DPW Spotlight Interview: Toni Goffe

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

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

From Toni's DPW Gallery Page:

Toni Goffe studied painting, illustration and (secretly) double bass at Southampton College of Art in Hampshire between 1952-1956, gaining a National Diploma in Design. On completing the course, he moved to London where he freelanced as an illustrator and studied painting with a number of private tutors. He supported this by playing double bass professionally in many notable London jazz bands. During this period, Toni started illustrating children's books on a freelance basis. (click to read more)

Tell us a bit about how you first started painting.

I have always drawn and painted since I was a child, an only one, as it happened. I spent a lot of time on my own amusing myself by drawing everything around me and then drawing everything I could think of.

My mother and father were always laughing at cartoons from the daily papers. This started to interest me and humour has always played a big part of my life.

I remember the first cartoon I was shown. It was of a very hairy dog; hair all over it's eyes with a pair of scissors in it's mouth and its paws up on the arm of a armchair where sat its master... no words.

It fascinated me that with a few lines you could get across an idea that would make people laugh. Thinking about it, that is what I have been trying to do for most of my life.

The Duchess
(click to view)

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

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

Yes, lots. I walked into the local art college in Southampton in Hampshire England with some drawings and they took me on. That was a longtime ago when passing an entrance exam hadn't been thought of yet.

There my interest in drawing was extended to include painting and illustrating. In the last term of my stay there I was taught by a cartoonist/illustrator who renewed my interest in cartooning for a living. It was being in the right place at the right time situation.

Cartooning was at its height. Every newspaper had a full page of cartoons; magazines, too. As the art college hadn't told us how to make a living painting, cartooning it was!

I had also bought a double bass with some money my mother was putting aside for 'my tools' when I became an engineer (my parents choice of career) and moved to London. I supported myself playing in jazz bands during 'the traditional jazz boom' (another 'being in the right place at the right time situation.')

Cartooning had come to an end and now jazz playing had taken over. This also came to an end some years later when a jazz club in Liverpool produced a group of strange, longhaired boys called The Beatles and our band and jazz disappeared into oblivion.

I still had illustrating to fall back on and that is what I did for the next ten years or so, mainly children's books. To cut a long story short, I moved to Boston, Mass. in the USA to run an art gallery for a great friend of mine, John Stobart, a renownd marine painter and then back to the UK to start a publishing company. I then started another art gallery, designing sculpture and finally getting back to painting full time.

Strangely, I am chairman of a group of painters called The Hampshire Artists Co-Operative in the same gallery we started in the 70's.

That's My Dad
(click to view)

What mediums and genres have you experimented with?

When illustrating, I would use pen and ink and colour with either watercolour or inks and to cover up the mistakes, gouache. I then moved on to acrylic. When painting, I used the same technics starting with watercolour on a heavy watercolour paper, about 300 gms, then adding acrylics and finally, just acrylics. In the meantime, I played with oils but didn't like the smell or waiting for the paintings to dry.

Acrylics have improved a lot and now I'm using a cross between the two, half oil and half acrylic, but the waiting time is still annoying. I like to get on with the painting and with these daily paintings I like start and finish on the same day. I often paint with a brush in one hand and a hairdryer in the other.

Other mediums I have tried are pastels and watercolour. They work very well together.

Gouache I used for a long time. I liked the chalkiness of pastels and gouache together. I have been trying to get this 'look' with acrylic with some success.

Which ones have “stuck” and which ones have fallen away?

Since reading Carol's book on Daily Painting, I have cut down to just watercolour and acrylics and only painting at a smaller size (6 x 6 / 6 x 8 /11 x 7 inches is ideal for me at the moment.) When I read her book, I realised that I had had similar problems with art colleges and galleries as she had, so this daily painting is new to me and a perfect way to paint.

You Looking at Me?
(click to view)

Who or what inspires you most?

Well, as I have just said, Carol Marine, certainly has made a big difference in my life and way of working. No more agonising over too large a painting and which gallery to try and get it in and coping with the length of time they would take to sell. Now I know that if a painting is not working out I can just throw it out of the window and pick up another board and carry on without fussing or missing a beat and worrying as I would with a large canvas.

