DPW Spotlight Interview: Liz Zornes

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

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

From Liz's DPW Gallery Page:

I live in Dallas Texas and enjoy painting with oils in my spare time. I am primarily a self-taught artist and like experimenting with different styles, although I prefer strong, bold colors and at times use a palette knife for additional texture in my paintings. As I work for a state representative, my free time is non-existent during legislative sessions and after my second session in 2007 I realized it was time to start painting on a regular basis - otherwise the crazy stress of working in politics is going to do me in! I have five wonderful children, and four beautiful grandchildren. They are all very supportive of my art, as is my fabulous husband, Ken, the light of my life. I believe everyone is artistic in some way and I would always encourage anyone I meet to follow your heart when it comes to artistic expression. You will never be sorry! (click to view bio)

Tell us a bit about how you first started painting.

I started painting in 2006 after a particularly challenging legislative session, where I work as Chief of Staff to a Texas state legislator.  I realized that I needed a creative outlet, and since I had always loved to draw as a child and enjoy all different kinds of art, I decided to take a few painting classes.  I fell in love with the richness of oil paints and have mostly taught myself by looking at other artists' work and exploring different styles.

Rocky Mountain Meadows
(click to view)

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

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

The only times I am not as active with painting is during legislative sessions, which last for five months every other year.  Since I work full time, I mostly can only paint on the weekends, but I have a studio in my back yard and I can get away from any distractions and paint for hours at a time.

What mediums and genres have you experimented with?

I have experimented with acrylics and watercolors, but oil paints work best for me.  I love being able to scrape off an entire canvas and start over, whereas watercolors and acrylics dry too fast for my style of painting. As far an genres go, I love the joy that comes from painting in bright colors and wild shapes, which has drawn me to the Fauvists and Expressionists, as well as the Scottish Colourists.  My husband and I have traveled to Scotland quite a bit and I was fascinated by the rich, bold colors that the painters from the Glasgow School of Art used.

Three Geese on a Pond
(click to view)

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

I have painted in a realistic style from time to time, but the paintings that make me the happiest are the ones that are full of strong, vibrant colors.  There is a freedom in leaving conventional color behind and experimenting with shapes as well. I have enjoyed painting the American Southwest, as I spent part of my childhood in Arizona and to this day have a strong fascination with the desert.  My desert paintings explode with pinks, purples, yellows and turquoises - not colors that are usually associated with what most people think of as desert colors.

Which ones are you looking forward to exploring?

I would like to further explore the wildness of the Fauvists and to do more animal and figure paintings in that genre.  I've also considered doing some paintings in an abstract style, as I think that would be very liberating.

Desert Sunrise
(click to view)

Who or what inspires you most?

I have a reverence for the outdoors and am happiest when hiking in fabulous places such as the Rocky Mountains, Big Bend National Park in far west Texas, or Glacier National Park.  I am constantly awed by nature's splendor and can't imagine ever running out of ideas for paintings.  And Matisse and Derain have inspired me to challenge myself by not sticking with what is safe, comfortable or conventional.  After all, who says a giraffe can't be pink or a tree blue? 

What does procrastination look like for you? I almost always procrastinate when asked to do a painting by a friend or one of my children.  There is something about not choosing a subject myself that makes me not as enthusiastic about it, although I'm always happy and excited about giving it to them when it's finished.

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

I think having a dedicated space in which to paint makes it a lot easier to make time for it.  I have everything in one place and can just leave it there when I'm finished.  And for the most part I don't schedule anything during the day on weekends and, as I'm an early riser, I can get to the studio before dawn and have plenty of time to create.

Mountain Wildflowers
(click to view)

How do you generally arrive at ideas for your paintings?

Most of my ideas come from the many places my husband and I have traveled.  We've climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, gone on a photographic safari afterwards, and traveled to Scotland, Italy, Greece, Austria, Ireland, and the Western United States. I've done paintings from all of the above and plan to do a lot more.

How do you keep art "fresh?"

What techniques have helped you avoid burnout and keep your work vibrant and engaging? I'm constantly checking out other artists' work to see if there is a style I might want to try.  Over the years my style has changed quite a bit and every time I think I've found the one that is perfect for me, I see something I like better and I experiment with the new look.  I have gone back and changed paintings a number of times if I think they would look better with different colors or a different technique.

