DPW Spotlight Interview: Bhavna Sehgal

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

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

From Bhavna's DPW gallery page:

I was born and brought up in India. I did my Masters in computer Science. I took some initial art training in India during my graduation. Once I finished my college and got into a job, I stopped painting. I always had an interest in learning art, so I kept searching for local art classes but because of my job I could not do much. I came to the US in 2010 and I took a break of six months from my Job. (click to read more)

Tell us a bit about how you first started painting.

Art is ongoing learning process for me. I started painting in college and instantly fell in love with it. During college I used to take evening art classes. For the last three years, I've been taking online classes which helped me to find confidence in myself. I like to paint whatever inspires me, from nature to still life to landscapes.

Butterfly
(click to see original image)

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

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

I have had my share of stops and starts in my career as an artist. Once I started working as a software engineer, I almost didn't touch a paint brush for more than six years. Finally, I started taking some online art classes on the weekends and this put me back on track. Now I am committed to finishing a few paintings every week.

What mediums and genres have you experimented with?

I think oil is my favorite medium. I also like to paint in watercolors and recently I started working in acrylic too.

Tomatoes in a Copper Colander
(click to see original image)

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

I am in love with oils and watercolor; I think I'll continue to paint with them.

Which ones are you looking forward to exploring?

I just want to do what I'm doing for now. I have so much to learn, and I want to improve myself more. In the future I would like to explore acrylic as well.

Sunny Side Up
(click to see original image)

Who or what inspires you most?

I get my inspiration from paintings and drawings that others have done as well as nature and various things around me. I am also inspired by the old masters' paintings. I like spending a day in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City or any other art museum.

What does procrastination look like for you?

My computer/phone is my biggest procrastination. It is a great aid in viewing other artist's work and can be a source of inspiration. But sometimes I lose track of the time I spend going through other artists' work.

Seashells
(click to see original image)

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

Well, I want to paint every day but sometimes it's not possible. I started following the rule of make x number of painting every week and I try to stick to that count. I also work on different sizes to make sure I get some of them finished quickly.

How do you generally arrive at ideas for your paintings?

I browse through copyright free photographs from various websitse like morguefile, paintmyphoto, pixabay and also go through my library of photographs I have taken while visiting various places. I keep looking through them until I found some photograph which catches my eye to paint.

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

I am always looking for something different, something new to paint. Always try to challenge myself. I keep switching medium from oils to watercolor to acrylic.

Zebra
(click to see original image)

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

Learning never stops for an artist. I do lots of research before starting any painting. I spend a lot of time looking at art, analyzing it, learn from it.  Other than that, the biggest hurdle I have to learn is how to market myself better and how to believe in myself.

What makes you happiest about your art?

I am happy when I pick up a brush and when I start making progress on my project. I feel I am on the top of the world when I finish my work. Painting makes me feel so alive and I am fortunate to be able to paint.

Thanks, Bhavna!

© 2015 Sophie Catalina Marine

DPW Spotlight Interview: Joseph Mahon

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

To enter to win Joseph's painting, "Algarve Beach Evening" go to Daily Paintworks and click on the link at the top of the page announcing their interview.

From Joseph's DPW Gallery Page:

I am a self taught artist, living in the sunny south east of Ireland. I paint in watercolour and oil, using only artist quality paints, paper and linen. My influences are great artists of the past, Winslow Homer, Andrew Wyeth, Singer Sargent, and others. I love the work of current artists, Trevor Chamberlain, Charles Reid, David Curtis, Kevin Macpherson, to name but a few. I paint in my own style, bold, loose and impressionistic.

Tell us a bit about how you first started painting.

I first started painting as a child, like most people I guess. It continued with me through my school years, although I did not have an option of taking art in school. I continued my passion for art, in the form of drawing and watercolour painting. I sought out art books over the years to learn as much as I could. I subscribed to The Artist's Magazine to keep up with trends and contemporary artists. I still buy art books and recently I bought a biography of Andrew Wyeth, titled "A Secret Life". A great read, I must say.

Algarve Beach Evening
(click to see original image)

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

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

My painting career, in reality, has been a private pursuit simply because my career path was in a scientific capacity, but I always painted in my spare time, no matter what. In recent years, I have been able to devote more of my time to full time painting, it's great.

What mediums and genres have you experimented with?

Watercolour has been the forefront medium for me for many years, but I now paint in oil paint as well. I had work accepted by the Royal Watercolour Society in 1995, which sold straight away. This helped to motivate me to keep with watercolour. The medium of watercolour is wonderful for expressiveness, its fluidity is so unpredictable, which makes it unique. Oil paint is so versatile, that I wish I had used it more over the years, but I hope to make up for that now. I tried acrylic, but I struggle with it, as the colour shifts are too much for me at times, along with the rapid drying times.

