Artists in Lockdown is a series of stories by City Lit art students sharing their experiences of creativity during the lockdown. In this post, we hear from artist, Samia Malek.
"Although lockdown affected us deeply, it has given me the opportunity to reflect on my work at City Lit and try to implement what we've been learning and experimenting with.
My passion for Fine art, especially painting is pushing me to try new possibilities in order to improve to the next level, so lockdown has given me more time to focus on my art and explore other styles such as abstract expressionism. I've been using different techniques and materials such as watercolours, oil paint, acrylic paint, charcoal, pastels. I've been putting down all my emotions in my work and recently I've embarked myself in a series of paintings and drawings which brought my spirit up and made me feel more in control. I have new ideas that I would like to put into practice such as experimenting more with figurative paintings in an abstract concept .
Even though online learning doesn't give us the same interaction that we can have in a classroom environment, it gave me flexibility. I could work in my own pace with much less pressure. It allowed me to have a good self-discipline and good motivation, also communicate with my colleagues and teachers via chat rooms in developing new ideas and projects.
My plan is to carry on with my course at City Lit for my final year then to apply to an Art school in order to further develop my skills and hopefully, be able to achieve an MA in Fine Art.
My experience at City lit has been amazing. I feel very positive and impressed about the teacher's professionalism in their approach towards students. Their expertise and encouragement makes me feel valued and comfortable. The projects we're involved with are always helpful and interesting ,we also gained so much support and guidance. Now I feel more confident than ever and much more sensitive to visual Art."
I live in Nottingham where I assist and support my disabled 93-year-old mother. I signed up for VM550 Fine Art Course because there is nothing available in Nottingham to suit my needs so until lockdown I was commuting to London every week for the Thursday and Saturday classes while carers looked after my Mum. (Note that I had lived in London years ago and had done some City Lit art courses in 1993 as well as short courses in 2018/19. In many ways London has been a second home for me and the course has enabled me to see my London friends and family more regularly.)
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