My Life with Leah Hewson: Creativity creeps in when you have time to be bored

Leah Hewson is taking part in a "secret art sale" to raise money for Jack and Jill Children's foundation

Artist Leah Hewson who is among the artists taking part in the Jack and Jill Children’s Foundation Incognito secret art sale.

I have always loved the idea of selecting a painting without any prior knowledge of the artist’s identity.

It’s the fun element and the idea of it being a bit of a game that first attracted me to Incognito in aid of the Jack and Jill Children’s Foundation. Now in its 10th year, the art sale raises vital funds for the charity, which delivers vital in-house nursing and respite to kids across Ireland. My decision to take part was a no-brainer really. The idea is simple.

Each anonymous artist creates a 6 x 8 inch sized artwork. However, their identities cannot be revealed until after the work is purchased.

Bruce Springsteen, Bob Geldof, Bono (my uncle), and The Edge are just some of the stars to have lent their names to the project over the years.

In the past, I’ve been asked by other organisations to do murals and large-scale paintings for free. The difference with these artworks is that they don’t take a lot of time. Jack and Jill cast the net wide to a lot of people and they get a lot back in return. I don’t mind doing things for charity at all. I just get so many requests that I can’t commit to every one. Certainly, for me, art is my only income, so I have to pick and choose carefully. Incognito has always resonated with me, and I am happy to support it every year.

I love how the event makes art that little bit more accessible and brings it to a wider audience. My approach to creating artworks for the Jack and Jill Children’s Foundation is no different to any of my commissions. When it comes to the process, I don’t tend to focus on one painting at a time. Normally, I’ll have five or six on the go, and I move around to each one until eventually this abstract imagery emerges. With the art sale pieces, I have three going at once. It has the same layering that can be seen in my work, as well as the bright colours, and abstract shapes and patterns. In recent years, all my art has been rooted in abstract painting.

I try to access the unconscious, since there is so much of us that lies in this space. It’s remarkable to think that the subconscious accounts for 95% of our brain activity. For me, there is so much to explore. It’s exciting and to be celebrated because this is the part of our brain and our thinking that makes us individual.

I’ve been artistic for as long as I can remember. The nineties were a much simpler time when there was less screen time and only four channels. If there was a cardboard box lying around, then I was going to make something out of it. You had the time to get bored, and that’s when the creativity crept in.

Incognito brings out that same creativity in me today because even though the brief is simple, the possibilities are limitless. People are free to create whatever they like, so the only real restriction is the size. They might incorporate fabric or photography, but the brief is completely open.

What’s fascinating about art is how everyone sees it differently. Even if the work is my own, people are still able to see parts of themselves in it. I love hearing about why people are drawn to specific pieces because no two reasons are ever the same.

I apply the same intuition to purchasing art as I do to creating it. One of my favourite parts of Incognito is scanning through the hundreds of options. I always trust my gut. Generally, I go for stuff that I would never be able to make myself. I don’t display any of my own work at home because I spend enough time with it as it is. I also appreciate work that is worlds apart from my own, particularly the realistic pieces and very intricate work.

There is a huge chunk of the art world where people are told what to buy and what to like. Incognito brings art back to its simplest form. It comes down to just appreciating what’s in front of you. Everyone sees art differently, and people vary in their tastes. If you buy a piece of art only to later find out it was done by a celebrity or well-known artist, then it’s just a bonus. The important thing is that you picked the piece because it spoke to you in some way.

• Leah Hewson is among the artists taking part in the Jack and Jill Children’s Foundation Incognito secret art sale. Each original postcard artwork costs €75.
• Donors can enter individual raffles for an artwork, but they will only be charged if their names are selected at midday on May 20.
• The Jack and Jill Children’s Foundation currently supports 478 families in communities across Ireland and has supported 3,228 families in total since 1997. incognito.ie