My favourite subjects are genre scenes, beach scenes and landscapes. I tend to avoid still life and portraits, but I have done the odd still life, as well as portraits of my family. My style started out quite tight, but loosened as the years have gone by, to an impressionistic style.

Bringing the Flock Home
(click to see original image)

Which ones have "stuck" and which ones have fallen away? Which ones are you looking forward to exploring?

I want to try cold wax medium in oil paint, as I am greatly interested in textures and impasto. I have been checking out YouTube to see how it's done. Also, I want to get to grips with acrylics despite my difficulties with it. I see enormous possibilities with this medium for me. I am fascinated with juxtaposing of colours, a method employed by the impressionists.

Who or what inspires you most?

My earliest inspiration was seeing a picture of "The Milk Maid" by Vermeer. I was truly bowled over. I loved the colours and the simplicity of the composition. Rembrandt, Constable, Turner and the Impressionists, are also huge influences. I admire the work of Winslow Homer, Trevor Chamberlain, Andrew Wyeth, Singer Sargent and Charles Reid for watercolour. For oil painting Seago, Monet, Kevin Macpherson and a wonderful artist Arthur Maderson.

Untitled
(click to see original image)

What does procrastination look like for you?

Procrastination for me was not going online soon enough. I always put up an excuse and delayed. I am in a learning curve with all that Facebook, Google and other sites have to offer, with regard to self promotion and ones art it's a full time job.

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

I try to paint every day as a routine, no matter what, it's never a chore. I have my own little studio, where I can leave my work undisturbed and return to it without having to pack up after a painting session. It guarantees that I can pick up where I left off on the previous session.

Figures on the Beach
(click to see original image)

How do you generally arrive at ideas for your paintings?

I seek inspiration or subject matter where I can: a visit to a city, a walk, or when I travel. Portugal over a number of years has been a great source of subject matter, as well as my rural locale. Sometimes it's from a film I have seen, a TV show, a magazine or a book. I sort of know the subjects that interest me: colour and figures, landscapes, beach scenes and genre scenes.

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

I change from watercolour to oil painting every so often, just to keep my approach fresh. I always know when I am becoming jaded with one or the other. Watercolour mode it may last weeks, the same with oil painting. It is not possible for me to do both simultaneously, although I have tried.

Woman Sitting on the Beach
(click to see original image)

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

One is never done learning. I think it was Monet who said, one is always learning in art. Each new day I think that today, I will do the perfect painting. So far that has not happened, but I tell myself maybe I will get close.

What makes you happiest about your art?

I feel happiest during the process of painting and when I am challenged or inspired with new ideas. Often an idea or concept for a painting, means as much to me as the finished work. Life has its ups and downs, but art has been consistent for me. When I go to bed at night I usually think about what I am working on at the moment, problem solve if I am having a bit of difficulty with a piece, or think what next?

Thanks, Joseph!

© 2015 Sophie Catalina Marine

DPW Spotlight Interview: Stefan Peters

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

To enter to win Stefan's painting, "Autumn Forest" go to Daily Paintworks and click on the link at the top of the page announcing their interview.

From Stefan's DPW Gallery Page:

I am a professional artist from The Netherlands, now living abroad. I started as an abstract and colored pencil artist. After a while of experimenting with new mediums and painting many different subjects, I realized that I prefer a more realistic approach to my art. I especially like painting landscapes, wildlife and still life, which is also reflected in my daily painting series. Favorite mediums include oils, colored pencils and watercolors. (click to view bio)

Tell us a bit about how you first started painting.

I started painting and drawing in high school and even though I had an interest in it back then, I did not see it as a future carrier path.  A few years back, I met my wife who is also a full time artist and that sparked my interest for art again. For our first Christmas together, I received a small box of Faber-Castell Polychromos colored pencils and a block of artist drawing paper from her. The days after Christmas, I immediately started using the pencils to sketch some basic shapes. In the upcoming months, I started making more elaborate drawings using reference photos of birds and still life. At the end of January, I held my first paint brush again since high school and started experimenting with acrylic and oil paint. With my wife as a guide, I began by creating some abstract paintings. This was the start of my full time artist career.

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

Since I started painting full time five years ago, I have not stopped. I was very lucky that my wife had been doing art full time since 2006 and from the moment I started drawing and painting she taught me everything she knew. We both worked together to promote my works online and are always looking for opportunities to gain more exposure. 

Autumn Forest
(click to see original image)

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

What mediums and genres have you experimented with?

I have experimented with acrylics, oils, colored pencils and watercolor (including watercolor pencils). I started with impressionist drawings of birds and still life. Not long after that I moved on to painting abstracts in acrylics and oils. I continued working with these mediums for about a year before trying out impressionist oil and watercolor paintings.  Then I began creating realistic coloured pencil drawings and have continued to work in these genres since. 

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

Over the years acrylics have fallen away as they did not really suite my style of painting. Oils, watercolors and colored pencils stuck as they allow me to work in the ways that I prefer. Colored pencils give me to ability to draw in great details as where oils and watercolors allow me to let the paint flow over my canvas or paper to achieve  impressionist works.

