Norwich-based artist and designer James Kessell produces multi-disciplinary work ranging from intimate charcoal portraits to data projection installations. Sitting across from Rebecca Warren’s Jean in the sunlit, glass-walled Sainsbury Centre Cafe, James confronts self-defining questions and offers insight into surviving as a creative.  

Do you feel having the studio space brings you closer to your father? 

Yes, I’ve thought about that a lot. The studio I’m in has a similar feel to his, completely accidentally, but perhaps it’s one of the reasons why I feel so creative within it. They both have a skylight providing natural light. I’m even using one of his easels, set under the skylight. There’s also a large mirror behind me, exactly like the one my father had. The reason for the mirror is something I learned from him – it works for everything. I make a few marks and then instinctively turn to look in the mirror and see the work reversed. It gives that benefit of distance because you’re seeing at twice the distance. The moment you turn, you see it differently. If you are working on a face, you see instantly that an eye is out of position, or that the gaze or shadow is wrong, or there should be some highlight reflected up from the shirt. Art speaks back to you. It’s sort of like a relationship – not a one-way thing at all.  

What’s it like being an artist in Norwich? 

On moving to Norwich, I quickly became aware of how many artists live here – due to the high demand, finding a studio was very difficult. There is support to be found amongst Norwich artists, but you’ve got to go out and connect. I didn’t know anyone, so I introduced myself in lots of places and went to gallery openings, gradually developing my own network of people. That led to my first opportunity to exhibit my work in Norwich Theatre. But because there are limited spaces to exhibit your work there is a lot of competition. There are lots of writers here too – I collaborated with the poet Joe Hedinger on a project called Places Been. That project really fed me creatively and we’re going to do more work together. 

What are the biggest challenges that you’ve experienced as a creative? 

Creative types can tend to be a bit self-interested and needy. But you have to give so much of yourself and so much energy to relationships, especially when you have children, that for a long time it’s not about you anymore! Your own creative wants, needs and aspirations take a back seat. Cyril Connolly talked about the pram in the hall as a metaphor for life getting in the way of art. Being an artist can be a selfish thing. But having said that, my personal relationships, and enabling my children to become the people they are now, have been more important and necessary to me than any art I have ever made.  

It’s also challenging to make a living from your work. A lot of those we would call really successful contemporary artists received recognition straight out of art school, or very early on in their careers. That may be not so much about the merit of their work, but the agendas of curators and collectors. Who champions or buys your work is a really important factor in making a living from it. 

One of the things I find, and I think it’s a common factor among ‘serious’ artists, is self doubt. I was listening to Maggi Hambling on the radio the other day, saying “I live in a perpetual state of doubt about what I’m doing, why I’m doing it.” I think that’s healthy, in that you are self-critical and are striving towards something better. But it can also be a real downer.  

Do you ever feel misunderstood as an artist, or feel a need to be recognized through art? 

I think it’s part of the human condition anyway, but there is perhaps a deeper need in creative people. You have this urge to be creative, but you also have a desire for others to engage with your creation and to respond positively. That need to create and be appreciated are two sides of the same coin. 

James can be found at jameskessell.co.uk and @kessell.studio on Instagram. 

Image: James Kessell (Self Portrait (After Surgery) – 2023)