DPW Spotlight Interview: Emiliya Lane

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

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


From Emilya's DPW Gallery Page:

I'm a mother, an artist, a thinker and a meditator. Iam a pragmatic idealist and romantic dreamer. Complex but with simple needs, I am in constant search for balance, beauty and harmony. I'm growing, evolving into my true self more every day. (click to read more)

Tell us a bit about how you first started painting.

From a very early age (three to be precise) I knew my identity, I knew I was an artist. I was just painting and drawing day and night. My parents recognized this and were very supportive of my artistic abilities and enrolled me into art school at age seven. I've been constantly surrounded by the visual arts ever since. I graduated from art school at age sixteen and was accepted into University, aged seventeen. Altogether I had fifteen years of art training.

Wedges
(click to view)

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

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

I had a good ten years break from painting, when I was juggling with family and two businesses. I came back to my painting after my husband passed away six years ago. I realized that it was time to return to my roots, my creativity, in order to heal.

Nostalgia
(click to view)

What mediums and genres have you experimented with? Which ones have "stuck" and which ones have fallen away? Which ones are you looking forward to exploring?

I worked and experimented with many mediums including watercolor, acrylic, gouache  - but the texture of oil always will be my favorite and to this day I'm learning and playing with this medium. The flow-y, rich, textured stroke movement feels heavenly.

Who or what inspires you most?

Although I paint with bold and bright colors, the subject that is most inspiring to me is the subtle transitions of color, emotion, feeling, light... intangible passes... soft wind, mystical shifts.

Chasing Shadow
(click to view)

What does procrastination look like for you?

I procrastinate creatively - If I need to pay taxes or bills, I will just paint myself to exhaustion.

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

I don't make time for art, I have to make time for other things. Art IS my life. It's become like breathing to me. Most days, I get up at 6am, do my yoga and meditation and then go to my studio to paint. I come back after 10pm. Though yesterday, I'm embarrassed to say, I came back after 12am. I
also teach art two days a week. So for many years now, I've painted daily.

Midnight Snack
(click to view)

How do you generally arrive at ideas for your paintings?

Ideas for my paintings are out there, everywhere. Nature is the most amazing, limitless, timeless subject for inspiration. I live in the most beautiful place an artist can be. The most banal, predictable, practical or seemingly boring thing is an inspiring subject to me - a lemon, a glass of water, a rose in a tea cup.

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

The only technique or gimmick I use, to help my art stay fresh and let my soul sing, is to just paint even more.

Ocean at His Fingertips
(click to view)

What do you feel you are learning about right now as an artist? What makes you happiest about your art?

Right now I'm learning about how to express and paint an emotion on canvas, learning how to paint not the subject but a sensation of the subject; lot's of textures and manipulation of paint application and the moment it's happening, bringing an intense joy and happiness. Also to see how my students grow and develop, to see when they "get it" is the most rewarding feeling... A fulfilling happiness.

Thanks, Emiliya!

© 2015 Sophie Marine