DPW Spotlight Interview: Janis McCarty

Each week we will spotlight a different DPW artist who will give away one of their best paintings.

To enter to win Janis' painting, "A Good Year for Turquoise" go to Daily Paintworks and click on the link at the top of the page announcing her interview.

From Janis' DPW Gallery page:

am an artist and a high school art teacher. I have a fine arts degree and have studied with many artists over the years including Carol Marine, Camille Prezwodek, Frank Webb, and Mary Hetherington. Although I am not a full time painter, I am a full time artist, teaching, analyzing, and discussing art every day with the young women I teach. I paint in oils and watercolor and am most inspired by things that evoke memories like houses, cars, and places I have visited.

Tell us a bit about how you first started painting.

I have thought of myself an artist since my second grade teacher took my drawing from class to class, bragging on my skills and abilities. Also my mother was a wonderful encourager and was very proud of my talent. Later I majored in art at the University of Memphis and became a high school art teacher. After college I took painting classes off and on for years. I wanted to master watercolor, but life got in the way - marriage, family, working. Finally after my children were older and I was living in Texas, I found a wonderful teacher in San Antonio, Mary Hetherington, who was the painting teacher I had always wanted and needed. She gave me the skills and confidence I needed to paint full time, sell my work, and enter contests.

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

Boy, did I? I tried so many times after college to learn to paint beyond what I had learned in from my professors. But like I mentioned before, life happened, and my priorities were family and home. I lacked confidence and was filled with too many fears and uncertainties. When my children were in high school, I finally made the time to get serious about painting and tried to approach it as a career. In Texas I showed my work in galleries and in art shows for several years. But in 1999, my husband's career took a turn and we moved back to Memphis, our home town. I went back to work as a teacher and had to put the painting on the back burner. But the passion was there, and I eventually found the time and the energy to balance teaching high school art and making my own art. I also found myself wanting to move from watercolor to oil. So, once again, I found a teacher and I fell in love with oil, the richness of the color, the feel of the paint, and the forgiving nature of the medium. Also, the advent of blogs and the Internet brought me inspiration, encouragement, and instruction that I never had before.

A Good Year for Turquoise
(click to see original image)

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

What mediums and genres have you experimented with?

Watercolor was my one and only for a very long time. Even though I paint with oils now, I do paint with watercolor occasionally. As a high school art teacher, I have to know and understand many mediums and techniques. So I feel like a Jack of all trades, and a master of a few. It is fun to work with my students in all of the mediums that are part of my curriculum - printmaking, charcoal, conte, scratchboard, pastels, colored pencil, acrylic. They all have that one favorite medium that inspires them and motivates them. Aren´t we all like that?

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

Oil paint and watercolor of course. And I love to draw with graphite pencils.

Fins Were In
(click to see original image)

Which ones are you looking forward to exploring?

I have done some work in colored pencil and loved it. I know that there is some serious work with colored pencil in my future. AND don´t even get me started about altered books. I have one planned and the pages in the book are already marked and ideas written down. I wish I had time to tell you about the altered books my students do- pages that are filled with paintings and NOT collage. It is one of the ways my students learn to master acrylic. I have never created an altered book myself so I am going to try to meet the same project deadlines that I give my students this school year.

Who or what inspires you most?

My students inspire me every day. The work that they do is amazing, fresh, and fun. They also encourage me as much as I encourage them. They sometimes challenge me and give me deadlines to meet and hold my feet to the fire to meet those deadlines. They think that all of my artwork is wonderful so that raises the bar for me! I teach in an all girls school and have a close relationship with my students.

Carol Marine also has a been a huge inspiration. I have been fortunate enough to take two of her workshops in Texas. Although I don´t consider myself a still life artist, her technique, her approach, and her story as an artist, and especially her blog, have made me wish that I could paint every day. I love how she finds ordinary objects and gives them drama, importance, and a story. It is amazing what she can do with 36 square inches.

Very Vespa
(click to see original image)

What does procrastination look like for you?

It looks like a daily calendar to me. I fight that beast each and every day when it comes to painting. But I find that when I MAKE myself paint I can work through those excuses and create a momentum that can carry me along for quite awhile.