I am always amazed at the artists out there and how good some of them are. I usually find something about their work that is inspirational. What else inspires me? Things around me, mostly cats, birds, animals in general, humorous situations. I still paint the occasional landscape or harbour scene. I like the sun hitting various surfaces and the colours that you find in shadows. Everything really.

What does procrastination look like to you?

It has never been a problem. After I wake up, I like to get into the studio as soon as I can and get started on what I've been thinking about all night. I probably have too many ideas. I wouldn't mind if they were all good! It's the separating the good from the bad that takes time.

I know that if I wake up one morning and I don't want to paint I'd think it was time to give
up... but I wouldn't.

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

That's an easy one, my dear wife Jill. It wouldn't work without her. When we meet new people and I say what I do, they then ask,“What do you do, Jill?” and the answer to that question is “Everything!” I'm pretty useless at any DIY and Jill is asking me for power tools for birthdays now... should I be worried?

We work as a team... and it seems to work well.

Caring Mum
(click to view)

How do you generally arrive at ideas for your paintings?

I always have a sketch book with me where ever I go. I find that ideas come at the most inconvenient times and if I don't get something down on paper then and there I forget. I gets worse the older I am so it's essential! A must! Sitting in the evenings quietly with the sketch book and a pen poised for action is normal in our house, even when viewing T.V.

If I have say, a harbour in mind, I will scan it like a film; 'fly' around the harbour looking at the different views until I find one I think will work. I have painted a lot of aerial views of this sort.

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

Good question. There are always those days where nothing works. You know it's going to be a bad day and you think you can master it, work through it and come out the other side with a good painting. I think at the first sign of burnout one should leave the studio immediately and do something that is the opposite of painting and outside if possible like a run, a walk (with a camera), and get as far away from the studio as possible.

I found martial arts a good ploy. I did judo then moved on to aikido and now tai chi. It has to
be something physical. If I have a really bad burnout, I take a trip somewhere and don't take my
paints.

Jugged Puss
(click to view)

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

Another good question! I do find painting exciting and a never ending learning experience. I'm always trying to paint in a looser style. My years as an illustrator had made my work very tight so getting rid of that is a learning curve. I have been painting from life more which I was told years ago by my friend John Stobart is the quickest way to learn to paint... and he is right!

Carol says the same in her book. It is strange you get told something that could change your life and you don't get around to doing it, maybe for years. I guess there is too much information out there and it's hard to filter the right information for yourself.

What makes you happiest about your art?

Getting to the studio and closing the door, shutting out the outside world and then it's all up to me in my own world. I have all my 'things' about me to make paintings and with luck I'll know what I'm going to do. Sitting and sipping tea and thinking about what I'm about to paint and then doing it... ah blissful happiness.

Thanks, Toni!

© 2015 Sophie Marine

DPW Spotlight Interview: Jiyoung Kim

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

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

From Jiyoung's DPW Gallery Page:

Hi, my name is Jiyoung Kim and I was born and raised in South Korea. Now I live and work in a small studio in Burnaby, B.C, Canada. I usually paint one or two paintings everyday unless life gets in the way. At the corner of my studio, there is a small table which I call it 'my painting stage' and there, I set up a still life objects and paint them from life. My current interests are the things around me like cups, fruits, wrapping papers, ribbons, bowls, plates........ and those that I use and see everyday. I find the beauty of ordinary objects and like to paint them. I am inspired by light, shadow, colors, reflections and the mood created by weather and many many more by nature. Sometimes even a single word or quote does wonder for me. (click to read more)

Tell us a bit about how you first started painting.

As a child, I made a wish to Mr. Claus on Christmas Eve. I grew up with my three siblings (four kids including me: three girls and one boy) and only my father worked at the time so my parents always had tight budgets. I kept begging them to buy me a set of paints. We had crayons, but there were four kids all sharing one set and many were worn out or missing. I wanted something that was my own. Their answer was always 'I am sorry, honey. We can't'.  They had to say 'no' because if they bought something special for me, they'd have to buy something special for each of us and you know how the story goes.

