DPW Spotlight Interview: MB Warner

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

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

From MB's DPW Gallery:

I love to paint. I will try to paint just about anything. I am a photographer turned printmaker turned painter. I live in Steamboat Springs, CO and work out of my solar powered - off grid studio. I love to do commission work - kids - pets - cars etc. I carry my camera at all times - every painting produced has a story. I'm drawn to ordinary everyday stuff. That's it for now. Thanks for taking a look and drop me a line sometime. (click to view gallery)

Tell us a bit about how you first started painting.

I've been painting for over 20 years, but I didn't paint seriously until 2012.

My BFA is in photography and printmaking. My MFA was in printmaking with a mixed media focus.  It's embarrassing to mention my art degrees, but my school experience really shaped who I am today. I'm passionate about painting - passionate about most things - all thanks to my liberal art education.

Painting occurred much later after the desire to pull more than one print fell away. The years of photography and printmaking were great, but it was time to make some changes to producing art. Painting was a natural progression.

Sides
(click to view)

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

What mediums and genres have you experimented with?

The list is pretty endless. I created all the stained glass windows in my house. I was a member of a glass blowing studio - a clay studio - and I had my own photography and printmaking studio. This summer, after much thought, I finally gave away my etching press, all my supplies and tools, acrylic paints, etc. to the local high school. Oil painting is my primary focus.

When did you start painting seriously?

In 2012, I left my adjunct teaching post at CMC (Colorado Mountain College) in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, my home. I missed teaching and I really missed the KIDS! I was searching for a teaching replacement and I discovered Daily Paintworks. I started following the work of Carol Marine and Karin Jurick, they inspired me to make a move. I realized that, over time, I had never really devoted myself to one art technique. I learned a lot over the years, but it was time to focus and get proficient at one thing - it was time to paint! You could say Carol and Karin saved me from some mediocre - hum drum - existence after leaving CMC. On Wednesday, November 7, 2012 I started my blog by painting 100 paintings in one hundred days - the rest is history.

Space Station
(click to view)

Which ones are you looking forward to exploring?

I'm working on a new series of paintings titled "Less is More". The paintings are 3" X 3". Little jewels of color, texture and form. We'll see how far it goes and where it takes me.

Who or what inspires you most?

WOW! That's a loaded question. Inspiration can be as mundane as the light falling on my kitchen sink and the reflections on the dishes, glasses and faucet. It doesn't take much for my mind to wander. Inspiration is everywhere - really!

Everything's Better with Butter

What does procrastination look like for you?

Biting my nails and fretting. It's a sad state of affairs.

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

I have a wonderful, off grid studio on top of a mountain. There is no place I'd rather be. It's not hard for me to make time to paint. It's much harder to do the laundry, wash the dishes and vacuum. Painting is my life.

George
(click to view)

How do you generally arrive at ideas for your paintings?

I get a lot of exercise. In the summer, I ride my bike 20 to 30 miles every day. It's not city biking. It's wide open country filled with barns, cows, ranches, mountains and no traffic.  In the winter, I ski. The National Forest is my backyard. I hike up and ski down and hope to see some elk or a moose on the way. Endorphins are my friend. If I don't get outside, my mind doesn't work correctly.

How do you keep art "fresh"?

I paint a little bit of everything. Figures, still life, landscape, etc. I find it debilitating to paint only one particular idea. I need variety of subjects to keep it all going.

Back to the Future
(click to view)

What makes you happiest about your art?

Sharing the joy of painting. I'm mentoring a painter right now; her name is Missy Borden and it's pure joy to be able to share and exchange art ideas with a passionate young artist.

Lastly I'd like to thank David, Carol, Sophie and all of the DPW artist members. You guys really make my day. I love all the comments and the emails. I couldn't keep painting without all the support. You guys rock. Paint on!

Thanks, MB!

© 2017 Sophie Marine

DPW Spotlight Interview: Ester Wilson

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

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

From Ester's DPW Gallery:

I've been drawing for as long as I remember. Growing up on America's West Coast gave me a great appreciation of Nature, and I hope to convey that love through my work. I strive to achieve the best quality in everything I do.

My work focuses on contemporary realism with everyday objects and plant life. I received a baccalaureate degree at the Atlanta College of Art which helped strengthen my craft in drawing and painting. Now I follow my passion to learn more about classical art, interweaving the facts of today's world with the artistic methods passed down through ages, rendering the visual language as accurately as my creative ideas allow. I try to record that intangible connection between myself and the object - a difficult thing to describe, but something surely felt. (click to read more)

Tell us a bit about how you first started painting.

I first picked up a paintbrush at the Atlanta College of Art where I took an oil painting class. Most of my life before college I was drawing, so pushing around goo with a brush felt alien. But after graduation, a painter friend showed me different ways to handle a brush, various paint viscosities, and how to get my image down in gooey paint. That's when I really started to love it.

