Meet Theodosia Marchant | Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Theodosia Marchant and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Theodosia, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
Even though there was a strong artistic influence running in my family when I was growing up, I did not pursue an artistic career when the time came for me to start my studies. I studied law and in fact practiced as a lawyer in London for many years before deciding to emigrate to the US and make a new start and change my life around. I moved to the US with my partner in 2013. Prior to the move art was a very personal affair and by that I mean that very few people knew that I was painting and was interested in the arts. Weekends were filled with gallery hopping, talks, art receptions and anything I could get involved with. The flame was always there but never in my wildest dreams did I ever expect to turn my life around this way and be doing what I am doing now. Moving to the US from London and assimilating certainly took some time, I pretty much grew up in London, my life was there and friends and even though I have made the decision that this is what I wanted the actual realization of the move and what it meant came much later. Without steady employment, which was a first for me, I found my safe space in art and creating. Slowly this grew into a daily practice and morphed from what I always viewed as a hobby into something more serious. For the first time I viewed this as a potential career and I loved it. Since that decision, I have not looked back and have been participating in shows and amassing a steady clientele. It has not always been an easy process but being focused and disciplined and learning not to take criticism personally or sometimes even ignore it entirely has helped me through. Seeing myself as an artist and actually believing in and working towards it.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
My work is figurative, it can be express or abstract depending on the series I am working on, the theme, the idea. When I first started working my style was completely abstract but I was always drawn to figurative so subconsciously I moved in that direction. As my artistic practice evolved so have the figures I use to do my story telling. I am happy that people now recognize the work as mine and it has a following. That brings me immense pleasure. Reaching the point where you have your own voice as an artist is not easy, definitely requires dedication, thick skin to criticism, believing to yourself and above all remaining true to your vision of what type of artist you want to be. I have always said to myself that if at some point this vision is lost and I am on the brink of failing it then I would rather do something else. I am all or nothing and thankfully so far this approach in life has served me well.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
LA is so big, so many options. I live on the Eastside so I would definitely start from here. I would show them around neighborhoods such as Echo Park, Silverlake, Highland Park, stop and have espressos at one of the myriads of coffee shops and try some of the amazing restaurants. Mexican cuisine is one of my favorites and thankfully I am near the source. I have an architecture fetish so I would definitely include DTLA for an architectural tour. The beach could not be missed and would head to my favorite spot on Point Dume in Malibu. An LA tour would not be complete without including a few hikes around my favorite spots i.e Elysian Park, Altadena and Santa Monica mountains.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Without a second thought I would dedicate this to my partner. Without his support and constant encouragement I would not be where I am today or it would have taken me much longer. We all feed from the energy given to us from our closest people and when that energy is positive, the sky is the limit. Along the process of growing artistically, of course I have had plenty of encouragement stemming from dear friends and collectors. Seeing my work in their homes and feeling the love towards it is such a strong driving force.

Website: www.theodosia-marchant.com
Instagram: theodosia_marchant