Thursday, September 27, 2018

DPW Spotlight Interview: Christopher Long

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

Tell us a bit about how you first started painting. 

There are several different ways to spin my ‘origin story’, but the plain truth is equally as interesting.

In brief, I failed at every other job I had attempted, was sick, and had a family to support, so this was essentially my Plan B for life. Some Hail Mary passes connect.

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

No. Once I started about seven years ago, I haven’t stopped. The longest I’ve gone without painting was one entire weekend back in 2012 when my second daughter was born.

A Great Absence
(click to view)

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

What mediums and genres have you experimented with? 

My medium evolution:

I started painting with model paints, then moved to oils, then to gouache, mixed gouache and acrylic together, then melted crayons, then tried watercolor, then digital (for only one day). I think I’m settling with oil.

My genre evolution:

Regional New Orleans food and drink (because that’s where I started), then portraits, then miniature still life paintings, and now currently, landscapes.

(click to view)

Who or what inspires you most? 

I’m not sure I can answer that truthfully.  People have thrown that question at me for years now in the context of purchasing a piece- and my answers have ALWAYS been a mixture of cold-reading and absolute bull****.  It’s just not a thought I prioritize. You’d have more luck asking me at age ninety what motivated or inspired me.

What does procrastination look like for you? 

I don’t procrastinate. I may absentmindedly forget things or mix up deadlines, but I’m generally focused. I enjoy the laborious aspects of painting.

Market Street, San Francisco
(click to view)

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


If I’m not traveling or spending time with my family, I’m painting. It doesn’t come naturally to me, so I need to be prolific in order to advance.

I try to keep my life simple; I don’t pretend that I’m talented enough to juggle several endeavors at once. I’m not in a band on the side nor do I have a baking hobby (not that I think those things aren’t worthwhile).

How do you generally arrive at ideas for your paintings? 

The thought that enters my mind most often is: Can I make that more interesting than it already is? Most of the time I can’t. But, sometimes...

Yumi
(click to view)

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


I maintain my progress by waking up in the morning.  I haven’t burned out because I haven’t been able to create what I want see yet.

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

My main challenge is definitely dealing with the social media aspects of having an online art business. I receive so many rude, bizarre and intrusive requests and comments that I’ve just begun blocking people on Instagram and not responding to certain emails.

Competing Lights, Burbank
(click to view)

What makes you happiest about your art?

Who’s claiming that painting makes them happy?

I’d be incredibly lucky if smearing some color around brought me any true measure of joy.  It’s simply my focus; I’ll keep pursuing this for as long as I can muster.

Thanks, Christopher!

© 2018 Sophie Marine

Thursday, September 20, 2018

DPW Spotlight Interview: Diana Marshall

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

Tell us a bit about how you first started painting.

Art was always my favourite subject at school, but I only really started painting when I joined a friend to paint in her home in Spain almost twenty years ago. From then on I was hooked and haven't stopped since. I often wonder why I hadn't started to paint sooner as I have always had the urge to be creative, though in many other ways.

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

My painting career started gradually. All the while, I was gaining knowledge and experience, first giving away paintings and then beginning to sell as I gained confidence, I would say that everything that I had done before has led up to where I am today. Every year seems to get better and better and I just love what I do.

Autumnal Colour
(click to view)

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

What mediums and genres have you experimented with?

I started painting with water colours and progressed on to acrylics, dabbled a little in pastels, but finally settling into painting with oils which is my favourite medium. I have tried to paint loosely, abstractly and with mixed media, but I always come back to realism and the 'tight' way of painting. I guess I am a perfectionist at heart and there's no getting away from it!

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

Today I paint mainly in oils, occasionally I play around with water colours, though I love them, I find I don't have enough time to devote to them.

2027 Ready for Painting
(click to view)

Who or what inspires you most?

I love to peruse other artist's work on the internet and gain so much inspiration and ideas from them. I was originally inspired by Karen Jurick and Carol Marine to start painting daily, which improved my painting immensely. Now I take my inspiration from many American artists such as Karen and James Hollingsworh, Blaire Atherholt and many others besides. 

What does procrastination look like for you?

Where my art is concerned I don't have too much problem with procrastination, more with jobs I wish to avoid such as cleaning and ironing!!

2008 Candle Light
(click to view)

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

I paint almost daily and get fired up by new ideas and can sometimes not paint fast enough to keep my galleries supplied and have enough work for exhibitions. Having deadlines helps too, and delegating household chores to my hubby gives me plenty of time to paint.

How do you generally arrive at ideas for your paintings? 

Painting still lifes, I like to paint short series and am inspired by the items I collect in junk/antique shops, I never seem to run out of ideas, in fact I have more ideas than time.