What mediums and genres have you experimented with?

My sketchbooks are packed full of mediums and subjects, like gouache, watercolor, pastels, charcoal, pencil, all creating images of people, places and things. With oils I've played around with florals, still life, portraits, animals, landscapes and master copies.

Tulip and Cup
(click to view)

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

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

I love painting with oils on hard surfaces the most, and I appreciate the way a still life will not move while I'm trying to paint it. I think landscapes are my biggest challenge, which I do plan to practice at a point in the future.

Which ones are you looking forward to exploring?

I'm interested in making large oil paintings, preferably focusing on light wrapping around form, composition and brilliancy in color.

Market Flowers
(click to view)

Who or what inspires you most?

There are so many painters now and ancient who are inspiring, I don't know where to start. I do enjoy looking through the ARC website of 'master' painters (www.artrenewal.org), just as much as I enjoy finding new work posted on Pinterest. My favorite work usually always incorporates strong drawing skills.

What does procrastination look like for you?

I don't like to procrastinate, so I avoid it at all costs.

Chipmunk
(click to view)

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

Making paintings is my job (which I love), so I'm in my studio at least 40 hours per week. It's not a technique, but I've made a promise to myself to keep creating in order to get better at this craft, and I have faith my artistic goals will be met, even if by sheer persistence.

How do you generally arrive at ideas for your paintings?

All kinds of things present themselves as subjects. Sometimes a splash of sunlight glinting off glass is enough to make a painting. Other times, the gorgeous colors of fruit at the grocery store make me want to get home in a hurry to start painting. Inspiration is everywhere, and I need to always be curious/open-minded enough to find intrigue in anything. For me, this is all about frame of mind, accepting life as beautiful and interesting.

French Bath
(click to view)

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

When my work is stumbling, I need to take a break. Usually hiking or getting extra exercise helps tremendously. Doing things that are active and not art related helps me zoom back out to a larger view of life. It doesn't take long before I'm back in the studio and excited to be there. If a block is persisting longer than a weekend it also helps to just push through those blocks, regardless of how I feel. Making a few bad paintings is not a big deal, plus the next one that's better feels great to make.

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

With every painting, I learn more about myself. I try to convey my excitement in the things I see and feel. Those attempts show me what I subconsciously find valuable in the visual language, and overall this is leading me to understand my visual voice. For example, edge control is increasingly important to me lately. I try to create a sense of real atmosphere in my still life work, where certain objects melt into others and focal areas stand out sharp. I find my paintings mimic my internal feelings like a mirror, so it's critical that I keep my outlook positive, curious and receptive.

Cabbage and Wood
(click to view)

What makes you happiest about your art?

I'm very happy to have the opportunity to create paintings and drawings. Simply the the opportunity in life to see, feel, improve, focus, grow... all of these things, and so much more, is bundled in the act of creating. Art makes me smile.

Thanks, Ester!

© 2017 Sophie Marine

DPW Spotlight Interview: Ken Devine

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

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

From Ken's DPW Gallery:

I was born in Sunderland, County Durham in 1952, educated in Reigate, Surrey, moved around the country and eventually settled to plan, with my wife Bev, to open a gallery and framing workshop in rural Nottinghamshire.

Although becoming one of the first in the UK to qualify as a Fine Art Trade Guild Commended Framer, my heart was in painting and, after thirteen years of framing and selling other artists work, we sold our business to concentrate on my own work.
After exhibiting and demonstrating for many years at Patchings Art Centre, I became a resident artist there in 2001/2, where I had my own studio, taught a few classes and generally enjoyed being involved with the place.

Giving demonstrations and workshops to art groups and societies was also a feature at this time. The aptly named Genesis Fine Arts was the first company to distribute my paintings nationwide. Solomon & Whitehead then published my work and used their extensive national gallery network to sell my originals.

I sell direct to the public these days. It's a lot easier!

My studio is in Brittany, France, where I live with my wife, Bev. (click to view gallery)

Tell us a bit about how you first started painting.

Like everyone else, it was in my youth way before responsibility robbed me of my time. The days were long and had to be filled with something. Art was one of those things, but I can't recall when or how it began. When I was ten, I sat before some school governors who were trying to determine if I was suitable to be admitted into their pretty exclusive boarding school in the south of England. They pulled out a painting of a ship that I had painted and forgotten about, and concluded I had sufficient talent. I was in! I soon became the darling of Miss Sinclair (my art teacher), who allowed me the exclusive use of oils, which was a great privilege. Everyone else had to use poster paint.

