tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-51321076189265256532024-03-06T02:45:33.971-05:00Polly Seip Fine Art...... Images may not be reproduced without written permission from the artist. Polly Seip Fine Art. © Copyright 2015. ......Seip Fine Arthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14735530936798470898noreply@blogger.comBlogger157125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132107618926525653.post-84746704025193965172018-09-11T18:16:00.001-04:002018-09-25T18:10:13.122-04:00Across the Lily Pads<div><br></div><div><br></div><div style="text-align: center;"><font face="Gill Sans">New work, and breathing softly upon this page. </font></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><img id="id_c127_9573_8feb_955f" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-mVeAR5A3yws/W5g-sMYpDRI/AAAAAAAADm0/Nltn6ynvDCU2oWN2R7pmADVIEkBK3ihYwCHMYCw/s5000/%255BUNSET%255D" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 392px; height: auto;"><br> <div><font face="Gill Sans">‘Across the Lily Pads’</font></div><div><font face="Gill Sans">24” x 18”. </font></div><div><font face="Gill Sans">Oil on Gessoed Cradled Sandeply. </font></div><div><font face="Gill Sans">2018. </font></div><div><font face="Gill Sans"><br></font></div><div><font face="Gill Sans">Will be available through the <a href="www.sylvangallery.com" id="id_e76f_31ef_e945_9896">Sylvan Gallery</a> in the near future. </font></div><div><font face="Gill Sans"><br></font></div><div><font face="Gill Sans">Thank you very much!</font></div><div><font face="Gill Sans"><br></font></div><div><font face="Gill Sans">Cheers, ~ Polly ~</font></div>Seip Fine Arthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14735530936798470898noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132107618926525653.post-68497593160577736022016-11-27T15:26:00.001-05:002016-11-28T06:38:21.219-05:00Good News!Hello World ...<div><br></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">At the moment, I am tentatively testing out a blog manager app 'blog touch' for blogger in the hopes of being able revive my barely breathing blog and the desire to maintain it. </span>I realise it's been over a year since I've made a post on my blog.</div><div><br></div><div>Life has its way of pulling us away and thrusting us deep into it and showing us what priorities are important to us. </div><div><br></div><div>For three straight years I dedicated myself to conducting Artist Interviews on my blog, which I enjoyed so very much and then those efforts faded, not exactly an intentional thing but more so because of timing and now with a less then willing laptop to keep up with my demands, the artist interviews are currently on the back burner until I can afford to purchase a new laptop. </div><div><br></div><div>With this mobile blog post I hope I can at least breathe some life back into my blog .... and I have some fun and exciting news from the studio just might be the ticket!</div><div><br></div><div>My painting, 'Binoculars #203 - The Swimmers' recently won the 'People's Choice Award' for the <span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">show 'The New England Landscape' </span>at the Lyme Art Association in Old Lyme, CT.</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><img id="id_a504_d1a_1444_851b" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-SN9KMBe1--Q/WDtBcad1OFI/AAAAAAAADkE/DaEaDXGBS9A/%25255BUNSET%25255D.png" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 392px; height: auto;"></div><div>Binoculars #203 - The Swimmers.</div><div>16" x 72". Oil on Panel. 2016.</div><div>Copyright. (Private Collection).</div><div><br></div><div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">This is the first time since high school my work has received any award!! I must admit I was truly stunned that my painting won this tremendous honour and I am still basking in the afterglow. </span></div></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">So for moment if you'll allow me to slowly dust off my blog with a few blog posts here and there, I would be most grateful. Thank you!! </span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Until next time ....</span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Cheers, ~ Polly ~</span></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><br></div>Seip Fine Arthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14735530936798470898noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132107618926525653.post-90959537362110724772015-10-01T08:08:00.001-04:002015-10-01T08:26:11.275-04:00Artist on Artist with Willem Johan Hoendervanger<div style="text-align: center;">
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<i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-large;">Celebrating the 3rd Anniversary </i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; font-weight: bold;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Today gives me immense pleasure in celebrating the 3rd Anniversary of the Artist on Artist project! Since its birth, 19 artists, both genders of varying mediums and styles have participated in this project. The premise of this project is to help promote, recognise, and encourage living artists and their work; of whom I personally and professionally admire. It is extremely important to me that each gender, race, style, and medium be fairly represented in this project and, it is equally important that each artist have the opportunity to properly represent their voice and spirit, and their work as they see fit. <br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">For this month's Artist on Artist Interview, I am greatly honoured to present to you all, Netherland Maritime Artist, Willem Johan Hoendervanger. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I first discovered Hoendervanger's work about 10 months ago, quite accidentally </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">on Instagram </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">through the hashtag #maritimeart. I was immediately drawn to the realism and accuracy of his ship portraits and, to the clarity and freshness of his watercolours. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">And now without any further adieu here is Willem Johan Hoendervanger's interview along with selected works.</span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>Artist on Artist Interview with Willem Johan Hoendervanger</b></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Willem Johan Hoendervanger </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Polly</b> - <i>Hi Willem! And welcome to the AoA project, it's a great pleasure to celebrate its 3rd Anniversary with you and your art! Ok, let's get started ... how are you doing today and can you tell us a little bit about yourself, where you're from and, perhaps what is your earliest memory of when you knew you were an artist?</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Willem</b> - Hello Polly, thanks for having me in your interview series! I'm doing fine today, I'm busy working on several projects at the moment which I will tell you later on more about. First of all I was born in 1980 and live and work in Vlissingen, the Netherlands which is situated at the estuary of the river Scheldt and the North Sea. It's a very busy area talking about ships because it's the shipping lane to the Port of Antwerp, Gent, and Vlissingen. Every day around 150 ships passing by my hometown Vlissingen! The combination of ships and the beautiful surrounding of the Northsea and the Westerschelde and of course the ever changing skies /moods gives me almost too much inspiration. To answer your question. I've been drawing and painting since I could hold a pencil, so started at a very young age. The idea that I might become a full time professional maritime artist came much later, I think at the age of 15.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">Prinses Margriet | Oil on Linen | 19.69 x 27.56 Inches </span></td></tr>
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<b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></b><b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Polly </b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">- </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Tell us about your art education; are you self-taught, or did you attend an art school?</i><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Willem</b> - I have finished the Art Academy in the Netherlands. Of course there is no such education for becoming a maritime artist, so I taught myself how to do it simply by drawing and painting every day. The other part is studying and watching your subject, that's half of the work! I think I have succeeded in creating my own style which can not being compared with any other marine artist, I'm quite happy with it. It's always a thrill when the client feels the intent and efforts you've put in of your piece of art, in the end that's the best part of the whole process.</span><br />
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<b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Polly</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> - </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Speaking of style - in your own words; how would you describe your style? </i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Willem </b>- I would describe my style as realistic. I try to capture the essence and character of each ship I'm painting. In the field of marine art shipping companies and other customers want their ship to be exactly like their ship, no errors are permitted. The other part of the style are the sky and the sea which have to get as much attention as the ship itself. These three aspects must be in a good balance to create a good piece of marine art. Style also includes the use of 'clear' colors and how you handle your brushes / medium. Finding the balance between painting in a realistic way and adding artistic values is the essence of my work and style. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">Smit Singapore | Watercolor on Arches paper | 17.72 x 25.59 Inches. </span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Polly</b> - <i>Tell us about your studio space; where is it located, what kind of space is it like, how do you keep it!?! </i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Willem</b> - It's located in my home in Vlissingen, so that's very handy, actually it's not a very large room, but good enough for creating my art. When looking though the window I have a beautiful view at the historic centre of Vlissingen and the ships as well. I like to keep my studio clean and tidy. I'm a great proponent of working organized and structured. So I have to disappoint you Polly, no romantic and artistic mess in my studio, no splashes of paint on my clothes and things like that....! When I have to create an oil painting I can remove my desk and put my (large) old easel in place, so the space is quit multi-functional. It's a very simple white room with noting on the walls, it's all about creating art without any or less distractions.
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">Iver Example | Watercolor on Arches paper | 17.3 x 26.4 Inches. </span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Polly</b> - <i>HA! No disappointment here, Willem, it's your studio. You said earlier you have some projects you're working on at the moment; can you tell us about these projects? </i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Willem</b> - Currently I'm working on a new series of 5 paintings for Vroon, which is a large Dutch shipping company. In the past I have created 13 paintings for Vroon. Besides that commission I'm working on a couple of paintings for an upcoming expo later this year. I'm also busy working on a book which will be published in 2016, the work mainly consist of writing the texts for each painting, and of course creating some paintings of ships which I think must be included in the book. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Polly</b> - <i>That's tremendous news, congratulations!</i></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i> What is your ultimate goal, or dream project you want to do with your art?
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Willem</b> </span>- <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I'm happy as long as I can keep on creating maritime art for myself and my customers.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Polly </b>- <i>Speaking of your customers; what are some memorable responses have you had to your work? </i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Willem</b> - The best part of the whole process of making art is to have a customer who is satisfied to the full. For some customers my paintings brings back memories from their time at sea. Shipping companies use my work to show in their offices or to give away to their clientele. From time to time my work is used as a present at naming ceremonies of new ships. I'm happy and honored when my work is 'coming home' to a customer.</span><br />
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<b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Polly</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> - </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">How do you balance your studio/creative time?</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Willem</b> - Actually my studio time is my creative time. So it mean I try to work as much as possible during the workweek, sometimes I work in the weekends as well when there is a deadline, or when I feel must work or take advantage of an inspirational flow. Most of the time I try to work 'office' hours, it keeps me sharp and structured, for me it works well. Besides working on a painting in my studio I make time for acquisition, administration and social media. Last but not least I spend some time reading and studying for (upcoming) paintings, this also includes watching ships in real life.
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">Noordam | Watercolor on Canson paper | 9.06 x 19.69 Inches</span><span style="font-size: small;">.</span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Polly</b> - <i>Tell us who are some of your favourite artists?</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Willem</b> - There are so many good artist, the list will be too long to handle here. Let me focus on some maritime artist I like which I'm thinking of at the moment in no particular order:
Jochen Sachse - Carl G.Evers - Herman Bosboom - Ian Marshall - Kenneth Shoesmith - J.C.A.Goedhart - Peter J. Sterkenburg - William Muller - John Allcott - Charles Pears - Walter Zeeden -Norman Wilkinson and the list goes on and on .... </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Why?
They all know how to paint ships! </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">HAM 310 | Watercolor on Canson paper | 15.75 x 19.69 Inches.</span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Polly </b>-<i>What has been the most challenging aspect for you as artist? </i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Willem </b>- Creating paintings that satisfy my (high) standards. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">Pool Express | Watercolor on Arches paper | 17.3 x 26.4 Inches. </span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Polly</b> - <i>Who has been your greatest support?</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Willem</b> - Sounds maybe a little bit selfish but I would say myself, besides that friends, family and colleagues are of great support as well. Visiting expos can also be very inspiring and influence the way you work. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">Agnes | Pencil on Fabriano paper | 18.11 x 29.13 Inches. </span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Polly</b> - <i>That's understandable all artists ultimately do rely on their own drive and skill when it comes to creating work. Speaking of skills, if you could try your hand at another medium or genre what would it be and why? </i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Willem </b>- I would like to spend some more time creating paintings of trains and airplanes, I was commissioned a couple of years ago to do two paintings of railway wagons, unfortunately I haven't got the time yet to further develop that, but I liked it very much. Talking about mediums, I wish to spend some more time in making large oils, and bring my oil skills to a next level. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: small;">Herik rijtuig | Watercolor on Arches paper | </span></span><span style="font-size: xx-small; text-align: start;">16.54 x 24.02 Inches</span></span></td></tr>
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<b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Polly </b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">- </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">If you could apprentice with any artist dead or alive, who would it be and why? </i><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Willem</b> - I'm not that fond of being someone's apprentice because I think each artist has to create and invent it's own style all by him/herself. Of course you can always learn some technical and practical things from other artist which can be very helpful.
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">Bremen | Watercolor on Canson paper | 15.75 x 23.62 Inches. </span></span></td></tr>
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<b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Polly</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> - </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">If you could spend the day with one person, famous or not, dead or alive, who would it be and why?</i><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Willem</b> - J.J.Cale -- I really enjoy listening to his music and it would be amazing to hang around with him. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">Amstelland | Oil on Linen | 19.69 x 27.56 Inches.</span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Polly</b> - <i>How often do you go to museums and galleries to see art?</i> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Willem</b> - A couple of times per quarter. Last summer for example I have visited the Rijksmuseum (great Dutch 17th marine art) in Amsterdam and Panorama Mesdag in The Haque.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">VOS Endurance | Watercolor on Arches paper | 17.3 x 26.4 Inches. </span></span></td></tr>
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<b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Polly</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> - </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Would you mind sharing something interesting about yourself most people wouldn’t know? </i><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Willem </b>- At the moment I have a free postcard action running, so make sure to get a free one yourself! Details can be found <a href="http://www.wjmaritiem.nl/noordam-postcard/">here</a>. While stocks last ... !</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">Lynx & Apollo | Watercolor on Canson paper | 11.81 x 23.62 Inches.</span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Polly </b></span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">- What words of wisdom do you have to offer to young and, aspiring artists? </i><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Willem </b>- Now I feel really old...haha! No seriously, the best advice I can give is to keep on rolling. Keep on producing work and try to find a good work rhythm, I think that's the most important thing to succeed as an artist. Then the rest will start to flow. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">Prins Willem V | Watercolor on Fabriano paper | 20.08 x 27.56 Inches. </span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Polly</b> - <i>And lastly, is there anything else you would like to share with us about you and or your art before we conclude? </i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Willem </b>- Yes I would like to tell the readers about the selections of my work that can be seen on my website: <a href="http://www.wjmaritiem.nl/">www.wjmaritiem.nl </a> </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">Saga Rose | Watercolor on Fabriano paper | 18.11 x 26.77 Inches. </span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Polly</b> - </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Thank you so much Willem for this wonderful and insightful interview into your artful life! I wish you the very best with your artistic endeavours and good luck with your upcoming book! Cheers! </i><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">__________________________________________________<br />To learn about Willem Johan Hoendervanger please visit his website.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.wjmaritiem.nl/">www.wjmaritiem.nl</a></span>Seip Fine Arthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14735530936798470898noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132107618926525653.post-57527874151808318852015-08-01T09:13:00.001-04:002015-08-25T13:38:06.067-04:00Artist on Artist Interview with Yvonne Hemingway<br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Today it gives me great pleasure in presenting New England Watercolour Artist, Yvonne Hemingway. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I first discovered Yvonne Hemingway's watercolours on Facebook through the Quintessential New England: Paintings by Facebook Artists. I was immediately drawn to the intimacy of her works, the sense of light and, her choice of subject matter; flowers, insects, and birds; all things great and small found in well loved gardens. Her watercolours are wonderfully delicate yet bold and, very pleasing to the eye. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And now without any further adieu here is Hemingway's interview along with selected works. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Artist on Artist Interview with Yvonne Hemingway </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Yvonne Hemingway.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Polly</b> - </span><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Hi Yvonne and welcome to the AoA project, it's a pleasure to have you here! Ok, let's get started ... how are you doing today!?! Can you give us a little introduction about yourself and what is your earliest memory of when you knew you were an artist? </span></i><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Yvonne</b> - Hi Polly – Thanks so much for including me in your artist interviews. I enjoy reading your posts and seeing the lovely art you have created, and am so inspired by the talented artists you have featured. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> For as long as I can remember, I have loved to draw, which may have had something to do with my mom also being an artist. My earliest memories are of drawing horses and other animals. When a teacher in grade school told my parents that I had artistic talent, is probably when I first began to think of myself as an artist. My pursuit of being an artist would later get me into trouble in other classrooms though, when I would get caught drawing instead of listening to the teacher’s history lessons. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> In college, I started out taking art courses, but got discouraged because what was being taught at that time was all about abstract art. Today, I have some understanding and appreciation for abstract art, but at that time it was like a foreign language, so I pursued a degree in business instead. I have been working full time in an office setting since then and have continued to draw and paint as a hobby. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> Over the years, I have had the opportunity to take classes and workshops with some wonderful artists who have helped me improve my skills and grow more confident as an artist. Two years ago I was invited to exhibit with four other area artists, and that was the push I needed to spend more time on my art and seek out more opportunities to show and market my paintings. I love painting with watercolors and have used them exclusively for the past 30 years, but lately I find myself gravitating toward oils and plein-air painting. I just finished a 3 day oil painting workshop with Charlotte Wharton here in Massachusetts and am looking forward to a 10 day oil painting holiday in France in August. It is my hope (and plan) to become a full time artist in the near future.
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<b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Polly</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> - </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>Oh! A 10 day oil painting holiday in France sounds wonderful - lucky you!! Can you tell us a little bit about this painting adventure; is it a workshop?, how you're preparing for it (any tips)?, how did it come to be? etc. </i></span><br />
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<b>Yvonne</b> - Oh - yes I do feel very lucky to be taking this trip. I have never traveled overseas, and this is something I've wanted to do for a long time. I will be attending a workshop in the Dordogne region of southern France with a wonderful painter from Flower Mound, Texas - Nancy Medina. I found Nancy through the online art venue FASO where we both have our website. I loved her style of painting and her warm, bubbly personality, and felt this would be the right trip for me. </span><br />
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We will be staying at an artist's retreat called Le Vieux Couvent which is a restored convent with a painting studio, gardens and pools. The owners are an artist couple who will cook for us and provide transportation to the surrounding villages each day. Nancy paints beautiful flowers and country landscapes in oil, and has planned a busy, exciting schedule for us that includes painting in the gardens or studio in the mornings, and sightseeing, shopping, and dining later in the day. We plan to take watercolors and a sketchbook when we are out traveling, and just do some journaling if we want to. I plan to spend a lot of my time soaking in the atmosphere, culture, and enjoying the local people and their language. And of course drinking wine and taking lots of photos too!
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> As far as planning and tips - Nancy has done most of the planning and has kept in touch with helpful tips and advice. Nancy will provide the oil paints and solvents which she will ship ahead of time. I have been researching and shopping online to find a wet painting carrier (RayMar Art), small watercolor set (Sakura), and watercolor journal. I found a great 5" x 8" Pentalic watercolor sketchbook with a handy travel paintbrush attached on Amazon.....Love It!
