DPW Spotlight Interview: Nigel Williams

Each week we will spotlight a different DPW artist who will give away one of their best paintings. To enter to win Nigel's painting "Aubergines Study #3" go to Daily Paintworks and click on the link at the top of the page announcing their interview.

From Nigel's DPW Gallery Page:

Acrylic painter and guitarist from St Maarten. Trying to capture the magic of the sunny Caribbean regardless of subject matter.

Tell us a bit about how you first started painting.

I grew up on the island of St Maarten at the Little Bay Hotel. My dad was the head electrician and on-call 24/7, so we lived in a little house on the premises. I used to roam around the place all the time and befriended a watercolor artist who used to sit outside her room and paint scenes of the ocean. She lived in the Netherlands but would visit the island regularly because her husband worked for the hotel. She would bring me brushes, paint, and paper and showed me how to paint with watercolor. Before that, I used the old staple, the Crayola Crayon, and colored pencils. When I was around nine I was headed to the beach one day and saw a guy painting these 5x5 beach scenes in watercolor. He would knock them out real quick and stick a $15 price tag on them. $15 to a nine-year-old in the ’80s was a lot of pocket change. With that kind of dough, you could be king of the arcade. I never realized until that point that you could earn money from your art. I had learned to paint the same type of scenes from my artist friend so I figured why not try to earn some pocket money from something I did every day anyway. I figured I would do better than that guy if I sold my art in the hotel lobby at night instead of infringing on his territory at the beach. The market couldn’t bear two guys painting the same subject matter right? And besides, who went to the beach with extra cash to buy a painting anyway? The lobby was perfect because there was a casino and it seemed to be a place where people left with untold riches. So I set up shop one night and started selling my work for $15 but was convinced by the manager of the hotel, whose son was my best friend, to sell them for $1. I wasn’t selling anything and he told me I probably needed more experience. A real nice way of telling me my art wasn’t worth $15. :) I looked at him like he was crazy. One dollar? After my bruised ego recovered, I realized here was this grown man sharing some wisdom with me so maybe I should listen. I dropped the prices to $1 and sold 20 paintings in a couple of hours. I wouldn’t trade those experiences for anything.

Aubergines Study #3
(click to view)

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

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

Yeah, I became a musician. Hanging out in the lobby I was eventually exposed to live music. I would hear the sounds of various bands that would perform in the lounge right across from the casino. I got bit by the music bug and art became kinda boring. I was making good money painting. Enough to start buying musical instruments. I started off on drums but ended up on guitar eventually. I attended Berklee College of Music to study Music Education and still painted over the years but the music was my focus. I think I took my art for granted because it came so easy and I felt I could get back into it at any time. I would get inspired to paint every couple of years and get totally obsessed with it. I took some life drawing classes at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. A lot of my older pieces from my oil and pastel period are on display at several banks and government offices on the island. I used to date my work so I see the huge gaps in time from period to period. I look back at some of those pieces and cringe but they had a certain innocence I guess. My style is so different now.

What mediums and genres have you experimented with?

When I lived on the island I was into pastels and oils. I’ve dabbled in colored pencils and oil pastels also. I never did still life’s back then now that I think of it. Mostly landscapes, seascapes, and market scenes. I remember in my early days I made a still life in oil in a very classical style. It was grapes in a bowl. I did it because I wanted to break away from painting the same things all the time. I tried to sell it along with my other work but nobody cared for it. It probably wasn’t very good because I wasn’t passionate about it.