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

Because I have a full time job for 9 months out of the year, I have to plan for time to paint. I´m an early riser so I sometimes start painting early in the morning, before I have time to consider my to do list. Also, I often just have to decide that painting is more important to me at that time than the everyday mundane tasks of daily life. So what if don´t load the dishwasher or clean that bathroom? I´ve also realized that my husband is more than willing to do some of those things when I want to paint.

Shark Week
(click to see original image)

How do you generally arrive at ideas for your paintings?

I look at a lot of art every day, at school and on my own. (I spend too much time on the Internet.) I know that I often get ideas from the artwork of others. I don´t necessarily think that is a bad thing. As artists, we always give our work our "own voice." I also love to paint things that evoke memories for me - a way of life, a car, a house, a place I have visited.

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

I don´t really experience burnout. I fight for time to paint and cherish every moment that I have behind the paint brush. If I were a daily painter or a full time painter, I´m sure it would be an issue. I do take LOTS of photos - a few of them are of my family, but hundreds of them are of things that I might want to paint someday. Also the fresh, deliberate techniques I learned from Carol Marine have improved my ability to finish a painting in a timely manner. I find that using her approach frees me up from overworking and trying to put in ever tiny detail. I´m not exhausted and discouraged by trying to solve unnecessary problems.

1957 BelAir
(click to see original image)

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

I´m learning to paint for myself and not anyone or anything else. That feels very, very good.

What makes you happiest about your art?

I am just happy when I make art. I don´t have a lot of the angst that other artists do. Maybe the angst makes you a better artist, but I get an adrenaline rush when I am finished with a painting. Feels like Christmas morning. I have a great deal of gratitude about the talent God has given me. I did nothing to deserve it and it brings me and others a lot of pleasure.

Thanks, Janis!

© 2013 Sophie Marine

DPW Spotlight Interview: Karen Robinson

Each week we will spotlight a different DPW artist who will give away one of their best paintings.

To enter to win Karen's painting, "Brown Study 1 - Airedale Puppy" go to Daily Paintworks and click on the link at the top of the page announcing her interview.

From Karen's DPW Gallery page:

I live on the border of Devon and Cornwall, UK with my dog Bilbo Baggins, cat Oscar and flock of hens. I started painting about a year ago but have loved art all my life and for many years made pictures with fabric, thread, collage, embroidery, pencils and ink. Presently, I paint mainly in oils, sometimes pastel. I love all animals and particularly love to paint dogs. To commission me to paint your pet, please e-mail me or visit my website - I would love to hear from you.

Tell us a bit about how you first started painting.

Painting is a very recent discovery for me as up until now I have worked mainly with textiles and stitch. At school, I had a massive thing about Salvador Dali and painted lots of dark and depressing pieces in acrylics involving (wonky) chequered floors and droopy clocks! The next time I put a paintbrush to canvas was last summer when an on-line course I was doing required me to experiment with oils. Despite a disastrous first attempt (or two or three), I was more or less hooked and I have painted in oils every day since.

Brown Study 1 - Airedale Puppy
(click to see original image)

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

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

Mainly stops, to be honest. Discouraged from considering art college when I left school (“there’s no money in it”, I was told by my dear teacher, “and besides they only take people who are actually any good”): life, earning a living and children got in the way. But for many years I experimented with textiles and all forms of fibre art. The move to traditional art media came about because I could no longer achieve the degree of realism and expression in textiles and stitch that I sought. I found myself stitching less and painting on to the fabric more, until one day it dawned on me I might get better results using a more traditional support! As I was very keen to paint animals, I embarked on a pet portrait course and it all took off from there.

What mediums and genres have you experimented with?

Stitching, weaving, dyeing, mixed media, collage. More recently, I have experimented with graphite, charcoal, gouache, acrylics and pastels. I was for a while very smitten with pastels, but oil challenged pastel for my affections and won.

3 Peppers
(click to see original image)

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

I only started painting in oils last year and they have stuck. I have recently bought some gouache to play with and like it: my attempts at painting en plein air with oils were very messy and unsatisfactory so I might use gouache outside.

Which ones are you looking forward to exploring?

Oils. I feel this is to be a lifetime journey of discovery and exploration. I only wish I had started sooner.

Who or what inspires you most?

