SUSO

PASTIES AND PENS

Diggy. Strange name that, but a cool one nonetheless. Diggy Smerdon’s dad certainly thought so. So sure was he that his daughter would grow up to be a blues singer called ‘Diggy Malone’ that he coined it just for her. And it stuck. Or at least the Diggy part did.

But Diggy Smerdon isn’t a blues singer. So who the hell is she? Well, Diggy is a 21 year-old artist and illustrator living in Falmouth, Cornwall, and what’s more, she lives above a Cornish pasty shop. Does it get any better than that, drawing, painting and eating pasties? I can’t imagine it does, but then, as a self-confessed lover of pasties, I’m slightly biased. When I asked Diggy what it’s like to be so fortunate, I sense the pasty thing might not matter to her quite as much as it would to me; too much of a good thing and all that: “There’s no better alarm clock than the wafting aroma of a Cornish pasty drifting through one’s window each morning. Sadly, yes, this is what gets me up, but I guess it beats the buzz of a wretched alarm clock.” Damn right it does.

The fact is, though, even if you do live above a pasty shop, the life of an artist is rarely easy. Through the years, the image has something of a cliche bordering on myth: no money, overcoats wrapped tight to keep out the cold, nowhere to sleep, forever having to swim against more powerful forces. Often you have to cut off an ear just to call yourself an artist. Of course, more often than not there’s an element of truth in such myths, and that’s certainly the case here: it can be tough working as an artist, particularly when you are just starting out, as Smerdon is now.

“The plan was to become a graphic designer. I left school to get a graphic design diploma and then made it to the University College Falmouth down by the sea. But while my fellow designers played in grids, I found myself doodling in lectures. Eventually it became a problem for me and I had to take a break. So here I am now - no grids, no branding, just pen on paper every day, all day. I’ve never been happier.”

I wonder if, because of the inherent difficulties in being a young artist, she ever questions her decision to pursue her art full time without the securities that a steady income can provide. Her answer is inevitable and, I think, symptomatic of anyone pursuing a creative occupation. Yes, there will times when you think you are shit, but then “obsession isn’t something you can just stop and switch off. So I pick up my pen and carry on again.” Determination, it seems, plays a key role in any artistic success.

Each of her works is characterised most obviously by her use of line, born of a continued allegiance to a trusty black pen. This is what struck me first and prompted me to make contact with Diggy. I found all her pictures striking, beautifully conceived and, above all, honest. You might put her in the school of Andre Masson, whose automated drawings of the 1920s were intended to represent the true workings of the subconscious - perhaps the highest form of honesty. Smerdon is pursuing something similar in her works: “Certainly the process is being free and letting my subconscious form something visual. What I draw is beyond my mind and thoughts. I do get a little surprised by what I draw sometimes, but that’s half the reason I can’t stop because I never know what I’ll see on the paper next.”

You can find out for yourself at her next show in Falmouth - details to follow. In in the meantime, check her website for more images and additional information on a young artist with, we think, a big future ahead of her.

Categories Art Tags Art Illustration

By on 21/1/08