Cleaning Today's Catch
(click to view)

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

I think I’ve officially given up on watercolor because I can’t get that loose bold look. It’s funny because I had a watercolor book by Charles Reid and was always thinking wouldn’t it be cool to paint like that in another medium. I think I’m actually better at colored pencils than all the other mediums I’ve used but I find them tedious. If I can figure out how to really fix oil pastels I might get into those a little more. I thought they would be a good alternative when I have to travel but the paintings don’t travel well. I also love pastels but for health reasons, they aren't very good for me. When I moved to Los Angeles in the early 2000’s I lived in a small apartment with my wife at the time and the smell of oils wafting through our place wasn’t an option so I started exploring acrylics. I got a cheap set and took some lessons but it wasn’t until I took a course called Painting Fast, Loose, and Bold with Patti Mollica that I discovered their beauty. I sing her praises every chance I get because she literally coaxed out of me the style of painting I always wanted to create but just didn’t know how to. There was no formal instruction on painting loose and bold at the time that I knew of. We had a painting in the house by a Dutch artist and I remember when I stood close to it, it just looked like a cacophony of colors but from a distance, everything blended together perfectly. I remember finally getting the concept on the last painting, on the last day of the course, after I had mentally given up. I just started painting and not really worrying about details and the things that I would usually get hung up on. I had a eureka moment. Don’t think, just paint.

Ti Punch
(click to view)

Which ones are you looking forward to exploring?

I’ve been seeing a lot of artists doing amazing work with Gouache. It’s such a luminous medium. I might just treat myself to a set for Christmas and see what happens.

Who or what inspires you most?

I’m inspired by life. There’s so much beauty in everything. For me, it’s good music, good art, and good food. I guess I like creating things. I grow my own food and I also make things like bread, mayo, and pasta from scratch. My fiancé jokingly asks me when I’m going to start churning my own butter all the time. Challenge accepted. Everything is a blank canvas in my world. When it comes to art I’m inspired by Sir Roland Richardson. He’s a Caribbean Impressionist and a national treasure. Crazy enough I’ve never asked him for advice on how to paint like him. I always felt his style was sacred. In fact, I was the same way with the other great artists who mentored me like Ruby Bute and the late Cynric Griffith. I never tried to paint like them. Mr. Griffith and I would go fishing and never really talked much about art. When I visit the island I always make time to check out Sir Roland’s gallery and Ruby has a couple of my paintings for sale in her gallery. Three distinctly different styles of artists but each had a profound effect on my development as a person. Be yourself at all times.

Ripe Guavas
(click to view)

What does procrastination look like for you?

Getting caught in the social media vortex. IG, FB, and Youtube are all-consuming. I’m always watching “how-to” videos but have to be careful not to “study” so much that I don’t actually get anything done. Then I end up telling myself it’s ok because it’s for research.

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

I’ve been trying to get up early, exercise, and paint first thing in the morning. Life has a way of getting in the way so if I do it before my day officially gets started I have a better chance of accomplishing something. When the phone starts ringing it’s all over. If you truly take time inventory you’ll find that there's always 15 or 20 minutes of time throughout the day that you just kinda waste. I started walking with a really small sketchbook everywhere I go and if I have a spare minute standing in line to shop or whatever I try to sketch something. I try to do something creative every day. Even if that means cooking a fancy meal and trying to plate it as a master chef would.

Avocado Trio
(click to view)

How do you generally arrive at ideas for your paintings?

I feel like I have so much to learn. I choose subjects based on my mood. When I’m feeling nostalgic I'll paint something that reminds me of home. I love the Flamboyant Tree and making studies of them brings a smile to my face. They produce bright red flowers in the summer and the image of a stately red tree against a green Caribbean landscape is nature's basic lesson in how complementary colors work. I don’t think there’s any scene occurring naturally in nature where pure complementary colors are working in harmony like that.

