SB1 - Jenny Soep

Jenny Soep

This lady is the main person I studied for my dissertation about capturing the experiences of live musical performances. I emailed her because I truly wanted to hear about her and how she got to where she is.

Turns out she sings, dances and creates art (just like me). She moved to Sweden , learnt the language and taught in a Kindergarten (what I fancy but in Germany and working with children). She illustrates bands that she wants to see (picky like me) and does anything creative and illustrates anything creative (I have illustrated sports as well as bands).

Honestly she has shown me that there is possibility for people who want to cross over the arts.

She needs to be a conclusion to my PP summative presentation 

Is live music illustration something that you have always wanted to illustrate or did you stumble across it?

I wouldn't say stumble - being brought up Scottish, and in the rural countryside, we celebrated both Burns Night (our national poet) and St Andrew's Day with ceilidh dances and 'turns' where some of us shared a song, a poem, a highland dance/sword dance, or a joke, and very much a community feeling and sharing. Studying to be an artist I was encouraged to draw every day in every type of situation. So lets call it a natural progression that I always had my drawing materials with me, and it was more about sharing in the experience, responding creatively, when I wasn't singing or dancing. First live concert I experienced and drew was Randy Brecker at the Dundee Jazz Festival in 2000.

Do you only go to the music that you like? 

If I'm organising which concert I draw, then yes, I search for music that is more alternative, experimental and creative - and never cover-bands (although I might stretch to a David Bowie cover band if they were good enough). 

However, I will also take commissions to draw musicians and bands whose music I wouldn't listen to otherwise, but if I exhibit my artwork, it's always the more artful/experimental music and drawing that I will show.

Is it mainly for pleasure or do you have the best of both worlds and get paid too? 

It's a really tricky and tiny niche to be in, but I do get the best of both worlds - just never consistently :) 

I currently don't draw music full time. I'm not sure I would want to though - I am generally a fairly full time 'live-drawer' or reportage illustrator, drawing at weddings, meetings, portraits for events, also projecting drawings for and with performers as part of the performance. 

One of the latest projects I was both documenting and performing in was for a clown who is doing her PhD called 'Luxurious migrant/Performing Whiteness' and looks at white privilege and activism in satire. 

Just before Christmas I was asked to document residents of a care home experiencing a 'hand festival' that was all about care, entertainment and positive connection via 'hands'.

I do get to draw some really fascinating and wonderful projects, and I hold music as the core to getting the chance to do that.

How did you get momentum with your live music illustration?  

By drawing EVERYTHING that interested me in the most creative way possible - and 'performing' my drawing! Promoting that I draw 'cross-arts' events because I am a 'cross-arts' illustrator.

I became self-employed as an 'event illustrator' in 2006 particularly focusing on events and weddings in Scotland - since weddings in Scotland are the best, because they generally have Scottish ceilidh dances and I LOVE drawing Scottish ceilidh dances! Although I love dancing them so it's a trade-off :)

I have always promoted that I draw the more alternative music and - importantly - the art(s) scene, so have drawn at poetry festivals, animation festivals, the world porridge championships! Scotland has had a LOT to offer in the arts, culture and music. 

Documentary drawing is also seen as an alternative to photography in projects where there are vulnerable people involved, like mental health patients.

I have developed a pretty big portfolio of live music and art(s) drawings which become my 'business card', and am very pleased that I have been able to draw various exciting events which have really helped me step up to the next level - like drawing at the Triptych festival in Glasgow and Chemikal Underground's 'Ballads of the Book', being sponsored by Scottish Water to draw at T in the Park, drawing at the StAnza Poetry Festival in St Andrews, the Crossing Borders festival in the Netherlands, and ultimately The Polar Music Prize in Sweden - getting to draw the ceremony performances for Björk & Ennio Morricone!

I do do a LOT of free drawing but only at concerts I choose, and they can go on to become a lot of things - drawings on musicians' merchandise, fine art originals or prints in exhibitions, alternative images to share online/social media. And definitely also enriching my portfolio.

I have also been performing drawing with music/arts performers in a variety of ways since 2010.

Do you have another job alongside? Is this also creative? 

Since I started being self-employed in 2006, I always seem to have had a part time job, but it's always been a little bit or a big bit creative, and has eased transition when I have moved to a new place - I moved to Glasgow from the countryside for three years and in my first year there I worked in Tchai-Ovna Tea house for about 3 months until I was getting paid more for my artwork! 

When I moved to Sweden I got a job arranging jewellery in an auction house, and then as an art-teacher in a kindergarten - good for learning Swedish too! Just now I've got this great part-time job where I read and record audio books called 'Talking Books' which is for people who are blind or have learning difficulties. It's really great for people working in the arts since we can choose our own time-schedule and only choose a book if we've got a gap in our work load!

Do you have any tips around live music illustration? 

Don't just draw music, but let it be your guide in your style of drawing, and let it teach you to draw in live situations in the most creative way you wish for, use it to explore and develop your creativity, and it will feed any other type of live event you draw. 

I see you're also a musician/singer? Bring drawing into your performance! There are various other people who draw during their own music performance - Joseph Arthur being one I can immediately think of, and another band called CLEC based in Berlin who have a live-drawer as part of their group. https://youtu.be/vTX5e4EK-7g
*This live art in performance are things I have been researching in my 603*