Thursday, August 31, 2017

DPW Spotlight Interview: Conny van Leeuwen

Each week we will spotlight a different DPW artist who will give away one of their best paintings. To enter to win Conny's painting, "Pink Peonies" go to Daily Paintworks and click on the link at the top of the page announcing their interview.

From Conny's DPW Gallery:

Conny van Leeuwen is a Dutch artist and is a member of Ars et Studium in the Netherlands. She has studied art in the Netherlands and in Belgium. Her subjects vary, because she loves everything around her.

Tell us a bit about how you first started painting.

When I lived in Belgium, I took an art and antiques course. I got interested in paintings and their stories and also the different genres and kinds of medium. I wanted to try to paint too and be creative. My first attempt was an acrylic painting of tulips. I thought it was terrible, but then my mum saw the painting and she loved it (She definitely would say if it was bad). That’s when I got motivated and painted regularly.

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

Because of my demanding job in the hospitality business, I stopped painting. Then I got divorced and moved back to The Netherlands. Sitting in my new living room with my cats and looking at a very white wall, I thought, "There must be a colorful painting hanging on that wall." I made two and that’s when I started painting again.

Pink Peonies
(click to view)

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

What mediums and genres have you experimented with?

I tried acrylics, watercolors and oils. I have different genres, because I like so many styles and want to try them all.

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

The watercolor is not for me. I tried but it is difficult to make corrections when making a mistake. I use it sometimes in my sketchbook because that is for my eyes only and for experiments. I love my oils and that is the medium which works for me. It blends well and mistakes can easily be fixed by wiping it off.

Jack
(click to view)

Which ones are you looking forward to exploring?

I am experimenting with gouache right now. After seeing James Gurney using the gouache, I got motivated to use them. It is drying very fast, so much more different then oils. A big challenge!

Who or what inspires you most?

Very much everything comes to me as an inspiration. Except black and dark things, like horror or evil things. I am a romantic and animal lover. Color makes me happy. Some painters who are my favorites: Henriette Rönner-Knip, Cornelis Raaphorst, Isaac Israëls, Monet, Van Gogh, Renoir and I love the work of Haidee Jo Summers.

Spilled Cherries
(click to view)

What does procrastination look like for you?

Hours spending on the Internet/Instagram/Pinterest. I know it is time consuming, but it is an addiction. Nowadays, I start painting in the morning and allow myself to Instagram at lunchtime for an hour.

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

Three small paintings a week is what I have to make. That is a commitment to myself and I stick to it (except when I am ill).

Tulips from Amsterdam
(click to view)

How do you generally arrive at ideas for your paintings?

Everyday life. When I look at my cat, when shopping, when I ride my bike, a beautiful flower. There are so many beautiful things in life, we only have to open our eyes and watch.

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

I can’t paint a lot of the same subjects after another. I have to make a variety in subjects, styles and colors. Starting a sketchbook helped me a lot, especially for composition and getting better drawing skills. In the past it had to be perfect from the beginning, which put a lot of stress on me. Now I start mixing my colors and say to myself, “Let’s try and see what happens.”

Sweet Michelle
(click to view)

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

I feel free to do what I want and when I want. No pressure, that’s why I stopped doing commission work.

What makes you happiest about your art?

I am happy when people comment on my work. They don’t have to do that, but they do and it motivates me. Making art has given me a better look at my life and what I want.

Thanks, Conny!

© 2017 Sophie Marine

Thursday, August 17, 2017

DPW Spotlight Interview: Wawan Ms

Each week we will spotlight a different DPW artist who will give away one of their best paintings. To enter to win Wawan painting, "abstract#558" go to Daily Paintworks and click on the link at the top of the page announcing their interview.

From Wawan's DPW Gallery:

Hi, I am painter from Ciamis, a small town on Java Island Indonesia. My interest at drawing and painting began in early childhood but started to be neglected during college. And after I got bored working behind a computer as a Mechanical Design Engineer in capital for more than ten years, the joys and passion to paint came up and surrounded my life and made me decide to quit the job, go to my home town and become a full time painter on 2009. As a self-taught painter, I like to explore and do some experiment with many kinds of media such as: acrylic oil, sand, resin, pigment and digital. I'm not confined with one subject area, preferring varies project and media. For small size works mostly I use oil to expose texture, acrylic for bigger size to expose a melt from a aqueous media and sand for delicate a pencil point. (click to read more)

Tell us a bit about how you first started painting.

I became interested in drawing in elementary school since seeing a friend who was good at drawing. From there, I tried drawing on some media with friends ranging from making graffiti, t-shirts or greeting cards and it lasted until college.

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

After graduating from college and working in the automotive industry I stopped painting. I actually did not really leave the art world because my work is still related to the applied arts, just different media. And after several years of work, I decided to stay in the hometown and gather with family. And there I began to receive orders to paint the face with sand and Arabic calligraphy.

abstract#558
(click to view)

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

What mediums and genres have you experimented with?

I like to try various kinds of media ranging from pencils, acrylics, oil, watercolors, pastels, even with beach sand, it all depends on the effect to be achieved, as well as the technique. I do not limit myself. And as for the genre, I think, now I am more comfortable with the abstract style.

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

I think the one that makes me desperate is the watercolor, because sometimes it is not as expected and can not be repainted.

