DPW Spotlight Interview: Kerry Hastings Hogan

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

From Kerry's DPW Gallery Page:

I am a native of Cleveland, Ohio, currently living in Cypress, Texas just outside of Houston. I earned my bachelor degree in Fashion Design from The University of Cincinnati (College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning). After graduating, I worked for ten years as a designer, eight of which were with Ralph Lauren in NYC. I left my dream job to raise my three children. We have moved five times with my husband's job, our latest in 2012 to Houston. Finally settled, and the kids more independent, I got back to creating. (click to read more)

Tell us a bit about how you first started painting.

Creating has always been a part of who I am. I grew up sewing, baking, designing garden bed layouts with my mom, and sketching. I went to the University of Cincinnati and earned my Bachelor in Fashion Design through their incredible D.A.A.P program (Design, Architecture, Art, and Urban Planning). In my first year foundation courses, one of my illustration instructors was a colored pencil artist. She showed our class slides of her work one day and when I saw the rich color that could be achieved with colored pencil, I dove right in. It was the next natural step, for me, to add color to my sketches and I started sketching the world around me, not just fashion and figures. I also had friends in the architecture department, and when I would visit them, I would have to walk past the painting studios. The paint looked so fun to mix and put on canvas in bold strokes of color.  It looked expressive and exciting. I was growing weary of the time it would take me to complete a small colored pencil drawing, so I was determined to learn how to paint.

Snapdragons
(click to view)

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

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

I had many stops and starts with painting, but I was always creating in some form. I worked as a fashion designer for ten years, eight of which were with Ralph Lauren in NYC. I have three children that are very close in age, and we moved to different states five times with my husband’s job. Each of the moves involved the time consuming tasks of setting up a new home, enrolling the kids in new schools, finding new doctors for everyone, and making new friends (the best part). There wasn’t much time or energy left for making art, but I did manage to take watercolor classes in two of those cities. We have been in Texas for about eight years now, so about four years ago we were settled, the kids were older, and I started painting regularly.

Total Riot (Figs No. 3)
(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 have used charcoal, design markers, colored pencil, watercolor, acrylic, and oils. Once I tried oils, I never returned to other mediums. I love how the color stays true, and how forgiving they are. I’m not intimidated to put brush to canvas since I know I can scrape it back and start again if I need to. I would like to try charcoal again. It is messy, but I love the interesting marks it makes.

For genres, I did loads of fashion illustration, life/figure drawing, and clothing illustration in college and for work. Ralph Lauren didn’t like sketches that were computer generated. Everything was hand drawn which was great for keeping up my drawing skills. I now paint mostly flowers and still life with the occasional animal thrown in. I definitely want to paint more animals and explore landscape further.

Rainier Cherries No. 1
(click to view)

Who or what inspires you most? How do you generally arrive at ideas for your paintings?

Contrast is probably the single design element that inspires me most. I’m most drawn to light, shadow, bold color combinations, graphic patterns, and varied texture. In still life, I love the combination of organic, soft, natural shapes mixed with man-made hard lined shapes. The ideas for my paintings usually stem from a contrast that I have observed and want to capture.

I am inspired by (to name a few) Frederic Remington, Kerry James Marshall, Walter Hunt Everett, Van Gogh, Mark Daniel Nelson, and Malcolm Liepke - all for their handling of light and brave use of color. 

What does procrastination look like for you?

Procrastination, for me, is usually a result of lack of confidence in something new, like a new subject that I’ve never painted. I’ll get a million other chores done before I attempt it.

Big Love
(click to view)

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

In order to make time for my art, I went back to the work schedule I kept as a designer (minus the sixty hour work weeks!). I paint during the day. At 3:00 my day ends when the kids come home.  I do dinner and chores in the evening.

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

I try to only paint things that I am excited about. I feel like it comes across in the painting if I’m not that excited about the subject matter. The challenge of new subjects and genres keeps me from burnout. I also like to vary the size of my paintings. I really enjoy painting large. Sometimes it can be refreshing to return to a painting the next day instead of starting new every day.

Morning Cuppa
(click to view)

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

I’ve been experimenting recently with using color to convey mood. I’m appreciating just how colorful a painting can be even with the use of muted tones.

What makes you happiest about your art?