Wild Piglets
(click to see original image)

Which ones are you looking forward to exploring?

In the future, I want to explore pastels and charcoal as they both seem very interesting mediums and I have seen some beautiful works done with both of them.

Who or what inspires you most?

I am inspired by scenery, landscapes, colors and the beauty of nature that surrounds us. Being born and raised in Holland, I have seen many different landscapes, beautiful and colorful tulip fields, charming narrow cobblestone streets, old architecture, farm fields and coastal landscapes. All of this still inspires my work. 

A major inspiration in this field of work is my wife as she has shown me that it is possible to have a full time art career if you are determined enough. 

Blue Bird
(click to see original image)

What does procrastination look like for you?

I usually focus on my tasks and I prioritize them in such a way that I can accomplish them all timely. If there are any deadlines that need to be kept then I do these first and then continue on my other projects.

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

I am fortunate enough to be able to work on art full time and therefore have plenty of time. I usually work on several pieces in a day and if there is a day where other duties take me away from art for a short while, that is not really a problem. 

Jelly Beans
(click to see original image)

How do you generally arrive at ideas for your paintings?

I have folders with hundreds of photos taken over time during travels, places I lived, etc. and when I want to start a new painting I browse through my image folders until I find something that catches my eye.

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

I keep my art “fresh” by switching between mediums. If I do not feel like painting in oils then I start a colored pencil drawing or a watercolor. It is usually an impulse decision. Sometimes I start a project and drop it for a few days, work on something else if I feel inspired to do so and then pick up the old project and finish it. I think this helps me avoid burnout and keeps me interested in always having an ongoing project. 

Rain Forest
(click to see original image)

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

A lot about marketing my work and selling it online. I think that the marketing part is directly connected to the artistic one and helps me succeed as an artist. For me it is not only about creating but also learning how to get myself known and to reach an audience that appreciates my style of work. 

What makes you happiest about your art?

Seeing progress in every new work that I make. Especially mediums that I am not very specialised in yet, like watercolors. The fact that I can do art full time and make a living of it. Waking up and not having to go to a job that is not satisfying is what makes me the happiest. 

Thanks, Stefan!

© 2015 Sophie Catalina Marine

DPW Spotlight Interview: Rasha Alem

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

To enter to win Rasha's painting, "In the Candle Light" 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 have painted since childhood. It was always my favorite thing to do. When I was fourteen, I started copying most of Van Gogh paintings. I was fascinated by his work and his technique.

In 2008, I felt that I wanted to follow my passion and study academically how to paint.  I studied in different places around the world which exposed me to different schools of art.

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

2008 was my real start as I joined an art school in Florence -- that was inspiring! It took me to another stage of thinking about art.

However, life always ups and downs, I had a long pause after becoming a mom. I was busy with work and having a new baby, that stopped me completely and I didn't have time to paint anymore. It was very hard on me but fortunately, that did not last long.

My life changed and I managed to have time for my art. My spirits rose again as I resumed painting and I decided then that I couldn’t live without painting whatever my situation is. I realized that painting is part of me.

Daily painting was one of the motivating experiments as well.  It encouraged me to paint every single day and pay more attention to simple and small things around me. Choosing a new subject everyday from the objects I see is a good practice.

Going to Florence with other artists on a painting trip was an extraordinary change in my painting life.

In the Candle Light
(click to see original image)

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

What mediums and genres have you experimented with?

I currently use pencils, charcoal, acrylic and oil but my best friend is oil.

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

I have always stuck with the realistic school of painting; actually, contemporary realism is my ultimate goal. Others have fallen away!

Little Blue
(click to see original image)

Which ones are you looking forward to exploring?

In the next stage, I want to play more with contemporary realism, and figurative paintings.

Who or what inspires you most?

I am inspired by artists who follow the classical modern school. Also, music. Beautiful music inspires me with new ideas and motivates me to put those feelings and emotions on canvas.

The Falcon
(click to see original image)

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

I am always trying new techniques, but I revert to the academic one, which helps me create innovative direction.

How do you generally arrive at ideas for your paintings?

I research a lot on my subject. I also always try to see what other artists are doing with the subject and how I can achieve that in my own style.

Self Portrait
(click to see original image)

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

Preparing the surface under paint well is extremely important. Working light with hard brushes and displaying your brush strokes always keeps the paint fresh. Using the beautiful, handmade Williamsburg colors does also.

Smoke
(click to see original image)

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

I am learning about new techniques and modern, contemporary methods to achieve classic paintings in a different methodology.

What makes you happiest about your art?

I feel happy when I make a brush stroke that is both methodical and spontaneous at the same time. When I see my feelings reflected on the canvas, that makes me satisfied and happy about my art.

Thanks, Rasha!

© 2015 Sophie Catalina Marine