DPW Spotlight Interview: Karen Israel

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

From Karen's DPW Gallery:

The joy I experience when painting with pastels delights my eyes and engages my mind. I hope to invigorate my subjects with energetic color and unique design. I am an award winning, Connecticut pastel artist who is a Master Pastelist with the Pastel Society of America and the International Association of Pastel Society. I am also the current President of Connecticut Pastel Society. In addition to welcoming commissions, I have had the experience of juror, teacher and demonstrator of pastel.

Tell us a bit about how you first started painting.

I began painting about ten years ago while I was working as a Physical Therapist. The desire to study drawing and painting trumped physical therapy and a few years after that I began painting full time.

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

I never stopped painting but along the way I worked in different mediums before devoting myself fully to painting in pastel.

Sunflower Fun
(click to view)

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

What mediums and genres have you experimented with?

I began with watercolor and then briefly with oil painting. In fact, I use watercolor often as an underpainting in my pastel technique.

Which ones are you looking forward to exploring?

There are so many approaches and surfaces with the medium of pastel that I don't think I will ever get bored! I am aways working with new products and approaches to pastel, but if I ever did try a new medium it would probably be oil.

Savannah Dreams
(click to view)

What inspires you most?

Interesting arrangement of shapes and/or dramatic light are the ingredients that pushes my creative buttons. I paint a wide variety of subjects and am inspired by any challenge that is out of my comfort zone.

Who inspires you most?

I am inspired by the works of John Singer Sargent, Joaquín Sorolla and Jean Chardin to name a few. I am also inspired by so many of the great contemporary pastel artists, some of who are on DPW.

A Day Away
(click to view)

What does procrastination look like for you?

I don't procrastinate when it comes to making a painting.  For me, the procrastination comes in framing and photographing my finished works.

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

I don't seem to have a problem finding time to paint but it is the other areas in my life I have to make time for, such as getting to the gym, cooking and cleaning.

Traveling Light
(click to view)

How do you generally arrive at ideas for your paintings?

Sometimes I will find inspiration from unlikely places. Other times, I seek out the inspiration with a trip to the zoo or a hike in the woods. Once I have created a successful painting in a certain subject, I will then attempt to paint that subject in a series.

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

CHANGE is the key word for me. To stay fresh, I will change subject, format, color palette, surfaces, approaches. In addition, I sometime work from life, other times from photograph. I sometimes work from a black and white photo, sometimes from one in color.

Marguerite's Delimma
(click to view)

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

I am learning to be a better critic of my own work. I am also learning to be a better business person as I tend to give my art away for too low a price.

What makes you happiest about your art?

I love teaching pastel and inspiring others to have confidence in their art making abilities.  I am pleased when my art sells or wins an award but I am most pleased when I create a work that is a notch above the previous work I have done.  I believe there is no ceiling for improvement, I am always taking workshops to learn more and that is what is so very exciting about being an artist.

Thanks, Karen!

© 2017 Sophie Marine

DPW Spotlight Interview: Naomi Bautista

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

From Naomi's DPW Gallery:


I started taking a basic painting class at a local community college after my daughter started kindergarten, which was thirteen years ago. Learning how to do fine art was something I've always wanted to do. Ever since I was little, I knew I was an artist. It was ballet that gave me a tool to express myself through movements with music. Now canvas is my stage. I pick up my brushes and let myself go. Whatever the subject I'm seeing can be just a reference of what my inner eyes interpret, and what comes out of the interpretation is something only I can create. How fun and exciting it is.I feel so fortunate to be able to do what I love to do. Thanks to my very supportive husband and daughter, I'm on a journey of self-discovery. (click to read more)

Tell us a bit about how you first started painting.

I first started painting fifteen years ago when my daughter started going to kindergarten. I started taking a very basic painting class at a local art school. I started painting with acrylics.

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

I've been fortunate to be able to continue to paint in the last fifteen years. I experimented with different mediums like oils, water color and even with clay to make potteries.

White Swan
(click to view)

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

What mediums and genres have you experimented with?

I always go back to oils. I like to be able to mix colors well and oils allow me to do well just that. Also it's the matter of being used to the medium.

Which ones are you looking forward to exploring?

I think I'd like to try using acrylic more in the future.

Who or what inspires you most? 

I like the Russian artist, Sergei Bongard. His emotionally expressive painting techniques inspire me so much.