I’m just getting started, so it seems like there are endless amounts of subject matter to pursue. I will never be done learning and that challenge will keep it fun. However, the biggest thrill is when someone else connects with my work.

Thanks, Kerry!

© 2020 Sophie Marine

DPW Spotlight Interview: Steve Ellison

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

From Steve's DPW Gallery Page:

Steve has been involved in the visual arts for most of his professional life. His attraction to painting grew from watching his mother paint landscapes as he was growing up and from his studies of the great portrait painters.

As the owner and photographic portrait artist at LSN Studios - a leading portrait studio in Reno, Nevada, Steve created artistic wall portraiture of families, children and high school seniors for more than twenty years. Every day was a new exercise in composition, lighting, color values and personality management! He earned the Master of Photography Degree from the Professional Photographers of America in 2003. During these years he also created a vast library of landscape photographs, many of which were imaged using film on large and medium format camera gear and printed in his studio darkroom. He later became an expert user of Adobe Photoshop. Steve leverages these experiences and knowledge in the creation of his paintings. (click to read more)

Genoa Road
(click to view)

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

Tell us a bit about how you first started painting.

My mom was a talented landscape painter - first in oils then in watercolors, but I was never the kid that was always drawing and doodling. Only after I was fully immersed in a professional photography career did my curiosity start to awaken - especially after studying the works of the great portrait painters. "What would it be like to paint?", I often thought. The one day my insurance salesman brother in law announced that he was now oil painting - I had to start after that! 

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

Several! When I first started I had the proverbial collection of lots of tubes of paint. Too many choices resulted in discouragement and taking a break. Then I discovered the sweet science of the limited pallet. Three primaries and white, and that's it - been that way ever since! Maybe it's due to my photographic background, but I have no problem mixing colors, even to match existing colors.

Fall in Lamoille Canyon
(click to view)

What mediums and genres have you experimented with?

I started and have always stuck with oils - for no other reason than that's what all the great masters that I admire used. I paint on primed Masonite. I created a great many landscape photographs over the years - even getting to the point of investing in large format photography gear (think Ansel Adams under a dark cloth kind of stuff). I really only have an interest for landscape images probably due to that reason.

Who or what inspires you most?

For inspiration I look for paintings that have a mood. Artists that are able to create a comfortable living either being a dedicated full time or part time artist are always an inspiration!

Spring in Nevada
(click to view)

What does procrastination look like for you?

Talking myself out of a subject. "That's too hard to try", or "that subject is too busy". I need to get over that! Maybe next week...

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

I'm always searching for new subject matter throughout the day, and always have a camera ready for reference. While I would like one day to have the time to just drop everything and go paint outdoors, till then having a stream of possible source images at my disposal sure helps.

Grand Canyon Storm
(click to view)

How do you generally arrive at ideas for your paintings?

I look for the composition first. How will the eye be directed through the scene? I learned long ago to sketch out the scene first in a sketchbook. Here I can solve composition problems before they rear their ugly head midway through a painting session.

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

Right now I'm all about values. Get the values and the composition and the shapes right, and color will almost take care of itself.

Carson Valley Color
(click to view)

What makes you happiest about your art?

I like to step back and take a good solid look at a finished work. If I can think, "Wow - I did that!" then it's mission accomplished!

Thanks, Steve!

© 2020 Sophie Marine

DPW Spotlight Interview: Artemi Glazkov

Each week we will spotlight a different DPW artist who will give away one of their best paintings. To enter to win Artemi's painting "#127 Tonal Study" 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.

I painted my first paintings about ten or twelve years ago. We had just moved into a new house and its bare walls were in need of some decoration. I bought a set of acrylics, brushes and several cheap canvases and painted some still life. Surprisingly, almost all of them from life. The paintings turned out to be okay-ish, but I put brushes aside and dedicated my free time to other hobbies.

Just over a year ago I returned to painting again and seriously this time. The initial push came from my dear wife who threatened me with buying a cheap painting on Amazon to cover an empty wall. I could not stand that. At around that time I came across the “Daily Paintings” book by Carol Marine and the whole idea of painting small and frequently. Well, there are now so may paintings in our house that we do not have enough walls.

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

Not really. It is far too short to have any serious gaps and I am too old to allow them to happen. There are so many things to learn and try! But of course the real life may interfere at some point.