2029 'Opening'
(click to view)

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


I think trying new compositions, new techniques, new colour combinations, new viewpoints, the options are endless. Looking at other artists' work often helps to get new ideas if I'm stuck.

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

I'm always learning through doing and trying to remember how I achieved certain colours or effects by taking notes. Reading about other artists and also watching video demonstrations is really an excellent way of learning too. The more I learn the more I realize that I haven't even scratched the surface yet!

2024 Blue Teapot
(click to view)

What makes you happiest about your art?

This is the first 'job' that I have had in my life that I absolutely love and will never get tired of.
I also love it when a piece of my work is purchased by a collector, it is such a compliment to me; it means that I can carry on doing what brings me happiness and as long as I can hold a brush or a palette knife that is what I will be doing for the rest of my life!

Thanks, Diana!

© 2018 Sophie Marine

Thursday, September 13, 2018

DPW Spotlight Interview: Charlotte Fitzgerald

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

From Charlotte's DPW Gallery Page:

Charlotte Fitzgerald is an impressionist painter. She received her BA in Art from Western Kentucky University and also studied at the Corcoran College of Art and Design, and with Jack Beal and Sondra Freckleton. She taught watercolor workshops, and sold her artwork at outdoor art festivals and in galleries in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, Virginia and North Carolina. She has worked in oils, watercolors, and acrylics. Her impressionistic oil still life and floral paintings reflect her love of gardening and the beautiful gardens and countryside. The shapes and colors of flowers are endlessly fascinating and provide inspiration for her colorful oil paintings. As well as large paintings she paints many small affordable paintings.

Tell us a bit about how you first started painting.

I have always been interested in painting and drawing, and my degree was in art education.  I left the field of art twice to be a buyer in a department store and to teach school.  Four years ago, I started painting small paintings to get back into the swing of things, and it has been the best experience I have had in painting because it allowed me to complete many paintings and find my own voice as a painter. 

Rose of Sharon
(click to view)

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

What mediums and genres have you experimented with?

At different times I have worked in charcoal, ink, acrylic on both paper and canvas.  I collage many of the prepared papers.  Lately I have painted in oils on both canvas and gessoboard.

A Stroll in the Flower Garden
(click to view)

Who or what inspires you most?

I am inspired by the colorists Wolf Kahn, Richard Diebenkorn landscapes, and Wayne Thiebaud.  I enjoy the use of color as well as the way they apply the paint.

Three Sunflowers
(click to view)

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

I schedule time each day to paint.  It has helped me to stay motivated because I wanted to post a small painting each day.

Abstract 8
(click to view)

How do you generally arrive at ideas for your paintings?

Over the years I have taken thousands of photographs which I have arranged by subject in shoe boxes and later on the iPad.  Most paintings are loosely based on references that I have accumulated.  An art professor once advised me that if it occurred to me to do something then I should try it.  If it doesn’t work I take it out.  I think this has helped me develop my own style.

Foreground Trees
(click to view)

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

Currently, I am exploring exaggerating color while still maintaining basic landscape format.  I am constantly adjusting values a little lighter or a little darker to arrive at a pleasing arrangement.  During this process I take advantage of the textures that develop from the brush strokes and I try to let under layers show through to make the surface more interesting.

Thanks, Charlotte!

© 2018 Sophie Marine

Thursday, September 6, 2018

DPW Spotlight Interview: J. Dunster

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

From J's DPW Gallery Page:

I've loved art since I was a little girl. I started taking oil painting lessons in my early teens, and started selling portrait art not too long after. Later I attended Otis College in Los Angeles, where I studied drawing, anatomy, and painting.

My favorite mediums are oils, some acrylics, as well as graphite. But mostly oils. My aim is to explore a variety of subjects, with more attention spent on portraits and figure painting. I'm also now dabbling with still lifes and animals, in particular cats and birds! (click to read more)

Tell us a bit about how you first started painting.

I had always loved drawing. I remember being obsessed with drawing when I was four years old. When I was about thirteen, I discovered a local artist (I walked by her open studio and walked in). Turns out she had a painting class for kids every Saturday. My parents said I could go. It was probably one of the most exciting and life-changing times for me! She was an amazing portrait artist and helped me so much.

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

Oh, sure. Up and down, up and down. Sometimes I had an artist’s block or some other obligation that stalled me for a while. But I can’t say I ever *stopped* painting in my heart, even though there were detours and delays. The biggest detour (not that I regret it) was ceramics. I fell in love with pottery, but what I most enjoyed about it was what they call “surface decoration.” I didn’t stop painting, I just painted on pottery! I haven’t done pottery in a while but really miss it. I wouldn’t give up oil painting for ceramics but there’s no reason why I can’t bring it back in my life.

Sweet Tabby Slumber
(click to view)

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

What mediums and genres have you experimented with?