I am trying to get better at subjects that I’ve shied away from because I always perceived them as being impossibly difficult. I was hiking one day with my fiancé and her friend and the subject of my art came up. Her friend challenged me to make a painting of a wine bottle and glass. I made all kinds of excuses like “I’m a Caribbean artist and I don’t do that.” I was having flashbacks of my failed classical grape painting. Besides, glass is about as hard to paint as hands and feet and so on it went. She said, “But if you don't practice, how will you get better at it”? Obviously, she had a great point, so I searched Youtube to see if I could find a video of Patti Mollica painting the same subject matter and the good ole internet didn’t let me down. Turns out it's not as difficult as it seems. It’s all about painting the shapes you see. Glass is now one of my favorite subjects to paint. I posted the painting on FB and 3 people reached out to me about it right away. I recently got a commission to do a portrait of a friend but I let her know that I wasn't really a portrait artist and explained how difficult it is to capture a likeness and blah blah blah. She told me “Nah, you can do it.” I agonized over that thing forever. I was constantly on Youtube watching every video I could about painting skin tones. I attempted it 3 times without success. I kept mixing this weird purple skin color no matter what I did. I got it on the 4th try after I relaxed and just painted as if I was a kid using paint for the first time. Portraits are definitely a harder subject matter to tackle but are really good exercises to see if you are paying attention to detail. You never know what you're capable of if you never step out of your comfort zone.

Flamboyant tree study #3
(click to view)

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

I feel like a kid that’s seeing the world for the first time so everything excites me. I read a great book called Effortless Mastery that puts a lot of how we get these mental blocks into perspective. The author observed that musicians seemed to have the most fun when they are just messing around on another instrument that isn't their principle. His theory is that if you call yourself a guitarist but are jamming on the drums, for example, you don’t have that pressure of sounding great because it’s not your principal instrument. You don’t call yourself a drummer so mistakes don’t matter but the minute you get back to playing your principal instrument you feel the weight sounding like the great musicians that have come before you. In your mind, you must be as good as so and so or you’re a failure. He had a piano teacher that made him play one note each lesson for a half hour. Just one note. The idea was to treat that one note as the most beautiful sound you’ve ever heard. The one that got me was when he posed the question: If you had a plastic bag over your head, after 20 seconds what’s important? After a minute? After two? Are you thinking about music at that point? His point was to not take what you do so seriously. Just have fun and enjoy the journey. That philosophy changed the way I approached the guitar and now I’m using it in my art. It’s very Zen.

Self Portrait: Trini’s Son
(click to view)

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

I’m truly learning to see better. With music, you have to learn to listen, with art you have to learn to see. 

What makes you happiest about your art?

I paint pretty pictures because that's how I perceive the world. I grew up in one of the most beautiful places on earth in my opinion and I try to convey those memories and feelings in the paintings I make. I believe that every color, like that one note, is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. I’m very happy when I paint something and it brings someone else the same joy that I felt while painting it. When someone feels so moved by something you created to purchase it, hang it on their wall, and look at it every day, that to me is an honor.

Thanks, Nigel!

© 2020 Sophie Marine

DPW Spotlight Interview: Jeff Mott

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

From Jeffrey's DPW Gallery Page:

Born and raised on East Coast but living on West coast for last 20+ years. I come from an artistic family but made a career in the Tech world and have now recently retired. Currently residing in Tucson, AZ with my wife (my biggest supporter) and our many critters. I am self taught and have painted on and off for many years, exclusively in watercolor, and now hope to become a more regular painter. I enjoy loose and impressionistic styles (of all media) and struggle to simplify my work to meet these goals. I enjoy the outdoors and try to incorporate my many wanderings into a visual journey. Thanks for stopping by!

Tell us a bit about how you first started painting?

I started painting in my late thirties as a way to relax from my regular work. I come from an art family but chose a different career path into the world of Semiconductor fabrication and found I needed a distraction from that daily workload. I took a few Adult Education courses in watercolor painting and found this to be most rewarding. I continued playing with watercolor on and off as time went on.

Did you have stops and starts in your painting career?

Yes, I had way too many stops and starts, in my opinion. Changes in jobs, houses and states have played out over the last many years. We moved from the NY area to Tucson, AZ in 1998 and then to CA in 2013 and back to Tucson in 2020 all in support of my professional career. Time for art was not really possible during some of this period. I had done sketching during these years as it was easy to do and not time consuming but actually sitting down and painting was difficult during some of this time. I did some watercolor in the early 2000’s and I joined a watercolor group in Tucson from about 2002-2008 but demands of my career limited much of my art time after 2008.