Irish Rowboat
(click to view)

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

I am learning to take more chances with my art and to lose the fear of failing.  I used to pretty much play it safe, but now I don't worry about whether or not something will work.  If it doesn't, I can always scrape it off and start over.  That's the beauty of oil painting - you can always start over on the same canvas.  And I'm using new colors all the time and learning which ones look good together and how much I can get away with in putting them on the canvas.

What makes you happiest about your art?

Several things make me happiest.  First of all, when someone buys a painting and then tells you in an email that they love it - that is just so gratifying!  For a complete stranger to see my work and decide he or she wants it just continues to thrill me no end.  And when I try something new and it turns out just the way I wanted it to look - that makes me very happy.  And lastly - when I am painting I have absolutely no negative thoughts whatsoever.  Painting is the most cathartic experience I have ever had - all cares and frustrations simply melt away when I'm in my studio and devoting myself to creating something beautiful.  That is just happiness, pure and simple, and I am very fortunate to have a loving husband and supportive family who have encouraged me every step of the way.

Thanks, Liz!

© 2015 Sophie Catalina Marine

DPW Spotlight Interview: Anna Starkova

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

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

From Anna's DPW Gallery Page:

There is no bigger passion in life for me than art. The greatest satisfaction for me is taking an image click to read more)
from my head and making it come to life. I'm constantly observing the things around me and when something sticks in my head; I want to go home and drop everything and paint. I love working in various techniques like oils, acrylics, watercolors, graphite and switching between them gives my brain extra exercise. I do not limit myself when it comes to different subject matters and mediums. (

Tell us a bit about how you first started painting. 

It all started when I was a child. I liked painting with watercolors and gouache. I would paint landscapes and floral still life. My sister and I were both obsessed with horses; which also became one of my favorite subjects to paint. We had a book about horses with beautiful pictures of them which I tried to recreate in watercolors.

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

Oh yes. After high school, when I was on a crossroad between choosing a university and degree program; I was advised by my parents to go for a degree in business management. I wanted to become an artist but in Russia where I'm from, it's extremely hard to become a successful artist. So I pursued business education and rarely painted.

Several years after I finished business school and work for a big advertising company, I decided to continue my business education. I pursued a Master Degree in Project Management in Boston, MA. My experience of relocating from Moscow to Boston was revolutionary for my brain and soul; because of it I started painting again as a stress relief. The more I painted the more I felt my passion for art. So I decided to be a part-time artist painting in my leisure time which changed when my husband and I had a baby and now I'm a stay-home mother who has a couple of hours a day for herself which I devote to painting.

Dreams of Rose
(click to view)

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

What mediums and genres have you experimented with? 

Watercolors and gouache were my first. In Boston I started painting with oils and acrylics as well as graphite drawing.

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

I still paint with watercolors occasionally. I really like working with oil and acrylic paints. After having a baby, I had to shift to acrylic painting and graphite drawing because of the smell that oil paints have. Hopefully, one day I will have a studio with a good ventilation system and I will be able to do oil painting again.

Melting Light
(click to view)

Which ones are you looking forward to exploring? 

I'm really focused on acrylic painting at the present moment and I want to explore the full potential of the paints. I have a lot of ideas in my head that I want to paint with acrylics, from realistic landscapes and still lives to abstract expressionism.

Who or what inspires you most? 

My biggest inspiration comes from nature. I can watch beautiful views infinitely trying to capture details, lighting, and mood.

Shades of Rose
(click to view)

What does procrastination look like for you? 

With the baby I became more organized and whenever I have free time I do not waste it and go directly to painting; but sometimes it still happens that I submit an application for a show last minute.

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

Getting more organized and doing housework quicker. I only have time when my son is sleeping, so I paint during his naps and do everything else another time.

Spring is in the Air
(click to view)

How do you generally arrive at ideas for your paintings? 

Ideas usually come when I'm outside observing, or sorting my old or friends' photographs. As for abstract painting, I choose colors and start playing with brush until something strikes in my head and I "see" the painting.

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

I have so many subjects that I want to paint and explore and switching the various themes around keeps me engaged with the process and keeps works looking vibrant. Though, sometimes I feel like I'm hopping from one subject to another instead of painting in a series; but I feel like I'm far away from burnout yet.

Tea Rose II
(click to view)

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

As a self-taught artist, my art career is a continuous learning process. At this moment I feel that composition has become a focus of my learning. I have been exploring with my mother's silver serving set by creating many different compositions for the September "30 paintings in 30 days" Challenge that I have signed up for. I took about a hundred pictures and now I'm looking back at them and I see how some of them work really well and some don't.

