Outsider Art . . .

I find I keep contextualising my practice in terms of having a history of exhibiting as an outsider artist.

The night before this weeks presentation I read through a catalogue of major outsider art exhibition which I was in.

Part of the submission form was a box in which to add what you thought made you qualify as a marginalised artist. It wasn't made clear that this information would be included both within labels for the exhibited work in the gallery, and the catalogue. But then that wouldn't have served the 'inclusiveness that no doubt funded the enterprise, and subsequently had something to do with which artists were awarded prizes with financial awards.

I have removed the names. - See if you can pick out my statement.

It's interesting [to me] how I have chosen to censor parts. I've included so many to show how representative [and repetitive] these statements are.

I am in a psychiatric unit. I have never done art before but I enjoy it now and try to learn.

In this painting I have made something which I am very proud of and which is my own.

I am 21 years old and if I am to be honest I don't consider myself to be marginalised. Just because I have problems doesn't mean I have problems drawing or painting. art is my means of expression.

I enjoy the expressive process of using oil paint and a fascination of skin tone. Sometimes I work from life study observations and sometimes from distorting figures. I have had mental health needs for a number of years.

I am a graffitti artist and in being so, am marginalised not only by society and the community I live in but by the mainstream art community as well. I am currently serving a prison sentence for graffitti art.

My work has never been shown due to my health and marginalisation. I paint for myself and my well-being. Recently an outsider artist visited me at my home and described my work as outsider art, naive art and childlike.

I have been in drug rehabilitation for 6 months in Weston-Super-mare and will be spending time in a drug house in London. I would love to learn more and carry on painting.

I am a self-taught artist and my lack of technique allows me to create compulsively through art, music and words. My work looks like my psyche to me - childlike, disturbed, hopeful, lost alive.

 ___---- has a moderate learning disability. ________ is interested in art and goes to as many activities as she can afford. She belongs to a small group of similar artists who meet monthly to work independently.

I have been making my work for over a decade and because of my insular nature, rarely do I reach out and show it to people. I find the issue of applying terminology to so called 'disorders' controversial.

My art has always been important to me and being seen as a n artists first, not just someone with learning difficulties, or the names they used to call us.

Art acts as a a release for my mental health problems. I express through painting, words I cannot speak.

I have a language disorder, I like to express myself through my art work.

I've been for many years a long time mental health sufferer and I am so pleased to have this chance to show some of my art work to people who might somehow enjoy looking at it.

I had a breakdown.

My art work has developed, in part, as a result of severe physical and mental ill-health. It explores issues that make many people uncomfortable. For me the process of creating art is an essential part of achieving balance and staying well.

I enjoy pencil drawing having time on my hands as I look after my disabled wife and I am disabled from a road traffic accident. Pain rules my life a lot of the time and drawing is an escape for me.

I was discouraged to continue with art at school and until I started serving a four year prison sentence had not drawn or painted again. Having time alone now allows me to notice, evaluate and process what is around me.

I'm in prison, a victim of circumstance. My life, my image as represented in the painting is being pushed and pulled against my will and I am powerless to stop it, I just look on.

I am currently in prison and discovered art in here. I'm not on any of the art classes as they are full, so I paint in my cell, and there is very little natural light, my window is just 2ft x 2 ft.

I have been painting and drawing since I was a child. I confront the issue of prejudice against the mentally ill by using informative illustration and captions to raise awareness of the problems confronting them.

I enjoy painting.

_________ suffers from a severe and enduring mental illness (Schizophrenia) and was first diagnosed in his mid twenties. _________ has been a keen artist since he was a child and has produced paintings and draawings throughout his life.

__________ has experienced homelessness and is in treatment for substance misuse. He is also an ex offender. His lack of access to mainstream art schools and society in general make him a marginalised artists. __ has had mental health needs for the past fourteen years and has been painting for the last two. 

__ is currently using acrilyc paint and enjoys exploring different colour combinations within circular bands on coloured backgrounds.

I am currently serving a prison sentence at the HMP _______ 

___ is 84 and has been registered blind since 2002 and has Parkinsons diease. Her "________ ____ is based on the _____ of _______ and is her interpretation of what she remembers now.

My art is art of meditation and centemplation of the wall; it is a phase I went through while I was using. I began to see shapes and marks that at first were not obvious to all.