Quiet Evening
(click to view)

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

What mediums and genres have you experimented with?

I have always used watercolor. Growing up in an art household with the aroma of turpentine, mineral spirits and varnish wafting about made me want to stay away from oils. I have pretty much stayed with landscape and nature painting. However, I am partial to railroad art as well, my interest in trains is a carry-over from my childhood and my father. I have never done figure work but might try that one day. My father told me that he never really became an artist until he could master life drawing and painting, the human form. He told me that over forty years ago and from what I read today about “learning” art that is still sound advice.

Which ones have “stuck” with you and which ones have fallen away?

I guess that since I am hooked on watercolor, all other mediums have fallen away or I've at least not tried them yet.

Southern Pacific No.5
(click to view)

Which ones are you looking forward to exploring?

I am not sure but there is a lot of nice work I have been seeing with gouache and that would seem to be a logical progression (or maybe a regression if you are a watercolor purist!) If you consider plein air a genre then that is something I have not done but plan to start.

Who or what inspires you most?

Wow! This could be a very long answer! In terms of who, there is the standard list of Sargent and Wyeth and for the modern day I admire Dean Mitchell, Andy Evanson and David Drummond’s work. From the UK I really like Richard Thorn and Robert Brindley’s work. But there are so many less known but extremely talented people, I am just scratching the surface with these names, just look at DPW, there is a ton of talent here.

In terms of what inspires me it is very much the outdoors. I have great memories of the East coast and New England areas, the desert Southwest is a different type of rugged beauty with canyons, mountains and colored rock and the West coast is totally wild and rugged compared to the East coast line and all are inspiring. The smaller things such as shadows, textures and colors of rocks, flowers and leaves, rock color and shadows in clear water of a running stream, old barn siding, rusting metals, fall colors in any location  and snow all inspire me as well. Seeing how others capture these images and how they convey that emotion is also inspiring to me to try and be an effective teller of the story.

Narrow Path Saguaro West
(click to view)

What does procrastination look like to you?

LOL! Well, its me sitting with a brush in hand staring at a white sheet of watercolor paper and not having any idea of what to do next, maybe this is more fear than procrastination. But seriously, I have set up a workspace with my supplies and books and it usually is me sitting and thumbing through my reference photos, looking at my reference books, (can I say looking at DPW since I really do that?) looking at my prior work, sometimes just doodling just to get a shape or image going and trying to get into the mindset. I will play with notan at times and if I get really desperate I will throw paint onto paper and see if it develops into anything inspiring. I will admit that there are times when this lasts days but you just have to work through that. I recently saw a coffee cup on a DPW artist bio page (I’m sorry I can't remember who!) that said something to the effect... Just do a painting today even if it sucks! ...this sounds like good advice. 

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

Structure is easy for me, I am predictable and boring, ask my wife. Since I have retired I can now paint nearly every day if I want so it's easy for me now to make the time. I mainly focus on art in the afternoons. I am probably doing two to six hours a day related to art. It's not all painting, it's a lot of reading, YouTubing, DPW’ing, reading other artists' blogs and just looking and absorbing.

Winter Blanket
(click to view)

How do you generally arrive at your ideas for a painting?

Since I enjoy nature and hiking it's easy to find inspiration in my reference photos, books and other reference material but I do look for images that I can connect with and feel some form of emotion. To me, Art is really about communication so that is important to me. What does that image say to me; how do I, or can I, communicate that to someone else; how do I emphasize what drew me to that place or image. Once I find an idea I get more technical and do preliminary sketches or drawings and a value study and see how things progress and try to see if I have been successful in getting the feeling onto paper. 

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

This is an interesting question. I have not really thought much about this but I would say that to avoid burnout you need other avenues to distract you so something not related to art; try for some balance and not have it an obsession. Obviously that is easy for me to say since I am now retired and I do not rely on art for any income but it's ok to take a break and walk away if you lose your focus or passion, it will return.

