As part of my degree course, students have to select and regularly meet with a mentor. The purpose of mentorship is, in a flexible role outside of the college, aid the student in their studies and further experience.

I chose Alistair Kennedy as my mentor. Aside from knowing Alistair as a friend for many years and working with him previously, he also has a wealth of relevant experience to share.

  Alistair Kennedy is a practising artist based in Burton on Trent, Staffordshire. He specialises in contemporary abstract paintings and fine art photography. He currently serves as the on-site artist in residence at a local secondary school, which has specialist arts college status. He has a wide experience of working in different media and of having work shown both locally and nationally; including London, Edinburgh, Sheffield and Birmingham.

I felt Alistair's work was more in tune with where I may want to go with my own work. His experience of exhibiting work and understanding the education system made choosing him as my mentor an easy decision. And I'm glad Alistair accepted.

We met initially to discuss what was required from the mentorship and spoke generally about photography, art, my work and how each of us had got to where we are today. I also agreed to do some photography for Alistair in the future. I enjoyed the conversation and found it informative and useful. I'm looking forward to the next meeting.

    Alistair gave some good advice; to always be disciplined and focus on where you want to be in 12 months time. Set yourself goals, small ones at first, then to gradually increase them. “My first major goal was to have a solo exhibition. I've done several now, so I'll move onto the next goal. But it's funny to look back and see how far I've come in just a few years. It's those first goals that get you started.”

To be an artist, Alistair is adamant that you need discipline and to do as much research as possible. He quotes Karl Marx, “Theory without practice is sterile. Practice without theory is blind.” Being informed and fulfilling research comes from many areas, such as reading, travelling, experimenting with different techniques, going to galleries and so on.

It's only very recently that Alistair has felt comfortable referring to himself as an artist. He used to think he was a “collector of images and ideas.” It's only now after the last seven years he feels he's developed into an artist. “Anyway, it's on my passport now as my occupation.”