One day however, my parents asked all of us what we wanted from Santa. We all had never-ending lists.  They smiled.  On Christmas morning, we each received one gift.  I got color markers instead of the paints and brushes that I had hoped for, but for the most part, that didn't mater. It was the start of my art career with my very own tools.

See-Through
(click to view)

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

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

During high school, I attended an atelier for a year to prepare for an entry test of art universities.  To enter a university in Korea, students were required to finish one drawing and one painting within a given time as well as complete a written examination similar to SATs. (I don't know if they still do it the same way. It was almost 23 years ago.) For a year, I attended the atelier Monday through Friday and sometimes weekends as well. The daily practice greatly improved my work and I was able to obtain an art major. I majored in Metal Art (which is sculpturing and crafting with metal) so during that time, I did very little painting. I still had some drawings or renderings for school projects, but very few. After graduation, I was unable to find a decent paying job in my field, so to pay the bills, I kept the job that had put me though school and the painting stopped.  Years later, I moved to Canada and married my husband and had a son. Once married, my full-time job became home-maker and it wasn't until my son became old enough to go to school that I started to take a few community art classes and start painting again.

However, my true passion for painting emerged when I bought Carol Marine's book 'Daily Painting'. I had an extreme thirst for painting and her book was an oasis for me. It showed me how and where to start. I knew that daily practice truly works from attending the atelier so I jumped right into Daily Painting Movement.  I felt lucky to discover her book at a time in my life where I was ready to pursue my passion. Without her book, I would have strayed longer.

Which ones are you looking forward to exploring?

It's little notional to explain but I will describe it this way:

One of my favourite art quotes is from Charles Reid's book titled ' Watercolor Solutions'. On page 56, he wrote:

'I recommend having a book of John Singer Sargent's watercolors on hand to study each evening before going to sleep. Beyond his amazing skill as an artist, Sargent had lessons to teach us. His message to us: Keep it simple, keep it fresh, don't correct, don't over paint and let the viewer finish the painting. He made us use our imagination.'

The phrase - 'Keep it simple, let the viewer finish the painting' has given me answers about why I like certain paintings more than others.  I would love to explore how to create the scenes in front of me in a simpler form and allow the viewers to use their imaginations and(or) tell a story.

Motionless
(click to view)

Who or what inspires you most?

[Moods influenced by weather such as rain, water puddles, fog and snow creates]. Light and shadow, reflections, colors, shapes. Ordinary objects like mugs, glasses, bottles... and the list goes on and on. I have to say everything - even a single quote does wonders.

I also inspired by other artists' works. There are so many talented artists out there and I am thankful for this internet world which makes it possible to discover them.

What does procrastination look like for you?

Procrastination happens to me when I am physically or mentally exhausted (or sometimes both). I often find that it happens when I am lacking nutritious foods and sleep. So when it happens, I take care of myself by having regularly scheduled and healthy meals, taking warm baths with scented bubbles, having a glass of wine (normally I don't drink but I do when I need extra rest), listening to music and dancing like nobody is watching me (I'm not a good dancer so it's always at home alone - well, sometimes my son watches me but I don't care) and getting enough sleep. Usually It refreshes me for the next day. If this doesn't help me to get things done, I simply wait until I feel like I do.

Standing on the Edge
(click to view)

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

I always leave my easel and brushes ready in my studio even though I am not painting. So when the creative moment strikes, everything is ready. When the moment comes, I don't wash my hair, I don't care about cooking or cleaning and just keep painting until I get exhausted.

How do you generally arrive at ideas for your paintings?

I am told that some people get their best ideas when they walk, some when they take a shower, some when they hang out wet laundry, do dishes or clean house.

All these seem to work for me as well, however, I often get my best ideas when I am sitting on a comfy chair and doing nothing but enjoying trees or clouds moving slowly through my window and hearing children chattering and giggling in distance. It doesn't mean that it works every time (often it makes me fall asleep), but my light bulb often lights up when I am doing generally nothing but just emptying myself.

Also, sometimes I go out 'prop hunting' to a mall. I often come back with nice items to paint.