In terms of keeping work fresh, I would say that as I look at other people's art I will look at the details of “how did they do that?" Is there a way to get that effect, create that feeling in watercolor. I do love texture and color so I am always trying to get these to be visible in my work. I have recently moved to smaller format pieces and that was a change for me. It was initially for studies and planning but seemed to work out better for some ideas but doing a variety of sizes will assist in keeping things fresh. In terms of engagement, it's about communication, have I put the feeling into the painting? I am doing a lot more self critiques these days and doing painting series rather than skipping subject to subject or size to size, this seems to help me. I really enjoy wet in wet techniques and color mixing on the paper but also there are times when hard edges are a must and so a variety of styles helps to keep things fresh. Try to keep an “I can do this'' and not an “I can't do this'' attitude. I will say that I have a closet full of bad work and a drawer full of good work.

Arizona Rocks!
(click to view)

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

I think I am getting much more technical about design and composition in order to improve my painting. I have really tried to do value studies and have been watching Andy Evanson videos on YouTube, and there are plenty of other artists as well that offer their advice on there. As all professional artists will tell you, doing value studies is essential and he is a really good teacher and communicator of his ideas and methods. I have been doing a lot of color studies and mixing studies. Color studies were something that I didn't think were really necessary early on because as an artist you can represent any scene anyway that pleases you but I now think this is true only to a point. I think color harmony is important and so have been revisiting early teachings that I neglected. I have started using a limited pallet, I have reduced my pallet to essential reds, blues and yellows. I have also been studying other oil and pastel artists for their processes and techniques but in general I think I am just getting much more technical in my approach to painting.

What makes you happiest about your art?

I think it's two things. The first is when someone can make a connection to one of your paintings, a feeling, a memory, an object, a time, whatever, it can be almost anything that makes that connection but it is made. That is the feeling of success. The second would be the personal satisfaction that I did a successful painting, I like what I see in front of me. I have captured something other than an image and whatever I captured is appealing.

Fall Stream
(click to view)

Thanks, Jeff!

© 2020 Sophie Marine

DPW Spotlight Interview: Mk Cha

Each week we will spotlight a different DPW artist who will give away one of their best paintings. To enter to win Mk's painting "Grapefruit" 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.

Luckily, I had a lot of opportunities to travel and reside in many different countries for years. As I visited various museums, I realized that visiting art museums and looking at paintings makes me happy. Since then, my hobby has been appreciating paintings. One day, I came to this idea of, "Why not start painting on my own?" However, at that time, I couldn't even draw a tiger that my son asked for, let alone draw a cat, and ended up drawing a mouse-looking animal.

Grapefruit
( click to view)

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

What mediums and genres have you experienced with? Which ones have “ stuck” and which ones fallen away?

When I first started painting, I started with watercolors as it could be easily prepared. The subtle colors and expressions of watercolor were enough to fascinate me. However, watercolor isn't an easy medium for beginners to learn by themselves. Not only did I have to deal with the concentration of water and paint well, but I also had to have a definite plan on highlighting and shading before starting any work. However, oil painting was different. I was able to freely correct any mistakes or to apply a change of ideas at any time. The rich color and lively brush stroke produced unexpectedly good results and made me delighted beyond my expectations.

Sliced fruits on black
( click to view)

Who or what inspires you most?

Throughout life, everyone feels both joy and sorrow, although the emotion ratio is not equivalent objectively or subjectively. Some feel more sorrows and others think they have more joys in their lives. I want to keep and maintain those "joy" emotions/moments such as beauty, happiness, and peacefulness in my life for a long time by painting and capturing these moments (even when there are more "sorrow" emotions/moments). I wish anyone could feel comfort, joy, and rest while looking at my painting.

The little pleasures in my daily life (having a cup of coffee with friends or freshness of a plate of fresh fruit) and the thrilling scenery from planned trips are enough to inspire my painting activities.

