DPW Spotlight Interview: Kevin Inman

Each week we will spotlight a different DPW artist who will give away one of their best paintings. 

To enter to win Kevin Inman's painting, "Santa Barbara Sunset," go to Daily Paintworks and click on the link at the top of the page announcing Kevin's interview.

From Kevin's DPW gallery page:

I paint the poetry of everyday things. I admire the bright landscapes of my home in San Diego, California and strive to feel them in oil. Using old master techniques, I try to work at the crossroads of the Barbizon school and British Postwar Realism.

Tell us a bit about how you first started painting.

I've been painting for almost 20 years (since I was 14). When I was 20, I moved to Spain for a year. It was great. I had a lot of spare time and spent most of it painting. It was a major change of pace for me. I couldn't work a job there - I didn't have the right kind of visa - and my schoolwork was much easier than it was back home at the University of Virginia. So I had all this freedom and could paint most days. And I really liked that.

On weekends and school breaks, I backpacked around, mostly in Spain and Italy, working on plein air drawings and watercolor. I loved the history, the Mediterranean light, the art museums and the different cultures. This was also when I first started working with oils and fell in love with the medium.

Santa Barbara Sunset
(click here to see original image)

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

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

I had more of a slow, gradual start. After coming back from that year plein air painting in Spain and Italy, I graduated college and took a more than full time job in the IT sector in Washington, D.C. I worked similar jobs for the next nine years, also completing a MFA in painting along the way.

Transitioning from a salary and schedule to being a full time artist was a major challenge and since 2010, I've been trying to make that work.

Add Deco House in Hillcrest
(click here to see original image)

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?

Over the years, I've learned a few things about what inspires me to seek the next challenge. Painting daily helps keep me engaged.

When I was working on my MFA, that's when I started the transition from the abstract work I'd been doing for about five years towards my current direction. That was a slow process of incremental change and then an A-ha! moment when I suddenly thought, I'm not an abstract painter anymore. I didn't plan to do it, so what I think I learned there was to just see what feels right and go with that, even if it's not what you expected to be doing; even if it means walking away from a lot of time and energy you invested. My current body of work seems to me to be about experiencing a place, being in that place.

Of all the media, my favorites are chalk pastels and oil paints.

Waves on the Rocks, Cabrillo
(click here to see original image)

There are such lovely, strong lines and saturated colors in your work. How do you settle upon a particular composition and color combination? 

Thank you for the compliment! I like to experiment with color and try out different palettes. The strong colors in my current body of work come primarily from painting San Diego. I'm fond of the clear, brilliant light we have here. I also enjoy painting San Diego's frequent fog, which calls for a more muted approach.

Composition for me is primarily intuitive and a viewfinder helps (I like the one by Guerrilla Painter). Painters are urged by instructors to use a variety of edges in their painting, but if you look at Botticelli's work, there's always a fine, beautiful line defining all the edges. I love that.

What does procrastination look like for you? What techniques work to ensure that you make time for your art?

Some of my best painting happens when I am not washing the dishes. Procrastination fuels creativity and artists should embrace it!

The main thing I do to schedule is I consider painting my job. I have a schedule - 8 to 6 - and that's my workday. I try to fit in painting and other tasks during those hours. Like any job, some days you are more effective than others. I schedule other tasks for when I need breaks in painting and usually I get to everything.

Another aspect of that is learning to say no. No, I have to work; I can't pick you up at the airport; I can't go to Happy Hour.

University Avenue in North Park
(click here to see original image)

How do you generally arrive at ideas for your paintings?

Like a lot of landscape painters, I think, I see the world as potential paintings. So wherever I am, I'm thinking, how would I make a good painting out of that? For years, I've carried a sketchbook and pastels with me, so I can get fast, on location sketches for later studio work.

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

I'm a tinkerer. So right now, for example, I'm learning about artisan bread baking, since I really want to make good pizza at home. I make pizza about once per week, but every time it's a different approach to dough, a different topping, a different kind of sauce. The results are often not that great, but one of these days, I'll figure out a system and every time after that, the pizza dough will be that much better.

That's what I like to do with painting too. I like to experiment with my materials and approach. I don't mind revisiting the same locations, varying the time of day, color choices, vantage point. Those small changes keep me feeling excited even though, like with the pizza dough, plenty of those experimental paintings don't work out and need to be wiped.

When I do burn out, the hardest part is the blocked feeling. Sudden, total painting inertia. Then you try to force the ideas and they go small and boring and the painting is ruined. So that's always a miserable, crazy-making time. The only solution I have is to wait it out, though I bet a few weeks in a mansion in Paris would also cure it.

Cat Painting Tuesday
(click here to see original image)

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

Right now, I'm interested in plein air practice in particular, and looking at the Italian landscapes of Corot, as well as contemporary work.

What makes you happiest about your art?

I like to see growth, but what I really enjoy is a personal connection to the place. You know, I was a military brat and moved around so much when I was growing up. I like focusing on the local, which is San Diego. I love when someone comes up to me and says, "This painting reminds me of trips to my grandmother's house when I was a kid..." I love hearing those stories, I love that connection.

Thanks, Kevin!

© 2012 Jennifer Newcomb Marine

DPW Spotlight Interview: Diane Whitehead

Each week we will spotlight a different DPW artist who will give away one of their best paintings. 