Luckily, I already have my passport, and now I just have to figure out how to pack as light as possible, so I can bring back lots of souvenirs. Can't wait for the adventure to begin!</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">'Birds of a Feather'. 18" x 24". Watercolour on Arches Paper. 2014. </span></i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Polly</b> - <i>That's wonderful, I wish you a great with your trip! I'm curious, what was it about watercolour that attracted you to it?, and how would you describe your style?</i></span><br />
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<b>Yvonne</b> - What attracted me to watercolor at first was that it didn't involve chemicals, odors, mess and long drying time! Having a toddler around the house made it difficult to leave materials and wet oil paintings anywhere but under lock and key. So, I decided to take a watercolor course being offered through our local school system. My first few attempts were filled with frustration and I was ready to give it up. Luckily, I was trying out this transition with a good friend who talked me into taking another course at Worcester Art Museum with instructor Bill Griffiths. We learned a lot in his classes, and as I started to feel more comfortable with the medium, I began to appreciate it's unpredictable nature and the variety of properties each pigment offers, i.e. transparent, staining, opaque, sedimentary. Now I love the spontaneous effect of flooding the paper with water, adding color and seeing what happens!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My style is based in realism. Detail and bold colors are important to me, as well as trying to capture the essence of the atmosphere and the effects of light and shadow on the subject. I'm attracted to a variety of subjects, but find I am most drawn to the beauty and luminosity of flowers in their natural habitat. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">'Tiger Swallowtail'. 16" x 18". Watercolour on Arches Paper. 2014.</span></i></td></tr>
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<b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Polly</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> - </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Can you tell us about your studio space; where is it, what is it like, how do you keep it, etc? </i><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Yvonne </b>- Like many artists, my studio space is a spare room in my home. While it is not the ideal studio, I feel lucky to have a whole room I can fill with all my art materials and have a private, peaceful, convenient space to create.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> The "creating" area of my room is in front of the windows with a drafting table set up for watercolor painting and a watercolor easel next to it. This way I can choose between standing or sitting while I work. It also allows me to work on more than one painting at a time, as well as switching to oils, a new medium for me, on the easel. Finding space for all the materials involved with the actual painting as well as the framing and marketing supplies can be a challenge. I try to keep things organized on shelves, bookcases and file cabinets, but most of the time it's more important (and fun) to be painting!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> Naturally, I dream of someday having an open, spacious studio with great natural lighting and wall space to hang my finished paintings. But for now, I'll enjoy the space I have, and work hard to make the dream a reality!</span><br />
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<b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Polly </b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">- </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Do you have any studio rituals; do you listen to music, or audio books, or something completely different?</i><br />
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<b>Yvonne </b>- Before I begin painting, I like to spend a little time looking at some inspiring art work; sometimes from Plein Air Magazines, or from some my favorite art calendars that I've saved over the years. This helps get the creative juices flowing and makes me eager to get to work. I have some favorite music that I like to listen to - usually piano music by Joe Blanchard ....who I discovered playing at Tower Hill Botanic Gardens in Boylston, MA, and also guitar music by Chris Lonsberry, a friend of my brother.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Polly</b> - <i>Can you tell us who are some of your favourite artists and why?</i>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Yvonne </b>- My favorite painter is John Singer Sergeant. Though he is best known for his oil paintings and portraits, he was also a gifted watercolor painter and produced over 2,000 works in this medium. The MFA Boston had an exhibit of over 100 of his watercolors in 2013. I had never seen a show of just his watercolors before, and was so blown away, I had to go back a second time and really observe his use of color and brush work. What I love most about his paintings is his vivid use of color and his fluid, spontaneous style. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> After seeing that exhibit, I felt inspired to paint something in his style and using what I thought was his color pallet. I felt so “in the zone” working on that painting, and it turned out to be one of my best works, winning several awards. (Guardian of the Gardens)
Winslow Homer has also been one of my favorite watercolorists. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Some modern day artists that I follow online and/or have studied with are Fabio Cembranelli, Thomas Schaller, Annalein Baukenkamp, Dreama Tolle Perry, Margorie Glick, Nancy Medina and Charlotte Wharton. </span><br />
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<b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Polly</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> - </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Oh yes, Sargent's and Homer's watercolours are excellent! I'm curious; what has been the most challenging aspect for you as an artist?</i><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Yvonne</b> - Sometimes, finding the time, motivation and inspiration to be creative can be a challenge. Staying connected with other artists and being involved in local art groups helps me stay focused and motivated on improving my art, and my life as an artist. The “business or art” can also be challenging and take up much more time than I want to give it. But…the effort seems to be worth it, as I have made so many new art connections and opportunities that have inspired me to paint more, which have led to learning more and improving my skills.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Polly</b> - <i>Yes, finding time, seems to be the great challenge for many artists; I'm curious who has been your greatest support with your artistic endeavours?</i></span><br />
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<b>Yvonne </b>- I would have to say my mother, who is also an artist, has been encouraging and supporting my artistic pursuits for as long as I can remember. My high school art teacher, Richard Pelletier encouraged me to go on to study art in college (should have followed his advice), and played a roll in my receiving some local ribbons and consignment work. In more recent years, my sister Susan Richard has been a great support as well as many friends and relatives, especially a wonderful group of artists I feel fortunate to paint with every week.
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<b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Polly</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> - </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">If could own one famous work of art; what would it be and why?</i><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Yvonne</b> - There are so many that come to mind, it would be hard to choose just one. I would love to own any one of Winslow Homer's pastoral scenes; "Noon Time", "Boys in a Pasture", and I especially love "House on a Hill". I'm drawn to these paintings because they speak to the viewer emotionally about that time and place in a very simple, true to life way, and his handling of light and composition are superior. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> Although I'm not a great fan of Van Gogh's art, I have always been drawn to his painting "Irises". At first glance I am drawn to the subject matter of flowers, the dynamic composition and wonderful colors. Then, knowing this painting was created during his last year of life while in an asylum in France, I sense he is trying to tell us something about his state of mind at that time. I'm sure there have been many interpretations of this painting: to me, the white iris seems to represent his feeling of isolation with the dark flowers and leaves representing his feeling of being overwhelmed by outside forces reaching toward him trying to destroy or hurt him. I was surprised to learn that the 3 top selling works of art at auction are Van Gogh's, with Irises being number one at $53.9 Million in 1989.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyxYddiaHWcGN7WqETc-WhYRE2-1SaaDnZsvup8qSALyIbrEw33KFmc8vDfYEr1_QAQklT-e1_ad13XC0WN4OU8oCpU2_uF5OVHBUVIxpINXJPz5y_QuPGwypjhK-k7a0jYZ9WIZarF5k/s1600/AoA+YH+small+works+white+flower+series.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="456" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyxYddiaHWcGN7WqETc-WhYRE2-1SaaDnZsvup8qSALyIbrEw33KFmc8vDfYEr1_QAQklT-e1_ad13XC0WN4OU8oCpU2_uF5OVHBUVIxpINXJPz5y_QuPGwypjhK-k7a0jYZ9WIZarF5k/s640/AoA+YH+small+works+white+flower+series.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><i>'Small Works White Flower Series. 8" x 10". Framed - Watercolour on 300# Arches Paper. 2015 </i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Polly</b> - <i>If you could spend the day with someone, dead or alive, famous or not; who would it be and why?</i></span><br />
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<b>Yvonne</b> - Hmmm ..... I can't really think of one person in particular, so I will just say a day in my favorite place (the seashore) painting with one of the many talented artists I follow on the Quintessential New England site.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">'Easter Lilies'. 20" x 24". Watercolour on Arches Paper. 2014</span></i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Polly</b> - <i>Where can we buy your art?</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Yvonne</b> - I am mostly selling my work online and at local exhibits/venues. I currently have a painting on exhibit at the New England Watercolor Society's Regional Show being held at the Cape Cod Creative Arts Center, 154 Crowell Road, Chatham MA 02633 (508) 945-3583. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> For more info visit www.newenglandwatercolorsociety.org/shows, and an exhibit of 25 paintings at the Townsend Meeting Hall Art Gallery located at the Townsend Public Library, 12 Dudley Rd., Townsend, MA. for more info: www.townsendlibrary.org. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> My website is: <a href="http://www.yvonnehemingway.com/">www.yvonnehemingway.com</a> and, I also sell from my Etsy Shop at <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/YvonneHemingway.com" target="_blank">www.etsy.com/shop/YvonneHemingway.com </a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Polly</b> - <i>And lastly, what words of wisdom do you have to offer to young and, aspiring artists?</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Yvonne </b>- Well, at this stage of my artistic journey, I feel I still have so much to learn and can only share some of the knowledge I have gained from other generous artists and by trial and error. For me, I have found I have grown most as an artist by being involved in an art community; whether it's Art Associations, Online Venues, Plein Air Painting, Art Meet-up Groups, Painting Workshops - they have all lead to relationships with other artists whom I have learned so much from and challenged me to seek out new creative ventures and work harder at my craft. I think that if someone has a passion for art, they should find a way to fit it into their life. Not everyone is able to follow the path of "Full Time Artist", but by feeding that passion whenever possible, it can grow into something more than a career and add to a rich and satisfying life.
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Polly</b> - Thank you so much Yvonne for this wonderful interview and for sharing your beautiful watercolours with us!! I wish you the very best with your artistic endeavours and have a lovely time with your painting trip to France this month!!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And thank you to everyone for taking the time to read Hemingway's interview and viewing her works!! Please feel free to leave a comment in the comment section below.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">'Artist on Artist Interviews with Polly Seip' / Yvonne Hemingway -August 2015.</span></div>
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Seip Fine Arthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14735530936798470898noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132107618926525653.post-34699651976676970692015-06-07T08:14:00.000-04:002015-06-07T08:14:43.068-04:00Artist on Artist Interview with Paul Batch.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Today it gives me great pleasure in presenting landscape and portrait painter, Paul Batch, to the Artist on Artist Interview project. </span><br />
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Paul Batch is another artist who I discovered through vast artist community of Facebook. His dreamlike tonal landscapes with a splash of colour are what first caught my attention. The purposeful lack of detail and the subtle quality the 'artist's hand' in his wonderful handling of the paint in both his landscapes and portraits is what I found appealing. He carries over the dreamlike quality with his sense of light in his portrait paintings which in contrast to his landscapes have more refined details, given their inherent nature of being portraits. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And now without any further adieu here is Paul Batch's interview along with selected works. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>Artist on Artist Interview with Paul Batch </b></span></div>
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<b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Polly </b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">- </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Hi Paul!! And welcome to the AoA Interview project! It's a pleasure to have you here with us today!! Ok, let's get started ... would you mind giving us a little background about yourself and your world perhaps; where are you from, where are you living now, that kind of thing, etc? </i><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Paul </b>- Hi Polly thanks for having me here on AOA. Like most artists I've always loved to draw. I liked comic books as a kid and would copy my favorite super heroes, drew cars I thought were cool and other important things like that. As I got a little older I thought I might be able to get a gig drawing Spider-Man. I also did horrible in all of my academic classes in school so letting me go to art school was kind of the only option my parents had. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> I ended up going to Hartford Art School because it was about an hour or so away from my folks in MA. Far enough away so I could do my own thing but not to far in case I needed a hug. When I got to art school I think a few months in there was a faculty exhibit. This is when I came face to face with my first Stephen Brown self portrait. It blew me away. I had never connected with another human being before like this. I didn't know Stephen at the time, and it would be another year or two before I would begin studying with him but I knew right then that this is what I wanted to do. I wanted to try and create something that could move people like this. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> I have to add in here that my Dad and many people in my family, on both sides, are deaf. I grew up using sign language at home and I think that this visual language has played an important part of my need to express myself visually. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> So with this need to express myself visually, and this incredible experience with Stephen Brown's self portrait I decided to become a painter. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">'Through the Mist'. 24" x 30". Oil on Canvas.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Polly</b> - <i>I would say your ability to translate light into the visual is fluent! And since you chose to become a painter, you work in oil(s) (correct?); what prompted you to choose working in oil(s) and would you mind telling us about your palette - what colours you use?, paints - preferred paint maker(s)?, mediums - if any and why?, and materials - canvas or panel, both? Etc. </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /><b>Paul</b> - I paint with oils because they look better than the other mediums. The only other medium I like is egg tempera but I haven't given myself enough time to work with that since I was in school. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">My "everyday" palette consists of ...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Titanium White- Gamblin </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Flake white replacement- Gamblin </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Ochre- Old Holland </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Transparent Red oxide- Grumbacher </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Cadmium Yellow Light- Gamblin </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Cadmium Orange Yellow- Old Holland </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Alizarin Crimson- Michael Harding's </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Pthalo Green- Gamblin </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Ultramarine Blue- Gamblin </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Mars black- Gamblin </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> I use this palette primarily out of habit, I've been using it for years and I'm comfortable with it. I'll add more colors as needed and whatever is in the tube that's close to the color I need is the winner. It took me a long time to unlearn that it's ok to use black and you don't have to mix yellow and blue to make green when you can just squirt some out of a tube. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> As for a medium started using Gamblins Neo-meglip about a year ago and I love it. Before that I used liquin...lots and lots of liquin. Again I've messed around with all kinds of different mixtures but at the end of the day I just want to paint. If I can just dump some stuff out and it's good to go, then that's what I'm gonna use. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> For surfaces I use both MDF and birch panels. I get them from Home Depot, chop them up in the garage and then gesso them. I still use canvas for larger pieces but will be trying out Dibond soon. I prefer working on a hard smooth surface. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">Paul Batch's palette.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Polly</b> - <i>Can you tell us what your studio space is like? Is it at home or, do you rent a space? It is large or, small? What kind of lighting do you prefer? What kind of easel you do use? Etc.</i> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Paul</b> - Someday I'll have an actual studio space in my home. For now I keep small works in progress over my kitchen cabinets and pull those down to work on those in the evenings when the kids go to bed. I use a small table top easel on the kitchen table. Larger works are done in the garage on an easel I "borrowed" from college on the last day of classes. (Ssshhhh don't tell anyone.) For those larger works in the garage I have to coordinate a "daddy work day" with my wife so I can I can make sure I have a good chunk of time to paint. I have 5k flood lights in the kitchen and garage to try and get things close to daylight but there's still room for improvement. The bright lights also help keep me up all night ;). </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> I've also added a Thursday night portrait sketch group to my schedule which is great. I've able to get some plein-air done when we go out to parks or lakes as a family. My paints and set up are fairly small and mobile so I'm able to bounce around a lot.
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Polly</b> - <i>I admire your dedication to your craft! You recently had a rather big milestone in your painting career as being a finalist in the Portrait Society of America Competition (a big Congratulations to you by the way!). Can you tell us a little bit about that whole experience; what it is was like, how it happened, what you did to prepare for it, and what kind of impact do you think it has had your art?
</i><br /><br /><b>Paul </b>- The Portrait Society of America competition has been a great thing. I actually got in for the first time last year. I went to the conference and got to see all these great artists and was so honored to be included with that group. I honestly felt like my getting in was a fluke thing and since I got in with a drawing I just figured that not many people entered drawings.
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> The piece that got in this year was a painting of my friend Nick. I had done some other portraits but I knew he would make for one that had a chance of going back to the PSOA. Firstly I love painting black people, I don't know if you can see it in the picture but the colors that you are able to use in the flesh tones are so exciting. When you see it in person there's a bunch of orange, purple, turquoise and reds. It really was a joy to paint. Plus he's got cool hair which was fun to play with. The fact that I got in a second time, for me, really validated that last year wasn't a fluke and I earned to be in the group. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> Since I do portraits pretty much for myself it's really nice to be recognized on such a high level. The only impact I think it's had on my art is that I have to remember to do whatever I want. It might sound silly or egotistical but I have to do what I want, what I'm passionate about. Most of the times when I concern myself about whether or not something will sell or things like that the work tends to be quite mediocre. I'm actually quite happy where I am right now creatively and as always looking forward to the next painting. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Polly</b> - <i>That's wonderful attitude to have and I agree with you; painting what you want makes for better art! I'm curious (as are most people about artists); Are you able to be a 'full time' artist in that you are able to make a living with your art or, do you have a secondary job as a form of support for living? And if so, what is it that you do and how do you balance out your creative time? </i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> <b>Paul</b> - It's a very popular question. I always answer it by first saying that my wife has a real job. I quit my day job two years ago when we started having children. The first six months without that steady income were scary as hell. My wife and I went from two people who were living quite comfortably to three people depending on one income. It was and continues to be a challenge. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> Since I left my day job I have tried to earn the same while staying at home, and working less hours. (A couple of kids to watch surprisingly takes up a lot of time ;). The first year was tough, the second year was worse and this year I should beat my former salary. Can it be done? Sure. Is it easy? No. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> When my wife and I first started dating I was flat broke. I had a good job but I was way upside down in a house and things were just financially messed up for me. Occasionally people would want to commission a portrait or some kind of painting and offer me fifty or a hundred bucks. My wife would see me politely decline these kinds of offers and she eventually was like "you didn't have enough money for lunch today! Why aren't you doing things that can earn you money?" I told her that if I do that for fifty bucks, then it's worth...fifty bucks. I told her it was worth way more than that and we'd just have to wait. Fast forward to today and now she's complaining I'm not charging enough and selling myself short. (Lol) In all seriousness though without her love, understanding and support I wouldn't be having the success I've been having lately. </span><br />
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<b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Polly</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> - </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Can you tell us about your influences and inspirations; perhaps some of your favourite artists and why? </i><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Paul </b>- I've made an honest effort the last couple of years to look at less art and look more at my life and the world around me. I still look at way more art than I should but I can't help it. Looking at other artists is great and there's a lot to be learned but the temptation to mimic, copy and steal is just to great. I'll still look to the past when I come across problems in my work; I mean there's no need to reinvent the wheel every time a problem arises, but I'm trying very hard to be honest and sincere in each and every painting I do. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> As far as artists I like to look to for help. Here's my top ten in no particular order. (This list is subject to change.) </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">1. Stephen Brown [*]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">2. Rembrandt </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">3. Anslem Kiefer </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">4. Winslow Homer </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">5. Scott Prior </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">6. Gregory Gillespie </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">7. John Frederick Kensett </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">8. Turner (especially the nocturnes) </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">9. Charles Warren Eaton </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">10. Donald Jurney</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Polly</b> - <i>Indeed, in today's world especially with social media at our finger tips, it's difficult not to see more art on a daily basis and I completely understand your sentiments. Though, if you could apprentice with any artist dead or alive, who would it be and why?</i></span><br />
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<b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Paul</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> - I wouldn't make a very good apprentice. I don't like stretching canvas all that much and when I do I sure as hell wouldn't want someone else to paint on it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">(Paul is 36 years old presently)</span></td></tr>
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<b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Polly</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> - </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">In your own words, how would you describe your style of painting? </i><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Paul </b>- I'm somewhere on the realistic side of the spectrum. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">'Breaking Light'. 8" x 8". Oil on Panel.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Polly </b>- <i>If you could your hand at another medium or genre what would it be and why?</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Paul</b> - I'd like to restore old cars. I don't know how but I think I could get into it. My dad worked in auto body most of his life and I just think it would be cool. I'm either changing diapers or expressing myself through paint most of the time, it'd be a nice change of pace to go work in the garage for a bit.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">'Waleska'. 18" x 24". Charcoal and Pastel on Paper.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Polly</b> - <i>Earlier you indicated that you face the challenge of depending on one income; I'm curious what other challenges do you face as an artist and what your thoughts on being an artist?</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Paul</b> - Oh going from two steady incomes to one was just crazy. I've got a wife who really believes in me. She gave me a great gift by letting me quit my day job and just go for it. I hope some day to be able to return the favor. (She loves her job and would still work anyway... but probably not as often.) </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My biggest challenge as an artist is making better paintings. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">'Beckon'. 9" x 4". Oil on Panel.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Polly </b>- </span><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Tell us what's happening in your studio now; are you working towards a show or on any interesting projects? </span></i><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Paul</b> - What's happening now? I'm working on making some larger versions of some of my tiny seascapes. I'm trying to get in as much plein-air and portrait sketching as possible, which isn't as much as I'd like. I'm also teetering with the idea of doing a large double portrait of my kids out in the backyard. Not sure how I want to approach that one. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">'Paul Mitchell'. 18" x 24". Charcoal on Paper.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Polly</b> - <i>Changing topics ... This is a question I ask all the artists I interview; if you could spend the day with one person, dead or alive, famous or not, who would it be and why? </i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Paul</b> - I'd grab an extra day with my dad. He passed before my kids were born so I'd like him to meet his grand kids. He'd probably take the opportunity to smack me for quitting my day job and tell me that I need to call my mom more. He was a great dad, his time here was just to short. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Polly</b> - <i>In your professional opinion, what do you think constitutes as a good piece of art? </i></span><br />
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<b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Paul </b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">- For me a good piece of art is something that moves you, touches you inside and the less you can explain why is probably better. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Polly </b>- </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Would you mind sharing something about yourself that most people don't know about you?</i><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Paul </b>-I hate blueberries but I like blueberry muffins. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Polly</b> - <i>HA! That's funny you hate blueberries but like blueberry muffins. Well, thank you so much Paul for this wonderful interview ... as we close out do you have any final thoughts you'd like to say about you and or your art, any wisdom you may have to offer to young, and aspiring artists? </i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Paul</b> - Best advice I was given in school..."Keep painting, life is hard and you have to figure out a way to live and keep painting." </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Polly </b>- That's wonderful advice and please allow me to wish you the best with your art and your artistic journey!</span><br />
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To learn more about Paul Batch and his art please visit his website, blog, and Instagram ...<br />
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Website: <a href="http://www.paulbatchpainting.com/paulbatchpainting/main.html" target="_blank">www.paulbatchpainting.com</a><br />
Blog: <a href="http://paulbatchpainting.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">paulbatchpainting.blogspot.com</a><br />
Instagram: <a href="https://instagram.com/paulbatch/" target="_blank">paulbatch</a></div>
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Seip Fine Arthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14735530936798470898noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132107618926525653.post-10821151175242705652015-04-03T08:31:00.000-04:002015-04-07T07:47:48.229-04:00Artist on Artist Interview with Diane Brown<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Today it gives me pleasure to feature expressionist artist, Diane Brown, for this month's Artist on Artist interview.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Sometime ago, Brown's work caught my eye on Facebook for its organic and abstract expressionist qualities. Her work and approach is in every way organic and natural, in that she creates works that are water based and that are reminiscent to the raw nature of the Earth and its elements. At times her work can look soft like fabric and then hard like stone. Her work has a great range of perspective in that it can seem like it's a view from the high up overviews of the Earth, to the intimate tranquil motion of a fresh water stream, to the excitement of lapping waves at the shore, and to the deep cool dark caverns of the Earth. Her colourful work has a fluid movement that is both pleasing and exciting to the eye and spirit. Brown's work has been garnering recognition in the Southeastern Connecticut region and soon to be much farther reaching. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And now without any further adieu here is Diane Brown's full interview along with selected works.<br /><br />Please enjoy and feel free to leave a comment below.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><br />
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<b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Artist on Artist Interview with Diane Brown.</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Polly</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> - </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Hello Diane! Thank you for being part of the AoA Interview project, it is a pleasure to have you here and talk about your art with us today! Ok, let's get started .... firstly, how are you doing today and could you give us a little introduction about yourself, where you're from, living now, etc?</i><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Diane</b> - Let's see now. Having just returned from vacation in Cancun, I think I'm doing pretty well today. I have some color and that always makes me feel more alive.