What makes you happiest about your art? 

The best thing about my art is that through my art I can transfer my emotions about the subject and I can show a piece of me and open a door to my world. I feel so happy when the spectator can feel the emotion and mood on the canvas coming from my work. I choose subjects that have had an impact and connection with me; when an outside observer shares that same connection with my work as I do; there is no greater compliment and that is when I'm most happy!

Thanks, Anna!

© 2015 Sophie Catalina Marine

DPW Spotlight Interview: Yuehua He

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

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

From Yuehua's DPW Gallery Page:

Member of Portrait Society of America
Member of Allied Artists of America, Inc.
Born in 1959, Beijing, China.
Graduated from Central Academy of Arts and Design (renamed Academy of Arts and Design, Tsinghua University) in Beijing, China.

1997-2000 Curator of Beijing design Art Museum.

Started painting when was a child.
Worked as fine art designer for over 10 years.
(click to read more)

Tell us a bit about how you first started painting.

I first started painting fifty years ago, when I was six, and I remember my first painting was the "sun". The circle wasn't even round, and around it I drew lines for the rays of sunshine. When my mother helped me and made a few changes to the painting, suddenly, I felt "wow! this looks just like the sun!" Since then, I have been interested in painting. My mother was in a school of arts education and there were a lot of works there; I would often look around and observe the paintings.

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

When I was fifteen years old I began to learn oil painting. I studied professional graphic design at a University in China. For ten years, I did exhibition design. Then, I settled in New York in 2000, and for many years, taught children how to paint at my art school. Then in 2008, I started oil painting again.

Einstein
(click to view)

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

What mediums and genres have you experimented with?

I studied Rembrandt 'Ingres and Sargent's painting method; I recreated a lot of their work.

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

Prior to joining DPW, my paintings were large in size. Now, I find a small painting is more challenging to make in a very short time with a few strokes showing rich attributes.

Fruit
(click to view)

Which ones are you looking forward to exploring?

In DPW, there are a large number of excellent works I appreciate and learn from. I try a variety of performance methods, and I look forward to engaging realism and abstract exploration.

Who or what inspires you most?

Sargent's painting method is the most exciting me.

Winter
(click to view)

What does procrastination look like for you?

Because of my age, I cannot waste time.

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

I am now a full-time painter. At this point in my life, I have the freedom to paint all day. I sometimes have social activities and interaction, but in most cases I am a very dedicated artist. It has become a passion; I can not imagine not painting.

Practice
(click to view)

How do you generally arrive at ideas for your paintings?

Before painting, I will consider: What is the theme of this painting? What do I want to express? Then I consider painting forms, such as: style, and color.

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

I think you cannot overthink a painting too much, have too many goals, ask for too much or spend too long on a painting. It is better to have a painting with a set size, target, and completion time.

The Sharp Challenge
(click to view)

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

I feel that a piece of work is a comprehensive portrayal of the artist's life, culture, art, language, and I'm trying to paint as much as I can.

What makes you happiest about your art?

It makes me the happiest when people like my work. Also, when works of art convey an idea and communicate with people.

Thanks, Yuehua!

© 2015 Sophie Catalina Marine

DPW Spotlight Interview: Lauren Kuhn

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

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

From Lauren's DPW Gallery Page:

As a self-taught artist, I recently took the leap from a full-time 'conventional' job in graphic design to focus on more important roles in my life: being a more involved mother to my three young boys and a more productive full-time independent artist. I have a home studio in Emmaus, PA, where I paint commissioned oil paintings from photographs sent by clients by e-mail (to pay the bills) and where I paint large-scale paintings of whatever-it-is-I-want-to-paint (to pay the soul). (click to read more)

Tell us a bit about how you first started painting.

I've been painting since I was very young. My mother -- who herself is very talented as an artist -- always encouraged my interest in all things art, so she signed me up for private classes outside of school when I was young. One memorable class was held in a small studio right by the ocean; the whole class would wander the beach in search of shells and rocks, and then we painted our items as a still life. It was kind of amazing.

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

While I did develop an art portfolio in high school to earn AP credit for college, I chose not to study art in college and stopped painting during that time for a few years. (College dorms weren't very conducive to painting -- or inspiring, for that matter.) After having my first son, however, I rediscovered my love for painting and got back to it. Once I quit my job to focus on my kids and my paintings, only then did it really become a consistent part of my life. As soon as I established my own space for painting in my home, and began using social media to promote my work, things really took off from there.