To enter to win Diane Whitehead's painting, "Bear," go to DailyPaintworks and click on the Spotlight Giveaway button in the top-left corner of the website.

From Diane's DPW gallery page:

I have been published in various magazines and cover publications. I am drawn to the natural beauty and coloring of an animal and am aware of how it must adapt to its surroundings, to become invisible to the hunter, visible to the same species to mate and powerful enough to scare off predators. 

Tell us a bit about how you first started painting.

When I was around 12 years old, I had an uncle who gifted me his old oil painting set. He included some Walter Foster art books. I followed the instructions in the books and found so much peace with the painting process. I was the second of 8 children and it was chaos all around me, except when I holed up in a quiet place and painted.

Bear
(click here to see original image)

Enter to win by clicking the "Artist Spotlight and Giveaway" button!

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

I painted until about the age of 24 when I got married and had my daughter. I then had a son at 34 and worked in real estate for those years. I really wanted to start painting again, so I bought 100 canvases, and told myself that if #100 was not remarkably better than #1, then I had to find something else to do. All 100 paintings sold! I was in love with the process again. Struggled along each day, working full time, raising four kids (I remarried and he had two sons) until I moved to Park City 10 years ago, when I finally decided to jump in with both feet. The journey has been incredible! The artists I have met, been inspired by and collectors too, all make this life of mine extraordinary.

Owl
(click here to see original image)

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 started with oils and then tried acrylic when I came back to painting, but the smell and feel of oil paint pulled me back to my roots and has since been my only medium. I really have not given any thought to any other medium except for sculpture. I think I would love to try my hand at it someday.

Many of your paintings are of animals in the natural world, either caught in a moment of stillness or intense focus. What can you tell us about how you capture your subjects and what draws you to them?

We travel often through Yellowstone park and we live part time in Montana. Often times a bear or elk or other wildlife will cross my path in both places. A few weeks back while painting in my summer studio I saw something out the corner of my eye a few feet away and there was a bear eating grass right outside the door. He just got out of the river and was just beautiful! He glanced my way a few times while I snapped photos of him.

Little Black Bear
(click here to see original image)

We also have a "pet" fox who sleeps on the deck and around everyone's property on the lake. Yellowstone also offers a variety of opportunity to capture images of the wildlife. Just follow the photographers! What draws me to them is their sense of being, they belong there. They let us visit and walk the same game trails they devise to get from shelter to water.

What does procrastination look like for you? What techniques work to ensure that you make time for your art?"

I work full time at my business. I was raised to be independent and because of that strong sense of work ethic, I operate my career as a business, one that I am so very blessed to have. I have a developed a process for my business and now it works well for me. Someone told me not too long ago, if you work for yourself be sure you have six forms of income. I believe this to be true. Make opportunity and choose to have your work work for you instead of you working for others. I play hard, hike, bike, boat, swim, travel, and when its time to get work done, I am able to find that place of little or no distraction to create my pieces. Distraction is a choice and when I choose it you can most likely find me fishing or playing on my boat.

How do you generally arrive at ideas for your paintings?

I spend hours mulling over images or watching shows on wildlife on Discovery. I imagine a scene in the woods where no one knows what these animals actually do, then draw ideas in thumbnail form, then go with one. I walk game trails quite a bit around Montana and while doing that the foot prints and markings tell me stories. I have also come to love the working cowboy as inspiration for my western pieces. I often visit local ranches or come across a group of ranch hands moving cattle or livestock through an area.

Cowboy Equine
(click here to see original image)

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

Sometimes I get "stuck" and when I do, I really embrace that place. It offers me the opportunity to visualize something new and different. I am always trying new things, traveling the west coast from top to bottom, southern Utah, or Washington, always with camera in hand. If I do get stuck, I plan a road trip. We have a pop up camper, so being outside is always the option for me. That is where the real action is. Rodeos, pig roasts, funky rural Montana bars, there are always country kids, or little cowboys to snap pictures of.

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

I took a class from Jove Wang some years back and became mesmerized by his technique. He paints with his brush loaded with colors like marbles. I have notice lately that while painting I am making a puzzle with marbled color. It's about the shapes, when to go thick or thin and what color looks best beside another color. When I feel I need a bit of a change I buy a few new oil colors and just play that against what I have been using. I love the "aha!" moment and for me that comes about by exposing myself to what is all around me and with that attitude I can learn something new every day.

What makes you happiest about your art?

Two things mostly. When a piece turns out and you felt as if someone else painted it. That place you go and the feeling of a higher power.

Pretty Girl Moose
(click here to see original image)

And when I get emails from people who tell me how one of my paintings has touched them. Who doesn't love that? It is a super wonderful time to be an artist. We support one another and learn from each other. Thank you for the feature and the interview.

Thanks, Diane!

© 2012 Jennifer Newcomb Marine

DPW Spotlight Interview: Nadi Spencer

Each week we will spotlight a different DPW artist who will give away one of their best paintings. 

To enter to win Nadi Spencer's painting, "85 Pumpkin Flower," go to DailyPaintworks and click on the Spotlight Giveaway button in the top-left corner of the website.