Some information about me. I'm grew up in Hicksville, New York but have lived in NJ, CT, RI and Me. As a little girl, I always wanted to paint trees. I did then and do now find trees to be astoundingly beautiful. While in Jr. High my dad bought me some art supplies and away I went. He hung my work in our finished basement with pride.
In New England for over 40 years now, I really began my painting experiences while living in Ellsworth, Maine at the age of forty something. I was given a William Alexander beginners paint kit for Christmas and that was how I began. I painted on a rickety old tripod...one hand holding the tripod and a brush in the other hand. I started showing my things in outdoor shows in Bangor and Bar Harbor. I moved back to the Westerly area from Maine but was too busy making ends meet to paint. I didn't paint for over 10 years.
I began again by taking lessons with Robert Kozora and he shared his knowledge with me. At this point in time I was an oil painter producing still life and ultimately my love of seascapes,sea grasses and dunes came to be. I stopped my lessons because I wanted to try to get my work into art shows and painting under someone's instruction wasn't permitted. I was impatient because I had do much more to learn.
I've been a juried member of The Artists' Cooperative Gallery of Westerly for almost 12 years and am an Elected Artist at The Mystic Art Center. (Acceptance into MAC was as an oil painter/photographer.) I'm also a new member of The Wickford Art Association.
I enjoy my life in Pawcatuck, CT with my husband Bill and our two dogs. We enjoy traveling and the company of our two granddaughters, Chloe and Sasha often. I also enjoy kayaking, dancing, gardening, playing cards and trying to keep fit. that last part isn't working as well as I had hoped.
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>'In Motion Series'</i> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">30" x 40". Inks and Acrylics on Artist Board. 2013-14. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Polly</b></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> - </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Could you describe for us, your earliest memories of when you realised you were an artist and how you discovered your affinity for painting?</i><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Diane</b> - One morning after spending a great deal of time on my last oil painting, I decided I needed to try something new. I wasn't certain just what that was going to be, but I knew I wanted a "new found freedom" to use bold colors. A friend suggested I purchase a book by Maxine Masterfield entitled: In Harmony with Nature...Painting Techniques for a New Age. Well, let me tell you I was so excited with her work, I ran out and purchased everything I could possibly find and then stood in my studio trying to figure out what to do with all this stuff.
I just began pouring inks and acrylics on watercolor paper and yupo paper. Paint and inks moved in all directions and created their own wonderful designs. I didn't want to make anything identifiable I wanted to show movement. I believe that's what my work is all about at this point. People love to find things in more abstract work. I'm not certain why they must do that, but it's amazing how many different things they see. I'm having great fun right now...more fun then I've had in years. I have so much more to learn and will be trying to figure out where to take lessons to bring me to my next step. I feel like a child in a candy shop at this point in time. I couldn't have more fun than I'm having right now.
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> '<i>In Motion Series'</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">18" x 24". Ink, Acrylic, and Gel Pen. 2013-14.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Polly </b>-<b> </b><i>Your work certainly has movement in it; I'm curious how do you motivate yourself in creating your work?, Do you work with how you're feeling at the moment?</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Diane</b> - I don't go in search of ideas, I let them find me.</span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">'In Motion Series'</span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Acrylics and Gel Pen. 2013-14.</span><br />
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<span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">'<i>In Motion Series</i>' </span></span><br />
<span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Grays, Blacks and Bronzes. 24" x 36". Poured Inks. </span> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Polly </b>- <i>Can you tell us about your influences and inspirations; perhaps some of your favorite artists and why? </i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Diane</b> - I'm inspired by today's fashion and designs that encompass crazy prints with great mixes of colors. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Artist, Gray Jacobik's incredible en-caustic work starts my juices flowing. Her process allows more control over the flow of colors which really interests me. Actually makes me want to run out and get all the goodies needed for the en-caustic process. Pollack also fascinates me as he does the masses. It's all about movement for me.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>'In Motion Series'</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Acrylics and Gel Pen on Artist Board. 2013-14.</span></div>
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<b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Polly </b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">- <i>That's so interesting, your work does resemble the fluidity of fabric. Can you tell us a little bit about your process and what your studio space is like? </i></span></div>
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<b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Diane</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> - I have a wonderful studio, very comfortable thanks to my gas heater and/or air conditioner. It also has a sitting area for guests to view my work.
I have two great tables that I work on. I put my yupo paper flat on my tables and spray the paper with water. I wipe it down with paper towels once the paper is saturated. Having chosen the colors I'm going to us, I fill pipettes with my inks or acrylics and go to work making them run into one another with the aide of more water. It's fun watching colors collide and designs appear. It's a simple process with a large impact on the paper. I also use salt, sand, wax paper, among other reliefs within my work.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Work table station in Brown's studio space. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Sectional view of Brown's studio space. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Polly</b> - <i>While you're working your magic on the paper, I'm curious do you listen to music while you create, and if so what tunes might we expect to hear? </i></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Diane</b> - While working I listen to Kenny G, Kim Wilson, Etta James...I'm a blues girl. I might even break from my work to dance with a chair. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>'In Motion Series'</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Poured Inks on Yupo Paper. 2013-14.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Polly</b> - <i>I can just see you breaking out into some dance moves in your studio! If you could apprentice with any artist dead or alive, who would it be and why?</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Diane</b> - Pr</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">ior to working with inks and acrylics, I read two books by Maxine Masterfield. She's a remarkable artist who creates pieces of art that just blow my mind. She's the person I was trying to emulate, but my work never looked anything like hers. So, if I ever had an opportunity to apprentice with someone in my lifetime, it would be Maxine Masterfield.</span><br />
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<i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">'Full Gallop'</i></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">2013-14.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">'<i>Reflections</i>'</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">18" x 24". Poured Inks and Acrylics. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Polly</b> -<i>Tell us what your thoughts are on being an artist and what has been the most challenging thing?
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Diane</b> - I have so many thoughts on being an "artist". I've had time to look around me at all the accomplished artists I have come to know and to wonder where I fit in. As someone once said to me ... art is something different to every person. "If they like what you do ... be thankful and continue on." I've had fun pursuing my dreams of being an artist and I look forward to the next stage of my work. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>'Coming Undone'</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">2013-14.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Polly</b> - <i>Who has been your greatest support?</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Diane</b> - Thanks to my Dad's encouragement when I was a very young woman and to my husband I have so enjoyed pursuing my dreams of being an artist. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><i>'In Motion Series'</i> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">24" x 36". Poured Inks. 2013-14. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Polly</b> - <i>Do you have any interesting projects, or shows you're currently working on in your studio? </i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Diane </b>- Well Polly, I've actually had an exciting two weeks. A design studio saw some of my work in West Hartford and contacted me about turning my work into printed fabrics. Fabrics for use in ski pants, skateboard clothing, exercise clothing etc. I visited with them last Friday and they purchased three of my works of art. I have a contract to review and sign and away we'll go with this new project. Very exciting.
I'm also working on one piece for the Mystic Art Center's Elected Artist show in April. I'm also chairing a Regional Art Show at The Artists' Cooperative Gallery of Westerly slated to open on May 1st. I've been working on this since last August and look forward to a happy ending.
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">'<i>Green Goddess</i>'</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">12" x 14". Poured Inks. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Polly</b> - <i>That's very exciting news indeed, congratulations! And speaking of accomplishments - what has been a defining moment for you as an artist and what would you like to accomplish with your art on a personal level? </i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Diane </b>- Although I still have questions about where I stand with my art, my most defining moment was when I won an award in a National Show at the Slater Museum in Norwich. This happened just last year and it was the biggest surprise I can ever remember. I got a call asking me to be present for the awards, but they didn't say what I'd won. I honestly thought an Honorable Mention...which would have been great by me. When I opened the program and saw that I'd taken 2nd place, I let out a loud "YIPEEE" and my husband came running. We were both so excited. The juror said, "she liked my bold approach to art".
I don't think I could wish for much more at this point in time. I'm content to have won two "People's Choice Awards" over the years, to have become an Elected Artist after years of trying and to receive a 2nd place in a National Show. These moments might not be on a large scale to some, but they have made me very happy to be who I am, right here, right now. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Sectional view of Brown's studio space.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Sectional view of Brown's studio space.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Polly</b> - <i>If you could try your hand at another medium, or genre (say perhaps classic sculpture or music, etc), what would it be and why? </i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Diane</b> - It would have been dance. In my bones, I believe that I was born to dance but never had the financial backing as a child to be trained. My Dad, a/k/a "Twinkle Toes" was a wonderful dancer who waltzed me around the dance floor at any wedding or party we attended. I could never get enough of joy dancing brought to me. As I grew up we danced our hearts out to Billy Joel who practiced in my church basement before he "made it big". We danced anywhere we could find the music. After moving to CT, I learned Zydeco and Cajun dances and had the time of my life making many friends along the way.
Though today, I would love to play piano or violin or ... I guess I could go on and on.
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">'<i>Frayed Edges</i>'</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">'<i>Carolyn's Garden</i>'</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">18" x 24". Poured Acrylics.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Polly</b> - <i>Would you mind sharing something about yourself that most people don't know about you? </i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Diane</b> - Most people are unaware that I raced canoes. I wanted to honor my 50th birthday (many years ago) in a special way and this idea came to mind. My partner and I began by paddling 4 mile races, then proceeded to 10 miles then onto the Charles River for a 19 mile race where we took 3rd place. I just kept building up to my last race which was a 70 mile endurance race down the Susquehanna River starting in Cooperstown, NY. There were 5 portages and I can tell you by the last one I was wondering if we'd ever make it back into the water. My goal was to do the race, not to place. It took 11:30 hours of padding to reach the end, but we did it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">'<i>Beneath the Surface</i>'</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Polly</b> - Well, thank you so much Diane for this wonderful interview ... as we close out do you have any final thoughts you'd like to say about you and or your art, anymore wisdom you may have to offer to young, and aspiring artists?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Diane</b> - I have a new found freedom with my newest work. My excitement carries me from the beginning to the end of my painting. I think the younger artists today have great confidence in what they create and the process they use. Perpetuate the joy and never lose sight of your value as an artist. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I believe that's it. Thank you for all the time your have put into this conversation along with your commitment to me as an artist. I look forward to seeing the finished product. Again, thank you Polly for all your kindness. I look forward to our first meeting. Diane.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Polly</b> - And thank you Diane for this wonderful interview, it was such a pleasure working with you and getting to know more about you and your beautiful work! I wish you nothing but, the very best with your work and artistic career, may you have many hours of happy painting and more joyful moments celebrating your art!<br /><br />Cheers, ~ Polly ~</span><br />
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Seip Fine Arthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14735530936798470898noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132107618926525653.post-65031594928119840392015-03-20T12:07:00.001-04:002015-03-20T12:07:55.158-04:00Celebrate Spring!<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>'Celebrate Spring'</b></span></div>
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<i>Binoculars #195 - In the Lead.</i></div>
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<i>20" x 72". Oil on Gessoed Sandeply Panel. 2015.</i></div>
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It was a sweet scene of four young sailors that unfolded before me as I was out sailing with my family in Stonington Harbor (the land mass in the background is Napatree Point of Watch Hill, RI); the young sailors were learning how to prefect their sailing skills. It was a pleasure observing them as they maneuvered their assigned boats on the water, tacking their way back and forth across the harbor filling their sails with wind; at certain points it almost seemed as if they were jockeying and racing for the lead position, even though it was just a sailing lesson. And as they followed in the wake of the training boat, there were moments where their line up was rather reminiscent to that of how ducklings look as they follow their mother in the springtime.<br />
It was a most perfect day for being out on the water! </div>
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Binoculars #195 - In the Lead, is currently on display and available for sale at<br />
<a href="http://www.artnet.com/galleries/susan-powell-fine-art/" target="_blank">Susan Powell Fine Art</a></div>
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Seip Fine Arthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14735530936798470898noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132107618926525653.post-83130571536403239712015-02-17T09:22:00.000-05:002015-02-17T09:28:36.272-05:00The Night Shift #2 ...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Night Shift #2 - 2015.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">11" x 30". Oil on Gesseoed Sandeply Panel. 2015.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Click <a href="mailto:seipfineart@gmail.com" target="_blank">here</a> for inquiries on pricing and availability.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">One streetlamp.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">One trailer.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">One parking area.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">All converge to make for a </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">lonely </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">and yet rather inviting scene. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I would like to add that this</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">painting has been difficult</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">to photograph.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Please stay tuned for </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">more </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Cheers, ~ Polly ~ </span></div>
Seip Fine Arthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14735530936798470898noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132107618926525653.post-82878828383160143482015-02-17T08:43:00.000-05:002015-02-17T09:23:44.797-05:00Painting the Mystery of the Night ...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Night Shift #1 - 2015.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">17 1/2" x 7 3/4". Oil on Gessoed Sandeply Panel. 2015.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Click <a href="mailto:seipfineart@gmail.com">here</a> for inquiries on pricing and availability.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">10 years ago I started a night scene series of the town I live in of, Uncasville, CT. I enjoyed the series immensely because it was a new challenge for me and while it lasted, and for various reasons I abandoned the series shortly after it was started, for reasons I have since forgotten but, it was series that was never far from my mind and heart ... because while driving around town the series would always whisper to me saying ... 'Over here. Paint me!' ...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Those whispers were telling me 'Pull the Light out of the Dark'. It would tell me where to look; look at the contrast of values, look at the fantastical range of colours, look at the seemingly endless ideas for compositions, look at how you can use the paint itself, and it would tell me to <em style="border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">feel</em> the mysteriousness of the night - it all just pulled at my very being!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In my woodshop, I've had a number of varying sized rectangular cut-off panels around for a while, as I would pass by them, I would contemplate what to do with them, and then it struck me, the night scenes were no longer soft whispers but, almost screaming at me for attention! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As I slowly rekindle this deep love and affection for night scenes ... I can feel its glorious power it's almost intoxicating, but at the same time it's opening my eyes to the magic and mysteriousness that is only found in the night ...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Please stay tuned for more what's new from the studio.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Cheers, ~ Polly ~</span>Seip Fine Arthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14735530936798470898noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132107618926525653.post-62059450008882708062015-02-01T08:07:00.000-05:002015-02-12T12:41:41.304-05:00Artist on Artist Interview with Chris Duncklee<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-W5lJFjEVM7g/VNzf5HGMbsI/AAAAAAAADHQ/Qa3voIvLff4/s1600/AoA%2BIMAGE%2B3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-W5lJFjEVM7g/VNzf5HGMbsI/AAAAAAAADHQ/Qa3voIvLff4/s200/AoA%2BIMAGE%2B3.jpg" /></a></div>
For this month's 'Artist on Artist' interview it gives me great pleasure in featuring New England maritime artist Chris Duncklee.<br />
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This interview is unique because it was Duncklee who approached me seeking an interview. I first encountered Duncklee through our network of mutual friends via Facebook. At the time I was unaware that Duncklee was an artist himself let alone a maritime artist, and who has a great admiration for the late and infamous maritime artist Capt. Ellery Thompson and his work. It was interesting to discover that Duncklee's style of maritime painting is very similar to that of Thompson's work, however Duncklee has developed his own style of painting through his use of light, colour and composition while Thompson's use of light, colour and composition is a bit underdeveloped. In my mind, Duncklee's work bridges two art genres, folk art and maritime art.<br />
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And now without any further adieu here is Duncklee's interview along with selected works .....<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Artist on Artist Interview with Chris Duncklee</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Chris Duncklee</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">(Duncklee with a print of his painting of the Dragger 'Old Mystic', off of her Starboard bow)</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small;"> </span></div>
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<b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Polly</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> - </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Hi Chris, it's a great pleasure having you here, and thank you so much for being part of the 'AoA' interview project! Ok, let's get started ... How are you doing today? Would you mind giving us a little background about yourself, where you're from, where you live now, etc? </i></div>
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<b>Chris</b> - I'm doing fine Polly. I live on a mountain Farm that I built when I was in my 20's. The Farm is on the south side of a mountain and has commanding views of the Contoocook River valley and neighboring mountains. The Farm also over
looks the lake I spent summers on with my Great Grandparents, Grandparents, and Parents. The cabin is still in our family and the 5th generations of Duncklee's enjoys it now. I was born and raised in Stonington, CT. My maternal grandfather being a shipwright at Stonington Boat Works building the famous Stonington Draggers and Motorsailers. His wife my Vavo (Grandmother in Portuguese) lived in Stonington Borough and spoke both Portuguese and English. As a boy I spent much time around the docks and fishing boats in Stonington, and admired how Cap'n Ellery Thompson's paintings seemed to bring them alive in oil paint. I had the pleasure in 1997 of painting a bow first painting of U.S.S. Constitution for then Mayor Tom Menino to hang in the Government center in Boston, Mass., for celebration of the 200th anniversary of her launching.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">'Lumpin out Old Mystic in Stonington' </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">16" x 20". Oil on Canvas. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">2010. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">©</span></div>
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<b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Polly </b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">- </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Could you describe your earliest memories of when you knew were an artist, and how you discovered your affinity for maritime painting?</i><br />
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<b>Chris</b> - Polly it seems that I was born to paint the sea. I vividly remember coloring on the wall of my closet, trying to draw a Clippership at the age of 3. I also remember the wooden spoon that corrected me from doing it again, LOL. I drew in pen and ink, and painted since I was a very small boy. I mostly painted Draggers, Whalers, and Farm scenes.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">'Vargas Barn'. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Pen and Ink. 1986. ©</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span></div>
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<b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Polly </b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">- </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">It's a good thing the 'wooden spoon' didn't deter you from pursuing your painting! Speaking of which, your painting style is very distinct and shares many similar characteristics to that of Captain Ellery Thompson's works; in your own words how you would describe this style, and what was it about this particular painting style that intrigued you that you adopted it as your own? </i><br />
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<b>Chris </b>- Ellery had a way of making the boats appear to be in motion, and was very good at the perspective of a boat in the water. I have always said all the color in the world won't fix bad perspective. One of my pet peeves of Ellery's work was his lack of light control, which to me sets the mood. I guess I had an obsession with correcting that in my work. I have a saying that if you light a match and let it burn out, that is the amount of time I have to actively engage one into a mood or feel for the piece. If it takes longer than that and have left one reaching, I have failed. I also have been strongly influenced from New Hampshire artist Maxfield Parrish, his low horizontal light leaves one with a feeling that the toil of the day is done and it is time to rest.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> 'Charles W. Morgan laid up in Fairhaven'. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">24" x 36". Oil on Canvas. ©</span></div>
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<b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Polly</b><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> - Could you tell us about your art education and training; were you formally trained, or are you a self-taught artist?</i></div>
