10 Minutes With... Jamie Routley

The Award-winning Young Portrait Painter Reveals How He Fell for Figurative Art. 

- Sally Hales

 You studied illustration before going to an atelier school in Florence. What sparked the change?

I didn’t know which direction I wanted to go in when I started my illustration degree. I had no idea there were ateliers and art schools anywhere that offered a thorough training in drawing and painting from life. Coming from a strong working-class family with no connection or exposure to the art world, we had little understanding of what or how I could use my skills. It was clear from early in my degree I did not want to be an illustrator in the purist sense. I wanted to be a painter. I happened to read an article in this very publication during my first year that profoundly changed my work and my life. It featured a painter who had just returned from Florence. It wasn’t the work that caught my attention, it was the practical and philosophical aspect of the atelier – “a rigorous training in the practice and tradition of drawing and painting from life”.

You’ve taught painting. Does teaching affect your practice?

Yes it does. I taught in Florence for three of my four years and I continue to teach. I find it invaluable. Anytime you have to formulate what you do into words it forces you to examine your understanding and ask difficult questions.

What are the benefits of the atelier method?

If your work ethic is right you will come away with a strong foundation in drawing and painting, on a practical and technical level. It is like building a house: you cannot live in the foundations, you have to construct something on top.