In conversation with Porthmeor Programme Alumnus, Sue Watt

How would you describe your art practice?
Purposeful, honest, and frequently all consuming.

What does your daily routine look like?
The awful teenagers leave at 8.30am and I work until 3pm most days. I also work for a few hours in the evening, normally killing anything good that I have done in the day. I don’t have a routine as such, I just get lost in the work most days. If I stumble, I watch one of my little films and I’m off again.

What do you enjoy doing outside of your art? How does that feed into your practice?
I am a primary carer for my disabled son Tom so I am either caring or creating. Both feed into each other. I need the high of creating to counteract some of the low of caring. Similarly, a lot of the caring involves quiet contemplative moments where I think about creating. I can’t remember what I used to do before, but it couldn’t have been important.

Who inspires you as an artist?
There are so many…. Sandra Blow for her absolute commitment, Danny Fox for his story telling, Peter Lanyon for his love of paint and finally but fundamentally, Liz Hough and Ilker Cinarel who showed me how to add purpose, meaning and substance to my work and ultimately, changed my life as well as my practice.

Have you always been interested in art, or was it something you came to later in life?
I started life drawing 10 years ago, simply to find a room where I didn’t have to talk about being a parent of a disabled child. I only started creating at this level once I had filled in my application for the Porthmeor Programme. I thought I wouldn’t be chosen and decided that I needed to teach myself how to paint, I think it was my way of preparing for the disappointment.

What did you do before the Porthmeor Programme?
Caring for Tom and his brother and sister took up much of my time with ad hoc accountancy work and finally, the odd art class whenever I could fit it in. I had to give up my job when I had Tom which was miserable, as I was very career driven. This work ethic and stamina has filtered into my creating work and I now feel alive again.

What drew you to the programme?
It wasn’t done lightly. I knew if I was successful that it would involve paying for carers, relying on family, etc… etc…. there were so many reasons not to do it but I was desperate for guidance and to meet other artists that were like me.

What would you say has changed for you since the programme?
Everything. I no longer want to produce meaningless, pretty work. The medium also doesn’t matter to me anymore. I am showing you my life whether that is in paint, film, print, etc. I am a fairly private person so I am stunned when the abstracted shapes of a painting (after many layers), let you in.

What is your favourite memory of the programme?
I have painted my favourite memory in ‘Don’t open the window, Pat’. My fellow artist friend Pat would regularly hoist up the sash window in the back studio facing onto Porthmeor Beach. The resulting Atlantic gale would blow in and everything we were working on would take off, it was very funny – every time.

What advice would you give someone wondering whether to apply for the programme?
‘If a job’s worth doing, it’s worth doing well’. If you are lucky enough to get the opportunity, then show your gratitude in your level of commitment. Above all, remain open minded.

I am fairly ‘all or nothing’ in my life. I hope to continue in ‘all’ for the remainder of it.

What artistic achievement are you most proud of?
My care series which is a set of films and installations about my relationship with Tom and caring. I didn’t realise that I was carrying these around in my head. They have given me great pleasure in their creation and I use the resulting shapes and forms in my paintings. The films have also given my family and friends a glimpse of Tom and I that I wouldn’t have shown otherwise, this has unexpectedly led to a strengthening of my personal relationships.

Are you a full-time artist these days?
Yes, there isn’t time for anything else. And we regularly run out of milk in my house.

How has your studio space evolved since being on the Porthmeor Programme?
I didn’t have a space prior to the programme. Now, I have a studio next door to where I live for the daytime. At night, I work in the spare room next to Tom’s room, so I can also help him if he needs it. He is regularly covered in blue paint.

Have you taken any more courses since the Porthmeor Programme?
No, I only want to work on my own ideas at the moment but I still go to life drawing most weeks. I also try and get to St Ives every few months to film and sketch. It is my place of respite and where I am at my most creative, with no distractions and demands from my life.

What does the future hold for your art?
I am fairly ‘all or nothing’ in my life. I hope to continue in ‘all’ for the remainder of it.

Tom continues to be my muse and I continue to create whilst caring for hi.. Sometimes this is in equal measure but often not, which is why creating needs to be an integral part of my daily life. As I look around this kitchen, I have a mound of drawings on the island, a sculpture of medical boxes on the worktop, and a half finished collage that Tom likes to steal and drive off with.

In the last few years, I was lucky enough to be able to work in one of the Porthmeor Studios, which enabled me to make a film about the freedom of movement and film-making continues to fuel my work. Sometimes a drawing leads to a film, which leads to a painting, which leads to a collage…. at the moment a group of drawings want me to either paint them in a good light, or write them into some favourable nursery rhymes. 

I have also attended the Alumni courses over the years, which is a great way to catch up with everyone at the School and never fails to motivate. I always return home with more ideas, but also far more clarity in the direction of the work. It is good to be a part of something. 

I don’t think I will stop creating. I have weeks where caring makes creating feel unreachable, but even in those weeks it can be as simple as a thought, some words in a note on my phone, a few lines. It doesn’t always have to be a long process in the studio.

It was like pressing a light switch that I hadn’t realised was off. If you are looking for something different, then apply – it might just change your life. 

The Porthmeor Programme opened my mind to this and made me feel that I have something to contribute. I would have previously dismissed this as self indulgent, but it has helped me immeasurably cope with the demands of caring, and I am a far more balanced person because of it. For me, it was like pressing a light switch that I hadn’t realised was off. If you are looking for something different, then apply – it might just change your life.