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<b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Chris</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> - I never really had any formal training, I had an Aunt and a friend of the family that were artists and spent time helping me with the mechanical technique of painting. I have a condition known as </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synesthesia" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;" target="_blank">Synesthesia</a><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">, where as I learn I have to transfer it to color and shape to get it to stick in my mind. I had a fellow musician tell me that when he saw me taking notes on how to play a song on bass by using colored symbols and shapes to notate sound. I learned when I was young the painting part of art is easy. It is learning how to see that was the challenge for me. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">'Coming Home'. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">24" x 36". Oil</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> on Canvas. 2009. ©<br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">(Private Collection to a Captain in Cape May, N.J.) </span></span></div>
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<b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Polly</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> - </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">That's fascinating! I wonder how that effects your colour choices on your palette. Could you tell us about your palette, do you use a limited palette or not, and what colours do you use and why? </i><br />
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<b>Chris</b> - My palette is different for every mood I try to create. Some of my paintings have a palette of White, Black, Prussian Blue, Yellow Ochre, Yellow, Red. I find if I brush in the Ochre on the canvas into the blue it gives the water a translucent quality. I also sometimes use a palette that has no blue at all. It consists of White, Black, Yellow, and Ochre. One of the things I have found with painting water is always make your own greens, never use green from a tube as it will flash in the water in an unkind way.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> Duncklee's paints and brushes, and model sand box.</span><br />
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<b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Polly</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> - </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Tell us about your studio space; what is it like, is it overall tidy or messy, what kinds of things would a visitor see in your studio, and what kind of studio practice/philosophy do you have? Do you follow a set schedule or work as time permits?</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span></div>
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<b>Chris</b> - I live in my studio, it is in the basement, with an exposed southern wall which has a kitchenette and full bathroom. The main part of the studio is 20' x 20'. I have all my books, models, plans, etc in there with me. I have a box of sand in which I set the scale models I build from blueprints. This gives me an intimate knowledge of my subject. My easels are set up and ready to work from as the spirit moves me, and set so I can view them from my bed at all times.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Duncklee's studio space.</span></div>
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<b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Polly</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> - <i>That's so interesting that you make your own scale models, not many maritime painters do that. Could you tell us a little bit more about your model making process?</i> </span><br />
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<b>Chris </b>- I found that so many artists that painted boats and ships had a hard time actually capturing the proper way a boat sits in the water. I too had this problem so I decided when I was asked by Boston's Mayor Menino to paint a bow first view of Old Ironsides for him that I best step it up a notch. This started with a large model of her and I set her in sand and sketched her as is it were on the water, a sketch that turned into a large painting that hung in Boston's Government Center for the ship's two hundredth anniversary. My true love for boats has always been the Stonington Draggers that were built at Stonington Boat Works where my grandfather was a shipwright. I had put off building a model of a Dragger because I really didn't have the confidence to do it. A few years ago I was contacted by Jim Spellman Jr the son of Stonington's first selectman James Spellman for whom I had planted hundreds of street shade trees in Stonington, Mystic, Pawcatuck as a young man. Jim Jr had told me that his dad loved my paintings of the Draggers. Jim Spellman Sr. was a champion during his tenure for the securing the town docks for the public and the local fishermen. Jim Sr had received a scale model of Rosemary R as a gift from the fishermen for his efforts. Jim Jr. told me his dad had asked him to give it to me when he passed, which he did. I restored that model and posed her in sand for a photo shoot of her in all her glory. I then remembered that I had a set of blueprints of the famous 55 foot Draggers built and fished in Stonington. I decided it was time to build one of my own at the same scale as Rosemary R model. Building the Stonington Dragger Tip Top took me about a year to build. It also gave me an intimate relationship with the sheer and lines of the boats. I also built a model of the eastern Rigged dragger Luann that I had the pleasure of playing on as a boy in The Boro. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">'Dragger New England in a Storm at the Gully in the 1950's.'</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">20" x 16". Oil on Canvas. 2013. ©</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">(A gift I gave to Jim Spellman Jr. as a thanks for gifting me a scale model of a Stonington Dragger) </span></div>
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<b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Polly</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> - </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">If you could try your hand at another artistic medium or genre; what would it be and why? </i><br />
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<b>Chris</b> - I, at one time really enjoyed Pen and Ink, but found that I really could not produce the feel I wanted with out dramatic color and light. I love oil paint. The other medium I really enjoy is actually building full sized boats at my Timber Frame shop.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">'Covered Bridge'. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Pen and Ink. 1984. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">©</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: left;"> </span><br />
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<b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Polly</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> - </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">If you could apprentice under any artist dead or alive, who would it be and why?</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span></div>
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Chris</b> - It would be without a doubt New Hampshire's Maxfield Parrish. His ability to bring light through a painting with technique was other worldly. He was more than an artist, he was a luminist. My other would most certainly be Ellery Thompson. Although he called himself a primitive, he had the ability to put a boat in the water and not on the water. Ellery lived what he painted and it showed.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">'Charles W. Morgan Leaving New Bedford 1941'. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">24" x 36". Oil on Canvas. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">©</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Polly</b> - <i>Tell us what your thoughts are on being an artist and what has been the most challenging thing?</i> </span><br />
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<b>Chris</b> - For years I thought being an artist was more of a birth defect than a gift. It took me a while to incorporate my art into my life in all aspects of it. My art is reflected in my paintings, my timber frames, my wooden boats, and my life on the farm I designed and built when I was in my 20's.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">'Scalloper Ellen Marie'. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">24" x 36". Oil o</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">n Canvas. 2013. ©</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Polly</b> - <i>That is interesting you say 'birth defect' in regards to being an artist, it makes me wonder how many other artists feel the same way, I know I felt way as a kid - which leads me to ask; who has been your greatest support?</i></span><br />
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<b>Chris</b> - The biggest supporters of my art were my paternal grandmother and my mother. They made sure I always had the supplies I needed as a child. I would have to say my 2nd ex wife was also a huge supporter of my work and always encouraged me to paint. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Duncklee's first attempt at painting at the age of 13. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Acrylic on Board. 1977.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Polly</b> - <i>Could you tell us a little bit about your showing and gallery experiences; in general what it's like for you? And do you have any advice or pointers on those topics.</i></span><br />
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<b>Chris</b> - I have had the opportunity to show in The City of Boston's office of Cultural Affairs gallery in the early 1990's. I was afforded a 2 week show hosted by the city. This show lead me to painting a bow first view of USS Constitution for then Mayor Tom Menino's office in Government Center Boston. The showing of that painting coincided with the 200th anniversary celebration of the ship. I have shown in numerous restaurants, banks, businesses, and galleries throughout New England. I have a website that has successfully enabled me to sell my work worldwide. This coming August I have a show at Stonington Ct's Noah's restaurant which will feature the Fishing Draggers from the era that I grew up in the Boro. The only advise I have for an artist is: Consciousness and Energy create the nature of reality. Which means as artists we dream and paint = Consciousness. But we need to be confident and be our own biggest fan and do it with passion and don't be afraid to market yourself, be more than just the artist, go out and get it! Make it happen!=Energy. Your success and being able to take a bigger piece of the pie when marketing = Reality.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">'Old Ironsides defeats HMS Guerriere'. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">24" x 36". Oil on Canvas. 2010. ©</span></div>
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<b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Polly</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> - </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">That's definitely good advice. Keeping that mind, if you could spend the day with one person dead or alive, famous or not, who would it be and why?</i><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Chris</b> - If I could spend a day with Ellery Thompson as an adult I would ask him about his passion for the wooden boat and about his style.I was a boy when I saw him and didn't have much then to say to him ,although my mind was full of questions, but I was very shy.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> 'Double ended Fishing Dragger Fairweather'. </span><br />
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<b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Polly</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> - </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">If you were conducting this interview what's one question you'd ask and why?</i><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Chris </b>- I can not think of anything, you did a fine job covering all the bases.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> 'Stonington Dragger Old Mystic'. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Oil on Canvas. 1998. ©</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">(Duncklee's painting was featured in an article he wrote for Woodenboat Magazine in 2002)</span></span></div>
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<b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Polly </b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">- </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Well, thank you so much Chris for this wonderful interview ... as we close out do you have any final thoughts you'd like to say about you and or your art, anymore wisdom you may have to offer?</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Chris</b> - All I can offer is for artists is to become their subject, get to know it. If it is a barn you paint, know what's under its skin i.e., Timber Frame. If it's a tree learn about what species it is, its growth habits. If it is a boat, build a small one. Have an intimate affair with that which you paint. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">To learn more about Chris Duncklee please visit his website ...</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.christophersduncklee.com/">www.christophersduncklee.com</a><br />
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Christopher-S-Duncklee/128510913836004" target="_blank">Facebook: Christopher S. Duncklee</a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Up-Coming Show: August 2015 - Noah's Restaurant of Stonington, CT. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">*Please feel free to leave a comment</span>.</div>
Seip Fine Arthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14735530936798470898noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132107618926525653.post-81078065255115832782014-12-17T17:38:00.002-05:002015-01-04T09:28:13.760-05:00Fresh off the Easel ... <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8kPNFh_8DyI/VJH3EknaKKI/AAAAAAAAC_A/u8ui4vxWbeA/s1600/Binoculars%2B%23193.%2B20x20.%2BOilonPanel.%2B2014%2B(resize).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8kPNFh_8DyI/VJH3EknaKKI/AAAAAAAAC_A/u8ui4vxWbeA/s1600/Binoculars%2B%23193.%2B20x20.%2BOilonPanel.%2B2014%2B(resize).jpg" height="640" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Binoculars #193 - Sunburst over North Dumpling Lighthouse.</i></span></div>
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<i>20" x 20". Oil on Gessoed Sandeply Panel. 2014. Copyright.</i></div>
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Available through the <a href="http://tradewinds.fineartstudioonline.com/" target="_blank">Trade Winds Gallery</a>. </div>
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This piece came together rather quickly to my surprise<br />
as compared to the average rate it's been taking me to finish pieces this year.</div>
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The reason for that is because, over the past years I've taken it upon myself<br />
to put a little more 'effort' into my work ... giving it that 'something'. <br />
which has been beneficial for the most part.<br />
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So, it's rather nice when a piece comes together unexpectedly!<br />
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And with that .... the painting is of North Dumpling Lighthouse<br />
nestled between the North shores of Fisher's Island (New York)<br />
and the Southern shoreline of Groton Long Point, (Groton, Connecticut).<br />
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Please stay tuned from more what's new from the studio!<br />
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Cheers, ~ Polly ~ </div>
Seip Fine Arthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14735530936798470898noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132107618926525653.post-6583459167044577342014-12-16T19:19:00.002-05:002015-01-02T11:33:52.458-05:00New Work: Words from the studio on Binoculars #192. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Binoculars #192 - The Hang Out</i></span></div>
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22" x 22". Oil on Gessoed Sandeply Panel. 2014. Copyright.</div>
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(View from Napatree Point, Watch Hill, RI)</div>
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Update: (Jan 2, 2014) This piece is no longer available.</div>
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I will admit ....</div>
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This piece struggled to come into its very own.</div>
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There was much resistance from it along the way. </div>
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At times, it's as though it didn't want to be created!</div>
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I never felt such resistance in a piece before.</div>
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There were times when 'I' was ready to paint </div>
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but suddenly I found myself taken away from the piece,</div>
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like a parent losing their grip of their child's hand </div>
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in a crowd of people.</div>
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There were times where things seemed to be going well </div>
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only to find out actually things weren't going well. </div>
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Everything in its creation mattered to me.</div>
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But ....</div>
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There were definitive moments when </div>
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this piece just wouldn't have it!</div>
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So, it was handled with a deliberate</div>
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sense of not caring ...</div>
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And that's where the painting showed itself!</div>
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It grew in leaps and bounds with those few moments!</div>
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It showed its magic to me!<br />
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Please stay tuned for more what's new from the studio!<br />
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Cheers, ~ Polly ~</div>
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Seip Fine Arthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14735530936798470898noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132107618926525653.post-70004627726611134442014-12-01T00:00:00.000-05:002015-02-12T12:19:17.700-05:00Artist on Artist Interview with Rex Stewart.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">For this month's 'Artist on Artist' interview it gives me great pleasure in presenting renowned New York / New England Historical Maritime Artist and Craftsman, Rex Stewart. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I first discovered Stewart's work through the FB group 'All Things Nautical', in which we are both members. What caught my attention to Stewart's 'All Things Nautical' postings was learning that he is the creator of the ship models in which he shares in the group. Stewart's attention to detail is highly impressive. Another fascinating aspect about Stewart is the extensive historical and personal content he provides with each ship model, or painting, or drawing. Stewart is a quintessential maritime artist, not only is he a supreme ship model maker, but he is also a highly skilled draftsman and painter as well.<br /><br />And now without any further adieu here is Stewart's interview along with selected works ...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> </span> <b><span style="font-size: large;">Artist on Artist Interview with Rex Stewart</span></b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
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New York / New England Maritime Artist and Craftsman.</div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Polly</b> - <i>Hi Rex, it's a great pleasure having you here, and thank you for being part of the 'AoA' interview project! Ok, let's get started ... How are you doing today? Would you mind giving us a little background about yourself, where you're from, where you live now, etc. </i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Rex </b>- Today, I'm fine...and, upbeat as usual. There's no absolute place to begin. However, I am a native of Albany, New York, which is the last major city on the Hudson River and the Capital City of New York State. I currently live in my old neighborhood of Mansion Hill, just around the corner of Governor's Mansion and the large Cathedral Church where I once served as an altar boy during the 60's. Prior to home, I lived in Massachusetts for several years on the premise of exploring New England's antique centers, art facilities/galleries, and maritime. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Polly</b> - <i>Can you describe your earliest memories as to when you knew you were an artist, and how you discovered your affinity for model-making? </i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Rex</b> - My interest in art began in Second Grade at Public School No.2 which was around the corner from the Capitol Building. I was fascinated with its architecture back then, always visiting before going home after school...especially the intricate carvings at the 'Million Dollar Stairs' area.
When the Governor declared to have a one square mile area of our neighborhood removed to rebuild the Empire State Plaza, our family had to relocate and I was enrolled in Catholic School which was located four blocks on the same street where we formerly lived. It was there, at the Cathedral Academy, where my art advanced. It was also there that my ship modelling skills developed when one of our classroom assignments was a project to build a Viking Ship. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">"Flight of the Gulls - Period: New England circa, 1904" . </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Wood Sculpture. Scale - 1:12.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Polly</b> - <i>What was it about the Viking Ship that intrigued you so much and could you tell us about your later art education and training; were you formally trained, or are you a self-taught artist? </i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Rex</b> - What I found intriguing about the Viking Ship Project, while attending the Cathedral Academy, was that we were required to research this vessel and create a model of it, using whatever materials were available. Since the Russo brothers owned stores at each end of the our residential block, it wasn't difficult to get cardboard from them. I used that material to produce a detailed model of Leif Erickson's ship and won top honors. Sadly, this was in the Fall of 1963, two weeks before my 9th birthday, <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_506316698" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">November 27th</span></span>, and five days prior to President Kennedy's assassination.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">t was the ship models in his Oval Office that inspired my maritime interest as a Fourth Grade student. I studied vessels even further after the tragedy, producing detailed drawings of sailing ships which caught the attention of the Nuns and Father Hubbard. That winter of '63 I was recommended by Hubbard to study art at the Cardinal McCloskey High School which was down the street adjacent to the Governors Mansion. Such a privilege granted me opportunity to develop skills which guided my direction to explore, research and experiment with materials at a higher level -eight grades in advance. In 1967, attending a predominantly Italian Catholic School, Saint Anthony's, I received a scholarship from the Women's Council of the Albany Institute of History and Art to study in the Adult Class system. I had just turned 13. I created my first nude from a live setting. The drawing was purchased by the model who was extremely impressed with the likeness. At first I felt awkward being in a room with talented adults; but after a small pep talk from instructor John Rosutto, everything worked. My greatest fascination was having the portrait bought by the subject before I left the studio. It was that event that made me aware that I was destined to be an artist.
From that point on I decided to experiment with different mediums and taught myself with, of course, reference materials I bought from the art store and/or borrowed from the city libraries. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Original scale model of the famed Hudson River steamboat as she appeared in 1893 after her rebuild. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Polly</b> - <i>Tell us about the beginnings of your maritime art career and how it has evolved?</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Rex</b> - After the Albany Institute, there were no other art schools I attended. Much of my art began to develop as I was commissioned by the Albany citizens which started immediately after I acquired three paper routes. Two were morning routes before school; and the third, after school. On these routes I would occasionally bring my portfolio and show my work to my customers and receive commissions from them which varied in subject matter and mediums, re: pencil, pen and ink, acrylic and oils. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As these commissions prospered during my early teens, so did my reputation as an artist. Several articles were written in the Region's newspapers and more work came from areas beyond the Capital District. At 17, I quit school and was hired by the Albany Savings Bank. It was there, after having my first one man exhibition in the main lobby, that I began to receive corporate and private support. Many commissions came from bankers, lawyers, business executives and politicians during and after my tenure at the bank. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The Chairman of the bank encouraged me to further my art career with a paid scholarship to attend the local University where I remained for a year. During my year's tenure at the University, a board member from the Schenectady Museum learned of my work and arranged a visit to view the pieces. Impressed, he and the Director, offered a one man show, circa 1979.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">"Washington Park." Pastel on Parchment. 24" x 36". </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b style="font-weight: bold;">Polly </b>-<b style="font-weight: bold;"> </b><i>You are fortunate to have had a solo show early on in your artistic life (many congratulations to that!). Tell us about your studio atmosphere and your routine/approach: Is your studio at home or elsewhere? What's your studio like; naturally lit, tidy, and organised?, What is your work schedule like? Is most of your work commissioned based? Do you listen to music while you work and if so what?, etc ... </i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Rex</b> - Regarding my studio, it's in-house with considerable natural lighting. I've always preferred this type of scenario for the purpose of producing 'fine' art. The artificial light only help when I need to pinpoint/highlight details. As for tidiness, this practice was developed in Catholic School.
