JELLY GREEN X ALEX MERRITT
IN THE STUDIO
Image: Jelly Green
Jelly’s Studio | Suffolk, UK
Alex’s Studio | Arizona, USA
One object from Jelly’s studio…
“I got this old army box at a car boot sale which has gone from studio to studio with me. I take it out with me when I go painting outside. It’s a precious object I couldn’t be without”
One object from
Alex’s studio…
“I had this pallet since school that I’ve scraped paint onto over the years. There were mountains of paint - it must have weighed over 200lb. I kind of liked it more than my paintings in a weird way.”
Let’s get MESSY!
“I know a lot of painters and in some studios I’ve seen there is not a fleck of paint”
- Jelly
It happens to the best of us - ink stains, spillages and those unfortunate messy accidents - but these guys take it to another level…
What music fires you up to paint?
JELLY: I listen to lots of podcasts, music and audiobooks. If I really need to concentrate i'll put on the audiobook of The Northern Lights by Philip Pullman. It’s hard to pick a favourite song, but if I had to it would probably be Slabo Day by Peter Green.
ALEX: I listen to lots of news, music and audio books. Sometimes music screws me up. It depends on the kind of music – sometimes it can destroy a painting as you can get a bit carried away. Sometimes it can be good. Sometimes the news makes me angry. I do need something though. I have trouble with silence – I need some background noise of some sort. If I had to pick one, it would be B.B. King, The Thrill Is Gone.
The view from Jelly’s studio
Finding a Work-Life Balance
JELLY: It’s amazing how moving to a new place can affect your work. When I moved to Brighton it took me months to be able to paint again. Do you come into the studio every day?
ALEX: When I finished school I sort of moved into my studio. I hardly left, other than go to the store. I technically lived there for two or three years. At that time I loved Frank Auerbach and what he used to do – going to the studio every day. Since WWII he has gone to the studio every day but one! He apparently has like a cot there where sometimes he sleeps. I think that’s so cool. The recent shake-up has made things more productive, and I’m starting to learn that it is healthy to go home for sleep.
JELLY: My studio now is in an airfield surrounded by jets and hangers. It’s a working airbase and storage units - some filled with onions, or set-design - but I’m in an art studio filled with photographers, designers and musicians. The security guards are so sweet. I tend to leave at 1am to drive home so the security guards have given me a code word if I’m uncomfortable - ‘Tim, I’ve left the boiler on!’
ALEX: All around you is artist studios? That’s so cool. That was how my old building was too. I was always starting when the others were going home. I’d be coming in when others were going out.
JELLY: I come in and have a coffee and chat but then they go home and you just get started! I was thinking about it recently, because of the coronavirus and daylight saving. In the summer I can leave the studio late and go home and see friends in a pub at like 10pm. But now, I realise I’m only thinking about painting. I am here all the time which is what I always wanted but also realise I might be going into a hole which I need to be aware of!
ALEX: The world gets kind of quiet and you can focus more. That is part of why I’m nocturnal.
JELLY: When I installed daylight bulbs in my 12 lights I lost all sense of the time. Sometimes I think it is 4pm when it’s actually 1am!