I am very happy to have done this painting. Using both felt tip and paint my imagination took over and this si the result.

drawing is my man way of communication with people, as people cannot always understand what I am saying. I drwa everything I see, it's my way of recording and making sense of the world around me.

____ feels he does not fit the norm due to his disability affecting the control he has over his art work. Fred has Parkinso's; a few years ago he had pioneering brain surgery to help the symptoms.

If I get moved to another prison the chances of me being able to sculpt are virtually non-existent. As I onl;y get a small prison wage the only way I can prusue my interest in art abnd reach a larger audience is when I am lucky enough to be in a good art department and this is very rare.

I enjoy working with objects and materials that I choose from things around me. I seem to naturally enjoy making patterns. I started on my own bedroom ceiling where I felt that I could try different things out.

I am a self taught artist although I have attended various art classes over the years. In 2003 I suffered a breakdown which i have since described as a 'breakthrough', it was to change the course of my life.

The ___ is from a re-cycled ____ which was gong to be ______. I chose and ____ from the ____ and arrnegd the ______to make a ________. I have had both mental health and learning needs for many years.

___ has a moderate learnign disbility. He goes to as many art activities as his finaces and physical problems allow. He also belongs to a small informal group which meets monthly.

I have been described as an outsider artist in Raw Vision magazine. Also I only have two fingers and a thumb on each hand and have some arthritis in my hand joints that make drawing difficult at times.

I feel like I invented the words 'marginalised artist'. I turned to _______ in ____, ____ years after disgrace and illness at ______ University. people haven't wanted to know me, which makes finding homes for my work very difficult.

I am a surrealist painter, due to a disability people didn't believe I could be an artist, I love painting.

It's true to say my artwork is obsessive in nature. The very act of sticking such a large number of pieces of ________ together has been seen by many to be an extreme way to make art.

I became ill after losing my job some years ago, and subsequently recieved treatment for obsessive compulsive disorder and depression. I have continued to be involved with art and currently volunteer at the ________ ____ Hospital.

I feel that I am a worthy candidate as being in prison means I am restricted from many things that an artist outside of prison has access to. I have taken up art as a way of expressing myself.

i am suffering from post war trauma syndrome, due to an experience of bombing of ________ (_________ at that time, 1___). I am fascinated with out mortality, and have impulsive strong inner need to paint.

I really enjoy doing art. I like all the colours. The cats are from my house. I like doing art.

"My work is not bad and it is important to me. I would do nothing if I didn't do my art; making art is my life."

I feel good about myself when I'm painting. I like bright colours, flowers, animals and am pleased to exhibit.

Due to health, mental health, it has been said by other artist that my work is naive and outsider art. I'm not sure how I make it, it just happens.

I used a newly learnt technique with a brush for this picture and I ma pelased witht he reult.


___ work is sometimes infulnced by his other creative interest - ____ - _____ and ______. several of his drawings are preparatory sketches for sculptures, very often featuring human forms, particularly ____.

I always struggle with this concept. Is the work of artists in these terms merely pathological specimens. Is the work more authentic if the creator is more "ill" than another ?

___'s paintings develop gradually. He returns to them again and again, loading his paintbrush with heavily diluted paint building a richly layered series of translucent marks.

I am committed to making art and would like to have my own gallery. I enjoy art very much.

I've had long term health problems since a child. I've always tried to work with traditionally recognised paths - college, exhibition, career. This has been very difficult, as things aren't set up for people with health problems.



The message of this work is not to get drunk as it will lead to unhappy times. I was influenced by Van Gogh, Richard Hamilton and Roy Lichtenstein.

I have had several serious breakdowns and suffer from Bi-polar and emotional Intensity disorder. Art is a great healer.

Art is important to me becasue it is in my heart. we used to go to ___. ___ for painting weekends and I love making paintings about __. ____.

I like using nice colours such as red, pink and mauve. I like being busy painting, it makes me feel nice and sunny. Painting makes me feel good, yes good.

I have used art as an essential part of my emotional health. My main enjoyment comes from work with coloured pencil in an abstract way.

_____ _____ has a moderate learnign disability, is in her seventies and lives in sheltered acoommadation. She is part of a small group of older people with similar disabilities who meet monthly to draw and paint.


