Artist Interview

Interview with the artist Spring 2013

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An Artist's Life...

People often seem curious about the life of an artist- I love it, but also think it's a bit like asking how I enjoy having brown eyes- It's simply who I am. Whether I'm actively working on a painting, or not, my mind is always 'at work' on something I would describe as creative. When I take breaks from painting to travel, or to spend the summer with my family, I'm continually engaged creatively and find that I almost always return with new ideas and inspirations.

 

Recent work...

I work with juxtaposing thin grounds and heavy impasto details, making seemingly delicate objects like tea cups or light in interiors more masculine and direct in their impact. I enjoy leaving thin washes of blank canvas in the midst of finished compositions. Drips, while haphazard, demonstrate the artist's hand in the artistic process and are left as is on the finished canvas, another counterpoint to the feminine themes.

 

The creative process...

On occasion, I've had periods that I've produced work I'm not pleased with and during those struggles, I still paint every day, knowing that the more I paint, the closer I will get to working through the problem. I'm very disciplined about my studio time and get exhilarated when a painting is completed quickly and seamlessly. Most of the time; however, I struggle mid-painting with a conflict in the work and am not happy until I've accomplished what I'm attempting. That accomplishment is a huge high for me and is what I think of when I'm asked what it's like to be an artist--glorious!