Green Glass Bottle
(click to view)

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

My brushes go on a strike often. When they started to yell at me ' Hey, we aren't getting enough vacation days or sick days. You're a horrible boss!! if you don't provide great benefits for us, we're gonna sue you! Then I stop,  give them a good rest and stay away from painting until they say they'll work for me again.

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

I am exploring how glass and water cause objects to appear distorted.

Surrounded
(click to view)

What makes you happiest about your art?

The moment when painting becomes meditative and I reach 'the flow stage'. It doesn't come often, but when it does, everything feels peaceful.  It feels as if the stresses of life fall away and I find my true self.  It's therapy for my soul.

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

The fear of 'what a fresh surface - how can I ruin it' syndrome has fallen away. Whenever I buy a good quality sketchbook, canvas or panel, I admire the fresh surface so much that I am afraid to make a mark on it. Now the fear has lessened.  I try not to care about how good they are - they are made for creating art and would be meaningless without any expression on them, so I just get the ball rolling.

Thanks, Jiyoung!

© 2015 Sophie Catalina Marine

DPW Spotlight Interview: Aniko Makay

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

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

From Aniko's DPW Gallery Page:

I am an artist from Hungary, Europe. For 15 years my main medium was silk, silk painting. It was soft and feminine material, and let me use and invent creative solutions year by year. Nowadays I am dedicated to paint in oil. I changed medium, there was no special reason, I longed for being renewed. And I did. Surprisingly- yes, it was really unexpected - I felt a new chapter began in my life. As I go deeper and deeper, there are so much to explore, so many paintings that I want to paint. I feel energized. (click to read more)

Tell us a bit about how you first started painting.

I really don't know. My first memory is that I was amazed by the yellow of a tram-car, and the BLUE of my knitted dress; I carefully saved a complete set of forty felt-dip pens that I got from America because their colors were so precious to me. I just fell in love with colors when I was five and I'm still in love with them. In those days, I painted coloring books and was usually told how to color a page. Now I as a grown up, not much changed. I feel I still painting coloring books, but on the other hand, everything changed because no one tells me how to paint the colors of a painting. How liberating is that?

Mountain Tops
(click to view)

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

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

Oh, yes. My color-lover soul was resentful and bored when I was taught how to draw (graphite and charcoal). It was to me as if the juice of life was sucked out of me. I gave up art for years. I became an economist by degree, though I haven't spent an hour as an economist because I once accidentally tried silk-painting and I was hooked by the colors. I decided to continue with silk painting as a hobby, then full time, then more than full time, until I burnt myself out completely.

Later I found a new medium (oil) that brought me new happiness and healed me deeply.

Seascape
(click to view)

Who or what inspires you most?

I am curious about the world. I am still amazed by colors and wonderful lights as sunshine goes through an object. I still very sensitively observe the world around me and I like humor.

What does procrastination look like for you?

Procrastination for me is lack of energy. I'm still learning how to say no to things and activities and persons that suck my energy out of me. If I am energetically charged, I am focused and I know my priorities and procrastination is not an issue at all. So procrastination is just a red flag to me, a signal that I have to stop and say no.

A Teacher of Stillness
(click to view)

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

I think that art at its base is or should be as natural for everyone as singing is for birds. Naturally, we are empty vessels and energy and happiness overflows from us and wants to create through us. Our task is to show up. I don't think I need to do any technique to make time, as birds don't do any technique to have time for singing. I usually to think that showing up was all I need and that art makes time for itself in my life. This is my ideal world until an obstacle shows up and my peaceful happy life goes who knows where.

I have observed that it's not only the obstacle that bothers me but the huge amount of time I spend solving and thinking and rethinking and resolving, constantly struggling to find the perfect solution. As my head is full of problems, I can't be an empty vessel. Instead I'm just a muddy blur. A muddy blur is not healthy, not even effective and has zero creation in it, believe me.

Over the years I have studied a few techniques to lessen the struggle time: meditation, yoga, Brandon Bays' Journey Practice, Byron Katie's Four Questions - these are my life and art savers. If I spend less time with struggling I certainly have time for art, it is 100%.

