10th August 2024
Interview with Emma Ferguson
Painting what inspires you, especially the scenery around you, is what Emma does best. Explore how she has developed her career and how social media has helped her growth.
Emma Ferguson is a colourful land and seascape artist from Glasgow, Scotland. She has always been creative but decided to take her passion for painting more seriously over the past 4 years. She has a love for the sea and sky and she enjoys experimenting with colours and textures. "I would love my paintings to take you away to a different place when you see them."
She loves using bright colours and likes to add neon colours to many of my skies. She is heavily inspired by the Scottish landscape and views she finds when travelling to different countries.
What inspired you to pick up a brush and start painting?
I have always been creative for as long as I remember. It was definitely something I did as an escape from everyday life. I was always so inspired by other artists and wanted to push myself to be able to draw and paint what I would see. I have always loved the different colours in the sky and sea and nothing makes me happier than seeing them on a canvas that I have just painted.
When did your love of art start? Did you always want to be an artist?
It started when I was a child, I was always very creative and loved drawing and art supplies. My mum was always very creative too and she definitely encouraged this within me. I always remember doing different craft activities and working with different materials. My dad has always had a love for lighthouses and I think this has a massive influence on my work today. I always knew the sea and lighthouses were something I wanted to be able to paint and they definitely feature heavily in my work now.
What would be your advice for new artists just starting up?
I would tell them not to worry or put too much pressure on finding their own ‘style’. This was definitely something that stressed me out a lot at the beginning and I definitely think it stalled my creativity. When I decided to paint what I liked and not worry too much about what other people thought, my own style developed itself. Also just to enjoy the creative process, not everything you create is going to be perfect and it doesn’t have to be.
What is the best tip you were told early in your career?
To paint what you like and not what you think others will like. I used to often think about what others thought at the start of my painting career. I worried that it was too colourful, too different, not accurate enough. When I decided to just share what I had created and was happy with my small business started to take off. I am now not nervous to share a new product or design as long as I am happy with it.
How has social media helped your career?
Social media has been great for my career. I would say Instagram in particular as it was the first platform I really started to share my paintings on. I remember being so nervous to post my first few paintings but I quickly gained support from other artists and friends which helped build my confidence. I now love sharing on platforms such as Instagram & TikTok and just hope someone sees something they like.
Where do you get your inspiration from?
I think most of my inspiration comes from travelling and the ever-changing sky and sea. I love painting scenes that can transport the viewer to a different place. I also get a lot of inspiration from colour, new paints or changing seasons definitely have an impact on my paintings.
What is your favourite Daler-Rowney product and why?
I would say System3 or Graduate Acrylics and also System3 Flat Brushes. I find Daler-Rowney range of acrylic paints to be very easy to work with and I also love the wide range of colours. I use flat brushes in all of my paintings and love how soft Daler-Rowney brushes are. They blend paint together very well and never drop any bristles.
What is a technique that you haven't tried yet that you would love to try & why?
I would try printmaking as it’s a technique I’ve always been interested in and would love to see how my seascape ideas would turn out. I would also love to experiment more with inks.
Explore Emma's work further here.
