Thursday, July 26, 2018

DPW Spotlight Interview: Edward Sprafkin

Each week we will spotlight a different DPW artist who will give away one of their best paintings. To enter to win Edward's painting "Mission Roses" go to Daily Paintworks and click on the link at the top of the page announcing their interview.


From Edward's DPW Gallery:

Edward Sprafkin is a landscape painter whose favorite subjects are the changing terrain and dramatic light of the Southwestern landscape. He strives to create a great sense of depth and atmosphere in his paintings regardless of the painting's scale.

Edward's artistic interest sparked at a very young age. He was the child with a crayon in hand, copying drawings out of the Sunday Funny Pages and later creating characters of his own. After graduating high school Ed went on to study cartooning and comic book art.

Cartooning fell by the wayside shortly after being introduced to plein air painting in 2009. Edward began participating in plein air events and became a sought-after instructor at nearby art museums and visual art centers while residing in his home state of New Jersey.

Edward is just as passionate about teaching as he is for painting. He enjoys sharing his knowledge and finds inspiration in seeing students progress onward to new skill levels.

Edward relocated to Arizona in 2014 and quickly found new inspiration in the pursuit of landscape painting.

Tell us a bit about how you first started painting?

I'm asked this question often and It's hard to put an exact date on when I started because I've been drawing since I can remember and it seemed to be a natural progression as a creative kid moving on from crayons to watercolor then pastel and acrylics and later oil. Whether I was fully aware of it or not, I was always an artist.

Did you have any stops and starts in your painting career?

Yes, all the time! Stops and starts seem to be built into the artist's lifestyle by default. There are always varying degrees of successes and crashes, lucrative times and slow but the one constant is the drive to create.

Mission Roses
(click to view)

Enter to win by clicking on the link at the top of the DPW home page announcing Edward's interview.


What mediums and genres have you experimented with?

Just about all of them including the big four: watercolor, pastel, acrylic, and oil. I enjoy painting and drawing from live models as well as being out in nature. I can't forget to mention still-life painting. Still-life is a great way to learn about light and form and all of the fundamentals of painting.

Which ones have "stuck" and which ones have fallen away?

I spent many years using pastel and I still love the medium. However, I backed off of using pastel full time because one of the galleries that I was showing with decided not to accept pastel anymore due to the framing involved. I picked up oil in its place and haven't revisited pastel in awhile. Oil was great for many years too but I never liked the chemistry with all of the different mediums, solvents, and fat over lean rules. Not to mention the horrible smell. I know some artists love the smell of oils but it always bothered me. I did give the water-mixable oils a try but didn't find them to be much of an advantage. Maybe they have improved since I last tried but then again, I'm not really looking for another medium at this time.

For me, acrylic has always been the most intuitive and liberating out of all of the mediums. There are no rules, no limit to substrates, no limit to layering, no limit of application techniques, no solvents, no smell and they clean up easily, and you don't have to wait very long for them to dry. Even though many artists tirelessly try to compare them to oil or expect them to be a replacement for oil, they are not. Acrylic is its own entity. Acrylic can mimic the look of an oil or watercolor but acrylic is best thought of as acrylic. There will be fewer hang-ups if an artist goes in with that mindset when first using the medium.

Campfire & Petroglyphs
(click to view)

Which ones are you looking forward to exploring?

Acrylic is my primary medium and because of its versatility, there are so many techniques and approaches I've yet to explore. Oil paint is a very close second. There are still many great reasons to use oil. One being, plein air painting in the dry Arizona heat. I do use acrylic often when plein air painting but during the really hot or breezy days, oil is less fussy about the weather conditions.

Who or what inspires you most?

Human interaction and mother nature are my biggest inspirations. There's an energy and creative exchange when working with a live model. That model's character and uniqueness, features, attire/style, and personality are all intriguing and inspiring. When outdoors nature is awe-inspiring and quite often presents a humbling, learnable experience.

Saguaro Lake
(click to view)

What does procrastination look like for you?

Procrastination is more of an issue in the studio. It's such an easy trap to get stuck into but in the end, it takes far less energy to just start on the project at hand rather than find ways to dance around the inevitable. Funny how procrastination is never an issue when working in plein air or with a live model.

What techniques work to ensure that you make time for your art?

A clean studio helps but that is a never-ending battle. Now I just aim to keep my studio workspace functional so I can jump in at any time. There's always a painting in progress on the easel and thumbnail sketches planned for the next one in line. Plein air days are the most productive. Not always the most successful but the most productive because then I'm totally detached and disconnected from the little time-suckers of a homebound studio; internet, emails, etc.

Fleeting Moments
(click to view)

How do you generally arrive at ideas for your paintings?