From Nadi Spencer's DPW gallery page:

I have lived my life as a professional artist for 40 years. I paint in a vibrant, bold, colorist style, and I paint 7 days a week. My studio is my favorite place in the world. I often have giveaways on my website, Nadispencer.com. Please, feel free to contact me about commission portraits of dogs and people. 

Tell us a bit about how you first started painting.

I recently began writing about this in a new blog My Life as an Artist. I tell stories about growing up with art, starting with my first art sale when I was 7. I was always encouraged to paint by my parents, who also paid for the "Draw Me" correspondence course. Later, in high school, I had wonderful teachers who let me design my own assignments.

85 Pumpkin Flower
(click here to see original image)

Enter to win by clicking the "Artist Spotlight and Giveaway" button!

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

I lived in Yosemite when I was 19 and married another artist. I was young and in love so, when I learned that he was resentful of my art, I stopped painting – for 5 years. But I missed being creative, so I took a wood shop class at the local college. Instead of making a shelf, I cut out little animal characters, eventually building a business and selling them to 300 stores nationwide. My husband became my partner and we did this for 15 years. When the marriage and business ended, I was left with 4 daughters and a mortgage. I sold the wood tools, switched to watercolor, and never looked back.

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?

In the early days, I played with pastels, oils, watercolor, acrylic, leather, and scratchboard. I even made "puff paint" before there was such a thing - mixing white glue with dry tempera. After the wood art, I painted only in watercolor for 6 years, painting my woodland creatures on paper instead of wood. Then in 1996, I painted my first city mural, using Nova Color acrylic paint. I loved it - Nova Color is like painting with pudding. And I want my paint to dry 5 minutes ago, so acrylic was the perfect choice.

77- Quail Family
(click here to see original image)

For 15 years now, I've only painted in watercolor and acrylic. Going back and forth keeps me fresh. I still paint large murals, but most of my time now is spent painting my own original pieces. Cut-out wood has recently re-surfaced in large pieces, and I want to explore more of that.

You have a very distinctive style and wrote a funny post on your blog about critiques from family and friends that you've had to learn to shrug off. What can you tell us about how you not only developed your style, but embraced it so wholeheartedly?

About 8 years ago, I was asked to paint a mural with 200 local students – K through 8th grade. I wanted it to look professional when finished because it would be permanent town art, so I came up with a process. Black lines were painted on very bright orange ground color. The children were told to fill in the colors, but not to touch the black lines. The orange color that was left (on both sides of every black line) gave movement and vibrancy to the mural – the colors popped like in a stained-glass window. Since then, I have painted 3 more student murals.

18 Maile's House
(click here to see original image)

It was a success with the kids, and I was left wanting more. I began painting canvases in the same way, letting them evolve as I went along. I realized that the vivid color, the sense of playfulness, was what I was missing in my work. I can't stop now.

What does procrastination look like for you? What techniques work to ensure that you make time for your art?

I am a very organized artist. I designed a 2-year planner built for an artist; I want to know what I'm working on for a year or more in advance. Ideas, projects, and deadlines are all kept in order. I also schedule time for procrastination or tangents, which occur daily. I often have trouble finishing a piece - I'm already on to that next adventure. So I go to the computer instead.

I love the internet. I love Facebook, I love e-mail. I love other artists' sites and photo sites. I can spend a day doing research. And that's OK because my whole day, every day, is about my art. I rarely do anything else and I almost never take a day off.

How do you generally arrive at ideas for your paintings?

Arriving at ideas is the easy part. The hard part is narrowing them down to one at a time – the one that excites me the most this minute. I get ideas from books, magazines, artists' sites, driving, watching movies, cooking, even cleaning the house. But my favorite way is with a camera.

Saddle Texture
(click here to see original image)

I often don't see an exciting composition until I narrow it down in a view-finder. I've trained my eye to forget what I am looking at, and to see only lines, shapes, color and shadow. Composition excites me more than subject matter.

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

My biggest fear in life is being bored – I work hard to avoid it. If I'm feeling uninspired and need immediate aid, I run for my "I Love" scrapbook. For longer-term solutions, I make sure that I have an adequate amount of "challenges" spread throughout my planner. They could include themes (in amounts of 12, for calendars), new towns to paint (I recently added Cambria, CA), or joint projects with my artist friend (80 paintings in 80 days).

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

I'm fine-tuning my style – learning what excites me most, and what doesn't work – always pushing my comfort zone. I'm learning to navigate social media online. Many of my friends (60 - up) avoid it. I find it magical. I sold my 1st painting online in 2011. Now almost all my sales are online. It's a new world, and I'm jumping in, eyes-wide.

Me 'n' Navarre
(click here to see original image)

What makes you happiest about your art?

I have lived 40 years as a professional artist. It is the only job I have ever had. I raised 4 daughters and by my actions, gave them this message: Work hard, love the work, and don't give up – ever. Wow - what a ride!

Thanks, Nadi!

© 2012 Jennifer Newcomb Marine

DPW Spotlight Interview: Kathleen Williford

Each week we will spotlight a different DPW artist who will give away one of their best paintings. 

To enter to win Kathleen Williford's painting, "Daily Bread," go to DailyPaintworks and click on the Spotlight Giveaway button in the top-left corner of the website.

