The name ‘Sara’ means Princess. These days, ‘Pope’ = possibly the coolest Pope we’ve ever had. Combine the two and you get the Princess of Cool (geddit?) – and she’s just released her hottest print yet!
‘Hard Candy’ is Sara Pope’s latest masterpiece and we’ve got our mitts on both the Artist Proof and the regular edition.
We’re celebrating by having a quick chat with the lady herself and asking the hard hitting (not so much) questions which are on everyone’s lips.
ADDICTED: Can you please tell us about your upbringing and how you came to be an artist?
Sara Pope: I had a very academic education, studying Mathematics at university. I couldn’t ignore my creative side for long though, and after I finished I absconded to Barcelona to begin a colourful journey that led me to work in magazines as a designer and art director. Later, I started working for several years in fashion as a shoe designer for brands such as Paul Smith and Lacoste and many catwalk projects. I very much enjoyed the creativity of my working life, but I came to feel constrained by having to work to a commercial brief. That’s when I began painting.
ADDICTED: Can you tell us about the process you went through to find your style?
Sara Pope: The industries I’ve worked in, fashion, magazines, beauty, all very much inform my style of painting, not only in terms of subject matter, but also aesthetic. I tend to emulate the slickness and perfection of advertising. I usually paint with oils, painting many thin layers on top of one another to create an extremely glossy and ‘perfect’, slightly hyper-real image.
ADDICTED: What do you want people to feel and take away from seeing your art?
Sara Pope: My aim isn’t to make people feel a particular thing. I respect that each person has their own individual reaction to the paintings, but I would hope though, to make them feel something. It’s important to me when I paint that the resulting piece is attractive. I also aim to reflect something of contemporary culture.
ADDICTED: What do you listen to while you’re creating your art?
Sara Pope: BBC 6 music. It’s a fabulous mix of iconic music from the past 40 years, plus the best of cutting edge music today. Also the dj banter is at times hilarious. It’s my constant painting companion.
ADDICTED: How do you tune out other influences and listen to your own inner voice?
Sara Pope: I have very clear inspirations which influence my work, so it’s not hard for me to stay true to my voice.
ADDICTED: You reach that moment of flow and someone interrupts it, what do you do?
Sara Pope: I’m pretty easy going, but if I constantly get interrupted I’m liable to have a tantrum.
ADDICTED: Do you collect other artists work?
Sara Pope: I have a few pieces by other artists, slowly but surely the wall space in my flat is filling up.
ADDICTED: Which artist would you like to bring back to life and why?
Sara Pope: Andy Warhol, just to see his reaction to the massive influence his art has had on contemporary artists and today’s art practices.
ADDICTED: If you could “Lip” a dead celebrity, who would it be?
Sara Pope: A cliché, but it would have to be the most famous lips of all, Marilyn Monroe.
ADDICTED: You’re a new addition to the paint store. What colour would you be and why?
Sara Pope: I’d be a new invention, a paint that is constantly changing colour with temperature. Nothing in life is static and the paint would reflect that.
ADDICTED: Who’s your favourite boy band?
Sara Pope: I don’t have a favourite boy band, not even a guilty pleasure…
ADDICTED: What was the best thing before sliced bread?
Sara Pope: Well, bread slicers were invented in the late twenties, so… jazz and cocktails!?
ADDICTED: As the queen of lips, what’s your favourite lippie?
Sara Pope: I have about 30 lipsticks, all slightly different shades of red. I’m always on the hunt for the perfect red. I love bareMinerals lipsticks, who I did a collaboration with last year, but at the moment I’m using Chanel a lot.
ADDICTED: If you were given the opportunity to name a lippie, what would you call it?
Sara Pope: ‘The Perfect Red’… aaah at last I’ve found it!
ADDICTED: What’s your favourite 80s song?
Sara Pope: Something by the New Romantics, Fade To Grey by Visage, or Girls on Film by Duran Duran. Great songs plus those guys knew how to have fun with make-up.
ADDICTED: What would you do if you found a penguin in your freezer?
Sara Pope: Ummm … freak out?!
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