We always had to have everything proper and orderly, including how we positioned our books on the desk, etc. Such practices eventually fell over into how I created my art. Much of this can be seen in my miniature ship models -refined detail inspite of the antiqued and/or aged Having materials in order make it easier to get whatever I need rather quickly, but I usually preset everything ahead of time. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My work schedule varies, but I make every attempt to do most of my work at night (when our side of the world is sleeping). I can usually function on four to five hours of sleep, daily. This is due, impart, because of an science experiment we endeavored in grammar school. We had to roll back our sleep hours to find how much real sleep we needed to be effective in thought and physical strength. I could function on four to five hours sleep, which is why I was able to perform three paper routes during my youth...and endure as an athlete.
Relative to my work, it has always been commissioned-based. However, there was a period when I consigned to galleries, circa 1985 - 2005. I have since returned back to commissioned work and make sales whenever there's a request for a certain art object. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">While working, I usually focus quietly. However, there are moments when I listen to music to keep the momentum going. I usually like music that centers around Barry White. There's something about his orchestral type music that soothes the mind. Of course there are other artists, but his work is my favorite because of the trumpets, horns and cymbals...and, of course, drums. As a youth, when I heard Gogi Grants' "Wayward Wind" in the 60's, I immediately was passionate about the mentioned instruments. Later, little Peggy March's song "I Will Follow Him" caught my interest. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Polly</b> - <i>Is there a philosophy you have when it comes to creating your art? </i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Rex </b>- There is no philosophy of any kind to me or my work. I make every effort to create on the basis of need. What I might feel, be enlightened by, and what the audience can absorb from it. Nothing more. Of course there has to be a direction and a vision. Both are dependent on the other.
That being said, I can honestly say that I'm a artist. That's the vision. Where I take the art, that's the direction. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">"Pirate's Peril - Caribbean Pirates c. 1720". Wood Sculpture. Scale - 1:24. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Polly</b> - <i>If you could try your hand at another medium or genre, what would it be and why?
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Rex</b> - There are no specific genres or mediums to pursue. I challenge myself where I'm the weakest. I don't compete, and have only used that endeavor to bring awareness to my failures. Much of the work centers on my ability to study the work and find a purpose for the work. It is then that I know what I'm capable of achieving at any given time. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Polly</b> - <i>I can appreciate your 'as a matter of fact' approach towards your art-making, and even though making art is a solitary endeavour, there are people in artist's lives on the side-lines cheering them on; who has been your greatest support? </i></span><br />
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<b>Rex</b> - I must agree that in any profession, we all need sideline support of some kind. It first begins at home and branches from there. Unfortunately, many artists and/or prospective artists don't receive such and are at crossroads that they can't seem to grasp or understand relative to their skills and direction.
There were many that supported me, so I can't really pinpoint any one individual. In recent times, these past 30 years, my sole support and encouragement stem from the Bible. Why? Because the support as I knew it began to fall off and my work was met with biases that I could not understand or fathom. Relationships became personal verses professional, so I felt a need to search deeper truths about who I was and my true purpose in the arts. The Bible helped to evaluate 'me'...something people could not do, regardless of their status.
I knew that my work was extraordinary, based on the affiliations I endeavored in my early years. But I also knew that there would exist roadblocks that I witnessed some artists experiencing which strengthened me to push further. I was never one to embrace opinionated people, rather attached mys</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">elf to those who shared similar viewpoints. These are, and continue to be, my supporters.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">"Afternoon Arrival". Oil painting of Lake George steamboat HORICON. 24" x 36". 1991. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Polly</b> - <i>What has been the most challenging for you?
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Rex</b> - As for challenges, there never has been any per se. Each endeavor is a challenge and it is how we come out of that endeavor that gives us the foundation we establish for ourselves, whether it be success or failure. The choice is ultimately ours, alone.</span><br />
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<b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Polly</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> - </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I'm curious to know; what kinds of art resonates with your spirit ?, do you have any particular artists or genres that you admire, like or learn from? </i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Rex</b> - There are no particular art styles that touch or ignite my spirit. Working at the former Albany City Arts Office (1975-1980) offered much by way of interacting with other artists and observing their styles and techniques. I didn't have to explore beyond this facility to know and understand creative procedure and genres.
However, in lieu of genres, this word didn't exist at the time. We usually were identified by theme or category which I specialized in several and became diversified as a result. These were landscapes, oceanscapes, portraits, etc. I did very well in all of them. Maritime was the most challenging because of the prejudice and biases I had to encounter. But as you can clearly observe, I overcame with perseverance...especially with my 20 year tenure with Mystic Seaport, among other notable galleries.
No one artist influenced me, per se. However, I was drawn to two UK artists whom I admired in the late 60's and early 70's. These were Montague Dawson and Carl Evers.
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">"The Mark of Calvary" - Sectional view of the Wood Sculpture. Scale - 1:12. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Polly</b> - <i>And in the field of maritime art; who in your mind of the maritime artists, dead or alive, would you consider to be the masters? </i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Rex</b> - Relative to identifying maritime 'masters', I really can't answer that. I honestly believe that a master is anyone who has developed a track record of excellence in their field of endeavor. Not by popularity but by excellence. Prejudice has garnished false 'masters' -placing them in the spotlight while those of true renown have perished undiscovered. I don't identify with this because of my experience, but identify because of what I've witnessed.
Mystic Seaport invited me to show in their Masters, twice. That being said, how can I identify with other 'masters' when I'm in the same family? I can't. </span><br />
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<b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Polly</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> - </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I’m curious to know, what are your thoughts about being an artist that is active online and has your time online helped your career as an artist, and if so, in what ways? </i><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Rex - </b>I never had any thoughts on being an artist. I identified with my calling years ago and considered remaining with it, even though family, friends, and others spoke against it and attempted to discourage those interests. I realized what I had was a gift and when I read in the Bible about the Parable of the Talents, about one individual not using his ability to double his portion, I received a greater awakening.
Art, like anything else is a passion, and it is 'work'. Why it is classified as a source of struggle is foolish. We see, breathe, and live art every day. Our cars, homes, clothes, utensils, devices, etc., stems from art and design. All those items had to be 'worked' in order for enjoyment to be its cornerstone. If anything, this is not my thoughts on being an artist but rather the acknowledgement of knowing I am.
Having an online presence in today's society is crucial for any business. It takes work, dedication, and a firm belief in what needs to be addressed to the viewer. Not everyone will like 'you' or your work, but that's fine. Work is not subjected to a popularity contest. It is knowing what you have and how you want to bring it to the masses. And, it is how your work is received by those who support it. The internet is a tool that can work, provided time is invested there.
I belong to several networks and I'm appalled at the complaining on these networks. The bottom like remains with one word which is -diligence. This is the measuring rod to whether or not the internet will serve you. I can't be specific and reveal how it's helped me, as each one of us have our own methods of promotion. However, it would be in the best interest of every artist to re-evaluate their skills and get support from those who are willing to work with them.
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Rex Stewart, working on the miniature ship model of the "BATAVIA" in his New York studio.</span><br />
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<b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Polly </b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">- </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">For the most part, artists tend to be a bit of an enigma to the outside world; how would you describe yourself as a person and could you tell us a little about your life outside the studio; what are some activities that you enjoying doing, could be art related or not, etc. </i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Rex </b>- I wouldn't consider or embrace the world's opinion about my identity as an artist. You mention that the world "tends to see us as an enigma; a mystery and/or puzzle. I must agree that artists are frowned upon and are deemed unintelligent to the 'real world'. The fact of the matter is that I'm very intelligent and have been since I can remember. Again, we live in an opinionated society; but it's not my world by any stretch of the imagination.
It has to be understood that no one can please everyone; yet, we all have a purpose in this life to do and be whatever we're destined to be -artists, included.
I can't put any description to myself other than what is written. However, I can say that I enjoy being a parent and I work well with people, whether or not they wish to work well with me. In essence, people will know me by my work and will understand me from my work. I love this approach, because it gives me leverage to know if I have a friend or an adversary.</span><br />
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<b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Polly</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> - </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I agree with your wonderful response to that last question, you are very intelligent! As you know, artists, get asked all sorts of questions. Recently I was asked a question which I'd never been asked before and it got me thinking, which I would like to propose to you; what is your ultimate goal with your art? </i><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Rex</b> - As an artist, I explore, research and create. There are no ultimate goals I set for what I do. There does exist the question of knowing where I want to take my direction, but it doesn't embrace any sure end. Whatever the subject, I pursue it to the best of my ability and then move on to the next.
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">"BATAVIA" - s</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">tarboard close-up view, 1:200 scale of Dutch VOC sailing ship, circa 1627. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Polly </b>- <i>Changing topics ... This is a question I ask all the artists I interview; if you could spend the day with one person, dead or alive, famous or not, who would it be and why?
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Rex</b> - The answer would be President John F. Kennedy. I was fascinated by this man, his naval heroics on PT 109, and his short-lived career as Commander-in-Chief at the White House.
I always pondered my thoughts as to why he was liked by many Americans and how he was well-received at international events. I remember building my first and only Aurora kit of him sitting, legs crossed, at the fireplace. When at Catholic School, I and a group of classmates would visit the Mom and Pop Store up the street and purchase collector cards on him which were published in black and white at the time.
When he made his Inaugural speech, the words "Ask not what your Country can do for you; ask what you can do for your Country." I knew exactly what he meant by those words. It was the secret for unlocking any and all possibilities for being anything you wanted to be.
When I walk past the Capitol steps here in Albany, I can almost hear him speaking when he was running for the Presidency in the late 50's. Many notable people stood on those steps, but Kennedy was the one who garnished the spotlight there.
If I could spend a day with anyone, it would be with this man.</span><br />
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<b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Polly</b><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> - And lastly, what words of wisdom do you have to offer to young, and aspiring artists?</i><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Rex </b>-Everyone has some form of wisdom to share, based on one's experience and/or the experience of others. I tend to find that personal experience in any matter is the best teacher because you are taught from that experience.
For artists, like any other profession, there exist pros and cons. It's a matter of choice and direction that will be the conclusion for the journey which is ultimately the experience. I would tell every artist, amateur and professional, to endure the experience ... to go the extra mile and (BELIEVE) that there will be an end -provided something is done, and that is to create.
Furthermore, divorce opinionated people and pointless debates. Nothing can be gained by either and such will only pollute the process of the growth in your endeavor(s). In essence, value and be a good steward of your time -and be patient with your time to develop your qualities. Doing this, there won't be any room for pride and jealousy to suffocate the inner beauty that you want seen and appreciated by others.
We all have a timetable for expressing ourselves. Time is priceless. Use it the right way and you, as well as your work, will become equally priceless. This is hard to fathom by most, but it is the wise who can see, live, and understand this truth. And last, be with only those who will understand (stand under) your beliefs and convictions. With this type of support you will reach and meet your objective as an artist. It's a no-brainer. <br /><br /><br /><b>Polly</b> - Thank you, Rex, for this unique insight into your artistic life! I wish you continued success and happiness with your work!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">To learn more about Rex Stewart and to see more of his works please visit his website ...</span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Website: <a href="http://www.rexstewartoriginals.com/" target="_blank">Rex Stewart Originals</a></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/rexships" target="_blank">@rexships </a></span></li>
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Seip Fine Arthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14735530936798470898noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132107618926525653.post-59764019021625929672014-10-01T03:00:00.000-04:002015-02-12T12:26:11.815-05:00Artist on Artist Interview with Susan Stephenson.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The 'Artist on Artist' Interview Second Anniversary!</span> </b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Today is a very special day for a few reasons!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />Firstly, today marks the Second Anniversary of the 'Artist on Artist' Interviews I conduct. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">For those of you who are unfamiliar with the 'AoA' interviews and their purpose; for the past two years, I</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">'ve been hosting 6 artist interviews, every other month on my studio blog. I feature 3 female and 3 male artists, all of varying mediums, genres, styles, and subject matters. The </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">premise to these interviews is to celebrate and promote artists, whose work I have deep admiration and respect for while giving them the opportunity to represent their spirit and work in a way they see suitable. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Secondly, I am thrilled, excited, happy, and honoured, to be celebrating this special Anniversary with an artist whose work is stellar and always rises to the occasion, and who I had the pleasure of having as a teacher at the Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts; the one and only, Susan Stephenson! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Susan Stephenson's work has long been a favourite of mine since my days at the Academy and her work continues to amaze me. Stephenson has an uncanny ability to take the ordinary and make it into something extraordinary! Her unique vision as an artist is unparalleled to any other artist, old or new. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Stephenson's work explores strong compositions, rich and intense colours, and a distinctive painting style which makes her work pure eye-candy! </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Stephenson's work is supreme, and so is her character as a human being at the say least. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">And now without any further adieu here is Susan Stephenson's interview along with selected works ....</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Artist on Artist Interview with Susan Stephenson</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Susan Stephenson with her new work '</span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Endless Summer</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">' during the</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Faculty Exhibition Opening, Sept 12, 2014. at the </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Endless Summer. 36" x 48". Oil on Panel. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: justify;">© 2014.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: justify;">*</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: justify;">Endless Summer </i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: justify;">along with three other new works are currently on display </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: justify;">at the Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts, Old Lyme, CT; </span><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: justify;">and will be on view in the Stillman Gallery</span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: justify;"> until January 10, 2015. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Polly -</b> Hello Susan, and a big welcome to you on my studio blog, and may I say it is a pleasure to have you here! Would mind telling us where you’re from and where you live now?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Susan -</b> Hi, Polly - it’s always a pleasure to see you and hear what you’re thinking about. Thanks for inviting me! I was born in Ruston, Louisiana, and I now live in Hopkinton, RI, and I share a studio in the Velvet Mill in Stonington, CT.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Late Summer Evening. 24" x 24". Oil on Panel. </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; text-align: justify;">© 2012.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Polly - </b>Please tell us about your earliest memories of when and how you discovered you were an artist? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Susan -</b> On some level - even as a tiny child - I always felt like an artist. I could hold a pencil absurdly early and was constantly drawing with crayons or markers, as far back as I can remember. My parents were wonderfully indulgent and gave me materials and encouraged me, even to the point of being slow to stop me when I began drawing all along one of our walls in the house where we lived when I was three. I can remember seeing that pristine length of hallway (it was a ranch) and feeling like it was a gigantic piece of paper - heaven! It was impossible to resist. At the time, my mother didn’t want to squelch me, but my grandmother thought they were nuts not to stop me. That tells you a lot about the sort of encouragement and experimentation I took for granted, growing up in my household. Even as a four year-old, I was holding crazy sessions at the kitchen table, drawing portraits of my family members and being totally frustrated whenever they twitched. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> I was also enchanted by color at an early age, and my parents thought they’d stumbled onto a perfect babysitting activity when I would spend hours painting at the kitchen table. I would happily dribble pure paint, relishing the colors and abstract blobs. Since I wasn’t yet capable of washing a single brush and reusing it, my mother had to get me a little brush for every pot of color. And I couldn’t sit in a chair and see above the table, so I would have to crawl up and stay on my knees in the chair seat in order to see. It was great, being the little artist in the family.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Farmerville Reflections. 12" x 24". </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; text-align: justify;">© 2010.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Stop in New London. 12" x 24". Oil on Panel. </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; text-align: justify;">© 2007/14.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Polly - </b>Could you tell us about your education and training?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Susan - </b>My hometown is a university town, and I was always aware of local artists’ work. There were also books, galore, at my house - my parents collected them, and I had monographs of various artists at the ready. Yet I didn’t visit a museum and see a real Van Gogh or Cezanne until I was in college and took a bus trip to Dallas/Ft. Worth with my painting professor, Peter Jones. It was a revelation, seeing those paintings in real life, and it forever changed how I viewed painting. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> I received my BFA from Louisiana Tech University, in my hometown. It had a strong Art and Architecture Department, and my father taught physics there for years; so when I decided to stay in Ruston and pursue my BFA at La Tech, it was an emotional as well as financial decision. Some of the professors at Tech were phenomenal, and the one-on-one interaction was unbeatable. They expected students to emerge from the program with the ability to work representationally as well as non-objectively, and it was enormously helpful to my development. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> Then I moved to Boston and became a graduate student at Boston University’s School of Visual Arts, receiving my MFA in 1992. It was a fantastic experience. At that time, John Moore was running the graduate program and it was life-changing to be able to work with him. It was also transformative to work alongside my friends - they will always feel like family members to me, no matter how long we go without catching up. Grad school was one of the best times of my life, and I would encourage anyone who is even halfway interested to go ahead and give it a try. </span><br />
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<span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Chartreuse. 24" x 24". Oil on Panel. </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; text-align: justify;">© 2008.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: justify;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Polly -</b> What did you gain most having studied at BU and from there, how did you get yourself from where you are today? (Question presented by Sandi Gold)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Susan -</b> One the most helpful things I gained at BU was the ability to discuss work and philosophies during seminars, where we all made presentations about a number of artists or ideas and then argued and defended our positions without committing murder - a miracle. I also developed a “thicker skin.” There I was, producing more work in less time than ever before, all while being critiqued from a variety of people on an ongoing basis. It was an exhausting process, both physically and mentally, but the experience really tempered me - invaluable. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> After receiving my MFA, I returned to Louisiana for a couple of years and taught Design at the University of Louisiana at Monroe. In 1994, I returned to New England for a nine-month residency in New London with The Griffis Art Center. After that concluded, instead of returning to the South, I stayed in the area and found part-time work teaching at two places: at Salve Regina University in Newport, RI, I taught all levels of Drawing as a sabbatical replacement; and at Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts in Old Lyme, CT, I taught a 2D Design course. The job at Lyme eventually became full-time, and in 2001, I became Lyme’s first Foundation Program Chair, a position I held for nine years. In 2011, I became the Chair of the Painting Department and continue to serve in that capacity today. Right now, I teach Drawing, Painting, and Design.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">August Evening at Pearl. 12" x 24". Oil on Panel. </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; text-align: justify;">© 2010.</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Yellowhouse. 12" x 24". Oil on Panel. © 2011.</span></span></div>
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<b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Polly -</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> Please tell us about your influences and inspirations, and how does teaching influence your art?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Susan -</b> I’m influenced by a number of artists from the past. Some of my favorite painters are Willem de Kooning and Richard Diebenkorn, but I also love Van Gogh, Vuillard, Bacon, Hokusai, Rembrandt, Brueghel, Uglow, Freud ... and countless others. There are plenty of living artists whose work I admire, too. Because of the curvilinear perspective I’ve been exploring in my work, Rackstraw Downes is especially interesting, and so is Antonio Lopez Garcia. I admire the fearlessness and sensuality of Anne Harris’s paintings, and I also admire Jenny Saville’s continuing impact - her recent drawings were fantastic. Kyle Staver’s paintings pull me in with their use of color as light while using mythology in such an interesting way, and they make me rethink everything. Former colleagues have had a deep influence on me over the years, and they continue to affect my work, today: I admire David Dewey’s paintings for their use of color and absolute mastery of the medium of watercolor, not to mention how much I relish seeing how he sees the world; and the abstract strength of Steve Sheehan’s paintings always reminds me to pare things down more. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> Teaching has influenced my art in unexpected ways. Being able to be granular in discussing painting and its peculiarities for so many years has allowed me to immerse myself in that world deeply than if I had been working at a different job. But in all honestly, I must agree with what Ben Shahn said about teaching art, that an artist must stop thinking about what she may say in the classroom when she steps in front of her own work. Teaching is one thing, making art is another, and those lessons can get in the way of spontaneity and doom the painting. Sometimes, however, if I find my way through a particular problem, I remember my students and wish they could have seen and learned from it; but of course, that will never happen - I can’t really make artwork and teach at the same time. Demos are usually duds - their purpose is to be informative. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> Ultimately, my teaching has influenced my art simply because it has allowed me to meet and work with so many terrific artists; I believe the connection with them is sustaining, possibly staving off the isolation so many artists can feel.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Corner of Main and Commerce. 14" x 24". Oil on Panel. <span style="text-align: justify;">© 2010.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">On site for '<i>Corner of Main and Commerce</i>'. </span></div>
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<b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Polly - </b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Your work has a unique style; how would you describe your style, and how and when did you start painting with the exaggerated curvature/fish-eye lens perspective?, is there a specific goal you are attempting to achieve with your painting?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Susan -</b> I don’t worry about style very much - like a personality, I feel that it will take care of itself. Instead, I seek visual relationships that please me, and this usually brings a level of consistency to the work. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> My interest in curvilinear perspective is most likely a direct result of my having grown up in a homemade geodesic dome, and my attraction to circles and triangles appears in all sorts of ways. My very first experiment with the wraparound view happened in 1997 or ‘98 when I was on site in Westerly, painting along the Pawcatuck river and looking up at the buildings, above. The only panel I had on hand was not wide enough to incorporate the view I wanted, so I bent the world a bit in order to fit it into the rectangle. (That painting now belongs in the Pfizer corporate collection.) At around the same time at the Ocean House in Watch Hill, RI, I continued using curvilinear perspective in a painting that initially made me feel queasy but now feels quite tame.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Misquamicut Farm. 7 1/2"x 24". Oil on Panel. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: justify;">© 2010.</span></div>
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<b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Polly -</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> Tell us about your studio and your routine; where is your studio?, you keep a tidy or messy studio space?, how do you start a piece?, do you work from photos sometimes?, do you listen to music when you paint and if so what?, etc.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Susan - </b>Oh, I am a very messy person - a total slob. My studio is always jumbled. I share it with another artist, Steve Sheehan, and I try to keep things neater out of consideration for him. It’s odd, but the only things I really keep in order are my tools - I cannot abide not knowing where my woodworking tools are, when I need them. So they’re usually in their particular spot. Everything else is all over the place. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> While I do share that studio in the Velvet Mill, my REAL studio is the outdoors - wherever I happen to be on site. Most of my work is produced on location from direct observation, but I have worked from photographs a few times. I usually dislike the results, when I use photos, but I like to keep my options open. Recently, I did produce a larger painting in my studio, working from a smaller painting produced on location - it’s not a common process for me, but I enjoyed it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> The only time I listen to music while painting is when I work on something in the studio. On location, I want to keep my ears open to whatever is going on around me; blocking my hearing with earbuds would leave me vulnerable. Even though I paint in locations that are pretty safe, I try to remember to watch my back and never get so lost in a painting that I become a target. In fact, positioning myself in front of windows has been helpful, since I can see what’s going on behind me; the reflections in front are interesting, but the awareness of my environment is especially important.