A Poppy Field
(click to view)

How do you generally arrive at ideas for your paintings? How do you keep art "fresh?" What techniques have helped you avoid burnout and keep your work vibrant and engaging?

My first inspiration is color. Is that a surprise? If a small beam of sunlight goes through a clear glass and projects a new color, I become hooked and vibrant. I am constantly looking for that vibrant, enthusiastic feeling, when something lights up in me. If I don't have that feeling, I don't have a chance of painting a good painting. I had to learn this the hard way. So this is my first and foremost 'rule' to keep in mind: trust the feeling. If I don't have that feeling I drop my theme. If I am energetically in good shape and ready, I find these vibrant feelings everywhere I go and I find them often.

I love to travel, in that special 'tourist mode' I find vibrant feeling moments by the dozens. I keep travel journals to record them and unfortunately forget all my themes afterwards. If I have the chance, I love to take photos of them. They are better reminders.

I chase my blogfriends' vibrant feeling paintings also. They nurture my soul; they give me enthusiasm and energy. I really appreciate them.

Wednesday Market
(click to view)

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

Oil painting is quite new to me and there is a lot of experimentation ahead. I would like to paint series like the dog series I painted lately. Series give direction and focus to the mind, so the overflowing energy can flow like a stream. I would like to eliminate all the elements of job-like painting and effort.

What makes you happiest about your art?

So many things makes me happy about my art. The whole process of creation is wonderful; the wonder that a few patches of color become a flower or a house is still amazing. The true magic for me is beyond all of this: when my intention resonates in the viewer, oh, that is the full circle. I love that special moment immensely.

Thanks, Aniko!

© 2015 Sophie Catalina Marine

DPW Spotlight Interview: Margaret Horvat

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

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

From Margaret's DPW Gallery Page:

I find beauty in the everyday; the interplay of light and shadow revealing and obscuring details in a subject, the natural infusion of colours that quite often are missed with the casual eye. Looking at subjects in a new and intimate way in order to push beyond the obvious and into the close up details, and then showing how the light and shadow play with those details, is what I enjoy most about painting. The same is true when a portrait is my subject; when observed closely and truthfully, the real person comes through and a connection is made. It is these visual inspirations that compel me to paint. (click to read more)

Tell us a bit about how you first started painting.

I remember drawing from a very young age, it was one of my most favourite pastimes, and later on in school I would get to work with either water based paints or acrylics, but it wasn’t until I was in my late twenties when I seriously took up painting, with transparent watercolour as my medium of choice.  I am mostly self-taught, having relied on many good books and art magazines to help me figure out how to get to where I wanted to go using this sometimes tricky medium.  I worked exclusively in watercolour until 2009, when I decided to make a switch to oils, with the aim of achieving that smooth velvety quality oils can sometimes convey.

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

Yes a few.  I took art throughout school, but after high school, I didn’t consider being an artist as a possible career choice because at that time, I assumed there were few opportunities to make a living at it, so I went on to other things.  During that time though, I would still draw and as I eventually progressed to watercolours and then oils, I gradually developed my idea of what I wanted my finished paintings to look like.  It wasn’t until after the birth of my first child and I was at home on maternity leave that I was able to spend a bit more time (during baby naps) on my art, but I eventually returned to the workforce when my kids entered school.

Fast forward to 2009 when I made the change to oils - my progress was still sporadic because I wasn’t able to give enough time to it. In 2012 I started to paint full time and in 2014 I became aware of the daily painters movement through Carol Marine's book which was a real eye opener for me.  It was by working much smaller that I was freed up to make mistakes and be less invested, which led to me taking more chances and trying ideas out.  My style didn’t change so much, and I’m still a “details” kind of painter, but the change in my approach helped me to crystallize my process in my own mind, so that I find I can start out a little more confidently now on a new painting with less guesswork and hesitation in the equation.

Beachcomber
(click to view)

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

What mediums and genres have you experimented with?

