A cat sits in a recycling box behind artist Nancy Farmer as I speak with her over Zoom from her home in Somerset. Our interview is punctuated by the off-screen antics of three cats (“one is a psycho, the other two hate him,” laughs Nancy) and doorbells ringing. Like in much of Nancy’s work, the humour comes from the small things in life, those moments that are hard to capture and easy to forget, but which tell a universal story.
If you are an outdoor swimmer, you have probably seen Nancy’s artwork – either her prints, on social media, or her designs on swim hats. Her drawings are suffused with wit and observational comedy, each piece telling a story rather than just depicting swimmers swimming. The devil is in the detail, the little quirks that speak to us as swimmers, the dialogue that is created through her depiction of bodies and water. There is a joyfulness and playfulness to her work that tells you that she is an outdoor swimmer too. Her recent drawing Winter Drawers On! is a case in point – from its punning title to its depiction of the comedy of errors that putting your knickers on in the cold can easily turn into. We’ve all been there, flashing your bum at a dog walker as you try not to topple over putting your pants on! The drawing celebrates the small victory that only winter swimmers know – the triumph of getting dressed and decent with cold and numb fingers.
“The cold is important,” says Nancy. “It makes a story because you’re pitting yourself against the elements. It puts everyone in touch with a certain kind of rawness of being human. From my point of view, that’s a great focus for telling stories.”