From Kathleen's DPW gallery page:

I started out as an art major in college, taught art for a while and spent a long stretch in corporate America. For the past ten years, I've been doing decorative painting and murals, but recently decided to shift my focus to studio work.

Tell us a bit about how you first started painting.

I was one of those kids who was always drawing. Early on, it seems my parents decided I had some talent so they supplied me with plenty of art supplies and encouragement throughout my childhood. Back then I worked mostly with pencil, pastels, pen and ink and some watercolors at home and school. I didn’t paint on canvas until college in the 60’s and that was with acrylics.

Daily Bread
(click here to see original image)

Enter to win by clicking the "Artist Spotlight and Giveaway" button!

After college I didn’t paint much until about ten years ago, when I began painting murals full-time using acrylics. My business was fairly successful, I stayed busy and loved working with my clients painting high-end, residential murals. Painting murals is physically demanding! I’m still very fit and healthy, but as I grew older I knew I would eventually need to transition into something that would keep my feet on the ground instead of perching on a ladder all day. I also grew tired of executing paintings to fit into someone else’s design sensibilities and taste. I felt like I was completing a long string of assignments and I yearned to find out who I was as an artist.  

I explored the “daily painting” movement for a couple years online and kept thinking it would be a perfect fit for me. I wanted to learn how to paint from life and decided blogging about the journey would help keep me motivated and on track. I always dreamed of being a studio artist, but up until now it just never seemed to be a realistic goal. I started out a few months ago with the small format paintings in acrylic and just recently began using oils. I’m excited to see where this takes me!

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

Many starts and stops! I taught art in high school right after I graduated from college with a degree in art education. I taught for about eight years and did a little art work of my own during that time, but not a lot. Then I changed careers and worked at a job that was unrelated to art. During that time I made many attempts to do art work but, with career and family, I never seemed to stick with it. I kept thinking someday I would have time. Someday I would get back into it. Someday I would like to paint full-time.

Buddha with Flowers
(click here to see original)

Then about twelve years ago, almost by accident, I fell into a little job of painting a mural for a salon owner. I did it nights and weekends while working full-time at my other job. It turned out pretty well and I decided maybe this was a way for me to actually earn a living doing art. From a marketing standpoint it made sense because the work was actually sold before I began painting it. My children were raised and doing well in their lives, I was on my own and decided I was willing to take the risk. I quit my real job and started my own business.

When I went in to tell my boss I was resigning, I felt like a little kid telling my Dad that I was going off to join the circus. I knew it was a crazy, reckless and risky endeavor but it was something I felt I had to do. Somehow I’ve eked out a living from painting ever since. My only regret is that I didn’t make the leap sooner.

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?

In the past I was always most comfortable with dry mediums like graphite, charcoal, colored pencils and pastels. I always felt more in control and enjoyed the sketchy and smudgy quality of dry media. But now I’m committed to painting regularly and I know it’s something that I will always do. At some point I may want to work in pastels again and maybe experiment with collage. But, for now, I’m sticking to painting. Even if I go off in some other direction now and then I think I will always come back to painting.

My concentration in college was in ceramics. I loved working in clay, throwing on the wheel, mixing my own glazes, and the anticipation of opening the kiln after every firing. Years ago, I did set up a small ceramic studio at home and built my own gas kiln. It takes a lot of space and equipment and after many moves, I found it was just no longer practical to pursue. My heart flutters every time I see a potter set up at an art show, but it’s not something I seriously think about getting back into.  

I’ve always been pulled toward realism and my work has always reflected that except while in college, my paintings were very large and very abstract. In order to fit into the program and get good grades, that was the direction I needed to go. I had no idea what I was doing and I’m convinced my instructor didn’t either. I do have an appreciation of abstract art and may want to explore it at some point and to some degree again in my own work. But for now, my goal is to really learn to paint well from life.

Rook
(click here to see original image)

Many of your paintings reflect a quiet, even whimsical domesticity. What can you tell us about what catches your eye in your environment?

Everything! I see paintings everywhere. My goal right now is to really learn to interpret what I see into paint. Still life offers me a way to control my environment and set up challenges with lighting, shadows and reflections to help me learn. So for now, I am pulling my subjects mostly from everyday items around the house. I’m more interested in the process of learning to paint than in the paintings I produce. They are almost secondary to the process. I don’t take myself too seriously, so I will occasionally throw a subject in just for fun!  

What does procrastination look like for you? What techniques work to ensure that you make time for your art?

I wear a lot of hats and have other obligations that sometimes cut into my painting time. I don’t have too much of a problem with procrastination, but when it does occur it usually looks like household chores and office work. I have this work ethic bouncing around in my head that says I should get my work done before I play. Maybe because I enjoy painting so much I do see it a little like play. So, I struggle with allowing myself to go paint if there is laundry to do or piles of paperwork on my desk. I’m getting better at balancing this and having a blog has helped.

I am committed to blogging regularly so that helps me to justify dropping everything else to get into my studio. If I am absent from painting and blogging it’s usually not because I’m procrastinating, it’s usually because of actual other work commitments.

Old Romeo
(click here to see original image)

How do you generally arrive at ideas for your paintings?

