FEMALE ON FORM
RUNWAY GALLERY ARTIST BELINDA FRIKH DISCUSSES WHERE SHE FINDS INSPIRATION FOR HER LEADING LADIES
Owning a piece of art is as easy as clicking a button with Runway Gallery. This digital platform gives you the chance to snap up inspirational prints and designs for your home. Annecy-based artist Belinda Frikh is one of the gallery’s artists.
When did you start drawing? For as long I can remember, I was drawing. I drew on anything and everything: cereal boxes, books, official documents, letters from school complaining about me always drawing. As I hit my teens, my work became a little less about the destruction of all plain surfaces and more about channelling it all into a portfolio. It dawned on me that this may be an acceptable vocation when, at the age of 12, I entered a drawing competition in a fashion magazine and won the highly coveted second prize of a toaster. Much later, I went on to study at L’école Supérieure d’art Annecy, then the École d’arts Appliqués à Lyon.
When did you move to London? In 1996, straight after my studies. It was supposed to be for three months but I stayed for 21 years – I now live in the French Alps.
Does your French background influence your art? Absolutely.
I’ve named most of my ladies after French heroines. My first influences came from French books, movies and magazines.
How would you describe your creative process? I often begin by drawing a figure I’ve been inspired by. Then I trawl through magazines and cut out and collect fragments to use for a collage effect, which I might incorporate into my illustrations. Finally, I retouch the print by hand.
What does your typical day look like? Coffee, then I start work with what I call ‘warm-up doodles’.
What is it that draws you to the female form? When I visualise the female form, I see a different code of beauty: a wit, a certain mannerism, a composure, a unique imperfection…
What are you working on at the moment? The lockdown has given me the opportunity to spread my wings towards the world of decoration. I am working on a capsule collection of items with my artwork on it.
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