Ruminations from the Studio
I recently received an email from an aspiring your artist in the 7th grade who had been assigned the task of interviewing artists for a school project. Her questions fell along some the same lines of questions that I receive from adult students. Here are my responses. Happy painting!
What are some of the things that influence your paintings? I love the beauty of the natural landscape, its colors and textures and the way light falls across the landscape.
What made you become a painter? It was something I’ve always wanted to do. A bad day of painting is still better than a good day at work.
How old were you when you painted your first piece? I think that I painted my first piece when I was in my early teens, it was a landscape that I made up in my head. I also painted a portrait of an imaginary woman. Up until then, I was totally immersed in drawing things and people’s faces using paper and pencil. I can’t remember the first time I drew something; it’s something I’ve always loved to do.
What artist inspires me? Among those working in a representational mode, I’m inspired by the paintings of American Masters such as William Merritt Chase, Dennis Miller Bunker, and John Singer Sargent and today’s living artists such as Richard Schmidt, Clyde Aspevig, Christopher Magadini, and Kathy Anderson. Even though I work primarily in a representation mode of painting, I love the work of the late abstract artist Mark Rothko. To really appreciate the work of these and other artists, you have to see the paintings in person, in a gallery or a museum, to fully appreciate the luscious paint surface and emotional charge of the work.
How many paintings did you sell in your life? I suppose that I should know the answer to that question, but I don’t. I would guess that it is in the hundreds.
What is one of your favorite paintings and why is it your favorite? This may seem like I’m dodging the question, but my favorite painting changes over time. As a painter, I’ve made some breakthrough paintings – paintings where I captured the emotion in the scene, or where I felt my paint handling had dramatically improved. Right now, my favorite painting is May Blossoms on my web site. It is a scene of a broken down old Crab Apple Tree growing wild; but I think I really captured its glorious beauty.
What is the biggest mistake that you have made? That’s hard to say. I’ve made mistakes like everyone else, but there has always been a lesson to be learned, “OK, so I won’t try to do it that way again; I should have done it this way.” The important thing with mistakes is to learn as much as you can from your mistakes and move ahead. Your next success is right around the corner. Dwelling on past mistakes just bogs you down and makes you tentative.
Where do you get your ideas? I get my ideas from looking at things and allowing myself to be caught emotionally. Then, I’m eager to see if I can translate the visual image in front of me - filtered through my sensibility and emotional response - into poetry in paint on canvas.