I have Aspergers Syndrome and chronic mental health problems. Although I have studied sculpture to MA level I find that the art world itself is not a place that is easily accessible to someone with my diagnosis.

I am a disabled person and my creative is defined primarily by my response to that. The themes of my work - identity, resistance, survival and joy in life - are themes of my life.

art makes me feel perfect - makes me happy, makes me feel good. I like printing and painting. art is funny - i do crazy stuff - enjoy getting messy - I love it.

I have suffered long term depression and mental illness along with various health problems relating to poor diabetic control ( eyesight problems, neoropathy etc).

I am a patient in the psychiatric unit at HMP ______. I have been here a long time.

I ama  self- taught artist with a learnign disability. the work I do is self directed using aminly recycled materials without support from staff at the centre. I have worked with both scultpures and paintings.

I love art and drawing. i like to see my work, it makes me happy.

i am a disabled artist and such a visual art is a primary means of communication for me. I enjoy working mostly in paint and clay. I work from observation and have developed my own unique style.

I have been painting for 5 1/2 months. My work is unique. I paint what I see in my mind. I get a vision in my head and I draw it. I have experienced mental health difficulties. My painting has helped me; I work many hours a day on each painting. I am keen to get my work noticed.

I am a long term manic depressive being hospitalised for this condition at least ten times. This illness has severely affected my confidence in my creativity. I am passionate about life and expressing it through art.

I have had mental health problems since before I can recall. I have been on the peripheral [sic] of society's acceptance. through art, which nourished and watered the seed of my life, I have grown and become a friend to myself.

It took a long time, months to do it. It took a lot of courage to do it, but I am very proud of it. It makes me proud, it makes my happy thoughts.

I have a learnign disability and my art is as important to me as art is to someone who doesn't have a learnign diability. I enjoy making my art and I like expressing myself. It makes me happy.

I think I am a marginalised artist bbecause I suffer from Schizophrenia and at the moment I am undergoing rehabilitation. When I do my artwork it makes me feel relaxed and it is very therapeutic.

I suffere from a severe mental illness, diagnosed as schizoaffective disorder.

i liked art school and wished to contiue developing my art skills. I particularly like painting. One of my favourite subjects is animals. I find art is relaxing for me.

______ has suffered with mental health problems and learnign difficulties; he tells me he has severe ADHD (attention - deficit/hyperactivity disprder) and possible Asperger's Syndrome. He has been in prison for 2 1/2 years.

I have a learnign disablity with people in the community and sometimes it is difficult to communicate with these people, particularly when I want to tell them about my art work.

I have been mentally ill since 1987. I never had any art training and really don't know where I fit into (if at all), in the art world. All of my work now is using 100% recycled materials.

______  is 80 and has Parkinsons disease and lung cancer but this has not stopped him from being creative or keeping his sense of humour. His "Abstract Formation" piece is based on an imaginative journey through his mind.

I consider myself a marginalised artist because of the way I have to live my life. A lot of my time is spent in the woods and fields as well as bus shelters and walls at petrol stations etc.

I am a Doctor who has suffered from Bipolar disorder for the last 25 years. The condition has radically altered my life. One of the positive effects has been the discovery of the powerful healing porperties of art.

For seven years I have suffered severe mental health problems. I have been unable to work. I began painting through art therapy and now art is a major part of my life.

I have learning difficulties. I like being an artist because it is lovely. I like it when all the pictures are up and see them on the wall. I like mosaic and drwaing and all.

My art reflects my experience from the perspective of an adult survivor; I use my creativity as a healing tool.

I have had two strokles and suffer from depression.

___ does not speak or write about his art, he just does it. He paints and draws. ___ expresses himself through his art and people like what he does.

Heroin addict. Mulitple suicide attempts. Depressed, lonely, overwhelmed.

four years ago I started painting with a charity called MIND. Painting was something I had never considered before. These classes inspired me so much and made me realise what enjoyment can be found in painting.

My work reflects my reason for being, purity, honesty, living and loving.

I have a learning disability.

I've excluded images of the work, but I personally  was impressed at the very high quality of the work. Though of course this was after a selection process from thousands of submissions.

I don't want to get into anything more decriptive about the actual work, just that artistically straying into medical history seemed irrelevant.