I’ve tried most mediums. Not to say that I’m really comfortable with them all, but I’ve tried watercolor, gouache, colored pencil, airbrush, soft pastel, oil pastel, pen & ink, and of course oil and acrylic. (And of course the aforementioned ceramics!) In my art school days I was primarily working in colored pencil and pen & ink. Now I’m back with oils, my first love.

Mostly I have always been interested in representational work, because I love to draw what I see. My favorite subjects remain portraits and animals. Over the years I’ve loosened up and would like to continue to do so, but I think I’ll always be interested in representational work.

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

Oils are #1 for me. I’m still open to working again in ink and colored pencil. I liked soft pastel but probably won’t work with it again (but never say never!).

The Greek Artist
(click to view)

Which ones are you looking forward to exploring?

I just want to paint looser! I am still too tight and detailed. Right now I’m also working in acrylics more. I always was more comfortable with oils, but decided that acrylics really needed a second look. I think I’ve made a small breakthrough with acrylics because I’m really enjoying working in them. But I anticipate that I’ll always consider oils my primary painting medium.

Who or what inspires you most?

So many artists inspire me... my first painting teacher, Shirlee Prescott. One of my figure drawing teachers in art school, Burne Hogarth, changed my life. A more recent painting teacher, Adam Clague, also changed my life. I have had many teachers in my life that I will always be so grateful for because they somehow changed *everything*.

My first teacher, Shirlee, also claimed that there was “something in the air” (her description for a spiritual element) that gave her inspiration. I find that she’s right about that. I’m a religious person, and so have long believed that God (or a Higher Power, or whatever name one might use) is *essential*. Without being attuned to that, things fall flat.

Low Light [ZORN PALETTE]
(click to view)

What does procrastination look like for you?

It *is* me! I am a victim of procrastination, big time! Procrastination can manifest itself in thinking, “I’ll wait until I am a better artist to paint that.” Or, “I will wait before I use that big canvas, I’m not good enough to use *that* expensive canvas yet.” I’m working past that because if not now, when?

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

The sooner I get my other tasks done for the day, the sooner I have time for my art. If I get a late start on the day, my art always suffers. If I don’t get a good night’s sleep, my art suffers.

Shadowed Kitty Portrait
(click to view)

How do you generally arrive at ideas for your paintings?

I look through my reference photo collection to see if something jumps out at me. Often I’ll use Photoshop to crop and edit a reference photo to get it just how I like it.

Right now I paint mostly animals (cats) and portraits. I grew up as a portrait artist (that’s all I wanted to paint when I was a teenager). Then when I first started with Daily Paintworks, one of my sisters suggested I paint some cats since everyone in our family is a cat lover. I found I really enjoyed painting them and it seemed like my collectors liked them too. So, now I divide my time between cats and portraits. I’ve also decided to push myself to do more landscapes as I feel it’s a deficit--that I haven’t ever felt comfortable with landscapes.

One thing that really excites me is approaching a painting with some color exercise in mind. Telling myself, “I’m going to use the Zorn Palette on this!” really gets me going! (The Zorn Palette is a limited painting palette consisting of white, yellow ochre, vermillion or cadmium red light, and black. It is an excellent academic exercise to mix all your colors with just these pigments and see how far you can go.) I also like the challenge of difficult or unusual lighting situations. To see if I can get the values and color temperatures correct. I still feel there’s so much to learn there, so no matter what the subject of my painting is, if there is a “challenge” to it then I love it all the more!

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

There’s so much yet to learn, who has time for burnout? But if f I feel like I’m getting stressed or burned out by pushing myself to finish a painting too fast, then I need to slow down no matter what. And what I was mentioning before, approaching a painting with a “challenge” in mind (some color exercise or whatever) always keeps me excited to get to my easel!

Backlit Tiger
(click to view)

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

There is so much yet to learn. I still am struggling with color, composition, and technique. Basically, everything! But that’s what makes it exciting!

One thing that amazed me (and encouraged me) was a few years ago when I was studying with Adam Clague was that he and his wife (Andrea Orr Clague) also seemed to believe that “there is so much left to learn” even though to my eyes, they had both “arrived” as artists and were amazing! I thought that I could die happy if I could paint like them, but to *them*, they aren’t satisfied with where they are and strive to improve even more.

I don’t think any artist believes they have “arrived” and that’s the way it will always be.

What makes you happiest about your art?

I guess that I am seeing gradual improvement. I’ve also gotten some lovely and generous feedback about some of my paintings and that is very gratifying. Most of us paint to communicate something to our viewers so it’s good to know that we are connecting. But basically, if I felt I wasn’t improving, I couldn’t be happy with my art.

Thanks, J!

© 2018 Sophie Marine