What does procrastination look like for you? 

For me, procrastination looks like not trying to learn new and different skills and techniques and being satisfied with the status quo. Also for me, winter time is more challenging to push myself to be more motivated to paint because of the shorter day light hours and cold temperatures.

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

I do meditation every morning that ensures me to make good use of my time throughout the day. Without the daily meditation, I don't think I can spend my days efficiently.

How do you generally arrive at ideas for your paintings? 

I get ideas from different sources. I actually get a lot of ideas when I meditate. Also I always try to be mindful about learning different art techniques and ideas from almost everything I see like sceneries from car rides, magazines, photographs, posters, movies, TV shows, etc.

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

For me, painting is the best way to express my feelings and emotions. Although I feel frustrated and struggle with not being able to paint in a way I want to from time to time, I don't think I've ever felt burnout. I feel joy and appreciation for being able to do what I love to do the most. I think that's how I can keep my work vibrant and engaging in a natural way. Expressing joy like dancing on a canvas wearing shoes called paint brushes, that's the way I feel when I paint.

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

I feel like I'm getting into a new level of my artistic career now. It's very exciting to feel that I can extend and expand my techniques to the next level . Being out of the box and finding out my inner voice more.

I think 2018 will be a very exciting year for me as an artist!

Thanks, Naomi!

© 2017 Sophie Marine

DPW Spotlight Interview: Denise Gilroy

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

From Denise's DPW Gallery:

I am a painter living in Northern Idaho. I love painting from life but also enjoy time in the studio. My favorite thing is to be alone out in the woods, along a river or any beautiful spot trying to capture a portion of what I see & feel on my canvas. My approach is more impressionistic in nature and I have been experimenting with my palette knife to keep it loose. Oh yeah, I LOVE animals and paint them often too.

Tell us a bit about how you first started painting.  

I started drawing/painting in high school and was encouraged by my art teacher. I fully intended to go to college for art but chickened out in the end and wound up getting my degree in Finance. I have been somewhat of an entrepreneur most of my life, encompassing creative jobs, but only got back into fine art in 2006.

Scenes in the Neighborhood
(click to view)

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

Even now, I do not paint full time (although it is close to full time) and enjoy the variety of other tasks. I am not sure if I use the other tasks to procrastinate or if the diversion helps me when I do get to focus exclusively on my art. However, if I do not paint for a few days in a row, I feel as though I get out of shape and need to go over some basics to get back into painting shape. Kind of like doing sit ups/push ups, no one likes doing sit ups but they are essential to keeping the core in good working order.

Morten Slough
(click to view)

What mediums and genres have you experimented with?  

At one point in my life I took a monotype class and continued playing with that for a few years, really liked it. Now, it is only oil painting. As for genres, I like so many different ones that it is probably not good. I have read that artists are supposed to create a body of work that is recognizable as theirs, a style. I don't think I have accomplished that yet. I like to experiment and try different approaches.

Trees in Shadow
(click to view)

Painting with a palette knife has been my most recent experiment and it keeps me from getting too caught up in detail. I do stick with similar subject matter, landscape & animals. Maybe someday I will settle down and paint a body of work that is recognizable as coming from one person. For now, I will keep my options open.

What are you looking forward to exploring in the future?

I just purchased my first studio easel and I am really excited. My dreams are all about large format paintings and I have been unable to do that well with my Open Box M set up. Looser, more expressive paintings in a series are what I am thinking about. I will probably have many failures in my effort to go large but that's okay, maybe I will learn something. I have to tell myself to keep it simple and don't get caught up in the details.

October Color
(click to view)

What is your mental preparation for painting?

I heard about a book that has helped me approach my art, called "The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles" by Steven Pressfield. I suggest this book to any and every artist, it really worked for me. I learned to treat art making like any job - I need to show up and work at it everyday. I may not create a great painting everyday but I sure won't create a great painting if I am not painting or making excuses not to paint.

Under Cover
(click to view)

I also try to tell myself that what I am painting is an experiment and it is okay for it to fail because it won't be a failure completely if I try and see how it plays out. I may not like the painting but I tried something that maybe I would not have tried without permission to fail. Usually, the painting comes out better than I had hoped or if I went into the painting with an attitude of "it has to be a masterpiece."

