" Once you learn not just to look, but to see, you can find inspiration absolutely anywhere."Gabriella Morris

How would you describe your style?

Tactile is probably the best way to describe it. I love getting messy. I love layers, textures, bodies and faces, landscapes and objects, capturing light and undulating form. I am as happy as a bumblebee in a meadow if I have huge canvases, paint, beeswax, hay, mud, hessian sacks and lots of PVA glue. But I also love doing rigorous studies with a piece of chalk or a pencil.

What motivated you to pursue art?

Play-doh, coloured pencils and paints were my favourite things as a child. I have endless images in my head that I want to get onto canvas, but luckily for me I am approached for commissions and design jobs and that motivates me too.

What is the art scene like in Cambridge?

Sadly, the art scene in Cambridge is a lot harder to find, and once found, it is relatively small compared to somewhere like Edinburgh. Cambridge just doesn’t generate or seem to attract fine artists or designers. Practical art or design is not part of the university’s psyche as it’s not one of its courses. I would love this to change and for an associated Art School in Cambridge to be established.

Has being in Cambridge changed your approach to drawing or painting?

Yes, because of time constraints. There is constant demand for posters and photography, advertising and promoting bands and events, but time is limited, so sadly my production of works is as well. I have to be faster at everything.

Are you more productive outside term time?

The vacations are like eating a massive gâteau that has been tantalising passers-by from the window of a pâtisserie. I can finally seize my brushes and cherish the hours and hours I spend sitting, painting, pondering and experimenting which is the only way to improve.

Can you explain what art means to you?

If I’m grumpy, my level of grumpiness is directly proportional to how well or badly my art is going. It truly is my passion. I care to the nth degree about the art I do for myself and for others.

Gabriella Morris

Where do you find inspiration?

Dr. Watson, my A-level teacher, taught me to see. Once you learn not just to look, but to see, you can find inspiration absolutely anywhere. My favourite artist is Frank Auerbach because of his harrowing charcoal portraits and current Scottish artist Allan McGowan’s life paintings give me shivers.

You study music and practice art; what is the difference between these two pursuits?

Art is usually an extremely introverted, solitary experience; I am naturally gregarious, meaning that I sometimes find making art quite a stifling experience though it is what I love. By contrast, I feel music is more about sharing. Yes, it’s about creating largely alone but also involves playing and singing together. Studying music is ultimately about human expression and exploring the history and contemporary manifestations of human interaction.

Can anyone draw? Is it an acquired skill or an inherent ability?

Anyone can draw. Not anyone can draw well because there has to be a raw inclination and facility but there is a large technical and imitative basis which anyone can work at. That said, everyone should draw. Art is for yourself. No one has to see what you do, and even if they do, whose value judgments matter if you have gained satisfaction from the act of doing it? Just be warned that this attitude might not provide you with a stable career!

Is art to be shared or is it private?

It depends purely on the desires of the maker. As for art in art galleries, I fully believe in art being accessible to everyone. Everyone should have access to private collections, the stories in the plethora of stories in art history, of its production and reception and ongoing creation.

What are your thoughts on the professional art world?

There are infinite strands and purposes to art but, having had a glimpse of it, I have to say that I am utterly disenchanted with it. I have finally reconciled myself to the fact that the professional world is often driven by ego and commercial demand; but that does not mean I’m going to stop, quite the contrary. I have an insatiable need to create what I think people might find new and beautiful, intriguing or moving. And if no one sees it or likes it, my mum might keep it under the stairs for a few years in sympathy.