Etc Artist Talk: Wendy Barratt

In this artist's talk, recorded from a live Zoom on the 31st January 2025, I spoke to Wendy Barratt about her painting and the progression of her career as an artist. This talk is the second in our Winter Oil Paint Term, where we focus on a different artist who works in oil paint each month.

• You can follow Wendy on Instagram HERE

About
Wendy Barratt is an artist who is fascinated with representing the human - both in portraiture and life drawing. She primarily paints portraits in oil paints, whereas her life drawings are an experiment in dry media. Taking inspiration from people whom she draws in the life room, people encountered both in real life and through found images, Wendy's portraiture is led by the shapes and connections she sees in her subjects as well as the emotion, expression and human connection between artist and sitter. The early days of her career as an artist have seen her paintings accepted for the Royal Society of Portrait Painters annual exhibition for 2 years running as well as being selected for the Herbert Smith Freehills Portrait Awards exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery. She was elected a member of the Contemporary British Portrait Painters in early 2024. She is also the winner of Sky Portrait Artist of the Year 2023 Series (10) and her winning commission of Dame Jane Goodall now hangs in the National Portrait Gallery.

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Upcoming talks

All Draw Patreon followers and supporters will receive links to all of these upcoming talks without needing to sign up - please feel free to share links to the talks as widely as you like. Thank you to our paid supporters who help us to fund the Zoom account and artist's fee for these talks.

• 28th Feb '25 / 7-8pm / Laura Smith (Oil paint term)

• 28th March '25 / 7-8pm / Jemma Gunning (Planographic print term)

• 25th April '25 / 7-8pm / Brian Wagner (Planographic print term)

• 23rd May '25 / 7-8pm / Scarlett Rebecca (Planographic print term)

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Past ETC Talks

We have a whole series of 1-hour ETC talks on our YouTube Channel HERE, from our Art/Work series where we explored the working lives and career progressions of 6 very different artists to our broader ETC series of artist interviews. These talks are great if you are looking for a little inspiration, need to hear more about how other artists have navigated a career in the artist or if you want something to listen to while you draw! You can find links below - I've added a few extra notes on the themes to help you pick between them.

2024/25 ETC Artist Talks:

• Alvin Kofi (Oil Paint term)

• Sena Adjovi (Graphite term)

• Leggy Gordon (Graphite term)

• Meg Buick (Graphite term)

ETC Art/Work series:

• Anita Taylor (Fine art drawing, The trinity Buoy Warf Drawing Prize)

• Peter James Field (Illustration, portrait painting, career transitions)

• Wuon-Gean Ho (Fine art printmaking, artists residencies)

• Chris Riddell (Illustration, includes live drawing!)

• Simon Martin (Director of Pallant House Gallery, curation)

• Eleanor Crook (Sculpture, studying & teaching human anatomy)

ETC Artist talks:

• Chloe Briggs (Drawing)

• Roy Eastland (Drawing)

• Amy Dury (Painting)

• Jeanette Barnes (City sketching)

• Caragh Savage  (Portrait drawing, charcoal & teaching)

• Philip Tyler (Sky Portrait Artist, painting, printmaking & teaching)

• Hattie Malcomson (Painting, printmaking, feminism in art, body taboos)

• This is Where We Meet (art collective, figure painting, exhibiting together)

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If you have suggestions of artists you'd like to here speak next year, let us know in the comments below!

All the best,

Jake