I most often work on birch panels that I’ve prepared with acrylic gesso. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> When I begin a painting, I draw on the panel with paint and then try to develop everything as abstractly as possible.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Sunday at the Strand - Dixie Theater. 12" x 24". Oil on Panel. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: justify;">© 2006.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Polly -</b></span> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As plein-air artist(s), we tend to get a lot of inquisitive people interrupting our work; what is your strategy in with inquisitive minds, and would you mind sharing with us a funny plein-air painting experience/story you have. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Susan -</b> I do find myself interrupted by onlookers when I'm working out in public - I think of it as a toll for the privilege of working outdoors. It's interesting, because some people walk up to me and simply breathe and I want to scream and run away; while others may walk up, take a look and even ask a question... and for some reason they don't bother me at all - it depends on the person. One thing I've noticed, though, is that obnoxious children usually come with obnoxious parents, and the reverse seems to be true. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> When people are genuinely interested, I'm happy to talk briefly with them about the work, even if it takes me away from the moment. But in order to avoid casual interruptions, I've learned a few tactics that seem to work. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> Most importantly, avoid touristy areas, if possible. When I first moved to RI and began painting on site at area beaches, I didn't know any better, and I tried to paint when the beaches were at their most crowded. Nowadays, if I go to the beach to work, I'll usually get there at dawn and leave when the crowds thicken. Besides, when people are on vacation, they may not realize you're there to work; they may be more inclined to linger without realizing how detrimental it is to your focus. I try to keep to myself as much as I can without being downright rude, or else a nice brief conversation can turn into a whole string of interruptions, because people who are walking by will be more inclined to approach you after seeing you talking with others. On the other hand, touristy areas are probably safer than some other places, and I act differently according to the location. In a tourist-rich area, I'll keep my head down and avoid eye contact. If I see someone approaching tentatively and I happen to look up and lock eyes with them, they seem to take it as an invitation and move right in. If I avoid eye contact and still get the feeling that people are going to speak with me - and I'm in a precarious moment of the work - I'll scowl at the painting. Yes, I call it the George Costanza method, and it works! When people think you're having a bad day, they'll leave you alone. I've even grimaced and said "Aaaaagh" under my breath - works like a charm. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> In contrast, if I'm working in a more urban environment, and I am not as certain of my surroundings, I make a point of making eye contact with passersby in order to make sure they know I'm aware of what's around me. People in cities usually don't stop and interrupt, anyway, since they're often on their way somewhere else. For the past ten years, I've been using a rolling cooler as an impromptu easel and carrying cart; in New London, a few people thought I was trying to sell drinks on the sidewalk, which I thought was odd. I should've remembered that when I was painting in Westerly another time, and a guy walked up to me and asked, "You got any beer?" I was totally confused. Then I looked down at my paint-spattered cooler and realized that he had no idea what I was doing there. You'd find paint and turpenoid in there, but no beer.
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">State and Union. 12" x 24". Oil on Panel. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: justify;">© 2007.</span></span></div>
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<b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Polly -</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> Would you mind telling us about your palette - what kind you use and what colours/paints you use? Do use any mediums? What is your preferred surface to work on and why?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Susan - </b>When I was in college, I loved working on canvas and couldn’t ever have imagined that nowadays I would prefer to work on birch panels, but it’s true. I love the smooth surface and the resistance - like painting on a wall, I guess. Occasionally, I’ll prepare panels with rabbitskin glue, but I’ll prime them most often with acrylic gesso. There’s a brand I’ve recently become excited about called Art Alternatives - it’s advertised as a “cheaper alternative,” but I found that it covers better and has a superior tooth. I love it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> My palette is simple - often it’s just cadmium red medium, cad yellow light, ultramarine blue, and white. But sometimes I add pthalo blue and maybe a purplish red, like magenta or quinacridone violet. There’s no single brand that I prefer, since I tend to go for a particular color that one brand makes while going for a different brand of another color. But if I had to be specific, I would say that Old Holland is always a great brand of oil paint, and so is Williamsburg. Recently, I’ve been trying out a few of the Michael Harding colors I bought from the Store at Lyme Academy College, and so far his paints have been fabulous. For cadmiums, however, I prefer - brace yourself - Utrecht brand cadmiums. The yellow is hotter than I find in other brands, and that’s what I like. For white, I prefer a mix of titanium and zinc. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> The medium I like to use is a mixture of Stand Oil and solvent; the solvent I’ve been using lately is Gamsol, but I’ve enjoyed others, too. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Hot Spot. 24" x 24". Oil on Panel. <span style="text-align: justify;">© 2014.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Polly -</b> I’m curious, do you have a favourite painting of yours and if so, why!?! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Susan -</b> I’m not sure how to answer that question. There are definite works that becomes milestones in my development, and they are all special to me. But there are also several paintings that I hang onto for more than their formal strength; they are beloved primarily because of what was going on in my life when I painted them, and they take me directly back to that time whenever I see them. I painted several in my hometown that included old buildings or bridges that have since been torn down, and I love those paintings for the memories they represent. Similarly, there are paintings I made at houses where I once lived, and some of them are bittersweet, reminding me of people no longer in my life. But I must stress that any of these works that I love for sentimental reasons are never sentimental-looking, and only paintings that please me for formal reasons ever get pondered; the bad ones go into a box. Or thrown out. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> But honestly, I feel that I should answer with another artist’s words (I’ve forgotten who said it, though,) - my favorite painting is whatever painting I’m working on at the moment. I think that sums it up. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Sail Loft Sparkling. 16" x 20". Oil on Panel. <span style="text-align: justify;">© 2004/05.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Polly - </b>If you could try your hand at another medium or genre what would it be and why? </span><br />
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<b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Susan - </b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Oh, I am excited by lots of different things, but I don’t indulge in them very often. Collage is continually interesting, and so is ink wash. But the only material that I find almost as sensually wonderful as oil paint is Char-kole brand compressed charcoal on good-quality white paper. Its inky blackness is almost as rich as pure color, and the sooty feel is very satisfying. For a person who gets such a kick out of color, I daydream an awful lot about inky black and white images. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A sneak peek into Stephenson's Velvet Mill studio in Stonington, CT.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Polly -</b> If you could have dinner with one person, dead or alive, who would it be and why? </span><br />
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<b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Susan - </b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I think it would be Willem deKooning, before Alzheimer’s hit. -No, let’s change that answer - it would probably be Hokusai, if I could have a translator. He was a genius. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Corner Coffee. 24" x 24". Oil on Panel. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: justify;">© 2009.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Polly -</b> Who has been the greatest support to you as an artist and how? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Susan -</b> That would have to be my parents. They recognized my abilities early and encouraged me to be as independent as possible, and they gave me abundant supplies. If I had to narrow it down more specifically, I would say that my mother has been the single most important supporter, and I will never be able to thank her enough. Having someone believe in you with that much fervor and consistency is an unimaginable gift. It gives me strength, to this day. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">High Above Hartford. 24" x 48". Oil on Panel. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: justify;">© 2007.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Polly -</b> What has been most challenging for you as an artist? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Susan -</b> I’m a quiet person. Most of my exhibition opportunities just fell into my lap, and I am frustrated with myself for not trying to show my work in larger venues. People might know who I am if they are familiar with Lyme, but hardly anyone else knows who I am or what my work looks like, and I have only myself to blame. I’d rather hide under the bed than march out there, but it’s part of the job. I have to get busy. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Park. 11" x 42". Oil on Panel. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: justify;">© 2002.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Hope Valley. 12" x 48". Oil on Panel. <span style="text-align: justify;">© 2014. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="text-align: justify;"> *<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Hope Valley </i>will be included in "Convergence," the first large-scale alumni exhibition of </span></span></span><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: justify;">Boston University's School of Visual Arts, </span><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: justify;">held in honor of the 60th anniversary of the College of Fine Arts. </span><span style="font-size: x-small; text-align: justify;">In Boston University's Gallery 808, the exhibition will run from October 24 - December 14, 2014.</span></div>
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<b>Polly -</b> If you were conducting this interview what one question would you ask yourself and what would the answer be?</div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Susan -</b> I have no idea how to respond to this question. You’ve stumped me, Polly! On second thought, I might ask “How would you like your work to be considered?” </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">My answer: I remember a friend once gave me one of the best compliments, ever, and I would love for others to eventually share her opinion. We had been talking about gender and how an artist’s gender can sometimes appear obvious in their work. She mentioned an artist whose works looks very feminine and another whose work is quite masculine, and I agreed. She then said that my work looked neither feminine or masculine, just strong. That was the ultimate compliment. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Aphrodite and Corsair. 12" x 24". Oil on Panel. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: justify;">© 2004.</span></div>
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<b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Polly -</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> I would agree to that! Tell us what words of wisdom would you offer to young artists? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Susan -</b> First, I would give them a copy of the transcript from Bob Kulicke’s Visiting Artist talk at Lyme, because he gave incredible advice. Then I would tell them to persevere, to rise above the distractions that are everywhere, today - only people who work incredibly hard get anywhere in this business. Additionally, I would tell everyone to be sure to apply to grants and residencies repeatedly. It’s advice I have to remind myself to take, but it’s true - rejection is terribly common, but you must reapply after being disappointed, year after year. Sometimes it takes ten or fifteen attempts to get an acceptance. Sometimes an acceptance never arrives, that’s true.. but the application process does get better with practice - don’t give up. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Downtown Westerly. 24" x 24". Oil on Panel. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: justify;">© 2009.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Polly -</b> Thank you so much for your time Susan! And lastly, is there anything else you would like to share with us about you and or your art? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Susan -</b> Nothing I can think of… Thank you, Polly! </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Polly - </b>Thank you so much Susan for taking the time to talk about your art and giving us a little more insight into your artistic life! I wish you the very best with your career!!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">For more information about Susan Stephenson and her work, please visit her website and or facebook page ...</span></span><br />
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</span><b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Website: </b><a href="http://susan-stephenson.com/" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">susan-stephenson.com</a><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Facebook: </b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Susan-Stephenson/214936791854950" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;" target="_blank">Susan Stephenson</a><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Stephenson's work is currently represented by the ... </span></span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Cate Charles Gallery.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> Providence. RI.</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">*The Cate Charles Gallery will be hosting an exhibition of Stephenson's work scheduled for May 2015. So, be sure to mark your calendars and save the date!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Thank you all for viewing this month's Artist on Artist Interview with Susan Stephenson. Please feel free to leave a comment or question below. <br /><br />The next 'Artist on Artist' interview is December 2014 with Rex Stewart.</span><br />
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Seip Fine Arthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14735530936798470898noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132107618926525653.post-20976034382210877652014-08-13T09:36:00.000-04:002014-08-13T09:44:06.874-04:00Two Old Friends<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Binoculars #188 - Two Old Friends.</div>
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18" x 66". Oil on Gessoed Sandeply Panel. 2014.</div>
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Available through <a href="http://www.artnet.com/galleries/susan-powell-fine-art/" target="_blank">Susan Powell Fine Art </a> </div>
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Words from the studio ....<br />
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This piece has always made me smile, from its conception to its finished state!</div>
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It was two summer’s ago, during that fantastic weekend of the OpSailCT2012 activities, </div>
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when I spotted these two old friends out on the water fishing, in their nice, clean skiff, </div>
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that I knew they would become immortalized in a painting someday! </div>
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The painting itself went through a few stages of metamorphosis - originally it was in a square format, </div>
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however as that painting progressed, it just didn’t feel ’right’. </div>
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So, I changed the format completely to its current horizontal format and </div>
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enlarged the size of the two old friends, and I also changed the vessel type(s) </div>
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in the background, from a lone fishing trawler to a collection of varied Schooners, </div>
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giving the piece a more relaxed feeling and quiet dignity, </div>
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and then ...... the painting just came together. </div>
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The OpSailCT2012 weekend was simply a magical moment in time; </div>
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the weather was perfect and there was such a fervor of activities up and down the coast, </div>
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that I mixed and matched elements I gravitated towards to create ‘Two Old Friends’, </div>
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and it’s just one of a thousand stories from that beautiful weekend. </div>
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What I truly enjoy about ‘Two Old Friends’ is that it makes me feel happy </div>
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and it conjures up dozens of questions;<br />
how long have they been friends?,<br />
how did they meet?,<br />
do they have any kids/grand-kids?,<br />
how often do they go fishing together?,<br />
whose skiff does it belong to?, (the one in the bow or stern)<br />
where do they live?,<br />
what are their names?, etc ...<br />
that could create a thousand different storylines. </div>
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I hope you enjoy 'Two Old Friends' as much as I do!<br />
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Cheers, ~ Polly ~</div>
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Seip Fine Arthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14735530936798470898noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132107618926525653.post-32286349194430581642014-08-01T08:25:00.002-04:002015-02-12T12:28:16.129-05:00Artist on Artist Interview with Oliver Kohls<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fYHCPGFJzXo/VNzieu7v5uI/AAAAAAAADHs/gSUQAyM-Yis/s1600/AoA%2BIMAGE%2B3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fYHCPGFJzXo/VNzieu7v5uI/AAAAAAAADHs/gSUQAyM-Yis/s200/AoA%2BIMAGE%2B3.jpg" /></a></div>
For this month's 'Artist on Artist' interview it gives me great pleasure in featuring German pastel painter, Oliver Kohls.<br />
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A few years ago, while casually looking through some painting groups on Facebook, I discovered the work by Oliver Kohls. Kohls' powerful, brightly lit, and richly coloured pastels just leaped off the screen and I found myself immediately transported to the Northern shores of Germany - I could feel the cool damp sand under my feet, feel the sunshine and sea-spray on my face, and could hear the foaming waves tumbling onto the shore - I was hooked and wanted to know more. Kohls is also a fellow blogspot blogger. He participates in pastel competitions and his work has been quickly gaining international<br />
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And now without any further adieu here is Oliver Kohls' interview along with selected works.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Artist on Artist Interview with Oliver Kohls </b></span><br />
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Oliver Kohls.<br />
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<b>Polly:</b> <i>Hello Oliver, and welcome to my studio blog, it’s a great pleasure to have you here! Would mind telling us where your from and how you chose pastel as your medium</i>?<br />
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<b>Oliver:</b> Hi Polly, thank you so much for having me here. I am from Germany and I live pretty close to the North Sea. I came to pastels by coincident. A couple of years ago I did not have my own studio and I was looking for some sort of medium that I could safely work with inside my house with four children around. So oil was not an option but once I tried pastels I was hooked. I love to work with both hands and my fingers. And as I am not very patient there are no drying times. Perhaps the only disadvantage is that you have to put the finished work behind glass.<br />
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Evening Light Baltic Sea. 40 x 70cm. Pastel. 2013.<br />
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<b>Polly:</b> <i>Would you please describe your earliest memories as to when you realized you were an artist</i>?<br />
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<b>Oliver:</b> I just found out, honestly. I never considered myself as being an artist until lately. I am interested in art since childhood and I painted without being asked to do so. Five years ago I was really exhausted by my job as a naval officer and my demanding family life. I needed some time purely for myself and I started painting again. It brought me back to nature as I learned to see. I could think about my next paintings anywhere, e.g. driving to work or sitting in a boring meeting (not that there are many in the German Navy). Painting became more and more important to me and beside the creation of works of art I started to study the theory of painting. People started buying my work and others were asking me to teach them the way I do it. This was probably about the time when I realized I am an artist.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-q6jGJAg-QCs/U9U0-ZM7cTI/AAAAAAAACxE/ZFAwxg3rE-c/s1600/AoA+OK+Buoy+in+the+Sun.tif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-q6jGJAg-QCs/U9U0-ZM7cTI/AAAAAAAACxE/ZFAwxg3rE-c/s1600/AoA+OK+Buoy+in+the+Sun.tif" height="640" width="292" /></a></div>
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Buoy in the Sun. 65 x 30cm. Pastel. 2013.</div>
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<b>Polly:</b> <i>Could you tell us about your education and training</i>?<br />