Lennon
(click to view)

Which ones are you looking forward to exploring?

I am interested in developing natural sand paintings because there are still many possibilities that are produced. And not many people are using sand as an art medium. Also until now I hadn't challenged myself to have to make daily paintings.

Who or what inspires you most?

Most inspiration comes from the surrounding environment, landscape, skies, leaves, bushed. It's not the shape of things which I pay attention to but the colors and light. I like to observe colors. So many colors change even in the same thing, when the position of the light source changes, the wind blows. And surely there are some painters in Indonesia that affect me like Hanafi, Affandi, Srihadi Sudarsono and others.

CF#36
(click to view)

What does procrastination look like for you?

Procrastination comes when you do not know when you have to stop playing with your phone. But the procrastination caused by family affairs is a blessing because you are still needed. :)

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

Daily painting. Forcing myself to touch the painting media every day, even if just scratching a sketch book.

BBB#38
(click to view)

How do you generally arrive at ideas for your paintings?

In general the idea comes spontaneously through work, put oil or acrylic on an empty canvas, let the brush or pallet knife continue it. Although the results sometimes don't go as expected or fail.

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

When a painting is stumbling, leave it and take a new canvas. If necessary leave the studio and go for a walk.

al#21
(click to view)

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


I can manage my own work time so I have more time with family. And also because of my paintings I can have new friends, even outside my country.

What makes you happiest about your art?

I am very happy when people are pleased with my work and keep my work as well.

Thanks, Wawan!

© 2017 Sophie Marine

Thursday, August 3, 2017

DPW Spotlight Interview: Andrea Jeris

Each week we will spotlight a different DPW artist who will give away one of their best paintings. To enter to win Andrea's painting, "Flowers in the Window" go to Daily Paintworks and click on the link at the top of the page announcing their interview.

From Andrea's DPW Gallery:

"If you ask the sun why it shines it would answer, 'because it is my nature to shine.'" I paint because it is my nature to paint.Nature takes my breath away. Sometimes it is overwhelming. I look at it until it looks back, then I find there is an image haunting me until I sketch it or paint it. (click to read more)

Tell us a bit about how you first started painting.

My dad signed up for the Famous Artist Painting Course (a mail correspondence art course with artists including Norman Rockwell) as a hobby. He lost interest in about three months and gave me all the supplies including a full set of oil paints. Woo Hoo! I was sixteen.

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

Entering college I wanted to go into art. My dad said I’d have to go into teaching or commercial art. I believed him and worked in graphic design for most of my life, painting only being a hobby. I didn’t paint at all the seven years I was married but I won’t go into that. Now retired from graphic design I am on my second career as a full-time painter and I love it.

Flowers in the Window
(click to view)

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

What mediums and genres have you experimented with?

I think I’ve tried every media except fiber and sculpture and wanted to do them all—HA! For a long time I was a landscape painter. In the past few years I have tried still life, floral, animals, and others, and have really enjoyed each. I’m delighted to discover I have new inspirations.

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

For years I went back and forth between oil and watercolor. Then I saw a demo on slow-drying acrylics and thought I could achieve both watercolor AND oil techniques in one medium. I painted in the “open" acrylics for three years. Then I took a workshop in oil and I remembered what I loved about oils. I have been painting in oils ever since.

Backyard
(click to view)

Which ones are you looking forward to exploring?

I’m now dedicated to oil to hone my craft.

Who or what inspires you most?

All the great masters from the past, Rembrandt, da Vinci, Van Gogh, Monet, Sargent, Sorolla, Hopper, and others. And the artists who are making it now, Mary Whyte, Duane Keiser, Scott Christensen, Quang Ho, Carlos San Milan, Brian Rutenberg, Karen Jurick, and of course, Carol Marine.

Girl in the Garden
(click to view)

What does procrastination look like for you?

The Internet! It is such a time suck for me—looking at other people’s art.

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

Art before housework! Ha ha! I try to paint everyday. I used to think I needed a three hour block of time to be able to paint. Now if I have a half an hour I’ll take it. But usually I get in at least a half a day if not six or more hours.

Flower Farm
(click to view)

How do you generally arrive at ideas for your paintings?

When I paint every day I start painting everything with my eyes constantly. The Chinese have what they call "The Ten Thousand Things."  "…among The Ten Thousand Things there is no ordinary thing." —The Zen of Seeing by Frederick Franck

From May through October I go out plein air painting once a week with friends. I take lots of photos as well, everywhere I go.  And I keep a list of ideas when the mood strikes.

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

I was painting very tight, almost photo-realistic. But felt that was too much about skill rather than expression. So I look to artists I admire, watch a video, tutorial, read art magazines, study techniques, and I keep trying to loosen up my work and we’ll see what happens. I’m still learning so much. Oh, and of course hit the museums and galleries.

Yellow Rose
(click to view)

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

It’s beneficial to experiment, and when I disengage from outcome I do my best work. That’s difficult because usually I have a picture in my head and if I can’t get it to come out on the canvas it’s frustrating. If I just say I’m going to try a technique to see what happens, and there is no expectation, any result is helpful to learning.

What makes you happiest about your art?

Oh, it takes me to another world, a very happy place.

Thanks, Andrea!


© 2017 Sophie Marine