David Hockney. He started it all, really, when I went to see his exhibition at the Royal Academy in London last March, A Bigger Picture. Wow - those trees! An entire wall of watercolours - a new medium for him!! And an entire gallery of iPad paintings - also a new medium for him!! Such innovation and courage blew me away: he is an established, famous, “name” in art history: yet he wasn’t satisfied with just doing more of the same or, indeed, nothing at all. He did all this in his very late 60s and early 70s.

What I took from this is that it is never too late and my previous excuses (“it’s too late, I’m over 50, should have gone to art school as a kid”) were just that - excuses.

As a Chinese proverb has it: the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is NOW.

Greyhounds Snoozing in the Sun
(click to see original image)

What does procrastination look like for you?

Something that happened in the past - 30 odd years of feeling that I missed out on art school and thus “it” was never going to happen. Far too busy to procrastinate now: so much to do and so little time.

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

I have a little file of encouraging quotes on my computer desktop and I read those if I feel any inner resistance to “getting on with it”. For example:

Question: Five frogs are sitting on a log. Four decide to jump off. How many are left?

Answer: Five. Why? Because deciding and doing are not the same things. Inspiration is for amateurs. The rest of us just show up and get to work (Chuck Close).

Polish Crested
(click to see original image)

How do you generally arrive at ideas for your paintings?

To be honest, it’s not getting the ideas that’s tricky, it’s identifying the ones worth following up: eliminating the tired or cliched, the ideas that might work as a photo but will be rubbish as a painting, ideas that are essentially derivative and thus not worth pursuing. I have a long way to go.

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

I have found the work of daily painters very helpful - Julian Merrow Smith, Carol Marine and Qiang Huang especially. Also, looking at the work of Richard Schmidt and the Putney Painters. My numerous David Hockney books. Finally, I read James Gurney’s blog every day and hope his vibrancy and engagement will rub off on me by osmosis.

Greyhound 2 - Santa's Little Helper
(click to see original image)

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

What ‘my style’ might be; what sort of painter I am or might become. How to achieve some sort of balance between realism and expression. How to become technically good but not go down a photorealism pathway - any ideas on how to achieve any of this gratefully received!

What makes you happiest about your art?

I love it when that moment comes and the painting seems to paint itself, your hand and the brush it holds is somehow mediating the painting into being. This doesn’t happen often and when it does it is fleeting but when it happens it is exhilarating.

Thanks, Karen!

© 2013 Sophie Marine

DPW Spotlight Interview: Guenevere Schwien

Each week we will spotlight a different DPW artist who will give away one of their best paintings.

To enter to win Guenevere's painting, "Heat" go to Daily Paintworks and click on the link at the top of the page announcing her interview.

From Guenevere's DPW Gallery page:

Over the last decade, I started to become known for my large photoreal motorcycle paintings for which I have won awards and honors. While I still love them and have not abandoned them, a new direction has emerged since the death of my father. As I started to change and grow from this event, I started to become more attracted to softer subjects that warm my heart. I more than ever have the desire to care for and indulge my inner child and have started painting things that appeal to her. Here on Daily Paintworks, I will be showcasing my tulips and other girlhood inspirations I come across on my new journey. I am also keeping a regular blog to express my thoughts and feelings about these paintings.

Tell us a bit about how you first started painting.

Ever since 2nd grade, I had wanted to be an artist. We had a watercolor artist come in and do a demo and then we got to try it. I always thought it must be the best job in the world to make pictures for a living. Through school I took art classes whenever they were available. I actually became very inspired by sculpture in high school, but I also had some successes with gouache and pencil. I never actually started painting with oils until college. I have been hooked ever since.

Heat
(click to see original image)

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

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

I haven't fully stopped but over the past few years things slowed down for me. There were several events culminating in a hibernation period and personal journey that needed to happen. In January of 2010, I developed severe tendonitis in my rotator cuff of my painting arm (right) do to over working. I had been working extremely photoreal on dessert paintings and my body was telling me to stop. This compounded with the death of my Dad and a failing relationship brought about a darkness in my life. I started to question my career path and realized that the level of photorealism I was striving for was not working for my body. During my recovery from tendonitis, I had my arm in a sling and couldn't use it at all. It killed me not to paint. During this time, I actually started painting with my left hand. I took this opportunity to explore other subjects and styles. This takes us to your next question.

