Debut collection from Worthing artist explores chalk and charcoal

Worthing-based artist Sophie Olivine explores the rich history and potential of chalk and charcoal as she launches her debut collection.

Sophie is a multi-medium artist deeply influenced by nature, texture and process and also by the South Downs, natural materials and story-telling.

“My collection From, The South Downs, which launches on April 25 this year, is a collection of landscapes and trees drawn exclusively using natural chalk found along the South Downs, charcoal from local burnt-down woodlands and charcoal that I make at home from local wood scraps. I'm so hugely inspired by nature and my experiences from living on the South Downs. I have lived here my whole life, and during that time, the land has provided me endless inspiration.”

You can view her new collection on Instagram: sophie.olivine.artist; Facebook: Sophie Olivine; and via her website: sophieolivineartist.com.

“I have always loved art. It's something that I've been doing all my life from high school and then one of my A levels was textiles and then I worked as an artist’s assistant for three years. And then I went to university to do 3D craft and design. I left after a few months because I had quite bad dyslexia and I was really struggling with the academic side. It was quite bad and at the time it just felt like the biggest failure of my life but actually looking back on it now, it was one of the best things that I could have done, to have left.

“My teacher at uni was a tutor at another place called West Dean College and she told me about it and said ‘Sophie, I think there might be something more suitable for you there.’ She said that I should have a look and I did and I'm doing the foundation diploma in art and design and I'm just about to finish. It's really been the best thing I could ever have done.

“I quit my job in January this year and I've been really pushing on with the collection and really trying to develop my personal practice. I've been drawing for myself really but now I'm really dedicated to making this work as a professional.

“I have dabbled in a lot of different mediums. I enjoy working in clay. I've done a bit of everything really but what I have found really important is to work with nature. I started my course at West Dean by going on a short course where we were collecting chalk and charcoal from the ground and using it draw very loosely from the place where we were. I just fell in love with that immediately.

“I love the stories that are woven into chalk and charcoal as well as them being natural. Every piece of chalk is completely different and has observed the world for millions of years. By using it, I feel that I'm unravelling all of its history into my art world. It feels sometimes that I am just a translator. It feels like I'm telling the chalk’s story and that I'm just putting it on paper.

“This is my first collection, and it feels like pressure. It feels difficult because I haven't got a very big following at the moment but it really is something that I have put my heart and my soul into. It will be a selling collection of original artworks but I've also created giclee prints and magnets and vinyl stickers and greetings cards and postcards. They will all be limited editions.”