Ideas can spark from just about anywhere, but mostly it comes from an experience or interaction of some sort. When outdoors, it could be a specific location, a light or weather effect, or a mood. I will then determine the story of the painting and begin designing a composition and value plan that best tells that story. When working with a model an idea can spark from the lighting, a costume, perhaps a suggested narrative with supporting props.

How do you keep art "fresh?" What techniques have helped you avoid burnout and keep your work vibrant and engaging?

I think burnout is built-in with the previously mentioned stops and starts. If you're a full-time artist I'm sure you have experienced burnout at one time or another. Outside of a commission deadline, giving yourself permission to take a day or two off once in a while is totally allowed and completely okay. I don't recommend taking off much longer than that because the longer you're away the tougher it is to get back into the swing of things. I enjoy working from both figure and landscape. I think painting or drawing from a variety of subject matter helps to keep things fresh. Traveling and exploring new locations can certainly jumpstart a creative funk.

Light Catchers
(click to view)

What do you feel you are learning about right now as an artist?

That the carrot might be right in front of your nose but it will always be just shy of reach. Meaning the level we aspire to will always exceed our skills. The great masters were never content as they were always striving to one-up their last painting. More than ever I feel the need to dig deep and keep on pushing.

What makes you happiest about your art?

I thoroughly enjoy the creation process. The subject selection, the planning, building upon the composition and telling the story. I'm completely over the moon when a viewer deeply connects with a piece.

Thanks, Edward!

© 2018 Sophie Marine

Thursday, July 19, 2018

DPW Spotlight Interview: Susan Bjerke

Each week we will spotlight a different DPW artist who will give away one of their best paintings. To enter to win Susan's painting "Cruise Sunset" go to Daily Paintworks and click on the link at the top of the page announcing their interview.


From Susan's DPW Gallery:

I've been an artist since someone gave me crayons in the early years and told me not to write on the walls. I've done mixed media, watercolors, ceramics, mosaic art, sketching and encaustics. It wasn't until I was forced into retirement by the sale of my company where I worked to support my art supply habit that I found Pastels. I began researching pastels by looking at Youtube for artists good at what they do and willing to share how they do it. (click to read more)

Tell us a bit about how you first started painting.

I started painting years and years ago... before I could even walk, but truly began in earnest when my company, for whom I was a business analyst, sold themselves to a bigger company. I was casting around to fill my days in my forced retirement, putzing with my art supplies randomly until on December 22, 2017 I bought Carol Marine’s book, Daily Painting. I’ve been painting non-stop ever since. Carol saved me from trying to find another job or doing silly stuff for retirement.

Did you have any stops and starts in your painting career?

Of course I did, I painted for a while when my kids were toddlers; entered shows and had some success, but not enough financially so, I did what a lot of us do, went to work. At least I could support my art supply habit (not to mention feeding children). I’ve kept my hand in at sketching and some painting, but never focused on art as a habit again until last year.

Cruise Sunset
(click to view)

Enter to win by clicking on the link at the top of the DPW home page announcing Susan's interview.

What mediums and genres have you experimented with?

Oh my gosh, what haven’t I played with? Ceramics, encaustics, oil pastels, watercolors, mosaics, printmaking, collage, mixed media, colored pencils, alcohol inks, and jewelry making. I have a love affair with all mediums especially with wild colors.

Which ones have "stuck" and which ones have fallen away?

Right now, Pastel’s are my medium of choice. I love the way they are so immediate and so intimate. At the end of a painting session I feel as though my hands have been through Holi or the Hindu festival of color. The other thing that is cool about pastels is that you can re-do something you find wrong... days, weeks, years later. Nothing like watercolors where if you make a large mistake, it’s best to start over. Lots of these mediums have fallen away because of the need for studio space which is limited for me.

Off Ramp
(click to view)

Which ones are you looking forward to exploring?

I’ve just purchased oils, canvases and brushes and they are sitting in my space staring at me... Daring me to start. I am intimidated by them since I haven’t painted in oils since High School. I’ll get it though, I figure it only takes a few hundred failures to master a medium.

Who or what inspires you most?

Well, I have to say Carol Marine is high on the list since I started painting non-stop after reading her book. I read or heard that a person must paint 500 paintings in order to be accomplished... so I have miles to go before reaching that goal. Finally other artists inspire me. I love John Singer Sargent (who doesn’t?) Wolf Kahn, Terri Ford, Marla Baggetta, Chuck Close, Degas... and on and on. I love taking another artist’s color palette and trying it on one of my paintings.

Monsoon Season
(click to view)

What does procrastination look like for you?

Not putting on my artist’s apron and digging in.

What techniques work to ensure that you make time for your art?

I just do it. No excuses.