What mediums and genres have you experimented with?

I had never used watercolor before. In college I had tried many things but never watercolor. So I decided to give it a shot since I had nothing to lose and because I couldn't work anyway. I also created a pseudonym to produce this work under. I did this because I had become known as the Moto Painter. My photoreal motorcycle oil paintings differed greatly from my new exploration. These new watercolors of cupcakes brought me joy and renewed inspiration. You can view them at www.celestrya.tumblr.com. It was a fun side project and I think it gave me some perspective. As the darkness began to subside and my body became whole again (thanks mostly due to the addition of yoga to my life), I learned a lot about myself and what I wanted from my career.

Spring Linens
(click to see original image)

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

Part of what "stuck" for me in the cupcakes was the color. I have always had a bold palette and this became very clear to me that I wanted to continue with this and also with subjects that are light hearted and fun. Thus I happened up on tulips. Also even though my current work is not photoreal I would say that that is not entirely gone from my work. I don't think I will ever shake a level of realism from my work, but I do like to have areas of softer focus in a composition. As for mediums, I am hooked on oil. I will never stop using it. I did enjoy the different method of watercolors as well as portability and easy clean up. I am sure I will continue to dable with watercolor but oils are my main addiction.

Which ones are you looking forward to exploring?

Tulips are still new for me and I have been enjoying them greatly. One thing I have learned about my inner child is that she gets bored once I feel I have mastered a subject. So I intend to keep exploring. The couple bow paintings I have done are my next area of exploration, as well as possibly revisiting cupcakes only in oil this time. As for other mediums, if I could have my way, I might get back into sculpture or screen printing. In my brief visits with those mediums, I excelled and enjoyed them both tremendously.

Who or what inspires you most?

I'd have to say other artists. There are so many great artists out there these days. I love discovering new artists and appreciating their work. But once I'm in the studio, color and composition are by far my greatest inspirations. I love designing new paintings and then once I'm painting it the colors keep me going.

Pig Tail
(click to see original image)

What does procrastination look like for you?

My social life. One thing I miss most about college is being in a room with other artists, all working on our own paintings. I loved being around other artists. I currently have my own studio and thus am alone all day. When I clock out for the night I can't wait to be with people. Most times this means I end up taking a day off from paintings to go recreate and socialize. Sometimes one day turns into three.

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

I live alone and have my studio at home so when I'm not out being social, my studio calls to me. When I come into my studio, it does take a little time to settle in and get down to business. I find that looking is key. If I'm having a hard time getting to work on a painting I've already started, I will sit and look at it for a while. After only a few minutes, I see areas I need to work on or things that need to change and so on. I also try to make deadlines for myself or production goals. Keeping my eye on a calendar helps a lot. I might take three days off to go out and play but then I make sure to have three days in the studio. I find that setting aside blocks like this works well for me. I like to play hard and work hard so alternating keeps me balanced.

Torch Light
(click to see original image)

How do you generally arrive at ideas for your paintings?

I work from photos so I will sift through my vast collection until something catches my eye. Lately with my blog I have been using my emotions or what is going on in my life to spark a composition. It might be a color or even a shape that lends itself to my feeling so I will go with that and use it.

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

This is a tricky one. I honestly can't say that I have an answer. I think changing subjects is going to be important for me going forward. I know my motorcycle audience doesn't want to hear that, but if I don't feel a connection to my subject I really can't paint it. Also, as my favorite teacher in college Carolyn Meyer used to say, "sometimes you gotta make some dogs." Not every paintings is going to be as vibrant or engaging as the next. But it is all subjective. I have had paintings I wasn't thrilled about and a client falls in love with it, so you just never know.

Reds
(click to see original image)

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

I am learning about shadows and texture. The tulips are pretty different from the metal pipes and gas tanks I'm used to painting. The color of the shadows and the way the light plays across the petals has been a new challenge. Getting the tint and shade of the shadows just right is going to keep me learning for a while.

What makes you happiest about your art?