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<b>Oliver:</b> There is not much to say about it from an artistic point of view. I got an university degree in politics and international studies and was trained in the German Navy and the Royal Navy. This had little to do with art. But I think it helped me in planning my own way as an artist and I saw a lot of places. So I have to confess that I never received any formal art training. I read lots of art books and some of them really helped me. Another way of training yourself is to look at artwork by other artist. Sometimes when I see a painting which really touches me I start analyzing it. Why is it that the painting impresses me? Where is the center of interest? What about the values? Is it predominantly warm or cold? Is there an underlying color scheme etc. etc.? Answering these questions helps me a lot with my own paintings. The big advantage of educating yourself is that you can do it at your own pace and that you can determine what to study. On the other hand a helping hand may prevent you from going the wrong way. But anyhow as I went this way relatively late in life I will stick to my own method.<br />
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Oliver Kohls' vast array of beautiful pastel colours ....</div>
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<b>Polly:</b> <i>Tell us about your influences and inspirations</i>.<br />
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<b>Oliver:</b> The impressionist painters influenced me a lot. When an artist captures the light I am usually touched. My favourite artist are Joaquin Sorrolla, Anders Zorn and of course Claude Monet. Having spent many years at sea I am still inspired by the endless impressions the sea has to offer. And water and landscapes with water in it are my main source of inspiration.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sCZqB5G9KtE/U9U1aO4yUaI/AAAAAAAACxU/tz6EnK0jGtk/s1600/AoA+OK+Buoy+at+Dusk.tif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sCZqB5G9KtE/U9U1aO4yUaI/AAAAAAAACxU/tz6EnK0jGtk/s1600/AoA+OK+Buoy+at+Dusk.tif" height="640" width="288" /></a></div>
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Buoy at Dusk. 65 x 30cm. Pastel. 2013.</div>
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<b>Polly:</b> <i>In your own words, how would you describe your style</i>?<br />
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<b>Oliver:</b> My style is pretty realistic. I wanted to go the hard way from being able to handle a realistic painting towards a more loose style. And I am not even half way through it. I try to capture the sea, the sky, reflections the way I see it and the way it touches me.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SM_xAaq-65M/U9U1lDRKmsI/AAAAAAAACxc/TyqwVustpBI/s1600/AoA+OK+Red+Poppy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SM_xAaq-65M/U9U1lDRKmsI/AAAAAAAACxc/TyqwVustpBI/s1600/AoA+OK+Red+Poppy.jpg" height="424" width="640" /></a></div>
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Red Poppy. 40 x 60cm. Pastel. 2013.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-u8LOWow6AMM/U9u_7yU-fnI/AAAAAAAACzc/TuFVKg9RFG4/s1600/Distel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-u8LOWow6AMM/U9u_7yU-fnI/AAAAAAAACzc/TuFVKg9RFG4/s1600/Distel.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
Distel. 50 x 70cm. Pastel. 2014.<br />
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<b>Polly:</b> <i>Most of your work depicts water; tell us about your connection with the water and how does it effect your artistic spirit</i>?</div>
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<b>Oliver: </b>I spent almost all of my life close to the sea or at sea. I was sailing and windsurfing from early childhood and consequently joined the Navy. So I looked at the sea endlessly and was always taken by the amount of scenes the sea has to offer. This has influenced my art strongly. I think I can see if something looks right and if a mood has been captured well. A senior captain who spent all his life at sea commissioned a painting of his first ship two years ago. When he picked it up his eyes became watery. This was a huge compliment to me.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-h2d6JXd7aqY/U9U1wVgb7ZI/AAAAAAAACxk/7ideTxF9P5Y/s1600/AoA+OK+himself+Oliver+Kohls-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-h2d6JXd7aqY/U9U1wVgb7ZI/AAAAAAAACxk/7ideTxF9P5Y/s1600/AoA+OK+himself+Oliver+Kohls-2.jpg" height="476" width="640" /></a></div>
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Oliver Kohls at work in his studio.</div>
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<b>Polly:</b> <i>What is your studio routine like; do you give yourself a schedule to work by or do you work when you ‘feel’ it like, what is your overall process - do you work from life or from photographs you take or a little bit of both, etc</i>?<br />
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<b>Oliver: </b>To me every painting is a project. It goes from viewing archived photographs, doing some sketches to the painting process itself. As I am not yet a full-time artist this seems to me a good way of doing it. Once the project has started I do not need to "feel" like it. I can continue to work whenever I have time to do so. Beside this I take my time to experiment with other mediums (oil, watercolor) and to study art books. I do the occasional plein-air but this is something I want to intensify. This mixture of producing (to sell), playing (to grow) and studying (to know) works well to me.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jRZN_3kE3R8/U9U154OmeUI/AAAAAAAACxs/iPdaVZM8Pl8/s1600/AoA+OK+Marsh.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jRZN_3kE3R8/U9U154OmeUI/AAAAAAAACxs/iPdaVZM8Pl8/s1600/AoA+OK+Marsh.jpg" height="340" width="640" /></a></div>
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Marsh. 32 x 60cm. Pastel. 2012.</div>
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<b>Polly:</b> <i>Tell us about the art community in Germany: What’s it like? Are there strong art communities with art associations where artists can show? Are there preferred art forms as such painting, landscape, figurative? How difficult is it to acquire recognition and gallery representation</i>?<br />
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<b>Oliver:</b> Hmmm, what I am supposed to answer? The art market in Germany seems very strange to me. Access to the market is rather restricted. There are some artist communities but they are not so much organized in art forms or in mediums. It is quite difficult to get gallery representation especially if you haven't got an art degree. Realism is not very popular or let me say there are not many artist who paint realistically. I try to establish a regional footprint by exhibiting at some places. On the other hand I try to gain some international recognition by publishing articles or via the Pastel Society of America for example. Once people see my paintings I usually sell well. So this gives me hope for the future when I want to increase my production and need to increase my income.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SHRSRC0jF04/U9U2DJprNUI/AAAAAAAACx0/rWHPqBrK4G0/s1600/AoA+OK+Am-Ems-Jade-Kanal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SHRSRC0jF04/U9U2DJprNUI/AAAAAAAACx0/rWHPqBrK4G0/s1600/AoA+OK+Am-Ems-Jade-Kanal.jpg" height="640" width="640" /></a></div>
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Am Ems-Jade-Kanal. 40 x 40cm. Pastel. 2014.</div>
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<b>Polly:</b> <i>Often many artists create a recognizable ‘signature’ for themselves which they maintain and rarely indulge in some artistic ideas they’d like to pursue; do you have any ideas outside of your known ‘signature’ that you’d like to explore with your art</i>?<br />
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<b>Oliver:</b> Yep. I am fully aware of the problem you mentioned. And that is exactly the reason why I try different mediums and play around without the need to produce. Once you created a recognizable 'signature' there is a temptation to stick to it. I see myself on a long path of artistic development so I want to grow as an artist. Sometimes I would like to speed up the process but, I guess one needs to be patient.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ghBVrfualo4/U9ZqCw8ar6I/AAAAAAAACy8/rI1HDAe6kHE/s1600/AoA+OK+Meeresbild+Steine+im+Wasser.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ghBVrfualo4/U9ZqCw8ar6I/AAAAAAAACy8/rI1HDAe6kHE/s1600/AoA+OK+Meeresbild+Steine+im+Wasser.jpg" height="486" width="640" /></a></div>
Steine im Wasser. 30 x 40cm. Pastel. 2010.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ebAB-BUyHUY/U9ZpoFHvyGI/AAAAAAAACys/z6npUncXiv8/s1600/AoA+OK+Steine+im+Wasser+II.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ebAB-BUyHUY/U9ZpoFHvyGI/AAAAAAAACys/z6npUncXiv8/s1600/AoA+OK+Steine+im+Wasser+II.jpg" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
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Steine im Wasser II. 40 x 60cm. Pastel. 2011.</div>
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<b>Polly: </b><i>If you could try your hand at another medium or genre what would it be and why</i>?
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<b>Oliver:</b> I do try oil and watercolor and I love to work with wood. I did some portraits, painted ships and I even painted dogs and cats (commissions). I do not want to be restricted to seascapes and landscapes but this is what challenges me artistically at the moment. After all I believe that it does not matter what you paint. There are everywhere similar challenges to overcome. But I think portaits could be something for me in the future.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-f5lgbdz46gs/U9vDfUXMveI/AAAAAAAAC0M/1KNOp70fY2Y/s1600/Himmel+%C3%BCber+dem+Ijsselmeer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-f5lgbdz46gs/U9vDfUXMveI/AAAAAAAAC0M/1KNOp70fY2Y/s1600/Himmel+%C3%BCber+dem+Ijsselmeer.jpg" height="458" width="640" /></a></div>
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Himmel uber dem Ijsselmeer. 50 x 70cm. Pastel. 2014.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Q7yAOeoeXXc/U9Zp3W0oaqI/AAAAAAAACy0/GU_VAOCflmM/s1600/AoA+OK+Seagull+at+the+beach.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Q7yAOeoeXXc/U9Zp3W0oaqI/AAAAAAAACy0/GU_VAOCflmM/s1600/AoA+OK+Seagull+at+the+beach.jpg" height="456" width="640" /></a></div>
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Seagull at the Beach. 50 x 70cm. Pastel. 2012. </div>
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<b>Polly:</b> <i>I’m curious to know, in your professional opinion; what constitutes as a good piece of art</i>?<br />
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<b>Oliver:</b> A good piece of art to me is a painting, a sculptor or whatever that touches me. Do I feel something by looking at it? This sounds profane but I think it is not. I try not to jugde other peoples artwork but I can say what I like and what not.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_eckh6hPvo0/U9vA74qi5lI/AAAAAAAACzo/oFWSg7HRPj0/s1600/Anse+de+Sainte-Croix.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_eckh6hPvo0/U9vA74qi5lI/AAAAAAAACzo/oFWSg7HRPj0/s1600/Anse+de+Sainte-Croix.jpg" height="464" width="640" /></a></div>
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Anse de Sainte-Croix. 50 x 70cm. Pastel. 2014.</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nE3HduGbV2o/U9vA-A7Yf7I/AAAAAAAACzw/BaWwhaUMdDg/s1600/Anse+de+Sainte-Croix+II.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nE3HduGbV2o/U9vA-A7Yf7I/AAAAAAAACzw/BaWwhaUMdDg/s1600/Anse+de+Sainte-Croix+II.jpg" height="456" width="640" /></a></div>
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Anse de Sainte-Croix. 50 x 70cm. Pastel. 2014.</div>
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<b>Polly:</b> <i>If you could have dinner with one person, dead or alive, who would it be and why</i>?<br />
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<b>Oliver:</b> Vincent van Gogh. I just read a scientific biography by Christoph Arnold about him of more than 1000 pages. It is obvious that his family bended the truth after his death. Many letters he wrote or which he received are lost allegedly. It was understandable that his family and friends tried to put themselves into a positive light shortly after his death. But I think nowadays the truth would be helpful in understanding his art. And although this biography was well researched the conclusions were not always convincing to me as an artist. So although Vincent van Gogh would probably have eaten little with his sensitive stomach the conversation would have been very interesting to me.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2uAz6tcQYss/U9ZpRL6sPFI/AAAAAAAACyk/aq1s4CSd9g8/s1600/AoA+OK+K1024_Nordseebrandung.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2uAz6tcQYss/U9ZpRL6sPFI/AAAAAAAACyk/aq1s4CSd9g8/s1600/AoA+OK+K1024_Nordseebrandung.JPG" height="514" width="640" /></a></div>
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Nordseebrandung. 40 x 50cm. Pastel. 2010.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-aeEot9Sn_Cw/U9vCQd1WAlI/AAAAAAAACz8/IbQMyJIy3a4/s1600/Breaking+Waves+Cote+Bleu.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-aeEot9Sn_Cw/U9vCQd1WAlI/AAAAAAAACz8/IbQMyJIy3a4/s1600/Breaking+Waves+Cote+Bleu.jpg" height="620" width="640" /></a></div>
Breaking Waves Cote Bleu. 40 x 40cm. Pastel. 2014.</div>
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<b>Polly:</b> <i>Who has been the greatest support to you as an artist and how</i>?<br />
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<b>Oliver:</b> My father-in-law who was a real friend to me. Unfortunately he died two years ago. He talked to me a lot about my art and life in general. He was a pastor at the Lutheran Church in Reading, PA. He rode a Harley-Davidson, played many instruments and was a piece of art by himself considering the tatoos he had. He taught me to be self-confident about my art and this was perhaps the most important lesson I learned. Self-criticism is to me the most important skill an artist should have during the painting process. But once your painting is done this has to stop which was not easy for me to learn.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NQwpiv7M-OM/U9ZoUZtFxHI/AAAAAAAACyQ/spzIhDOKJ7A/s1600/About+to+break.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NQwpiv7M-OM/U9ZoUZtFxHI/AAAAAAAACyQ/spzIhDOKJ7A/s1600/About+to+break.jpg" height="278" width="640" /></a></div>
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About to Break. 33 x 77cm. Pastel. 2013.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HYwtT72G01U/U9vDBI8kaTI/AAAAAAAAC0E/yLkN0FH7e_U/s1600/Breaking+Wave.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HYwtT72G01U/U9vDBI8kaTI/AAAAAAAAC0E/yLkN0FH7e_U/s1600/Breaking+Wave.jpg" height="242" width="640" /></a></div>
Breaking Wave. 27 x 68cm. Pastel. 2014.</div>
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<b>Polly:</b> <i>Tell us what your thoughts are on being an artist and what has been the most challenging thing</i>?<br />
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<b>Oliver:</b> The most challenging thing was to realize what I want to do in life. Which is being an artist. Especially as my biography is not the one of an ordinary artist. My income was reliable and secure. And now I am on my way into uncertainty. Even people who do like my art do not comprehend the step I am taking at the moment. And this although my sales figures are rising constantly. It is something one has to come to terms with oneself. But I am looking forward to it. Painting gives my great pleasure. I love the whole process and I am very satisfied once a painting is finished. Two years ago I started to conduct workshops to see whether I do like to teach painting and from September onwards I will be teaching some evening classes. And yes I do like it and people are appreciating my intuitions. But nevertheless teaching needs to be on top or next to painting.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-U3m4PgKiLy0/U9U2QuFDX7I/AAAAAAAACyA/ByMGXN8J7kg/s1600/AoA+OK+himself+Oliver+Kohls-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-U3m4PgKiLy0/U9U2QuFDX7I/AAAAAAAACyA/ByMGXN8J7kg/s1600/AoA+OK+himself+Oliver+Kohls-3.jpg" height="640" width="424" /></a></div>
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Oliver Kohls with his pastels.</div>
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<b>Polly:</b> <i>What words of wisdom would you offer to young and aspiring artists</i>?<br />
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<b>Oliver:</b> Does this question mean I am no longer young and aspiring? No kidding: Trust yourself artistically, go and create! And don't be frustrated by denial. If you want to be successful economically it all comes down to non-artistic skills like marketing, planning and communication. If you get the right balance and if you really enjoy to create it will work out.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wOhp1pzD0h4/U9Zoikt9H6I/AAAAAAAACyY/QjJpAk1JXeM/s1600/A+simple+Wave.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wOhp1pzD0h4/U9Zoikt9H6I/AAAAAAAACyY/QjJpAk1JXeM/s1600/A+simple+Wave.jpg" height="126" width="640" /></a></div>
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A Simple Wave, 17.5 x 85cm. Pastel. 2014. </div>
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<b>Polly:</b> <i>Thank you so much for your time Oliver! And lastly, is there anything else you would like to share with us about you and or your art</i>?<br />
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<b>Oliver:</b> I want to thank you for interviewing me. I hope the people who are reading this interview enjoy my answers. If by coincidence someone from the art community out there thinks my art is okay and could imagine some sort of cooperation I am up for it. Have a look at my website www.oliverkohls.com (it is in German and English) to see my paintings and contact me per email at oliver.kohls@googlemail.com. Thank you!<br />
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<b>Polly:</b> Again, thank you, so much Oliver for your insightful interview and for sharing your work with us. I wish you the very best with your artistic life and endeavors in the future!!<br />
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And thank you to my followers for reading Oliver Kohls wonderful interview. Please feel free to leave a comment below.<br />
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Cheers, ~ Polly ~<br />
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To learn more about Oliver Kohls and to see his work please visit his web-site, blog and Facebook page.<br />
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Website: www.oliverkohls.com<br />
Blog: http://kuestenbilder.blogspot.com<br />
Facebook: www.facebook.com/kuestenbilderSeip Fine Arthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14735530936798470898noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132107618926525653.post-33642283600995797112014-06-14T09:21:00.001-04:002014-06-15T11:02:02.166-04:00Coming Home ...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Plein-air 'Trek' - 'Coming Home'.</div>
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18" x 30". Oil on Birch Panel. 2013.</div>
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Copyright.</div>
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If interested in this piece, please inquire <a href="mailto:seipfineart@gmail.com">here</a>.</div>
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This morning I realised I had never posted a photo of this finished plein-air painting, </div>
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I did late last summer, which was the very beginnings of my "plein-air 'Trek'" adventures. </div>
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Here is the original <a href="http://pollyseipfineart.blogspot.com/2013/08/plein-air-efforts-of-day.html" target="_blank">plein-air 'trek'</a> blog post from last last summer.</div>
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My not having a car is very difficult on so many levels.</div>
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Reason being is, I simply can't afford one at the present time.</div>
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I try to do my best with what I have ....</div>
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I started using my bike last year as a mode of transportation </div>
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to potential and local plein-air painting sites. </div>
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This cute house with its wild flower yard is located just about a mile from my studio.</div>
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Discovered this gem of a place while out for one of my morning walks a few years ago ... </div>
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And simply fell in love with the house emerging through the shrubs and wild flowers! </div>
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It took a long time to acquire the home owners permission to paint on their property,</div>
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simply because they just weren't home a lot of the time.</div>
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In the meantime I planned and prepared how I was going to transport</div>
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all of my plein-air gear to the location ...</div>
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Finally! One morning ... they were home and granted me permission! </div>
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Within a few days ... I was happily rode my bike to their house</div>
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and spent to morning painting their cute homestead and their lovely wild flowers!</div>
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Phase #1</div>
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On site Day #1.</div>
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The light shifted, so it was time to go home for lunch.</div>
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On site: Day #2.</div>
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Please stay tuned for more plein-air painting adventures from the studio!</div>
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Cheers, ~ Polly ~</div>
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[Later Edit]: Adding additional photos.</div>
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Seip Fine Arthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14735530936798470898noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132107618926525653.post-138644240480047142014-06-09T11:28:00.001-04:002014-06-09T17:23:51.295-04:00Sunshine and Sails ...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BDGxTQyDpDc/U5XEy7qBgzI/AAAAAAAACuE/9zh0N9RPVeM/s1600/Bino+191.+Sunshine+and+Sails.+18x66.+2014.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BDGxTQyDpDc/U5XEy7qBgzI/AAAAAAAACuE/9zh0N9RPVeM/s1600/Bino+191.+Sunshine+and+Sails.+18x66.+2014.JPG" height="200" width="640" /></a></div>
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Binoculars #191 - Sunshine and Sails.</div>
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18" x 66". Oil on Gessoed Sandply Panel. 2014. Copyright.<br />
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Gallery Location to be Announced ...</div>
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It was a most glorious day! </div>
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The Sun was shining bright, the water was sparkling,</div>
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and white sails peppered the horizon!</div>
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Sparkling water is always a challenge ... </div>
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And what I enjoyed creating the illusion of sparkling water was</div>
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using the paint itself, in the regards of thick and thin.</div>
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Though, it doesn't translate in the photograph, </div>
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this piece has a lot of texture, which I like.</div>
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I've been embracing more texture with my paintings since, my format has gotten so much larger.</div>
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Being able to 'play with paint' is incredibly liberating and that allows for the artist's energy </div>
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to transfer itself into a piece, which I'm finding to be far more important in a painting, </div>