For lovers who are starting
( click to view)

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

I usually set deadlines for my paintings and try to meet them to prevent myself from procrastinating and use my time more efficiently. 

But, there are occasions when I cannot complete the paintings on time even when I try my best. When this happens, I think to myself that I do not have adequate painting skills to express what I want on time yet, but I know that these struggling moments will eventually lead me to where I want my painting skills to be. This motivates me to work harder everyday.

On a peaceful 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 admire artists who practice/paint similar art objects countless times because I find it difficult to even practice the same type of paintings. When I get bored of painting Still Life, I move onto Landscape. Then, when I get sick of Landscape, I start painting Portraits.

I understand that painting such a variety of genres as a beginner is less efficient, but I believe that this is my way to keep drawing.

Lunch with lily of the nile
( click to view)

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

My initial interest in art derived from famous paintings in museums, so my standards/expectations of paintings as an observer were at the level of famous Virtuosos. When I actually started painting at a late age, I was discouraged due to the gap between my painting abilities and my expectations. Thinking back to it now, I am embarrassed of how ignorant I was. It reminded me of the nature of things - I cannot reach what I want to pursue in a short period of time. I learned that I could only develop step by step while enjoying every step and process as an artist and a person.

Thanks, Mk!

© 2020 Sophie Marine

DPW Spotlight Interview: Matthew Miller

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

From Matthew's DPW Gallery Page:

Matthew Miller is an artist and architect who lives near Washington DC with his wife and corgi. His art comes from a wide variety of inspirations, ranging from capturing a moment or memory from his travels, to finding beauty in the little things. Regardless of the subject, Matthew loves using oil or acrylic paints to celebrate the light, mood, and atmosphere of a place, person, or object.

Matthew first picked up a paint brush when he was in middle school and has not put it down since. Although he has two degrees in architecture and practices architecture by day, he has been developing his art career with fervor, and, because of his dedication to the fine arts, he has consistently been participating in festivals, gallery exhibits, and competitions. Matthew would love for one of his pieces to be a part of your home.

Tell us a bit about how you first started painting.

When I was young, I had an affinity to doodling, and my mother recognized it as a means for my expression, so she bought me “How to Draw" books as well as some art materials. I studied them, I replicated the images, and I moved from "How to Draw" to "How to Paint" within a few years. By middle school, I was selling my friends drawings of their favorite sports cars. I took it upon myself to continue to challenge and critique my work so that, at any step in my painting career, I would be proud of the work I am producing, but always searching for the next step for improvement.

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

Halfway through my undergraduate degree and through my Master’s degree, I took a break from painting. Architecture school is very demanding, and when you are working fourteen hours a day on school work, you have to rearrange your life priorities. I chose to prioritize my sleep! In the six years after graduation, I have been very productive, and I am excited to see my growth as an artist.

Ruby Red Grapefruit
(click to view)

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

What mediums and genres have you experimented with?

I had primarily worked in acrylic up until a year ago. I had just had my first solo show, and felt that it was the perfect time to try something new, with no deadlines in sight and the excitement of having accomplished a successful show. From that point, I switched to oil paint, and I am loving it! I feared that the slower drying times and the introduction to mediums and solvents would complicate the process; however, it has done nothing but open new doors to how I approach painting.

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

Oil painting has been a joy, and for me, it is here to stay. I have occasionally used watercolor for in situ painting or quick studies. I applaud those who can master watercolor, but I could take it or leave it. It is certainly handy for travel, but I do not anticipate watercolor being my main medium.

Cherry Tomatoes
(click to view)

Which ones are you looking forward to exploring?

Since I am relatively new to oil paint, I am looking forward to continuing my exploration of the medium. I am excited to try different surfaces, try both classic techniques and alla prima painting, and try varying degrees of realism and impressionism. The sky's the limit!

Who or what inspires you most?

