Made: Artist of the Week - Nathan Pendlebury

Nathan Pendlebury produces paintings, polaroid photographs and prints and is based in Liverpool. He will be showing his work alongside that of his father Anthony as erpen, at the Brighton Art Fair. The name is dedicated to Nathan's grandfather Eric Pendlebury, who was the first in his family to paint. He used to sign his painting “Erpen”.

Where did you train? What did training teach you and what do you wish it had taught you? I studied at Padgate College (near Warrington), then at Liverpool JMU specialising in Fine Art Painting. Training taught me how to draw then how to un-draw. It also taught me to be self-motivated, and that you don’t get anywhere as an artist if you rely solely on others, you need to push yourself always. In practical terms I wish I had had more access to materials, and training in printing (mainly screen printing).

Is being an artist your only job, or do you have other employment? If you do, please say what. I work full time for the National Museums Liverpool, in the Photography Section as the person who supplies images to staff and external persons to publish in books, and use on television etc. I produce art whenever I can in my spare time in between work and family life, and I sell work via galleries and art fairs (sometimes via my own stand and business ‘erpen’ alongside my father Anthony Pendlebury – as I am here at Brighton Art Fair.)

Why? David Hockney; I love his style, his chosen materials and he continues to push boundries in his chosen subjects. He is not afraid to use new technologies, and is not afraid of using and going back to using photographic imagery within his portfolio, even after he said that photography was dead. He is open to new things and continues to surprise and challenge. I also like the way he produces work that is always totally him, no matter what medium, looking at it the work he has produced lately could only have been by him. On top of that I love his sense of tradition mixed in with the new, he keeps painting alive whilst also using the likes of an iPad to produce similar imagery.

One favourite historical artist? Robert Raushenberg; I particularly love his painting, but again he tried other mediums, he produced photography, collage, sculpture, found objects sculpture/collage and yet again it was always true to the rest of his portfolio, you could always tell it was him. His collage and sculpture both had a similar feeling to his paintings, indeed he often mixed two of the mediums.
His sense of experimentation and comment on the contemporary mixed together with the aesthetics of his work really appeal to me, not to mention the sense of New York, which as a place I find fascinating (being a city boy at heart).

What is the most interesting / fun job you have had? An artist, I get to produce art.

If you could collaborate with anyone living or dead, who would it be and what would you do? This is difficult. Either Tom Waits, Beastie Boys or Dizzy Gillespie. I would love them to use one of my paintings or photographs as an album cover. Or perhaps a book of poetry by Tom Waits using my Polaroid images? Or a two person exhibition of paintings alongside Fiona Rae.

At age 16 who most influenced your style? Back then I was most influenced by the drawings of Toulouse Lautrec.

Last book / film that blew your mind? Film : Immortals.