Studio Diary - January 2025
Join me in my studio for a chatty catch-up about what I've been up to in January - my month of play! Peek inside my sketchbook, see some experiments I've been playing with, and hear all about my latest collection, plus a sneaky peek at what's coming up next month.
You can also read the transcript below:
Back in the Studio: January Catch-Up
Hello, I'm back. I've missed you so much. It has been a crazy few months, and in this video I'm focusing on what's been happening in January specifically.
My Year Starts in February
I run my year based on the wheel of the year, so for me, February 1st is New Year's Day. That means everything I've got done in January is just getting ahead of myself — which means I feel very smug this time of year.
I want to talk about the creative stuff that's been happening in the studio, what I've been up to, how everything has shaken down, show you some sketchbook pages, share some experiments I'm playing with, and tell you about the new collection I'm working on. I also want to talk about what's coming up — what I'm planning and what I'm excited about.
For those of you who don't know me yet: hello, welcome. I'm Eli Trier, a professional artist living and working in Copenhagen, Denmark — though as you can probably tell from my accent, I'm originally from England.
On this channel, my goal is to bring you behind the scenes of my life as an artist: the art, the business, and the whole journey laid out as honestly as possible.
January: Painting Like a Child
At the end of last year I was feeling burnt out, tired, and creatively drained. I'd been doing a lot, and my cup was empty. After a good long rest over Christmas, when I got back into the studio I didn't want to dive straight into proper work.
So I set the intention for my studio practice to be about painting like a child — not worrying about the outcome, not trying to make anything good, just making stuff that made me laugh, making stuff that was really stupid, and getting back into the groove of the joy of making.
It was lovely to just put a cosy YouTube video on the screen and sit in front of the canvas with everything to hand. Lars said he could hear cackles of demented glee coming out of the studio while I was working. It was wonderful. And I found I only needed to do that for about a week before the desire started to come up to make something more in line with my general work.
Sketchbook Experiments and the Gelli Plate
I did some very silly sketches, and then a friend bought me a gelli plate for my birthday last year — one of those mono-printing gelatinous plate things — and I hadn't even got it out of the wrapper. So I started playing around with that.
I'm not sure yet whether it will make it into my general studio practice. I need to do a lot more work figuring out how it works and how I can incorporate it. I love the textures it gives, and there might be interesting applications for collage backgrounds and paper work. I haven't tried it on canvas yet, which could be an interesting avenue to explore.
I also did some colouring-in pages inspired by a Helen Wells video — you might remember Helen, the fantastic sketchbook and abstract artist who was on my podcast last year. She did a brilliant YouTube video showing a shapes-and-colouring exercise, which was a lovely low-pressure way to play with colour, shape, and line.
What I'm Working On: Two Collections
Ordinary Magic is still in progress. You saw me complete one of the paintings in a previous video, and I'm still working on the collection. The canvases are much larger than I'm used to — in some cases just an extra 20 centimetres, but it's still an interesting challenge. A couple of them are turned to the wall at the moment and I'll pick them back up at some point.
Things Men Have Said to Me Instead of Hello is the thing I'm really excited about right now. I imagine you can guess the subject matter from the title. I'm not sure how much of the finished work I'll be able to show on YouTube, but I'll find a way to share it.
This collection involves a lot of building up texture using other elements — there's almost a sculptural quality to it. I'm working with pins, rhinestones, modelling paste, and I recently discovered something that has completely blown my mind: Tri-Art Liquid Glass Pouring Medium Finish Resin. It's resin, but acrylic-based, so no chemicals, no fumes, no faff. You can see in my experiments how I've poured it over rhinestones and it gives this incredible resin-like finish. I am so excited about it.
I've blocked off a big chunk of time at the end of February to work exclusively on this collection. About 90% of the work has been done in my head, and I'm really excited to finally get into the production phase.
What's Been Inspiring Me
Two things have been fuelling this new collection in particular. First, I read a biography of the photographer Robert Mapplethorpe. It's not a flattering book — he doesn't come across as a particularly nice person — but what I found genuinely inspiring was this idea of being completely uncompromising in your vision for the work you want to make.
Then David Lynch passed away this month, which was very sad. I was looking at his Masterclass series, and very early on he says exactly the same thing: you have to be uncompromising in your vision. That idea is percolating in my brain as I move forward with this new collection.
It's been a really good month, actually. After what felt like a long fallow period, it's been wonderful to get back into the studio and start joining the dots again.
Business Updates
New website! At the end of last year I moved from Squarespace over to Shopify, because the e-commerce functionality is so much better. Do go and have a look — it's gorgeous. There are also three new collector guides on there, whether you're new to buying art or a seasoned collector looking for a new way to think about it.
Monthly blog posts — on the website you'll find a monthly business and studio catch-up. You can go back through the last couple of years of me becoming a full-time artist if that's something you're curious about.
Je Suis Wibbly-Wobbly is coming online — this month I'm launching this collection online for the first time. It's one of my absolute favourites: deeply personal, joyful, silly, wonky, and colourful. I've got a couple of videos coming out over the next few weeks specifically about that collection, including a Q&A where I answer questions you submitted — and there are some really interesting ones in there.
Exhibition — I currently have work showing at Ex Libris, a new café gallery in Copenhagen. If you're in the city, do go and have a look. I've been filming the whole process of putting the exhibition together, so you'll get a complete picture of what it looks like to hang a show.
Leaving Instagram and Facebook — I've come off both platforms this month, and it genuinely feels like the best possible decision. Let me know in the comments if you'd like me to make a video about that decision and how it's working out.
What's Coming in February
My main focus for February is getting Je Suis Wibbly-Wobbly successfully launched online, and making serious progress on Things Men Have Said to Me Instead of Hello. I'll be filming that as I go and sharing as much as I can here — and of course all the behind-the-scenes concepts and stories will be in the newsletter.
If you're not already subscribed, the link is in the description. I'll be back at the beginning of March to tell you how it all went.
Thanks so much for being here. See you soon.
See more of my creative process in The Laboratory