One day, I hope to be able to paint like John Singer Sargent. His mastery and command of his brushstrokes seem effortless but at the same precise. His paintings, especially the Venice paintings, model light and color beautifully, and the varying degrees of focus and detail mimic our eyes' ability to see.

Castel St. Angelo
(click to view)

What does procrastination look like for you?

Painting is my second career. I work full time, and at the end of the day, when it is time to paint, I am exhausted. Sometimes the couch is much more inviting than the easel, but I know that once I mentally get over the procrastination hump and once I make the effort to open up a tube of paint and place a dab on the palette, that exhaustion melts away; I am reinvigorated and ready to tackle a painting session.

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

I keep a running checklist of daily tasks, and I ensure that I allot enough time to progress my paintings, especially if I have a show in the near future or commissions in the works. For me, this works wonders, because I know that I feel good when I am able to accomplish my daily goals, and on the flip side, I feel guilty if I get sidetracked.

Capri
(click to view)

How do you generally arrive at ideas for your paintings?

As an architect, I feel that experiencing the world around me is imperative to honing my craft. As an artist, I enjoy capturing a memory from my travels so that I can 1) learn from and commit to memory that moment in time through the sheer act of recreating it, and 2) share with others something I feel is worth sharing. Lately, because of COVID, the world I experience has gotten smaller, but it has not been without beauty. I have since found solace in painting some items I have found within the confines of my house. 

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

I never want to be pinned down to one subject matter. I will create a series of cityscapes, and then several months later, a series of still lifes, followed by a series of portraits. This constant changing of subjects has allowed me to breathe fresh air into my painting experience. Once painting starts to become a chore or repetitive, I know it's time to shake things up and paint something that excites me.

Kara Walker
(click to view)

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

Currently, I am working on a series of portraits. I find that portraiture, unlike any other subject matter, has a high degree of difficulty. If your brushstroke is off, the expression of the subject changes. If several brushstrokes are off, your painting becomes a different person! I relish this challenge to, not only capture a person’s likeness, but also mood, personality, and expression. At the core of this challenge is developing my ability to see. If I am able to properly see and interpret my subject, then I stand a decent chance of properly representing my subject.

What makes you happiest about your art?

The process. Don’t get me wrong; the final product is rewarding, and even more so if someone chooses to hang one of my works in their home, but sitting down at my easel, with some good music and my palette loaded up -- nothing beats that. Every time I paint a painting, I learn something from it. Sometimes it's reinforcing or developing fundamentals, sometimes it is experimentation with a surface or medium mixture, and sometimes it's diving deep into the subject and living within the colors, forms and values. Occasionally, the process can be frustrating when things are not going the right way, but that only fuels me to step up to the challenge and approach the painting with trust that the process will lead to a great experience.

Thanks, Matthew!

© 2020 Sophie Marine

DPW Spotlight Interview: Richard Brunet

Each week we will spotlight a different DPW artist who will give away one of their best paintings. To enter to win Richard's painting "Après l'averse, un jour d'été / After the rain..." go to Daily Paintworks and click on the link at the top of the page announcing their interview.

From Richard's DPW Gallery Page:

Since 2006, I have been exploring photography as an art medium using different techniques. Macrophotography, infrared, portrait and long exposures are part of my field of exploration.

Inspired by nature and by the seasons, I try through my photos to present a place, a place or a moment as if it were a painting. An influence undoubtedly coming from my theatrical training. For the past few years, my interest has been towards working with grey filters, a technique that allows me to try more and more to create photos that resemble paintings. From there, and following a trip to Provence in 2014, including a visit to Cézanne's studio and the monastery of St-Paul de Maussole, the idea of moving on to painting was born.

Just like in photography, I am self-taught in painting and I start my first attempts in October 2014. Very quickly I realized that painting becomes an extension of my years of photography in both research and inspiration. (click to read more)

Tell us a little bit about how you started to paint?

I had been doing art photography of nature for several years; infrared, macro, long exposures to get blurred. Then I started producing effects with Photoshop to reproduce these photos as if they were paintings. 

