Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Fiona Hooper. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Fiona, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Do you wish you had waited to pursue your creative career or do you wish you had started sooner?

Art has always been an important part of my life, right from when I was old enough to hold a crayon (as the wallpaper in my bedroom found out to its cost!). When it was time to leave school I really needed to find a source of regular income, so a creative career played second fiddle to a ‘real’ job for a while.

Although I wish now that I could go back and maybe make some different decisions about my future life, I definitely appreciate the security that following this path provided – and continues to provide even now.

With art – mainly oil painting in my case – practicing and ‘miles on the brush’ are so important to making progress and improving. A couple of years ago I challenged myself to do at least one drawing every single day of the year, and it was amazing the difference that made to my skills. If I had been able to start my creative career sooner then I feel that I would have been even further forwards in my art at this point.

However, I always had art running alongside my other work and have been seriously building my creative business for much of that time. Now I can devote myself to it full-time which is a real luxury!

All I need now is someone to do all the admin., social media and marketing for me so that I can spend even more time painting!

Fiona, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Hi – I’m Fiona Hooper, a landscape and portrait painter living in the south of the UK.

My passion lies in painting landscapes in a distinctive and contemporary style. I work predominantly in oils using a painting knife, to capture the peace and tranquillity of the wild, natural places that I love to discover. Exploring and visiting these places is an excellent way of recharging my mental ‘batteries’. Directly connected to these visits, I create paintings that transport people to a place of calm helping them to relax, unwind and find inner peace.  Recently I have also been incorporating gold and silver leaf in my paintings.

Wherever possible I like to work directly from the subject, painting in the open air in the places that I love, interpreting the sights, sounds and smells in paint on canvas. But, when this is not possible, my sketches, photographs, and memories serve as the inspiration for my paintings.

My work has won various awards and can be found in collections both in the UK and internationally, including the USA, Canada, France, Ireland, Malta, Australia, and Switzerland.

I live and work in West Sussex, UK, where I am often to be found on location with my easel and paints, and my travels around the globe have also been a rich source of inspiration and subject matter.

I occasionally accept commissions for landscape paintings, creating lasting and treasured memories of special places beautifully interpreted in my unique style.

I am also an accomplished professional portrait artist, having completed many successful commissions of both people and animals.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

A big change for me was when I realised that as artists we are not in competition with each other! A potential customer or gallery owner will either like my work or they won’t, and no amount of competing with other artists is going to result in the customer buying work that doesn’t resonate with them or a gallery owner taking on work that doesn’t fit with their gallery style.

Luckily I learned this lesson early in my creative career and have benefited enormously over the years from networking with many other artists who are as willing and happy as I am to share knowledge, collaborate, and help each other.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

I have to list two things here!

First is the pleasure I see on the faces of people who find the perfect painting for them! All the hard work, years of practice and time spent at the easel are rewarded by those moments. To know that my paintings bring joy to others is a wonderful feeling.

The second is teaching art to others and seeing their joy as they develop and grow. In the process I always learn something new as well, so it’s definitely a win-win situation.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.fionahooper.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/fionahooperartist
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/fionahooperartist/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fionahooper/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/FionaHooperArtist

Image Credits
Fiona Hooper