My Inspiration: Sam Judge – First Ninety Days

Middlesbrough-based painter Sam Judge shares his new zine, First Ninety Days. The zine is a catalogue of early works (including 27 original oil pastel works painted in the first ninety days of his art practice) and a short essay on making a habit of painting, and Sam hopes that it will inspire other budding creatives out there to pursue their creative passions.

Speaking of inspiration, Sam tells us more about what inspired the zine…

“I’ve always liked zines and their tactility. I have a background in graphic design, so occasionally I’ll have an urge to get back to playing with typography, layout, and print. I was looking back over the works I had done when I first started painting in 2021. It seemed a shame for them to be tucked away in a drawer and at roughly A6 in size a bit too small to turn into a show. And so this idea emerged to make a zine both as a personal reference and to share them with whoever was interested in seeing them. 

“The other side of the project was this idea of habit. In my design projects I had studied behavioural science, and specifically behaviour change for habit adoption. The apps we use every day use these techniques for better or worse but when you understand the underlying framework it’s possible to apply it to any aspect of your life that you want to change. It wasn’t that I formally made a plan at the time but looking back I could see how these learnings influenced my approach to start painting. I had spoken with several artists and aspiring artists who had experienced similar struggles to really commit to making. I thought perhaps there’s something in my approach that might inspire others to finally get going. 

“I was also drawn to this idea of ’the early days’. We all love to see documentaries on how certain bands formed and what it was like back then, what were the conditions that led to their creation. But with artists, we so often self-curate and edit out the awkward early attempts and practice. I think the practice, the physical act of making is as important as the end result. On my Instagram, I try to find ways to talk about everything that I’m doing even if it’s just messing around on paper for five minutes. All those works that we’re not completely proud of, someone else might see them differently, learning about what others see and talking about it with them has really helped me evolve my work. So this was just another way to show those early works and talk about their genesis.” 

Copies of First Ninety Days can be bought from Sam’s website.