Nathan Wyburn, the Welsh artist known for creating portraits of celebrities such as Mariah Carey, Shirley Bassey and Tom Jones, broke into the art world in an unconventional way. His unique style began in 2010 when he created a portrait of Simon Cowell using Marmite on toast and went on to appear on Britain’s Got Talent the following year. Research shows that Nathan is an anomaly in the world of art, as people who grew up in professional families are four times more likely to be in creative work than those who did not.
Despite growing up in Ebbw Vale with a stay-at-home mum and a factory worker dad, Nathan attributes his success in part to his use of social media, which helped him bypass traditional gatekeepers of the art world. He also stated that watching his dad “work around the clock” at the factory taught him strong work ethics, and not having money for expensive materials meant he had to be more creative.
Although Nathan has not had exhibitions in any of the UK’s most prestigious galleries, he has achieved success through exhibitions in shopping centres, pubs and the street. Rather than seeing his working-class background as a barrier to building a career in art, Nathan firmly believes that “if you put a lot of hard work in you will get somewhere. It is just a slightly trickier start, I guess.”
Other Welsh artists, including Natalie Chapman and Elfyn Lewis, have also experienced difficulty getting their work seen in the art world, with Natalie citing “gatekeepers” and Elfyn discussing the difficulties of keeping money coming in. However, Dan Llywelyn Hall believes that his working-class background gave him the necessary “steeliness” to succeed as an artist.
There is increasing demand for galleries to exhibit work by artists from more diverse backgrounds, as it is felt that telling everyone’s story is essential to ensuring the continued relevance of the art world
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