I will never have enough time to paint all of the ideas that are in my head. My work doesn’t even begin to reflect yet all that I have tossing around in my mind. I haven't even scratched the surface of things I’d like to try and subjects I’d like to paint. What I find most interesting is to take ordinary things, often mundane, and elevate them into being art simply by selecting them. I shy away from what is usually considered picturesque or precious. I really like to see and appreciate the beauty in everyday life and everyday objects. It can be a color or light or a reflection or a fold in fabric or something totally unexpected that will catch my eye.

I don’t want to box myself into a particular look or particular subjects at this point. For now I’m like a crow flitting from one shiny object to the next. Maybe in time my work will narrow but, if it does, it will be through a natural process rather than from a deliberate decision. I want to explore in a lot of directions and I find inspiration everywhere!  

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

Maybe it’s because I’m so new to “daily painting” that I haven’t had time yet to experience burnout. I have so many things I want to try that I look forward with anticipation every time I step into my studio. I feel I am just beginning on my journey to discover what kind of painter I want to be and I see these small format paintings as a way to help me to do this. My intention is to try a zillion new things and to reserve the right to experiment even if it results in failure. So, I suppose keeping it “fresh” comes from my desire to try new things. I hope my work reflects the fun I’m having along the way.

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

I have a lot to learn! For years, I measured my murals in feet and now I’m painting these small panels that are measured in inches so there’s some learning going on with that change! I didn’t know a thing about painting in oils so I took a little class a few months ago to get some basics, but I have a long way to go in trying to master that media. I read and study other artist’s work that I find inspiring. I tend to mess too much with details, over-work and define everything too precisely, so right now my goal is to loosen up. I’m working on softer edges and bolder more deliberate brush strokes.

Shiny Bowl with Oranges
(click here to see original image)

What makes you happiest about your art?

After lugging buckets of paint and ladders around while painting murals, I love being able to just walk into my little home studio and paint, sometimes in my PJ’s and bunny slippers!  I also love the fact that we live in an age where technology allows a global exchange of ideas, marketing and community. I'm most happy that I’m now in a place in my life that I actually have some time to make art. I’ve waited a long time to get here, so I intend to make the most of it!

Thanks, Kathleen!

© 2012 Jennifer Newcomb Marine

DPW Spotlight Interview: Barbara Jaenicke

Each week we will spotlight a different DPW artist who will give away one of their best paintings. 

To enter to win Barbara Jaenicke's painting, "Happy as Sunflowers," go to DailyPaintworks and click on the Spotlight Giveaway button in the top-left corner of the website.

From Barbara's DPW gallery page:

I teach weekly pastel classes in the Atlanta area and also travel to teach workshops around the country. I’m a Signature Member of the Pastel Society of America, a member of the International Association of Pastel Societies Master Circle and a Member of Excellence in the Southeastern Pastel Society.

Tell us a bit about how you first started painting.

Although I did have a grandmother who was an artist, my motivation developed simply from my own love of drawing. I didn't have any natural talent -- no friends or family members ever commented during my early childhood that I showed promise as an artist. As a preteen I loved to curl up on the couch and draw, usually copying anything that had pretty image printed on it. As I eventually became somewhat skilled at drawing, I began taking a painting class at a small gallery/art school in Bordentown, NJ, as well as every elective art class I could in school. I was an art major in college, but focused my career toward advertising/art direction.

Happy as Sunflowers
(click here to see original image)

Enter to win by clicking the "Artist Spotlight and Giveaway" button!

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

After college, I worked long hours in advertising as an art director and didn't have much time for fine art. Many years later, after a career switch into more of a corporate setting which had less creative focus, I longed to have art back in my life, and began taking classes in drawing and painting. A few years later, the small company I for which I worked downsized, and I found myself happily with more time to devote to art! I was at a point shortly thereafter in which I was ready to start teaching art and showing/selling my work, so the timing worked well.

Harvest Farm
(click here to see original image)

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?

Going way back to my school days, I suppose I used a variety of mediums, such as graphite, pen and ink, watercolor, acrylic and oil. But getting back into it years later, I started with drawing to brush up on my skills, and then progressed to pastel, with the plan of soon moving into oil. For some reason, pastel stuck for quite awhile.

I made some false starts several times to move into oil, but kept going back to pastel. I guess because I love to draw, pastel was just a very comfortable medium for me. However, in the past few years, I've been spending roughly equal amounts of time in pastel and oil, and enjoy them both. I still feel like pastel is my "first language" of art, but feel like I'm finally becoming a bit more "fluent" in oil. My goal is to become equally skilled.

Many of your paintings capture a mood of reverie, as if we're seeing what someone else might have, if they sat down for a spell and relaxed. Can you describe what you're drawn to and what you choose to paint?

For my landscape work, I like to paint locations in which I'd want to spend a lot of time. Even though I currently live in the suburbs, I'd much rather live out in the country. That's where I feel most comfortable. I don't often paint grand vistas, but usually more intimate sections of quiet places.

Afternoon Glow
(click here to see original image)

I like the challenge of painting something simple and basic, and creating something very special with it using what I call my "artistic bag of tricks" in which I interpret the scene by manipulating color, edges, contrast, composition, etc. I approach my still life work this same way, using only basic still life props, but attempting to create a magical moment through the interpretation of those items.

