAS INSPIRED HER TO PRODUCE SOME INCREDIBLE WORKS OF ART . insideKENT SPOKE TO EMILY ABOUT HER SPECIAL CREATIVE TALENT AND HOW IT INFLUENCES HER ON A DAILY BASIS .
If you had to define your art , how would you describe what you do ?
I am a painter with thread . I normally describe my artworks as thread or needle paintings and all my work is hand stitched .
What is it about faces that particularly interests you ?
I am obsessed with faces ; they show a person ’ s life and can look different on a daily basis ; a perfect canvas to convey different sides of your character . More than this , my fascination is with the colouration and fragility of skin . Throughout my career as a painter , and now as a stitcher , I have been preoccupied with getting the layering of skin tones – my concern has been more with the flesh then the actual likeness . If you can get the feel of the skin right , I believe you are more than half way to capturing the person .
Why is wildlife such a good subject matter ?
I started creating wildlife works in 2010 and they have been a way for me to experiment with different fabrics . Up to that point my portrait work was all natural muted tones and
I needed to move on from that . I found stitching could recreate fur and feathers really well and the final look looked almost 3D . These artworks have then been influenced by my portraiture , not only in my use of fabrics but my stitching has become thicker in layers and the cotton collection huge too .
What is the most unusual , daring , or interesting commission you ’ ve ever received ?
I had a very sensitive and personal commission by a couple whose daughter had died . They had had a sparrow visit their window shortly after her death and it appeared for a few days , so they associate the bird with her . The commission was simply a sparrow , but I felt a lot of pressure to come up with the perfect pose for the bird . The final artwork was of a sparrow with its back facing forward and its head looking over its shoulder ; the couple were delighted .
What has been your proudest artistic achievement to date ?
Having my style of art , which would come under a textile art category if you had to label it , accepted as ‘ fine art ’ in galleries – there ' s a stigma attached to textile art as being craft and not art and it ' s a big passion of mine to knock back those barriers .
Where can we see your work ?
I currently have a permanent display at eclecTic Art Gallery in Margate . I will also be having a retrospective exhibition at the Knitting and Stitching show at Alexandra Palace from October 11th-14th .
What does the rest of 2018 ( and beyond ) hold in store for you ?
I will be having a solo exhibition at York Street Gallery , Ramsgate from 28th November - 5th December and I ' m also looking into showing abroad again in 2019 , but my main focus is on a society that I have co-founded with fellow stitch artist Cat Frampton . Called S . E . W – Society For Embroidered Work – it is to promote and support other artists who have a stitched element in their artwork .
www . emilytull . co . uk
31