Smith

Thank you for being our artist of the month!

 

Rushton

Thanks for choosing me.

 

Smith

No, thank you for applying! Okay. So to start, I thought I'd ask you a very basic question. What's your favourite colour?

 

Rushton

It changes like every month. I'd say at the moment probably a dark blue. That would be my favourite. Yeah, at the moment.

 

Smith

That's nice. Why do you like dark blue? 

 

Rushton

It just changes. I do like quite bright colours, but at the moment just dark blue. I bought a lot of navy stuff recently, so I think that's probably why. Yeah, yeah, dark blue. It's either dark blue or hot pink. It just pops constantly. 

 

Smith

I know I'm the same way. It changes all the time, doesn't it?

 

Rushton 

Yeah.

 

Smith

Okay, dark blue, what's your favourite shape? 

 

Rushton 

Ooh, yeah, it's an interesting one.

I'd say probably a triangle. I haven't really thought forever what my favourite shape is, so I probably would say a triangle because it's quite pointy and it's obviously got the flat. The flat bottom. Yeah, probably a triangle.

 

Smith

Good choice. What's your favourite type of hat? If you do, in fact, wear hats or don't wear hats?

 

Rushton

I do like a really small, woolly hat. I don't know the word, but they're quite tight and they're quite, like, small. Yeah, I don't know the word for them and that you can roll them up. But I do have quite a few of them. In winter. They look quite nice, but I don't know the exact word for them.

 

Smith

I know which ones you mean, but I could not tell you either. I'm not a hat connoisseur, but. No, I do like a good hat. I always buy hats, but I never wear them.

 

Rushton

So, no, I don't wear caps or anything like that. But this, I do like a woolly hat. Like a small woolly hat in the Winter

 

Smith

Okay, so what's your favourite movie or top four movies?

 

Rushton

It's hard because I'm not really a movie person. I'm more of a series person.

I like We're The Millers because it's quite funny and it's just silly. Is it Challengers? I watched it recently and it was really good. I would have to say that was definitely up there because I went in not expecting it to be very good, and I was like, no, this is good. I probably have to say the challenges that really stood out for me, I think. I don't know if it's because I wasn't expecting it, but, yeah, I'm not really a movie person. More like a tv show person.

 

SMith

We're The Millers is hilarious. But yeah, I was actually going to ask you next question because our gallery gets a lot of inspo from movies. I'm a big horror fan, so it just comes through. I can't help it. I was going to ask you if you did like scary movies and if so, which ones?

 

Rushton

I like psychological sort of thrillers more than actually scary because I can't deal with that, it stresses me out way too much. Like Split and Glass, stuff like that. I watched Truth Or Dare, I quite liked that. Just stuff that, you know when you're not always expecting it but isn't super scary. More psychological? I think the more you watch them, the more you actually understand.. But yeah, definitely. I'd probably say split was my favourite one, with Kevin.

 

Daisy-Drew Smith

I love Kevin. I know, it's so funny. I like, you're not meant to find it funny, but like, yeah, it is funny. Good choice. I love James McAfoy as well, so I'll watch anything with him in it.

 

Okay, now more of an arty question. Well, definitely an arty question. What's your main inspiration for your art? 

 

Rushton

Yeah, I'd say my main inspiration is just doing things that make me happy, whether that be looking at artists that make me happy looking. I love different materials, I love mixing different mediums together and like creating something. And I think as long as I'm happy and as long as doesn't really care what it looks like, but as long as I'm happy, I think that is my main inspiration because there's no point doing anything if you're not 100% feeling it because it's just not going to come out what you want it to. To look like. So I think that's really the main thing for me. If I'm not happy doing something, if I'm not happy creating something, I will just stop because that's a waste of my time and everyone's time. So I think that's a big one.

 

Smith

Yeah, I love that. I mean, what's the point in doing it if you don't like it? If it doesn't make you happy. And then just to break it up a bit, what are you watching on tv at the moment?