What does procrastination look like for you? What techniques work to ensure that you make time for your art?

Procrastination happens for me when I have trouble deciding what to do with a particular painting. I keep myself well stocked with reference photos, and since I paint often on location, I have plenty of plein air studies from which to work. But sometimes deciding how to interpret a particular subject matter becomes my stumbling block. However, I give myself deadlines and do all that I can to stick to them. However, since I have an eight year-old, interruptions are typically more the problem than procrastination.

How do you generally arrive at ideas for your paintings?

For my studio work, I plan my paintings by doing compositional thumbnails and value sketches to work through what I want to say with the painting. When I'm stumped, I pour through examples of other artist's work either by going though my art magazines and books, or by visiting the websites of my favorite artists to see how they interpreted similar subject matter. I never copy other artists' work, but this process just tends to jumpstart my own ideas.

Sand Dune Shadows
(click here to see original image)

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

I do sometimes go through slumps when I seem to paint one mediocre painting after another (with the occasional "really bad" painting mixed in), which is of course discouraging. But I've been at this long enough to know that it's temporary and I just need to work through it. By staying engaged with the multitude of resources out there for artists (organizations, publications, websites, etc.), I try to view great artwork continuously, which is always inspiring to me and I never tire of it.

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

For the past couple of years, I've really stepped up my time spent painting on location. For me, plein air painting has helped me stretch my painting skills in a way that probably wouldn't have happened otherwise. I've learned to really SEE things in artwork that you don't experience working only from a photograph. And by having a time limit forced upon you by the changing light, I've learned to increase my painting speed, which has enhanced my ability to determine more quickly and concisely what I want to say with a painting.

Front Porch Petunias
(click here to see original image)

What makes you happiest about your art?

When I look back over the course of several months, or a year, or several years, I feel a tremendous sense of accomplishment when I see noticeable improvements in my art and realize that the hard work is showing positive results.

Thanks, Barbara!

© 2012 Jennifer Newcomb Marine

DPW Spotlight Interview: Robin J. Mitchell

Each week we will spotlight a different DPW artist who will give away one of their best paintings. 

To enter to win Robin J. Mitchell's painting, "No. 515 - The Church Green," go to DailyPaintworks and click on the Spotlight Giveaway button in the top-left corner of the website.

From Robin's DPW gallery page:

I really try to do a small painting every day, but sometimes life comes between my easel and paints. I normally paint in water-soluble oils, but also love watercolour and gouache.

Tell us a bit about how you first started painting.

I started to paint when I was in my early teens. I had a pan set of watercolours from my Mom that I used; for paper I used ‘stamp collecting’ paper. I painted the watercolours really thickly as I didn’t really understand how they worked. I was painting!  Never took art classes in high school, but somehow still continued to paint and draw.

I started an accounting degree at college, which is where I found an entire section of the college devoted entirely to art. I forgot about the business degree and applied to a general arts program, they taught everything from paper making, book-making, sculpture, print-making, life drawing and painting. I was hooked after finishing this one year program, then studied the three year program in Illustration. An entire world opened up to me. I was in love with drawing and painting.

No. 515 - The Church Green
(click here to see original image)

Enter to win by clicking the "Artist Spotlight and Giveaway" button!

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

I don’t think there has ever been a time since college that I have not painted. I always had a studio set up in my house for me to paint. Ten years ago, my father-in-law helped me build custom furniture for my studio. I now have a room over the garage of our house where I'm able to paint daily.

I've been very lucky to have had a career in art. I've worked as a designer magazine publisher, painted animation backgrounds for Saturday morning cartoons and been a matte painter for sixteen years. I won a Gemini Award for Special Effects for a made-for-TV movie (the Canadian Version of an Emmy Award).

No. 507 - Fence Decoration
(click here to see original image)

For the past four years, I've painted almost every day. Most of them are small and the challenge of creating one every night is a way of learning, by striving to create a better painting than the day before.

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 painted for years in watercolour and gouache and loved both of the mediums. One day at the local art store, I found water mixable oils, tried some and was hooked. The versatility and ease of being able to stop and start painting was amazing, with minimal clean-up and smell. I have since altered my palette and now most of my oils are oil-based and use orange-scented mineral spirits to clean up.

I love oils, you can truly do anything with then; if you don’t like what is on the board or canvas – just wipe if off. The colours are great and brush stokes are easy to incorporate into your work. I love a painting that looks like a painting. I still love watercolours and gouache, but oils at the moment are what I love.

No. 489 - Sunshine in the Market
(click here to see original image)

There's such a beautiful, true sunlight in your paintings. What have you learned over the years that's made it possible for you to capture such an elusive quality?

I love sunlight - strange, as I live in Toronto, Canada, where the days in winter without sun can be many. I love the shadows that are created by sunlight and the colours found in them. I've been introduced to some great new colours at a Dreama Tolle Perry workshop and have found they have added a entirely new dimension to my work. I've tried to enhance the sunlight and shadows as much as possible.

What does procrastination look like for you? What techniques work to ensure that you make time for your art?

I'm lucky not to be crippled by procrastination. I truly love to paint and spend hours in my studio working. If I'm away, I miss it so much and can’t wait to get back to it. I've found the best time for me to paint is at night when my wife and daughter are asleep, the house is quiet, and I can focus entirely on what I'm doing.