In truth, I only liked art at school because it was easier than maths. During one half term in the sixties, I was sitting at a table in the Coys house (a family I was staying with) and decided I wanted to paint something. They encouraged me, and so I began and, as I did so, was stung by a bee. A painful start to my first conscious desire to paint. In the late sixties, as I was about to leave school, I came across two old codgers sitting outside at their easels overlooking one of the lakes in the school grounds. It struck me that I would one day do the very same thing. Nothing was more certain. I never thought it would take so long, though.

Vision
(click to view)

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

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

Yes! All the time! Even now!! With fourteen grandkids, need to communicate often and a desire to travel and experience life in full, painting isn't always possible... but it is an important part of my life. I guess when I'm too old to travel (coming up quickly), I'll have more painting time. One thing is for sure... if my sight stays with me, I'll be painting to my last day if I'm able.

What mediums and genres have you experimented with?

I tried and loved watercolours but found them too unforgiving. Pastels seemed too messy for my liking. Acrylics at the time dried a different colour and weren't as vibrant and colour-fast as they are today. Oils afforded me the opportunity to scrape away mistakes or paint over, which was just up my street.

Surface Value
(click to view)

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

Oils for sure! If they are good enough for Monet, Munnings or Miro, they're good enough for me.

Which ones are you looking forward to exploring?

Has to be acrylics! Now that the quality is comparable to oils, I fancy a crack at them. I'm hoping they will allow me to really splash it around and produce some sensational intuitive paintings in an impressionist, abstract style, without time wasted for drying.

Who or what inspires you most?

I was originally drawn to the vibrant colour of Van Gogh; the technique and mood of Munnings and the subtle colour of Seago, but in truth there are too many to count and for many years I've gained inspiration by visiting galleries to see the modern masters... there are some fantastic artists out there who are still breathing, many of whom are not celebrated.

Keith & Suzi's Little Rat
(click to view)

What does procrastination look like for you?

It looks pretty good at the time as there is always something you would prefer to do and is perhaps more pressing. When I feel good, I think I can paint forever, but when I don't, I won't. The two hardest things for me are picking up a paintbrush and, when I do, putting it down again. I do, however, have a saying that helps me enormously... and I catch myself regularly quoting it out loud to myself... Do it! Do it right! Do it right now!

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

I have a dedicated painting area. It's essential to have my own space where everything is ready and waiting for me. Half the battle is won if you don't have to waste time preparing things. The only thing that stops me painting is me, and I think perhaps that's down to the fear of failure. It's a mental thing that every artist has to face and ultimately conquer as part of their progression. I know that once I start, I'm okay, so I ensure that all I have to do is pick up that brush.

Final Stage
(click to view)

How do you generally arrive at ideas for your paintings?

I always carry a camera and use it to amass resource material. As I flick through the photos I choose something to paint based on how I feel at the time. I can't paint anything that I'm not in the mood for. So, in short, I don't think at all... I just look and make an instant decision. Then I squeeze the paint out and immediately get on with it.

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

Rotation of subject matter works for me. I generally lose motivation when I stick with one subject for longer than a week. This month (January) was quite a challenge to stay motivated as all the paintings were seascapes. I also force myself to move outside of my comfort zone from time to time, which helps. When you consider that after all the resource has been gathered and categorised and raw materials bought, and when all the paintings have been photographed, uploaded, sold, varnished, wrapped and dispatched, painting time is relatively short so I consider it as rest-time.. I'm ready for it. It's a time to sit down, relax and enjoy myself. Let's face it, if we aren't enjoying the experience, we won't be painting for much longer, will we?

Siesta St Ives
(click to view)

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

The need to keep things simple, perhaps... that atmosphere or mood is more important than detail and that it’s important, for me at least, to concentrate on colour, texture and intuitive touches. I’m learning to stand back and observe a lot more before applying paint, and when I do, apply it with confidence. Having said that, I have to say that this process isn’t instant... I’m a perpetual student.

What makes you happiest about your art?

When others show appreciation and say complimentary things about it... or better still, invest in it. I’m fortunate enough to have sold more of my art that Van Gogh ever did as a living artist and, as such, am a lot happier than he ever was. A quirky little fact that makes me smile.

Thanks, Ken!

© 2017 Sophie Marine

DPW Spotlight Interview: Charlene Marsh

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

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

From Charlene's DPW Gallery:

My name is Charlene Marsh and I am an oil painter creating artworks that make the heart sing and the soul soar! I love to backpack the painting supplies deep into the forest and other wild places to paint on location in all four seasons. You cannot drive to the places where I paint. I create artwork that raises the chi of our living spaces and brings joy into our lives. The artwork I create connects us with beautiful, wild, and not-so-wild spaces in nature and helps us reconnect with our inner soul. Nature - and the paintings - help us to think, meditate, pray, and dream. (click to read more)

Tell us a bit about how you first started painting.