There were also visits during a trip to Provence of Cézanne's workshop, the monastery of St-Paul de Maussole where we discovered Van Gogh's room where the idea of painting was born. But me painting..., while I have no notion of design, nor colors, no training at all! And then five years ago, I quietly started two years before my retirement to paint when I had the time. About fifty small canvases that all went into the garbage. When the time came to retire, I wanted to take painting lessons and my wife, who had been an art teacher, told me to paint, often and very often, that it was better to evolve. I took this advice and that's what I did a little more than three years ago now. I used the basics of photography that I had and I explored...

Après l'averse, un jour d'été / After the rain...
(click to view)

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

Have you had ups and downs in your painting career?

My career as a painter is just beginning, painting is too recent for me, but I must say that for the last twelve months, my exploration has been going well. That I discovered in this last year my way of painting.

What are the mediums that you have experimented with? Which ones have "stayed" and which ones have "fallen away"?

I have a temperament where everything must end as soon as I can. So acrylic is perfect for me! Both working with knives and brushes. I did try some experiments with pastels, but without much success. I have also painted on reclaimed oak wood, but with paintings that are much too heavy, it becomes difficult to ship them.

Temps d'arrêt / Stopping time
(click to view)

Which ones do you look forward to exploring?

Oh I think I still have a lot to learn with this first medium! It's an ongoing quest.

Who or what inspires you the most?

The great landscapes and reliefs, those places where you go into contemplative mode. I try to invent landscapes by extrapolating those I have seen in my travels. Travels in Iceland, the landscapes of Scotland have taught me to see the colors of nature, to see that all colors can be found in these landscapes. I discovered then that all the possibilities could be in the landscapes of nature. I just had to let go and dare!

Les beaux jardins / The beautiful gardens
(click to view)

What does procrastination look like to you?

I always take a break of two or three days between each painting. Ideas have to simmer in my head before when I start, even if I won't necessarily go where I originally planned to go. The worst thing for me is to have two ideas in my head for the same painting. That's where it gets complicated. I also spend a lot of time looking at all the paintings I can find on the internet in the styles and genres that I like the most.

What are the techniques that allow you to save time for your art?

The last thing I want is to save time, I want to stay in my bubble in the moment. That's the most precious thing I get from painting. This relaxation and this pleasure to project myself in my universe.

Repenti
(click to view)

How do you usually manage to find ideas for your paintings?

I often start from my previous paintings, a color, a very small stain and then I improvise directly on the canvas. I start from an atmosphere that I remember from my travels. Or I give brushstrokes of different colors here and there on the canvas until I see appear what I like. It works most of the time, but occasionally you hit a wall. I stop and start again the next day... 

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

Passive observation. I often stand in front of some of my canvases on my easel and stand in front for long minutes and observe. I let my imagination run wild. It's a technique I love and it's very effective for me.  Sometimes I focus on the colors, sometimes on the composition. It all depends on what I want to explore in the following canvases.

Les terres éloignées / The Far Lands
(click to view)

What do you think you're learning as an artist right now?

Time. Since I started painting when I retired, there is an urgency to paint in my home. So time is always present in my paintings. Taking the time, the time that passes, being in the present moment. Moreover several of my paintings have the word "time" in the title.

What makes you happiest about your art?

To be moved! One day, I understood why I would like to paint. I was in front of some of Van Gogh's fruit tree canvases, and something happened, I was looking at these canvases and tears came to me, it was as if I no longer saw the subject but simply the beauty of the canvas. And it reminded me of a sentence that a friend of mine said to me about the art photography I was doing at the time. I told him that I didn't understand why I was taking pictures, that not many people were interested, etc... He replied "the important thing is that somehow there is only one person who feels something" ....I had looked at these paintings at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam and I just let the emotion enter me.

La berceuse du temps / lullaby of time
(click to view)

Thanks, Richard!

© 2020 Sophie Marine