How do you generally arrive at ideas for your paintings?

This is a really hard thing to explain, something always seems to catch my eye when looking at a photograph or in everyday life. I walk though a forest green space most days and find the light and shadows give me great ideas. Seeing something while driving in the car, objects in the house or garden.

No. 491 - Watching the World Go By!
(click here to see original image)

Sometimes the simplest thing when combined with a great composition and lighting, turns into a great painting. If you look at a collection of my paintings the subjects matter seems to be all over the place, it make things interesting

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

I took a workshop this summer from Dreama Tolle Perry. I've admired her work for a long time; her colour and brush work have always inspired me. Her introduction of new colours and techniques have boosted my painting lately. I also visit other people's blogs and galleries on the internet, such as Edward B Gordon, Carol Marine and Karin Jurick. I study their work and how they have solved composition, colour, light and shadow as well as subject matter. One can learn a great deal from seeing what others have done.

Painting and posting one everyday keeps things fresh as well. You learn from every painting you do, and hopefully the one you do tomorrow will be better than today’s. The mistakes you did today, you'll hopefully avoid tomorrow.

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

I am trying to put the brush on the canvas and make one stoke with the paint and leave it. This is a method that for me is quite hard, as I like to mess with what I have placed down on the canvas and find you lose the quality of colour and spontinaity of the brushwork.

No. 505 - Summer Hay
(click here to see original image)

Mixing the right value and colour on you palette is critical and I am trying to accomplish this. Get the right colour and value and then place just that on the canvas in the right place and leave it. Sounds easy but it is something I'm trying put into practice. If I stick to this, the painting turns out really well.

What makes you happiest about your art?

Painting makes me happy. Finishing a painting and seeing that it has great darks and great light areas, the colours are bright and lively, and you feel great posting it the next day - that makes me happy. I love to paint!

Thanks, Robin!

© 21012 Jennifer Newcomb Marine

DPW Spotlight Interview: Nan Johnson

Each week we will spotlight a different DPW artist who will give away one of their best paintings. 

To enter to win Nan Johnson's painting, "Coleus," go to DailyPaintworks and click on the Spotlight Giveaway button in the top-left corner of the website.

From Nan's DPW gallery page:

Mainly self-taught, Nan "sees" her subjects as a grouping of shapes, each with their own color and shade. It is by combining these that she creates a visual that has been called "unique" or "evocative." Her work is currently held in private collections all over the country.

Tell us a bit about how you first started painting.

I started drawing in early childhood and that stayed with me throughout my school years. My dad and I would watch Jon Gnagy on TV together and Dad would explain shading and positive/negative spaces. He would also give me pointers on perspective. Often he would take a blank 8x10 paper, put a dot on it and tell me to draw the room, using that dot as my vanishing point. Years later in high school, I picked up a brush and just started to paint.

Coleus
(click here to see original image)

Enter to win by clicking the "Artist Spotlight and Giveaway" button!

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

Plenty. When my dad died and again a few years later when my mom died; I was suddenly on my own -- with debts! College ended at that point and I went out into the working world with a different view. Things had changed. About 6 years ago, I again picked up the brushes and paints for the umpteenth time and don't intend to put them down again.

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 worked with regular sketch pencil and charcoal in my younger days and liked it. With painting, I actually started with house paint, makeup, anything I could get my hands on to create with. Then my parents bought me my first oil paint kit and I worked quite a bit with them, but I disliked the fumes and cleanup. Tried acrylics a few years ago and have been "stuck" on them since. But I would like to try my hand at watercolors one of these days.

Big Yellow Taxi
(click here to see original image)

You have quite a range: florals, portraits, still lives, landscapes and city scenes; some of them highly detailed. Which such a cornucopia to choose from, how do you go about deciding upon a subject, particularly ones that seem to require a real time and energy commitment?

Ah, good question! I've been told by art critics and teachers that I should focus on a subject matter. Do only still lifes, or florals, or whatever, but not be all over the place. Well believe it or not, I am focused - but not on a specific subject matter.

I see shapes of color, and shades of color, and patterns of color - rather than a subject. And that is what I am drawn to and what I paint. Patterns fascinate me, whether it's a staircase with lights dancing on the wall or an intricate city scene full of activity. It's the patterns of shapes, colors and lights that catches my attention and creates an emotion that I try to capture. As with the piece Coleus above - the pattern in the leaves is what caught my eye as I walked out the front door one morning. A few photos later and I had a new art piece to do!

Birthday Candles
(click here to see original image)

What does procrastination look like for you? What techniques work to ensure that you make time for your art?

I'm not sure it's procrastination that I experience. Actually, the opposite is true - pushing myself to paint when I'm not in the frame of mind to paint. With a full time day job that is separate from my art, there are some evenings that my mind can't look at the canvas. And when I push during those times, I get frustrated with the outcome. I've learned to do other art-related things (website, review of other artist's work, watch art videos) during those "down" times, which helps me to re-energize. Sometimes just taking an evening to organize things helps me to get a "fresh" start the next day.

How do you generally arrive at ideas for your paintings?