My sister got a paint-by-number kit when we were kids and I started painting with the leftover paint.  I used the cardboard from my dad’s shirts that came from the laundry owned by my grandfather to paint on.  We used to make board games and would carve little race cars from plaster cast in clay molds and then paint them with paint from the local hobby shop.  I also wrote stories about giants and fairies and would illustrate them.  So I have been painting and creating since I was a kid.

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

My first degree from Indiana University, Bloomington, was in English and my second degree was in Fine Art.  I have worked as a full time, professional artist ever since graduating.  I love making art, writing, and reading so I have crafted a career where I can incorporate all my interests.

Autumn Reflection
(click to view)

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

What mediums and genres have you experimented with?

For twenty-five years, I worked full time creating hand dyed wool, tufted onto cotton, tapestries while painting part time.  The tapestries were figurative and/or narrative and/or metaphysical themes incorporating sacred geometric, with shifting perspectives and transparencies.  The tapestries were very labor intensive and could take months to complete one.  After completing one, I would take a break and work on painting which was the total opposite of working in fiber.  Painting was fast, fluid, messy, and instant gratification.

At the same time, I attended a Life Drawing Co-op every Wednesday night for ten years and hosted my own Life Drawing Co-ops working with figure models under natural light out here on my farm.  I could paint a full figure in an hour with bold, loose brush strokes.  But I really did not try to exhibit, market, or sell my paintings at that time.   I primarily did still life and figure paintings until around 2003 when I started painting the forest that surrounds my farm.  In 2005, I developed a repetitive motion problem with my wrists and had to give up the fiber work.  I went full time into painting and was very surprised to find success right away.  Luckily, my skills were at a level I was able to shift seamlessly.

Magic Lilies and Hollyhocks
(click to view)

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

When I attended Indiana University, I took all kinds of classes working in all kinds of mediums and techniques including clay, metal, printed and dyed fiber, constructed fiber, graphic design, sculpture, drawing, painting and even clothing construction techniques in the, then, “home economics” department.  I kept taking studio classes until I felt I had found my “voice” after learning the fiber tufting techniques and taking several oil painting classes which both clicked with me.  I even got an A+ from the professor in my first painting class which caught me by total surprise.  I ended up working full time in fiber for twenty five years and then oil painting full time since 2005.

Which ones are you looking forward to exploring?

I am pretty happy painting with oils.  There is always something new to learn.  Light, color, values, and subject matter provide endless material for exploration.

Fall Colors Along the Creek
(click to view)

Who or what inspires you most?

I am inspired by nature and the power of God.  The paintings feel like shadows compared to the power of God but if I can even capture a flicker of that power, I am happy.  I am merely the vessel, the conduit, to manifest the spirit of God in our world.

What does procrastination look like for you?

Reading.  I love to read about anything and everything.  Ficton, non-fiction, art, marketing, politics, health and nutrition, mysteries, romance, suspense and intrigue, inspiration/motivation, history, archeology,  classics, biographies, metaphysics, science, gardening.  I could go on and on.  I once did a piece for the local library called “Portal to the World” because I think books are the doorway to knowledge and deeper understanding.

Coneflowers and Poppies
(click to view)

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

Setting up an events and show schedule always motivates me to create new work for the upcoming events which can include online events, juried art fairs, gallery shows, open houses, demonstrations, etc.  I also maintain an active blog and an e-newsletter so I feel accountable to my collectors and followers to keep producing new work.  Creating art is a lifetime habit.

How do you generally arrive at ideas for your paintings?

The paintings evolve over time.  I will paint in a particular genre for awhile and then try something else that may be related but goes a step in another direction.  For example, last year I got an “Arts in the Park” project grant to create four plein air paintings in the local state park.  The original idea was to paint in the forest but when I saw the Olympic sized pool packed with swimmers on Memorial Day, I wanted to paint that.  I ended up doing a whole series of pool paintings.  For 2017, I have received another “Arts in the Park” project grant to paint the beaches at two different state properties to continue the theme of painting swimmers in action.  Until 2016, I had not done any figure painting in quite some time so it is fun to go back to that and refresh those skills but in a new way.

Deep Snow on a Sunny Day
(click to view)

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

I have a totally different medium on the side I work in that I don’t show or offer for sale.  Right now, I make glass sculptures for my gardens that are just for fun.  They are totally different from making paintings.

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

Right now, I am working on taking plein air pieces and reworking them as larger paintings.  I may use two to ten plein air paintings as inspiration for a larger piece, taking the best elements from each one to create a truly spectacular, larger painting.

What makes you happiest about your art?

When a painting captures a feeling that makes the heart sing, I feel the most satisfied.

Thanks, Charlene!

© 2017 Sophie Marine