Near Yellowstone
(click to view)

How do you generally arrive at ideas for your paintings?

Having traveled the US for both work and pleasure I have thousands of photographs which spark the ideas. I also roam the house for still life objects that I may want to attempt to make 3D on the 2D paper... I like a challenge of water, metal... distance, color so I often use that to drive a painting. Sometimes I’m looking to invoke a feeling of calm or an eerie mood and it’s all dependent on my mood.

How do you keep art "fresh?" What techniques have helped you avoid burnout and keep your work vibrant and engaging?

I think as long as you find the work entertaining, it will stay fresh. I love a constant challenge be it changing the native color to a more vibrant one, using black and white, trying to render shiny or waves. Most of us are so happy to have the ability, opportunity and desire to create and when you have that, I believe the work reflects that thrill.

Night Lights
(click to view)

What do you feel you are learning about right now as an artist?

Wow, everything! I am learning to blog (omg), use social media (I’m looking at you Instagram!) and marketing. Not to mention, just painting. I’ve got so much to learn... and the minute you stop learning, aren’t you dead?

What makes you happiest about your art?

Another everything answer! Isn’t it amazing that when you do watercolors, you work at keeping the whites the white of the paper and progress to darks. And isn’t it amazing that when you do pastels, you lay in the darks and layer to try to preserve the dark values you put in for shadows, dark trees and more. Art is the best head game in the world... a puzzle a day and I love the challenge. When you meet the challenge, you have another something you want to share with everyone.

Thanks, Susan!

© 2018 Sophie Marine

Friday, July 13, 2018

DPW Spotlight Interview: Heather Bennett

Each week we will spotlight a different DPW artist who will give away one of their best paintings. To enter to win Heather's painting "Verdant and Sunshiny" go to Daily Paintworks and click on the link at the top of the page announcing their interview.

From Heather's DPW Gallery:

Hello! I'm Heather Hingst Bennett...

Thank you for your interest in my work.

I am an artist with a background in web/graphic design. Most days you will find me at my easel in my home studio located in Omaha, Nebraska.

I consider myself to be a self-taught painter. I painted my first still life on August 27, 2009 (it's really bad). But I kept painting and painting and sold an apple painting for $1 on Ebay and that made me really happy, so I kept painting.

I use spontaneous brushwork and splashes of paint to create my still life paintings.

I hope my paintings look happy and carefree and make you smile.

Tell us a bit about how you first started painting.

I loved art classes in middle/high school and my art teacher at that time had a huge influence on me. After high school, I found myself studying graphic design and worked as a graphic designer/web designer and illustrator for many, many years.

I had always wanted to paint still life and I even had a box of treasures that I carried from one home to the next labeled "Still Life Props." I just had no idea how to get started. Then I started noticing the daily painters. They painted simple objects in a small format, sold the paintings on eBay... and I thought maybe I could do that!

I painted my first still life since high school on August 27, 2009. It was rough, but there was something about the process and the possibility of becoming a daily painter that made me keep going.

In January 2010, I had acquired a set of oil paints and I actually felt confident enough about what I was painting to sell the pieces on eBay. I didn't get very much but enough to keep buying the supplies to paint.

Verdant and Sunshiny
(click to view)

Enter to win by clicking on the link at the top of the DPW home page announcing Heather's interview.

Did you have any stops and starts in your painting career? 

I have had many stops and starts. As of right now, I have painted 493 paintings in the 8 years I have been painting. I so regret not having the focus to just stick to painting. Even just for one year!

Earlier this year I read "The One Thing" by Gary W. Keller and Jay Papason and I'm on a 66 day habit building routine. I simply want to paint every day for 66 days. I'm on day 15 and my first day was with the painting "Weary, Cheeky, and Wise." Things got a little lax on the 4th of July and I didn't actually finish a painting that day, but I did paint.

What mediums and genres have you experimented with? 

The mediums I have experimented with are oil, watercolor, acrylic, encaustic, textile, colored pencil and torn paper collage.

I have experimented creating non-representational art in oil, acrylic, and textiles.

Mirthful
(click to view)

Which ones have "stuck" and which ones have fallen away?


For the moment, the oils, watercolor, acrylic, and textiles have stuck.

Along with my painting I create non-representational art quilts. Somehow my non-representational work in oils and acrylic never seem to look finished but they are fun to create.

Which ones are you looking forward to exploring? 

I'm looking forward to exploring plein air painting. I took a class a few years ago, but I'm still really intimidated by the process.

Flowers for Hattie
(click to view)

Who or what inspires you most?

I'm currently combing my two loves, painting florals and reading. My floral paintings are named after passages I find in books I read. I'm calling the series "Posy and Prose." Many times the phrases I collect from the books I read inspire the flowers I paint and how I pose them, or what colors I use, etc.