I don't pick my ideas so much as they pick me. I always have a camera with me and take lots of photos. I work in NYC, so there is always much to look at and be inspired by. But I can get the same inspiration driving down a country road. When I capture a moment with the camera, I know I will return to that moment again when it's time to paint it - be it tomorrow, next week, month or year.

Autumn Bench
(click here to see original image)

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

I did the online challenges for a while, and still do some of them. But for a while, I did every challenge I could find every month. I burned out. In hind sight (which I believe is always 20/20), I realized it had become about the quantity and not the quality.

I stopped the "To Be Painted" formal list; now I just go with what is in my heart and my mind for the "next" work. Sometimes, a simple comment or question from a follower of my work sparks a new piece. You just never know where the next inspiration will come from - love that!

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

Marketing! That is my weak point now. Not that that means I learned every technique of art and am a master! No - no. I'm never done learning - there is always a new approach, a new inspiration, a new method. But I realized recently that I do not promote my work or myself very much and I need to come out of the shadows myself. So much to learn!

Azalea
(click here to see original image)

What makes you happiest about your art?

The simple act of creating. I love to see a blank canvas come alive!

Thanks, Nan!

© 2012 Jennifer Newcomb Marine

DPW Spotlight Interview: Jo MacKenzie

Each week we will spotlight a different DPW artist who will give away one of their best paintings. 

To enter to win Jo MacKenzie's painting, "Tiny Table 3," go to DailyPaintworks and click on the Spotlight Giveaway button in the top-left corner of the website.

From Jo's DPW Gallery page:

I want to learn as much as I can. If I am not learning, then the day doesn't feel complete. I live in a very rural area so this web site gives me a place to "play" with others. My goal is to keep it fun and take artistic risks.

Tell us a bit about how you first started painting.

I first started painting when I saw an exhibit by Susan Abbott about 15 years ago. I wrote her a fan letter and it turned out that she lived only about four miles away. She was willing to meet with me and answer about 70 questions (I still have the list) and she showed me how to set up a watercolor palette and get started. There is no doubt about it, she "lit the fuse." I began painting full time about six years ago, after leaving a career as a Special Educator.

Tiny Table 3
(click here to see original image)

Enter to win by clicking the "Artist Spotlight and Giveaway" button!

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

In a word… many. I have had Chronic Fatigue syndrome since the early 90's and a serious cancer that required treatment for a year. I am considered disabled, but I don't feel I am when I paint. I do practice what I call exquisite self care. That means taking care of myself at a high level, but that has also seriously limited my ability to be out in the "real world." I have to be careful not to do too much or I will pay the price.

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 jokingly say watercolor is my first love… I write its name in all my notebooks and kiss it behind the school yard fence. I really do love it like a girl in love for the first time. I just want to learn as much as I can. I don't know about layering or masking fluid or many technical things - I just work on dry paper, wet-into-wet most of the time.

Egg Shell Peony
(click here to see original image)

There's such a cheery, bright, I'm willing to try painting anything! exuberance that comes across in your work. How would you describe your approach to selecting compositions and the "feel" you're going for?

I was using the phrase "just do it"way before Nike picked it up. I have limited energy and time on this earth, so I make the most of every moment I have to work at getting better at the craft of painting. I'm happiest when I am challenged and don't think I can succeed. Just being able to try at something makes me feel more alive.

Air Pogo 2
(click here to see original image)

I have often said I love the feeling of almost getting to the to the top of a mountain or reaching a goal even more than reaching the goal itself. I think there is a metaphor for chronic illness in there somewhere, but I don't want to think about it.

What does procrastination look like for you? What techniques work to ensure that you make time for your art?

I do not have the ability to procrastinate. I've had health issues off and on for more years than I can count and never know if I will lose the ability to do what I love, so I wake up ready to work everyday. I can feel the clock ticking, that is all the motivation I need. Besides when I am deep in the process of painting I do not notice physical discomforts for a period of time, so it is an oasis of sorts.

How do you generally arrive at ideas for your paintings?

I'm a magpie. When I see others doing something and I'm sure I'll never be able to do it, that is enough to get me thinking, "Maybe you can... why don't you try... maybe if…?" and that won't stop until I start to tackle whatever I have seen someone else do so masterfully. But mostly, I'm fascinated with how color, shape and value can make a form suddenly appear as if by magic.

Main Street
(click here to see original image)

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

My motto "Never giving upping." I don't know if this sentence will make sense, but: I can't not paint. That would be like asking a dog not to wag its tail. Not possible.

I have noticed that I am working at a stronger pace since getting high speed internet a year ago and joining DPW. The feedback and friendships have made me work more and gain better skills.

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

Those darn neutrals. I am just starting to use them mindfully.

The other big one is "Ego." How not to let my heart rise or fall if I have a good painting day. I tell myself just showing up and participating is all I am responsible for. But I do sleep better when painting goes better.

Color Kitty Face
(click here to see original image)

When painting goes badly, I put my arms up in the surrender position, walk away from the easel and often mutter, "Jo Mackenzie: maker of chocolate chip cookies and petter of dogs," and then, after a while I feel better...

What makes you happiest about your art?

Being lucky enough to do it. I sometimes place the paper against my face or put a brush against my cheek and just feel those textures like a kiss. I told you.... it's puppy love.

Thanks, Jo!

© 2012 Jennifer Newcomb Marine