As mentioned, I’ve worked in watercolours and oils plus I did a little experimentation with acrylics while still in high school, but the fast drying time didn’t really work with the blended look I always seemed to be after.  I’ve done a lot of florals prior to this year and plan to do more of those, though the concepts I have in mind probably would work better in large format paintings.

I love still life as well as portrait work (both humans and animals!). Landscape seems to be the one area I don’t have a natural ability for (at least so far), though I very much admire a lot of the work I see here on Daily Paintworks and elsewhere.  Since I lean more toward realism, I haven’t done much with abstract, but I have been a bit more playful with some of my florals (close ups), which I think can lend themselves to abstraction.

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

Realism/detail work has stuck with me and I think it’s the reason I love to paint.  In the future I could see myself picking up the watercolours again, and see what influence my work in oils may have had on that - it might be interesting to see what has changed in my approach because of all I have learned through oils.

Sunshine Clementine
(click to view)

Which ones are you looking forward to exploring?

As far as genre goes, I’m pushing the realism a bit further, though I don’t know that I’ll ever go as far as hyperrealist.  On the other hand I would like to explore loosening up more, which I find very challenging, so it’s more of a learning curve for me right now.  Also I have some ideas in the works for much larger format paintings which I am looking forward to getting to.

Who or what inspires you most?

At the moment I’m very inspired by vintage things, objects that are throwbacks to my childhood or even before my time, for example my painting “Hockey Skates”. I find the works of other artists very inspiring including work from the hyperrealists, impressionists, daily painters (lots of inspiration on DPW!) and a great variety of artists throughout the ages as well as current, such as Caravaggio, Vermeer, JC Leyendecker, Norman Rockwell, both Neil and Karen Hollingsworth, just to name a few, but there really are so many whose work I love!

Ball Mason Jar
(click to view)

What does procrastination look like for you?

I love to paint and be productive, but procrastination for me can take many forms – falling down the rabbit hole of the internet (Pinterest, I’m talking about you), letting other projects that are not art or art-related steal my attention for too long. If I’m genuinely tired or feeling under the weather, I’ll let myself have some time to recharge the batteries by vegging out and not doing anything at all, and I tend to let myself have the weekends with my family to relax and recharge, so I’m usually “champing at the bit” once Monday morning comes around.

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

Keeping to a daily routine has helped a lot.  I’ll do a morning yoga routine and try to get working at the easel by 8:30 or 9:00 am, and I also “punch in” by marking down my start and end times for whatever piece I’m working on so I can see how many hours I’m actually painting in a day.  That helps me to get back on track if I find I’m spending more time away from painting, and if it’s not for something that is art business-related, I have to ask myself why.  This keeps me “honest” and accountable to myself.

Chasing Gulls
(click to view)

How do you generally arrive at ideas for your paintings?

Ideas come from my imagination, inspiration from other artists and just playing with objects to come up with arrangements that are appealing.  They also can come from life experience, when I just happen upon something that just begs to be painted.

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

In the last year I’ve found that my approach to oil painting has crystalized in my mind so that it’s more automatic now.  Because of this a lot of the mental gymnastics that used to dog me when I first would start on a painting have lessened and I have more of a clear path to what I’m trying to accomplish on the canvas.  I do a lot of preplanning of what I want the finished product to look like, so that frees me up to get into the “zone” with the actual act of painting, and I think that in itself keeps it fresh for me, it’s almost like meditation, so it’s really pure joy for me and hopefully that manifests itself in the finished work.

Tea Break
(click to view)

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

I’ve been learning to trust my process of painting and that there is actually a never ending source of things to paint – pretty much everything is fair game and everything has something to be said about it – in the same way that everyone has their story.  On a more practical note, I’ve been learning that it’s not just about producing the art when you are a full time artist, you also need to keep on top of promoting your work and getting it in front of the public.

What makes you happiest about your art?

When a piece I’m working on turns out exactly like I had intended, and my “vision” has been realized, that’s very satisfying.  It’s also great when I push myself out of my comfort zone by trying out a different technique and it turns out well.  That means not only do I have a successful painting, but I know I’ve grown as an artist as well.

Thanks, Margaret!

© 2015 Sophie Catalina Marine