Hmm... Good question. I think it is the zone; when I get lost in painting. I often find that hours have slipped by unnoticed. It's almost as if I go into a trance. I come to and "look at that!" half my painting is done. When these blinks happen the feeling after is amazing. It is almost like a meditation. I feel content and fulfilled. I've had this through my whole career, and if for some reason I haven't been painting for a long stretch I start to get cranky and irritable, it's as if I need to get back to my meditations.

Thanks, Guenevere!

© 2013 Sophie Marine

DPW Spotlight Interview: Mark Webster

Each week we will spotlight a different DPW artist who will give away one of their best paintings.

To enter to win Mark's painting, "Abstract Geometric River" go to Daily Paintworks and click on the link at the top of the page announcing his interview.

From Mark's DPW Gallery page:

I wanted to convey the depth of motion of the human figure, landscape, or still life both active and at rest. The result became a form of sculptural abstract imagery of not only the subject itself, but rather the time and space that it occupies in a single moment, or several single moments reducing the form into less complicated shapes. After several drafts I begin developing areas to gain the effect of either greater tension or greater flow. This combined with an edge on edge effect is what gives my work a dimensional depth. The result is a juxtaposition of organic and artificial forms giving my work a sculptural presence.

Tell us a bit about how you first started painting.

I have been drawing for most of my life. Most of my earliest work was mainly comic book related. It wasn't until I had taken a figure drawing class in college that I decided that I wanted to try painting as well. I took a few painting classes and while I did enjoy the classes, I didn't paint again for a few years. I started painting on a regular basis about 15 years ago. It was around 2002-2003 that I had decided to start painting with the intention of showing locally and at international juried exhibitions. In 2005, I had a large enough body of work to do a few shows and have been exhibiting my paintings ever since.

Abstract Geometric River
(click to see original image)

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

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

I was having a slow period when the gallery I was showing at asked me to do thirty paintings in thirty days. It was after this show that I felt daily painting was feasible. I knew that creating works in the "Futurist" style wouldn't be possible due to the fact that they take so long to create. I have been able to employ a number of different styles and techniques to at least post new work on a semi-regular basis.

What mediums and genres have you experimented with?

Daily painting does allow for plenty of experimentation. I've used acrylic, oil, pen and ink, markers, charcoal, collage, pastel and watercolor. Some of the genres I've worked with include Impressionism, pointillism, cubism, futurism and I'm sure there were a few other “isms” as well.

Abstract Ocean Coast
(click to see original image)

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

I have a tendency to always return to oil as well as pen and ink for whatever style I'm working in at the time.

Which ones are you looking forward to exploring?

Lately I've been thinking about sculpture but just haven't got around to figuring out how to set up the studio for it, or even where to begin for that matter.

Who or what inspires you most?

As far as influential artists go I would definitely have to list Braque, Leger, and Boccioni.

Adrina
(click to see original image)

What does procrastination look like for you?

Many people will say that a blank canvas is the most daunting situation for an artist. I would add to that a halfway finished canvas as I've had a number of them sitting around the house for years.

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

I find that the time to work isn't too difficult to come by. Getting motivated to start working is sometimes. In fact, I generally find it easier to paint after I come home from work as I’m already active rather than starting up on a weekend morning.

Ocean Landscape with Sailboat
(click to see original image)

How do you generally arrive at ideas for your paintings?

Lots of sketching. Generally the larger paintings start as sketches then graduate to pen and ink drawings. If I like the way the ink drawing looks I’ll paint a scaled up version on canvas. For my smaller works (futurist landscapes in particular) I’ll usually draw in pencil/charcoal right onto the canvas panel, always keeping in mind a general sense of rhythm and color harmony while converting natural landscape into geometric compositions in my head.

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

I try not to spend too much time overworking a problem area in a painting. I had spent many years never really “finishing” a painting because I felt that something was not perfect. I had decided then that my previous work was now finished and whatever elements I felt were wrong with a composition that were going to require a major overhaul I would work out the best that I could without completely restructuring the painting. Then I would concentrate on what I felt needed more work in the next painting.

Abstract Geometric Rose #3
(click to see original image)

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

Lately I've been juxtaposing smooth and rough blending techniques to get a more dramatic effect.

What makes you happiest about your art?

It's in small doses and never any one thing in particular. It can be a color composition or design that turned out perfectly, or an acceptance letter to an exhibition.

Thanks, Mark!

© 2013 Sophie Marine