#127 Tonal Study
(click to view)

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

What mediums and genres have you experimented with? Which ones have "stuck" and which ones have fallen away? 

Drawing with pencil was the first medium I tried. I always knew I could draw reasonably well. On rare occasions I drew something people commented on positively, but it did not become a hobby. I have an engineering degree, thus, due to my training, I have also never experienced any problems with understanding things like perspective, physics of light and reflection, etc. However, I have never formally learned any art beyond ordinary lessons at school.

I have also tried watercolour and gouache. I have found pure watercolour to be too complicated and difficult for me. I prefer a combination of watercolour and gouache or just pure gouache. I think gouache gives me more flexibility without overcomplicating the process of painting itself. Unfortunately, I do not have enough time to really dedicate myself to that medium at the moment

I have also tried oils. Definitely they have not “stuck”. I love the medium, but the technical side of the process makes it too difficult for me to manage in my current circumstances. I do not have a dedicated studio or even a permanent place in the house to deal with such “oily” medium.

So, the medium of my choice is acrylics. This is the one I am trying to excel at this stage. I have learned a lot about what is possible to do with acrylics, which is to put it simply, a lot. However, now I know some of the medium’s limitations as well.

I have always been drawn to art capturing light in nature. So, I am not surprised I find landscapes to be the most appealing genre. But again, I must add, “at the moment”. I have painted several still life paintings and found that I enjoy it very much.

#148 Getting Old
(click to view)

Which ones are you looking forward to exploring?

I really want to return to oils at some stage for a more serious study of the medium. Everything I know about it suggests an interesting journey. It is so to speak “a big idea”. Perhaps in a few years I may be able to overcome the lack of proper studio and all other problems I had with oils previously.

My plan for the more immediate future is to start getting out for not necessarily frequent but regular plein air sessions. Painting is a hobby for me and between other things I have to do it is difficult to find time for regular outings. My plan is to start on that path this year.

Another aspect I would like to explore more this year is still life. Due to the already mentioned lack of a studio I do not have a good way to setup for still life, but this problem seams to be less difficult to overcome. Time will tell.

Who or what inspires you most?

Oh! There are so many great artists I get inspired by. Both past and present. The list would be long.  Perhaps James Gurney and Kevin D. Macpherson are at the top of the list though. It is not only because the art they create, but also because of the way they explain what they do and how.

#105 Waiting
(click to view)

What does procrastination look like for you?

I am a wrong person to ask this question. My painting career is too short. I have just one time slot during a day, between 9 pm and midnight, I can use for painting. I only have three hours to do something I really want to do much more often. Do I need more motivation? I think not.

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

No pointless internet browsing; no forum reading or something like that; no TV; no facebooks and twitters. I do spend some time checking Instagram, but my links are limited entirely to painting and it is more like an educational tool, rather than a social media for me.

#141 Going to Be Hot
(click to view)

How do you generally arrive at ideas for your paintings?

There is no any predetermined way. Sometimes I really think hard about a painting for a long time. In most cases though, I do not spend that much time procrastinating about what to do next.  I consider every painting I do as an exercise focusing on a particular technical aspect, I need to learn for my skills “tool box”.  The list is very long and it is just a matter of picking one item, any item really, from that list.

I usually set myself a sort of a target for the next two… three paintings. For example, last week was dedicated to still life. I had several small boards I really wanted to use, but they were too small for any landscapes. Why not to use them for still life?  So, I painted several small paintings setting a task of using only a limited palette of yellow ochre, red and black, Zorn palette.

Another time I might get interested in a particular brushstroke or a combination of colours or whatever, and that would be the theme of my next exercise.   

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

I am not sure how engaging my art is. I do not have any yardstick to measure it. Some people buy my paintings from time to time and my family thinks I am doing ok. So, perhaps the art is engaging.

As for the freshness of it, whatever I paint it is something I am interested in one way or another. It is not a problem to find something exciting for the next step. I hope that a bit of that interest and positive feeling I get from learning transpose into my paintings.

#78 Bright Autumn Day
(click to view)

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

Right now, and it has been the main theme for some time, I am learning how to use greys in my palette more efficiently. I feel that sometimes my colours get over-saturated and sometimes quite the opposite. I know what I am doing wrong, and I can correct myself alright, but often it takes too many steps to arrive to the right results.

