“I don’t feel there’s enough female voices in the arts. There’s a huge gap that can be filled. Kelly Green” – Artist, Tate Exchange
Women are to this day underrepresented in the arts, even
though the gap becomes smaller it is still a lot harder for women to strive in
the industry. I spoke to Leiah Williams, an Illustration student about being a woman
in the arts industry.
“As cliché as it sounds, painting is my entire life. I love nothing more than sitting down on a rainy day in comfy clothes, accompanied by a cup of coffee, and spending hours painting. It's bliss. That passion is a strong driving force, and although it can be stressful, it’s incredibly rewarding.”
Leiah decided at the age of 14 that she wanted to be an
illustrator. Her original idea was to focus on children’s book illustrations
but later found this would be a bit too limiting.
It was when she watched Youtuber, Holly Exley, an
illustrator documenting her career, that she found that food illustration was
the right path for her.
“At school, I had a love for science, specifically Chemistry and Physics, but the passion was never the same as it was for art. In my first year of A-Levels, I took Maths, Physics, Chemistry, and Biology, but then decided that a science degree was not going to make me as happy as painting all day would.”
From that age, Leiah was reminded of the stereotype of the
starving artist and how other subjects had a much higher employability rate,
but that didn’t stop her dream.
In May 2018, she dropped Maths and moved onto A Level Art,
from here it gave her the opportunity to pursue a degree in Illustration.
“I am so thankful that my 17-year-old
self did this, as now my biggest stress is painting
to a deadline instead of endless examinations.”
Leiah’s next move after graduation is to do a masters in illustration,
as well as this she wants to expand her portfolio and start a career as a
freelance illustrator.
“I am also currently in the process of starting my own Welsh
illustrated giftware company, named Cwmni Caru Cymru (The Love Wales Company),
in which I aim to normalise the Welsh language.”
As Welsh is Leiah’s first language, she wants to defeat the notion that it is a ‘dying language,’ and instead, it just needs a rebranding. She also aims to delve into more fine art pieces, centering around still life.
As she’s covered a lot of ground while building her
portfolio, I was very intrigued to find out what her favourite piece was.
“My favourite piece I have done to date is my project on
Asian food. I completed this project in my second year of university, and it
looked at different Asian cuisines such as North Indian, Chinese, Japanese and
Thai. I painted a series of different foods such as sushi, raindrop cakes, and
a variety of Indian sweets.”
However, it was this year she completed her most meaningful work.“It’s a short booklet called ‘Hiraeth’, which roughly translates to a place, person, or feeling that you cannot return to.
“It documents my memories of growing up with my Nain
(Grandmother), the woman that raised me for the first 10 years of my life. She
passed in June of 2020 after battling cancer for two years, and her death affected
me massively.”
The book details portraits of Leiah as a child and later in her
teen years and all the happy memories she has of her Nain.
“She was the woman that encouraged me in my early life to
paint, and we would spend hours after school painting and drawing together. I
think it’s quite poetic that the woman that sparked my initial interest in art
was the subject of my last art project at university. It’s a shame that she
will never get to read it, but I have good faith that she would be proud of me.”
I asked Leiah if she felt any different treatment from her
male counterparts and if it was harder for her to be a woman in the art
industry than herself.
“As a woman in the arts industry, I believe that you must
work harder than your male counterparts to succeed. Most of the ‘greatest’
artists of the past 200 years, even 50 years, are men, despite there being more
skilled and intricate female artists.”
She uses Damien Hurst as an example, one of the best-paid
artists of all time. Many critics, including herself, believe his work is
mediocre. Of course, there’s the odd outlier, but given that the arts are a
female-dominated industry, the average person rarely hears of successful women.
“As a queer white woman, I still have a privilege that many
POC, disabled, and working-class creators do not have. I would like to use this
privilege to one day transform Cwmni Caru Cymru into a studio that is a safe
space for Welsh people of all races, sexualities, gender identities, classes,
and abilities to showcase and profit from their works. “
“To anyone wanting a career in the arts industry, especially
illustration, I would say it is paramount to do your research,” says Leiah. She
states that there is no room for naivety and that you can’t just jump into it
thinking you will eventually get commissioned work.
It's much more about going out for looking for clients,
looking for work in multiple sectors, and even selling your work with your
artwork on.
Leiah warns anyone who wants to throw their selves in head
first that you will need multiple revenue streams to stay afloat. As freelance
comes and goes, and can’t always be relied on, you cannot rely on just one
income stream.
“The second thing would be, make sure you have a strong
passion and are certain that it’s what you want to do. It’s not easy to break
into the industry, and it takes a very motivated individual to earn a living
doing this, and if you fail if you don’t put your all into it. “
