Moira Frith
Moira Frith is a British artist who also works in ecology and conservation. The botanical flora is often present in her visual world.
Like many people, Moira painted during her childhood but stopped when she left school. Years later, during her parental leave, she found inspiration again and began painting and drawing once more. Today, she paints animals, birds, and plants in an abstract yet figurative way. She works intuitively, letting the watery colors flow into each other on the paper.
We fell in love with Moira’s playful watercolor illustrations and were curious to learn more about her. Scroll down to read an interview with Moira.
Q: How did your interest in art develop, when did you start painting?
A: Like many people, I started painting during my childhood, but like many people, I stopped when I left school. It wasn't until I was in my early 30s that I started painting and drawing again. This happened when I was on maternity leave with my daughter. I can't say exactly why, but maybe because time took on a different quality or because life/routine was interrupted in some way. I don't think my interest in art ever really left me, but the compulsion to make something myself took a break until that point. However, once I started, I was hooked, and it is now a really important part of my life and identity.
Q: How do you work – do you work from sketches or just intuitively?
A: This usually starts with an observation. But when I'm working on a specific project, the observation is more targeted and focused on collecting certain images. I like to do quick sketches (either on scrap paper or in a sketchbook that's lying around) with a pen or pencil to get a feel for shapes and space. When I paint, I may refer directly to one of these sketches, but most of the time I just have it loosely in the back of my mind and work intuitively, relying on the interplay of color and space (which can't always be controlled!) to guide the painting.
Q: What part of the creative process do you find most enjoyable?
A: Oh dear – that's a tricky one. If I'm being completely honest, it's the beginning, when the ideas are forming and there are so many possibilities (without me having to worry about how they might develop at this stage). Conversely, what I like least is when a picture is “finished”. I am very critical of my own work and usually look for ways to improve it and how I could approach something differently – a way of saying that I often prefer the process to the result.
Q: In addition to art, you also work in the field of ecology and nature conservation. We suspect that this influences your artistic work, but is it also the other way around?
A: Not in the most direct sense. Part of my current job involves creating maps, and that requires a certain aesthetic sensibility. Sometimes it's about accessibility issues (such as color blindness), but a map is also more informative and appealing if it looks nice (to put it very simply). I also took a botany class this summer, and I'd say that the joy of drawing comes in handy – I keep a little notebook with scribbled pictures that describe the characteristics of various plant species, and I can remember that much more easily than written descriptions alone.
Moira Frith