What does procrastination look like for you? 

On particularly busy days I find it hard to start a painting because I'm afraid I won't have enough time to get "in the zone" to paint.

Frou Frou
(click to view)

What techniques work to ensure that you make time for your art? 

I need to start painting by 8 am or earlier. The sooner in the morning the better, because I know I'm going to get interrupted. This is really important in the summer when my son is out of school and wants me to drive him places. Next summer he'll be sixteen so it won't be as much of a problem.

Lately I have been keeping track of how long each painting takes. So I can prove to myself, this really won't take you that long -- get painting!

How do you generally arrive at ideas for your paintings?

I have been on a flower painting binge for the past few years. What draws me to flowers is the wide variety of subject matter and colors. My goal is to paint them as simply as I can.

I also love to paint clothes. This stems from my high school days when I wanted to be a fashion illustrator and my first job out college as a garment flats illustrator for Cabela's. So, that's why you see an occasional garment in with the flowers.

Swimwear
click to view

How do you keep art "fresh?" What techniques have helped you avoid burnout and keep your work vibrant and engaging? 

I think what has kept my art fresh has been trying new mediums. Currently I feel like my time spent with watercolors has helped me develop my current style in acrylics.

What do you feel you are learning about right now as an artist?

For years I tried to emulate the artists I admire. Now I'm learning what works for me and coming up with my own process.

What makes you happiest about your art?

What makes me happiest about my art is sharing it.

Thanks, Heather!

© 2018 Sophie Marine

Friday, July 6, 2018

DPW Spotlight Interview: Belinda Bell

Each week we will spotlight a different DPW artist who will give away one of their best paintings. To enter to win Belinda's painting, "#11 Abstract Flowers" go to Daily Paintworks and click on the link at the top of the page announcing their interview.


Tell us a bit about how you first started painting.

I took a tole painting class in the late 80s. I wasn't very good at it because I couldn't stay in the lines or use the assigned color for each shape. My pieces were always a bit out of control with wild colors and additional marks in the "traced" design. It was a learning curve for sure... I learned that tole painting was not for me. I have kept a tole painting piece from that period in my life so that when I need a bit of a chuckle and sweet reminder of how far I have come, I bring it out, and love on it.

Did you have any stops and starts in your painting career?

I start and stop painting all the time. Life happens to be one of those things that throws curve balls your way when it feels the urge. In between the starts and stops of my artwork I gather experience and ideas that sometimes end up in my paintings. Even when I have a stop, and before I start, I still don't seem to get my dishes done.

#11 Abstract Flowers
(click to view)

Enter to win by clicking on the link at the top of the DPW home page announcing Belinda's interview.


What mediums and genres have you experimented with?

I have played with pastels, oil, acrylic, encaustic material, plaster, colored pencil, charcoal, pen and ink, and water soluble pencils.

Which ones have "stuck" and which ones have fallen away?

I have stayed with oils and acrylics with charcoal and pencils for drawing.

#18 Abstract Flowers
(click to view)

Which ones are you looking forward to exploring?

Exploration takes place on a daily basis for me with the materials at hand. Sometimes I free myself with finger and hand painting using acrylics.

Who or what inspires you most?

Inspiration comes from my BB Flower Farm, travel, and people. I get so darn excited about painting that I have to actually tell myself to breathe.

Looking North
(click to view)

What does procrastination look like for you?

Procrastination for me are the dirty dishes in the sink on a regular basis... I can't be doing household duties in place of painting... my clients don't want my clean dishes to grace their walls.

What techniques work to ensure that you make time for your art?

I paint nearly everyday... I have to... it is something that is in my soul.

Farmer's Lament - Thistle
(click to view)

How do you generally arrive at ideas for your paintings?

Ideas for a painting are non-stop for me. They come to me at light speed which creates a struggle at times on which idea to choose. I will ask myself when I paint "what if?".

How do you keep art "fresh?" What techniques have helped you avoid burnout and keep your work vibrant and engaging?

I keep my work fresh if I keep my sense of humor running through the brush. I often paint with my non-dominant hand so that my work is organic and quirky. I change subjects to paint so that it keeps me on my toes.

Dear John
(click to view)

What do you feel you are learning about right now as an artist?

I am learning to paint for the sake of creative expression. I often look for humor, quirkiness, and energy when I am painting so that my audience will have something to talk about while viewing my work. Whether the audience likes the work or not, if they are having a conversation either way regarding the work, then it has evoked emotion .... mission accomplished.

What makes you happiest about your art?

I am happiest about my art when I can intertwine quirky, color, and meaningfulness in a body of work.

Thanks, Belinda!

© 2018 Sophie Marine