Another approach I have learned but don't always remember in the heat of the painting, is to create a nice painting. A painting doesn't have to be exactly what I see in the landscape or photo I am using as reference. Grab the elements you want to convey and leave out what doesn't need to be there.

Thanks, Denise!

© 2017 Sophie Marine

DPW Spotlight Interview: Melissa Gannon

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

From Melissa's DPW Gallery:


Each painting is a journey of discovery. Influenced by the Impressionists, I love to explore layering and arranging colors into vibrant patterns of light and beauty that unfold onto the canvas and reflect the joy inherent in the world around us.

Nature is the primary model I paint from. I'm attracted to the shapes formed by light and shadow, the mosaic of sun-dappled leaves, or the visual delight of a meadow of wildflowers seen from a mountainside trail. I seek to share the wonder of these experiences in my work and bring a piece of nature's bounty indoors for all to enjoy. (click to read more)

Tell us a bit about how you first started painting.

As a kid I loved doing art projects and worked images into most of my class projects. I used to draw during the summers as well. As I got older I started painting from photographs with watercolor. My first watercolor pieces looked a lot like oils as I had no idea about washes! I enrolled in classes and really learned about watercolor, joined an art group and started participating in art shows, then teaching, learning pastel, acrylic, mixed media, and now oils.

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

There have been a few starts and stops. I started one painting before my second child was born and finished it four years later! As an adult I've always had art projects going but I didn't really pursue it as a career until after my kids were in college.

Sunshine!
(click to view)

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

What mediums and genres have you experimented with?

I began with watercolor. When I started teaching I began using acrylic, pastel, colored pencil, oil pastel and mixed media. I'm beginning to paint with oils. I did some layering and collaging for awhile in acrylic and watercolor which is a fascinating process. I've used the different texture gels available for acrylics in some of my pieces. Lately I've been using acrylic inks mixed with watercolors. I started out as a pretty realistic painter and have moved more toward impressionism.

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

I don't do much collage anymore but I feel that every bit of experience with different mediums contributes to my overall knowledge and skill. I tend to cycle and revisit methods that I've used before but I might use them in a new or different way.

Oak Leaf Swirl
(click to view)

Which ones are you looking forward to exploring?

I have some cold wax and I'm beginning to explore it as a finish to both acrylics and oils and I want to use it in my oil painting as well. I'm experimenting a little with watercolor on gesso and absorbant ground and I have some Pearl Ex powders that I want to experiment with.

Who or what inspires you most?

I have a big book called "California Light" which has the work of the California impressionists and it's AWESOME! I love Monet's work and how he changed up some of his elements to make them fit better in his paintings.

I really love nature—I see purples in tree trunks! This time of year—fall turning to winter—when the woods are mostly dark with their sprinkling of brightly colored leaves is beautiful!

Waterlily Sparkle
(click to view)

What does procrastination look like for you?

Looking for something I know I have but can't find!

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

I make a loose plan every day based on blocks of time and try to stick to it. I had to shift my computer work to the evening. When I did it in the morning half the day was gone before I knew it!

Maple Leaf Rock
(click to view)

How do you generally arrive at ideas for your paintings?

I love to hike and bike and always pay attention to nature around me. I take lots of photos and when I'm inside my studio I use the photos for reference. This time of year with the geese flying is cool and I like to add geese to my pieces. I've been painting outdoors more and I'm finding that plein air painting is a really great way to learn. Sometimes I'll buy flowers and paint those.

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

I like to be excited about what I'm painting. I focus on the process and the journey, not on the end result. The piece will work or it won't and that's OK because I'll learn something either way. Moving between mediums is helpful as well. Sometimes I'll paint something in acrylic that I really like and try something similar in watercolor or visa versa. I read a lot of art related books which give me different ideas to use in my work. My classes are a good stimulus for me since some people have been in my classes for years and I have to hustle to present subjects in new and engaging ways. Some days I'll spend a lot of time walking at the park with my camera.

Let's Go for a Walk
(click to view)

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

I'm currently focusing on color—how to use it to enhance what I'm trying to say. I've been experimenting with some different wash techniques in watercolor.

What makes you happiest about your art?

I really love it when a student comes to me and says, "I see so much more since I've been in your class!"

It's so wonderful when someone really resonates with one of my pieces and lets me know how much they love it and how it looks so wonderful in their home.

I am really thankful for the space, time, and supplies to create art.

Thanks, Melissa!

© 2017 Sophie Marine