Jude Montague on ‘Bestial Delights’ at the Electro Studios Project Space

Why Bestial Delights? How does it relate to art?

I love a mediaeval bestiary, real and imaginary beasts, especially with their crazy (to us) powers. I have some favourite creatures I return to for inspiration and ideas too. The poor old mediaeval beaver was hunted for it’s testicles. And would castrate itself to get away from the hunters. That’s what the book says!

Animal energies in your work

I feel animal energies in the work, even animal energies in people. When I work I feel like I imagine a shaman feels, channeling those energies into visual art. Working in print helps this feeling. I feel that the press intervenes and – well sometimes they say of musicians that the ‘hand of god’ touches the musician when they put down an excellent part. I hope for something like that when I work. Of course whether you get this kind of visitation isn’t for the artist to say, really . . .

Mediaeval and other influences of thought patterns and systems in your work/philosophy?

I have been hugely influenced by the brilliant Pauline Baynes who drew the illustrations for Narnia and so much other work. Well of course I don’t draw like her, she is just incredibly delicate and rich with her line and scenes, but she was very influenced by mediaeval art and it’s always been there for me, more than many later fine artists. I love a 2D space. And I like it to stay 2D with only hints of 3D. It’s just magic.

Any artists or writers to name check?

I love a Japanese printmaker Umetaro Azechi. He climbed mountains and drew pictures of blokes with birds. So good. He shows men integrated with nature through the way they are drawn. So influential on me. Also Spanish and Portuguese artists. Recently I have become aware of some of the Galician greats, the woodcuts of Luis Seoane. I realise that although I do an etching style people think is usually silk screen I am very influenced by woodcut. Hmmmm.

What mediums right now are you working in and what do you have to say about them? 

I am having a print renaissance, initiated by a long overdue desire to work with viscosity, an idea I got from Stanley William Hayter although not personally but through via a tutor of mine, Jean Lodge. It’s been really fascinating to include this way of working into my style and I’m just letting it lead me at the moment, moving from one print to the other. It’s all about the experimentation, still. You would find it hard to work like this in a communal print workshop as it squidges all over, getting on the blankets.

Also themes? What’s going on in your work over the past couple of years?

I decided I hadn’t done enough abstracts this year so I decided to just do some abstracts and also to work with more white or paper backgrounds. At the moment I’m exploring visualising the psyche through action and figures. Not so long ago I was working with more literal themes such as horses, Irish mythology and cinema cats but I seem to be over that now.

The print studio ‘Montague Armstrong’ is at 15 King’s Road, St Leonards-on-Sea. Photograph by Jeff Pitcher

A favourite colour or palette right now in your work and why?

I have been currently getting a bit arctic – beginning with pale pink skies, pale blue grey ice, dark figures. I haven’t finished with this direction, I want to do so much more.

If you could have your work displayed in one special location, or made some site specific work – where would that be?

I would like to do some religious work for a church. I am often drawn to religious visions. Maybe some semi permanent exhibition in a church on the Romney Marsh would be a dream for me. It’s because those buildings are awesome and you get in such a frame of mind in them that you can open your mind to the feelings of the prints which are really like paintings done as prints. The prints could be rendered in other crafts by people who are better at that stuff. Woven by an ace weaver like Claire Whelan. That would more than do me.

Name a couple of good things about arts / living in Hastings something personal to you or something others seem to overlook.

I obviously love having a workshop on Kings Road in St Leonards with the best window for looking out on the world. So many characters and so many people wearing great clothes. The world that goes by is fabulous and feeds me every day.

Stingray Jetski – Jude Montague

List or two special Hastings based artists you’d like to pick for being interesting.

Danny Noble, Mundy Morn a graphic illustrator in Brighton. Yeah, Rachel Williams for her colours, shapes and sense of space. And Julia Maddison for being hilariously dark and twisty. Caroline Gregory for her performance, creative costumery and ceramics. Geraldine Swayne and Jim Roseveare. Too many brilliant artists to mention, but all these are corkers.

Rachel Williams and Jude Montague

1 – 10 August

Electro Studios Project Space

Seaside Road, West St Leonards