Florence Reekie
Florence calls herself a painter rather than an artist. ‘Artist’ sounds too serious, she says.
Flo paints scenes cropped from everyday life and wonderful portraits of people, too.
These are the things she knows for certain.
Please tell us what your role in the business is?
I’m CEO, studio assistant & intern all at once.
Where do you do most of your work?
I have a studio at home, but pre-COVID I had a shared studio space which I miss so much and hope to return one day soon.
How many people do you work with closely on a day-to-day basis?
Very few, I’ll always keep in touch with clients but generally I’m trusted to get on with the projects I’m working on.
It can be pretty solitary which is why sharing studio space is amazing. In my last studio there was usually 5/6 of us but all working on separate projects so just great company, long lunches together if we could and, if not, lots of coffee breaks.
What is the biggest challenge that you face at work every day?
Getting started for the day.
I’m not a morning person and I struggle to sit down to layout my palette and mix my colours for the day. But as soon as I’m going I find it hard to step away.
Talk us through lunch. A sandwich at your desk or a full hour in the park?
Lunch is whenever I get hungry and is quick - soup, pasta or hopefully delicious leftovers from last night’s supper.
What is the biggest lesson that you’ve learned that you wish you’d known when you started your career?
Some days you shouldn't paint; find something else to spend the day doing and come back to it tomorrow. I’ve made bigger messes of some work by trying to force it.
Email. Friend or foe?
I’m a fan. But maybe I’m one of the lucky ones?
My day doesn’t revolve around being at the computer and contactable at all times and I generally have lovely clients who don't hassle me.
For me, email also feels distant enough from someone that sending a tricky ‘this isn't the project for me’ doesn’t feel so personal. I would crumble on the phone.
Do you use a digital or paper To Do List? And how effective are you at getting everything done?
Paper, or any surface nearby.
Sometimes I’ll scribble a list of reminders directly onto the canvas I’m working on. If I’m on a roll I’ll get through my list without even thinking about it, but sometimes it’ll take days to attack something I should be working on.
Do you leave work at a set time each day?
Never, I can end up working pretty late and I really like working in the evenings.
In the winter it’s tough because it gets dark so early and it really changes how you see colours. I used to think people were being a bit fussy about that but I’ve learnt the hard way it can make a huge difference. Returning to a painting the next morning can be a nasty shock.
How do you relax? Do you look after yourself properly?
Gardening is my meditation, I can pass hours without realising, checking my phone or worrying about a problem painting.
I like to think I look after myself well, although I’ve always found doing regular exercise tough. For the last couple of years I’ve gone to dance class which is hard work but I love it. And, for me, it beats running any day.
How confident are you about the future of your business?
I think about the future in stages that I can manage, if I think too far ahead I start to feel overwhelmed.
I think because it’s just me, I have to grow with the business and hopefully my skills and output will, too.
What is your secret time-wasting technique at your desk? (Online shopping, staring out of the window, Instagram…)
All of the above!
Online shopping mainly, though most of my open tabs are flower seeds, vases and expensive paint brushes I will eventually commit to.
Do you listen to music as you work and if so, what has been playing today?
Sometimes, but mostly I listen to podcasts while I'm working.
Today was a bit of ‘The Slow Newscast’ by Tortoise and ‘The AD Aesthete’ from Architectural Digest.