What makes you happiest about your art?

I feel that other people do really enjoy my art. It somehow resonates with their feelings. I am very excited that I can use my paintings to share my view of the world.

Thanks, Artemi!

© 2020 Sophie Marine

DPW Spotlight Interview: Erin Martinelli

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

From Erin's DPW Gallery Page:

Erin J. Martinelli, is a Northern California artist who finds her inspiration in animals, nature, abstract, and architecture genres to create brilliant acrylics, etching prints, and watercolors. Erin J. Martinelli trained at the very early age of seven years old at The Casements in Ormond Beach, FL, the former winter home of John D. Rockefeller. She then later studied at Seabreeze High School, AP Art, under Nina Masters, and continued onto the University of Cincinnati, College of Fine Arts, Design, Architecture, Art and Planning. (click to read more)

Tell us a bit about how you first started painting.

At the tender age of seven years old I took an art class at The Casements in Ormond Beach, FL, the former winter home of John D. Rockefeller. I fell in love.


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

Yes, in 2010, my husband and I had a beautiful baby, which took a lot of time away from my art.  Again, in 2014, I was suddenly diagnosed with Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS), a rare neurological disorder in which the body's immune system mistakenly attacks part of its peripheral nervous system.

After several years of recovering from GBS, I have finally re-entered the art world once again! Last year I joined as a member artist the Elk Grove Fine Arts Center, in Elk Grove, CA. I entered ten art shows, was juried in to five of them. I painted thirty pieces of new art in 2019. So far, in 2020, I am keeping up that pace! I have put together an art class and then show called Faces of Mary, at the local Catholic School. I have also painted eight new larger pieces of work in January alone.



Wine Time
(click to view)

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

What mediums and genres have you experimented with?

Mediums I absolutely love are acrylics, and etchings. I find my inspiration in animals, nature, abstract, and architecture genres to create brilliant acrylics, and etching prints.


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

Watercolor has always been interesting to me, and I enjoy it very much. However, the medium is slower and more controlling.

I prefer acrylic due to the medium's ability to work fast, and I do work very fast. Scratchboard is something I can do anywhere, anytime. Traveling for work, or after school extracurricular activities - scratchboard art gives me an opportunity to do art anywhere.

Ocean Rain
(click to view)


Which ones are you looking forward to exploring?

I am really diving deep right now into my acrylic work and more abstract painting. I am very excited about some of the pieces I have done.

Who or what inspires you most?

Light. Light and color inspire me most. In fact, this year I am working on a special series of about ten to twenty paintings called, “Light of the World Series,” to showcase light and color.

Salt of the Earth
(click to view)


What does procrastination look like for you?

Being a busy mom, full time employee, wife, and artist, there really is not any time for procrastination. Time is very important to me and I use every bit of spare time I get wisely. Having also been very sick with Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS), I realize how precious your time is, and that is something I do not take for granted.



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

I recently moved a very large armoire into the kitchen dinette area. This large piece of furniture houses all my supplies, and art canvases (although it is outgrowing this space rapidly!). Having that piece sitting right there where I see it every day reminds me to take time and paint. Someday soon we will complete a renovation on our home that will incorporate space that is already earmarked as my studio.

Faces of Mary
(click to view)


How do you generally arrive at ideas for your paintings?

Generally, I see something that catches my eye. A beautiful sunset, or light rays from early morning.  Commuting 1.25 hours each way to work, I look at nature all the time.


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

This past summer I took a scratch art class at the gallery I am a member artist of, and I enjoyed it very much! In fact, I find that when I am getting tight in my acrylic paintings, it helps to do a scratch art to loosen up. Going from loose abstract bright colors and vibrant painting time to very detailed black and white art is very helpful to me. It creates a shifting of gears for me, and it is very helpful.



Octopus
(click to view)

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

Right now, I am learning what I love about the art I am creating and what I don’t like. I have spent a lot of time thinking about my art, what inspires me, and have chosen to focus and embrace the joy it brings me.



What makes you happiest about your art?

I love colors and light, and I enjoy looking at beautiful colors and images. It gives me a sense of great accomplishment to sell a piece, or create something special for someone.

Thanks, Erin!

© 2020 Sophie Marine