 

Rushton

So I've just finished Tokyo Vice. Have you seen that?

I think everyone needs to. You know guy from Baby Driver?

 

Smith

Ansel Elgort?

 

Rushton

Yeah, he is in Tokyo. He's an American reporter going to work for a newspaper. And it's all about two different gangs. It's based on a true story. And it's about how corrupt everything is. And there's lots of murders. It's just amazing.

 

Smith

If you could go anywhere in the world right now, why would you go for it?

 

Rushton

Tokyo, just purely because of Tokyo Vice. It's just like a completely different world.

 

Smith

Next question. kind of similar to that question. What's your idea of a perfect day?

 

Rushton

Oh, I think I like to lie in. I can't do mornings. Really hot weather. I love the sun, so maybe I gotta have a bit of a sunbathe, a little swim, because I love swimming. Maybe do a bit of painting, just relax, see where the day takes me and a Domino's in the evening.

 

Smith

 Okay, so big question. If you had limitless money or funding for an art project, what would you make?

 

00:05:34:22 - 00:05:53:01

Rushton

I've got this in my mind. You might think I'm absolutely mad. I want to make a microwave tower, I've had this in my head for months now. My family are like, shut up. I want to get loads of microwaves and then make food inside them. I want to stack them all, like proper big. 

A room full of all these, like, old busted microwaves. Mould coming out and just nasty stuff.

 

Smith

That sounds pretty fucking cool to be honest.

 

Rushton

If anyone's got any microwave? Send them my way.

 

Smith

I will let you know. When you go to an art museum or gallery, what do you love to see? 

 

Rushton

I mean, anything food related. I see it in a lot of old, still life paintings. Anything that's a bit different and makes you think, oh my God, is that real? Like anything I think looks so realistic even though it's been handmade.

I love anything like that. I appreciate paintings, but honestly, sculpture or anything like that, is what I instantly gravitate towards.

 

Smith

Run me through the process of starting to make a work.

 

Rushton

I recently started painting a couple of years ago and I started doing a massive series on tomatoes. Just because I didn't know what to do. So I did like a whole year on tomatoes and I try to see how far I can take it. I even painted ketchup.

 

So that's something I really liked and it sort of makes sense, what food comes in, fridges, microwaves, blenders. So I'm just sort of going through the whole thing, just making them a little bit different each time. I think that is what the challenge is. Because obviously you can’t do basically the exact same in a fridge.

I think a good list is always good trying to figure out, you know, what can I actually do? I’m a bit of a perfectionist, it has to be how it looks in my head.

 

Smith

How do you generally cope with your artist block?

 

Rushton

So I think a big thing for me is knowing that I can just step away from something. If I'm not enjoying what I'm doing, if I'm stuck, I just stop. Then I move on to something else. I think it's always good to actually stop, take a step back, get some other people's input, like teachers, friends, peers, stuff like that.

And then make a list. Why did I start this? What do I want like this for? 

So just take a step back, go home and then come back the next day and hopefully try again.

 

Smith

Yeah, yeah, that's good advice. And actually the next question is, if you could give one piece of advice to emerging artists or artists that maybe need a bit of motivation, what would you give them?

 

I think it's also knowing when to stop. Like I've always been quite good, like I don't like unfinished things. I have to finish something before I can start something else. And I think with that, it's always good knowing when to stop.

 

Smith

Brilliant. Thank you. Okay, so ending on a bit of a random one. If you could drink only one liquid forever, what would you choose?

 

Rushton

I love anything blue. Anything that looks like it's got so many numbers. Like a blue slush. I love blue Fanta and like berry flavours. So like a big blue fan, I'm just drawn to it.

 

Smith

Oh yeah, that's great. I'm the same. But with pink. If it's pink, I’ll have it.

 

You can definitely do, if you haven't already, a project on blue drinks or something. That would be so cool.

 

Rushton

Yeah.