Maritime Meditation
(click to view)

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

What mediums and genres have you experimented with?

As far as mediums are concerned, I am a little embarrassed to admit that I've just stuck to oil and acrylic. I think I've just become very comfortable with it over the years. I definitely try many different styles of painting far more than I try different mediums.

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

Oil has always been my favorite. Even when I paint strictly in acrylic, sometimes I still end up switching over to oil in the last stages to get certain colors to 'sing.' 

Fish Story
(click to view)

Which ones are you looking forward to exploring?

One medium I really want to try is impasto. I love the way that impasto can give such a depth of texture that it draws people in, daring them to run their fingers over it. It's almost like a combination between painting and sculpture.

Who or what inspires you most?

My children inspire me the most. I can't help but to see so many artistic opportunities in capturing their exaggerated and impulsive movements. There's a real challenge in painting a child with the intent to capture their specific posture and gestures -- those physical markings that really make them who they are. Kids are just so genuinely expressive, they really are natural 'models'. That being the case, I paint my children a lot, which is something I'm trying to get away from -- as one can only have so many paintings of their own kids! (Even me.) Other subjects that inspire me are seascapes, waves, and the reflective nature of water. This attraction to depicting refracted color and shapes is also to blame for my recent obsession with painting macro views of classic cars -- I absolutely love painting shapes and colors reflected in chrome. Lastly, I do of course love figurative paintings, but only when the featured subjects are engaging in some sort of activity. I always tell potential clients to find photos that represent more of a 'moment' than a 'likeness'. 

The 56 Chevy
(click to view)

What does procrastination look like for you?

Coffee and Facebook... a library book due back in a week... dvr'd episodes of Ellen. Those excuses aside, the fact that I have three young boys in my house (ages 8, 6, and 4) there are always PLENTY of other things to do in lieu of painting. Namely, the Housework Trifecta: laundry/dishes/floors. At the end of the day, though, it's just a matter of forcing myself to put my art first, if just for an hour or so. And then, to keep me from overthinking (and, thus, procrastinating) WHILE I paint, I keep a helpful quote by artist Barbara Kassel taped to my easel. It says, "Just paint. Stop worrying so much. Concentrate and lose yourself in your work." That little scrap of paper -- its been there for 8 years now -- has helped, immensely.

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

I follow a small, simple mantra ("do a little art every day") and otherwise I just make achievable goals for myself. I don't pretend that I can start and finish a commissioned piece in one day, as that's just setting myself up for failure. I'll just commit myself to doing something simple, like "block in all the flesh tones and lay in some background color", and then any other progress than that is a bonus. 

Pool Sharks
(click to view)

How do you generally arrive at ideas for your paintings?

I take lots of photos, and I make time to visit places where I know I can get great subject matter for paintings. If there's a classic car show in town, I'm there. If I'm at the beach with my kids, so is my camera. I pull my car to the side of the road and jump out with my iPhone more than I want to admit. (My kids: "Mom, what are you DOING? We are LATE FOR SOCCER!") As far as gathering ideas online, I browse Paint My Photo, as well as Creative Commons on Flickr. The many artists I follow on Facebook give me good ideas too. Inspiration can really strike me anywhere, though. (I text myself a lot...)

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

I fear burnout the most when it comes to doing commission work, since that's when I'm painting a subject with which I don't necessarily have a connection. I'm painting someone else's child or someone else's memory of a special day, and while I put all I can into that work, it's not something that is emotionally fulfilling or inspiring. So, as a salve of sorts, I paint one thing 'for myself' in between each commissioned piece. Something large, vibrant, odd, dynamic. Something I might sell, or something I won't ever sell. Either way, painting 'for myself' reminds me of all the reasons why I love to paint. 

Soul's Eye
(click to view)

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

How to say no, how to set boundaries, and how to know my worth and the worth of my paintings. It took me a long time to become comfortable with the business-side of art, but I think I'm getting better at it every day.

What makes you happiest about your art?

I am happiest when I can use my art to help someone heal or help someone honor a priceless memory. I think, at the end of the day, everyone has a talent. Everyone can do something well, and there's a way to channel that talent into something bigger. I've been fortunate enough to align myself with certain organizations where I can use my paintings for a bigger purpose. That is what is fulfilling to me. 

Thanks, Lauren!

© 2015 Sophie Catalina Marine