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than just a 'pretty' painting that is painted well.</div>
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The artist's Spirit and the painting's energy, its voice should resonate with its viewer. </div>
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If you have any questions about this painting, please feel free to ask,<br />
by leaving your question either in the comment section or sending me an <a href="mailto:seipfineart@gmail.com">email</a>.<br />
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Please stay tuned for more what's new from the studio!</div>
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Thank you and Cheers, ~ Polly ~</div>
Seip Fine Arthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14735530936798470898noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132107618926525653.post-16780606617251202342014-06-03T08:53:00.001-04:002014-06-09T17:24:13.448-04:00Fine Day for a Sail ...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Binoculars #190 - Fine Day for a Sail.</div>
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18" x 72". Oil on Birch Panel. 2014. Copright. </div>
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Custom Artist Made Floating Frame. </div>
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Overall weight with frame 19.2lbs </div>
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Available at <a href="http://www.susanpowellfineart.com/">Susan Powell Fine Art</a></div>
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Another painting that was waiting to happen. ‘Fine Day for a Sail’ certainly is its namesake … for that day, there were dozens of sailboats out on the water, and amongst all those sailboats there was a sailing race occurring, far out on Long Island Sound. What I enjoyed about creating this piece was using the palette knife a lot and, leaving certain ‘beginning’ marks in the sky and keeping it lose, and later discovering the element of the ‘pairings’ that occurred somewhat unintentionally in the painting; the couple facing each other on the sailboat in the foreground, the seagulls standing next to each other on the rocks, the sailboats paired in the distance … much like a double happiness. I also loved how the shadows from the clouds fell on the water as the sailboats weaved their way in and out of them as they crossed the water.<br />
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If you have any questions about this painting, please feel free to ask,<br />
by leaving your question either in the comment section or sending me an <a href="mailto:seipfineart@gmail.com">email</a>.<br />
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Please stay tuned for more what's new from the studio!</div>
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Thank you and Cheers, ~ Polly ~</div>
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Seip Fine Arthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14735530936798470898noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132107618926525653.post-83691574174409411892014-06-01T08:25:00.002-04:002015-02-12T12:30:30.584-05:00Artist on Artist Interview with Sarah Park<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">For this month's Artist on Artist interview, it gives great pleasure in welcoming fine art photographer (who is also my sister), Sarah Park, to my studio blog! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I am very familiar with much of Sarah's work given the fact I am her younger sister and have taken part in a number of her photography projects over the years, and we even had a 'sister' show together a few years ago. Since, Sarah is my sister, it may seem only natural that I may know a fair amount about her work, but actually that's not the case. Believe it or not, Sarah's work has always been a bit of a mystery to me, I say this because our styles, choices of subject matter and mediums, are so very different from each when, we as sisters, share many similar things and traits. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">And now without any further adieu here is Sarah's interview along with selected works ...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Polly: </b><i>Hello Sarah, and welcome to my studio blog, it's a pleasure to have you here! Would you mind telling us why you chose photography as your medium? </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Sarah: </b>I'm not sure to quote Bob Ross on this one or not but it was more of a "happy accident". Along time ago, the Pittsburgh Public School system was courted by the Manchester Craftsman Guild to recruit inner city high school kids to learn about ceramics and/or photography. It was there we met the 2 departments and the instructors. We stepped into the ceramics department, it was dusty, smelled like wet earth and the instructors were very hipped out. To my young 14 year old mind....NEXT please!</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Then we went to the photography department, there was this wonderfully animated man,<a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lonnie-Graham/113107052037511"> Lonnie Graham</a>. He collected all of us into a 10 x 10 room with no apparent windows, turned off the lights and removed a tiny piece of paper that had been covering a hole. We were in a giant camera obscura. It was magical, wild and Lonnie made photography intriguing. However I did not choose photography as my medium until my sophomore year in college. The final deciding factor was a windy day, a 6' x 6' wet painting and veridian green.</span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">August 20, 1831.</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Polly:</b> <i>Would you please describe your earliest memories when you realized you knew you were an artist?</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Sarah: </b>The earliest memory I realized I was an artist or wanted to be an artist was when I was 4 years old. I had created a painting with a BIG brush and the most amazing colors. I can instantly recall the memory and the feeling of complete satisfaction, I had been given my answer, it has always felt right, then and now.</span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Rebirth #1</span></i></div>
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<b>Polly:</b> <i>Could you tell us about your education and training?</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Sarah: </b>I would have to say I received my formal nuts and bolts training at Schenley High School. It was the best Performing and Visual Arts High School in Pittsburgh. At Maryland Institute College of Art, I fell in love with the magic of B&W photography and Alternative Processes. After college, the journey still continues, especially in the Digital age. I take workshops and classes at Rhode Island School of Design, the Photographers Formulary and local workshops.</span><br />
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<b>Polly:</b> <i>In your own words, would you please describe your style?</i></span><br />
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<b>Sarah: </b>Neo-Antiqurian, Victorian Macabre with a splash of childhood wonder and playfulness.</span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Rebirth #3</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Polly:</b> <i>Tell us about your influences and studio routine; when do you like to photograph, how do you find inspiration to create, how often do you use a ‘darkroom’, what goes into creating a Sarah Park photograph? </i> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Sarah: </b> As photographer, Robert Adams poignantly said, "I hear the leaves I love the light". There is no truer statement. I like to photograph using natural sunlight most but I do have a great set of Tota lights. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">- As a creator there is never enough time, money and everything in between. Artists are junkies that way. Since the dawn of my existence, my studio has been everywhere however I declared the bedroom off limits as a studio space. That is a different kind of studio, great for anatomy but I digress. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">- My darkrooms, after college have been in closets and bathrooms. I do have a proper darkroom now. I go through periods of dormancy, where I visually collect ideas and photo props. Then one day I'll pick up my camera and start to photograph whether it is on the dining room table, on the floor, outside, on a flower or a cocktail napkin. That is my studio space and how I create.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">- Inspiration and Influences (I am constantly adding to) from many places: the light, a memory, a feeling. Dutch and Flemish paintings. The Victorian house I grew up in and its wavy glass in the windows. Dappled sunlight. Textures of fabric, paper, wood, etc. My frame shop is a huge influence. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. Scientific Illustrations. Beatrix Potter. Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The Red Balloon, the 1956 film by Albert Lamorisse. My husband, <a href="http://pollyseipfineart.blogspot.com/2013/02/artist-on-artist-interview-with-gray.html">H. Gray Park</a>. My late dog Lucy and our walks in the park. And the list goes on!!!! So many wonderful people, places and things to be inspired by!!</span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Rebirth #4.</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Polly: </b><i>You own a fine art conservation frame shop, Sarah Park Fine Art Conservation Framing LLC, located in the Velvet Mill of Stonington, CT - tell us a little about that? </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Sarah: </b>10 years ago My Father-in-law and I opened a frame shop/gallery specifically geared towards artists and beginning collectors. Last year he went into "soft" retirement and handed the business over to me. I have updated the name and appearance to the shop yet we still offer ... in my opinion, one of the BEST selections of frames (over 4,000) in Southeastern Connecticut. We offer COMPLETE museum quality framing, no matter what the piece is, from a child's drawing to an Alexander Calder. There are some framers that throw the words "Conservation and Museum quality" around like a tennis ball in a dog park. We have 100% cotton rag mats, custom made fabric wrap mats, and our fancy in house custom made Italian mat. We use 99% UV glazing and completely acid free rag backing board with an inert substrate. Stop on by!!! ha ha</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> The shop's influence: </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I love what I do for my "day job", it provides a huge amount of inspiration for me. I have some amazing customers with amazing artwork that entrust us with it. Designing, fitting, installing artwork, restoring a piece, you develop a brief but influential relationship with the artwork. The range of my influences include paper ephemera that we have framed, such as local colonial registers and letters; the Penmanship alone is inspiring! A Josef Albers silk screen, a Shoson Ohara wood block or a Nan Goldin photograph, all add to the mix of visual ingredients. Like I said, I love my "job", it really feels like an extension of Art School.</span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9R0uqBzoGUk/U4UhVbKPh3I/AAAAAAAACp0/glSxU0DwaqE/s1600/Wood_Thrush.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9R0uqBzoGUk/U4UhVbKPh3I/AAAAAAAACp0/glSxU0DwaqE/s1600/Wood_Thrush.JPG" height="640" width="425" /></span></a></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Wood Thrush.</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Solar Plate Etching. Arches Watercolor Paper.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Polly: </b><i>Tell us about your choice of cameras?</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Sarah:</b> I have used and enjoyed many types of cameras, from homemade oatmeal containers (no there was no oatmeal left in there) to 5 x 7 field camera. But the real answer to the question is what lens do I like to use. Depending on the idea and the subject I choose accordingly. I am currently using my Canon 7D, alternating between my Lensbaby and Macro lens. For my B&W film camera I use my Dad's old Canon AE-1. My dream camera would be anything Leica.</span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-N3bpwVrVOZQ/U4UfAeLekSI/AAAAAAAACps/CYlzkraXb9E/s1600/Mrs._Haversham%2527s_Flowers_2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-N3bpwVrVOZQ/U4UfAeLekSI/AAAAAAAACps/CYlzkraXb9E/s1600/Mrs._Haversham%2527s_Flowers_2.JPG" height="640" width="424" /></span></a></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Mrs. Havershaw's Flowers </span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Polly: </b><i>Today, Photography is widely available to everyone because of smart phone cameras, photo apps, and social platforms such as Instagram; what are your thoughts on this and what does a fine art photographer have to do differently in order to stand out? </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Sarah: </b>The Brownie, one of Kodak's first mass produced camera, made photography accessible to everyone!!! Think of how many yard sales one has been to and inevitably there is an old box camera sweltering in the hot sun looking very sad. The iPhone, Instagram, photo apps are the Modern day equivalents. The difference is within the individual and what you do with the 10,000 images you have stored on your computer, cloud or external hard drive. An artist has inherent drive to communicate and share their idea. Whatever the medium, they take the steps to show up, get set up, paint, print, sculpt, reprint, break down, alter if necessary. Present it to a gallery or institution to establish a venue, share and sell their work. Making art requires thought, feeling and A LOT of effort.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">-As far as social media, blogs, etc. The jury is still out on that one. I feel bottle necked in a hypocritical dialogue in my head. I love seeing what the world is doing but in the same breath, I feel that ideas are precious especially when given the chance to really develop. I guess I'd like to see some balance.</span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-z-XI1ngdspE/U4S7HACRg_I/AAAAAAAACpA/lcTqxtepHqU/s1600/Male_swimmer_%231.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-z-XI1ngdspE/U4S7HACRg_I/AAAAAAAACpA/lcTqxtepHqU/s1600/Male_swimmer_%231.JPG" height="425" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Male Swimmer #1</span></i></div>
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<b>Polly:</b> <i>Tell us about your new series and how it came to be?</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Sarah:</b> My new series. I have been enjoying the playful side of my creative being. It's been a little like stepping through my own personal looking glass. The HO scale figures are my "Alice in Wonderland". How it came to be is another "happy accident". At our frame shop we were restoring a ship diorama. The ship was missing some of it's crew. So it was off to the hobby shop to replace the missing crew. After we were done restoring the ship there were some left over HO scale figures, we ended up placing them around the shop on electrical switches, the fire extinguisher, etc. 6 months later in a quiet prepared moment I photographed one. Again the answer presented itself to me and it felt right. Now I'm a HO scale collecting fool.</span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Heoing.</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Polly: </b><i>Are there some artistic ideas you’d like to explore with your photography, but haven’t yet and what are they?</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Sarah: </b>Yes of course. Like the 6th Book of Harry Potter or Season 7 of Doc Martin, good things come to those who wait.</span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Xhas-zzcsy0/U4S7L-j5aeI/AAAAAAAACpQ/Q-v6d2_ZPoA/s1600/I_told_you_Bunny.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Xhas-zzcsy0/U4S7L-j5aeI/AAAAAAAACpQ/Q-v6d2_ZPoA/s1600/I_told_you_Bunny.JPG" height="425" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>I told you, Bunny.</i> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Polly:</b> <i>If you could try your hand at another medium or genre what would it be and why?</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Sarah: </b>Printmaking, silk screens in particular. For their boldness. And Bookmaking, because I love book making.</span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-f7hajqPUkmU/U4S54iNVvUI/AAAAAAAACoo/9_swKtDH2TY/s1600/In_the_Garden.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-f7hajqPUkmU/U4S54iNVvUI/AAAAAAAACoo/9_swKtDH2TY/s1600/In_the_Garden.JPG" height="425" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In the Garden.</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Polly: </b><i>If you could have dinner with one person, dead or alive, who would it be and why?</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Sarah: </b>Jim Henson, he was so creative!!!! His sense of humor I just love. His sense of whimsy and fantasy was infinite. It would just be cool to brainstorm!!!!</span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0nENPgPvjTs/U4S6CcJJMNI/AAAAAAAACow/olRIJ4MbOOo/s1600/Star_of_Bethelem.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0nENPgPvjTs/U4S6CcJJMNI/AAAAAAAACow/olRIJ4MbOOo/s1600/Star_of_Bethelem.JPG" height="640" width="425" /></span></a></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Star of Bethelem</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Polly:</b> <i>Who has been the greatest support to you as an artist and how?</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Sarah: </b>Being married to a fellow artist is a support in of itself. There is an inherent understanding.</span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yMKbeq-dGlQ/U4S6HhnRagI/AAAAAAAACo4/jk-Pggf88ns/s1600/Running_through_the_Crocus.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yMKbeq-dGlQ/U4S6HhnRagI/AAAAAAAACo4/jk-Pggf88ns/s1600/Running_through_the_Crocus.JPG" height="640" width="425" /></span></a></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Running through the Crocuses.</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Polly: </b><i>What has been most challenging for you as an artist?</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Sarah:</b> Time. Time. Time. Carving out time in this busy world we live in. However having said that, It CAN be done!!!</span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Hh3Rc4r52u8/U4S4Jb2JB8I/AAAAAAAACoM/88tNcZ62UwI/s1600/Red_bathing_suit.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Hh3Rc4r52u8/U4S4Jb2JB8I/AAAAAAAACoM/88tNcZ62UwI/s1600/Red_bathing_suit.JPG" height="425" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Red Bathing Suit.</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Polly:</b> <i>Tell us what your thoughts are on being an artist?</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Sarah: </b>It's like the Peace Corp motto, "It's the toughest job you'll ever love".</span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Black Bathing Suit #2.</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Polly:</b> <i>If you were conducting this interview what one question would you ask yourself and what would the answer be?</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Sarah:</b> I would ask about what kind of papers do you like to print on?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">- My answer would be many including B&W fiber base, AGFA warm tone fiber base paper. For my cyanotypes, Linen, vintage cocktail napkins. For my solar plate etchings, Rives BFK paper and lastly I am investigating printing on vellum.</span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tHWhiVZO0F4/U4S41O-S7zI/AAAAAAAACoc/m4jA9j7kyzI/s1600/Chartruese_Pulpit_2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tHWhiVZO0F4/U4S41O-S7zI/AAAAAAAACoc/m4jA9j7kyzI/s1600/Chartruese_Pulpit_2.JPG" height="640" width="425" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Chartreuse Pulpit #2</i> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Polly:</b> <i>What words of wisdom would you offer to young, aspiring artists?</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Sarah: </b>Thinking back on question 18. My original answer was "Follow your passion and be true to it". There is no truer statement. It is how, what and when you decide your passion is that matters. It might be in finance, science, medicine or the arts. If you rest upon the arts, please remember the above quote because the dailiness of the arts can challenge you in ways that make you wish you dealt in commodities instead. Being a working artist means you wear all sorts of different hats. Your hats include the art cap, the salesman hat, the negotiator hat, the bankers hat, the computer tech hat with a host of other hats to vast to mention. It can be exhausting to be an artist. You might have to have a "day job". I do but it was a choice. You ALWAYS have a choice. As an artist your pockets might not be deep but the soulful wealth of being an artist satisfies to the heart and marrow.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Thank You for asking me all of these really great questions and having me on your blog. I feel honored. :-)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Polly: </b>Thank you so much, Sarah, for taking the time to give us some wonderful insights into your art and life! Wishing you the very best with your artistic journey!! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">To learn more about Sarah Park and her fine art photography, please visit her Facebook page.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Facebook: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/SarahParkFineArtConservationFramingLlc">Sarah Park Fine Art Conservation Framing LLC</a></span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-T9f7n75-_Qs/U4jbtS0igeI/AAAAAAAACqw/gFpj5XBKdE8/s1600/photo+(3).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-T9f7n75-_Qs/U4jbtS0igeI/AAAAAAAACqw/gFpj5XBKdE8/s1600/photo+(3).JPG" height="200" width="159" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Website: <a href="http://www.parkfinearts.com/">www.parkfinearts.com</a> (under construction)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Blog: <a href="http://www.parkfinearts.wordpress.com/">www.parkfinearts.wordpress.com</a></span><br />
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Seip Fine Arthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14735530936798470898noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132107618926525653.post-88697004777591420702014-04-01T07:28:00.000-04:002015-02-12T12:31:47.402-05:00Artist on Artist Interview with Michael Helfen.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oqQTXyShE7A/VNzbmy0C-II/AAAAAAAADGs/t_-h94Vw-R0/s1600/AoA%2BIMAGE%2B3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oqQTXyShE7A/VNzbmy0C-II/AAAAAAAADGs/t_-h94Vw-R0/s200/AoA%2BIMAGE%2B3.jpg" /></a></div>
For this month's Artist on Artist interview it gives me great pleasure in introducing Cape Cod Painter, Michael Helfen.<br />
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I first discovered Helfen's work through Facebook in the Quintessential New England Painters art group. His work stood out to me because of it's sheer energy and freshness. Just by looking at Helfen's work, one can almost hear his brush moving across the canvas as he lays down the paint and almost seems at the ready to start the next painting.
Helfen is primarily a self-taught artist and his work is unhindered by the formal training of an art school education. Helfen's work has a freedom, a sense of spirit, and an innocence like that of a child, which why I enjoy seeing in his work. Because of Helfen's late discovery of painting, he is extremely prolific and has a confidence which exudes a lot of energy and, sometimes almost unpredictable brushstrokes and handling of paint; albeit in his watercolors, acrylics or oils.
For the past 6 years, Helfen's work has appeared in the Cape Cod Art Association, the Cultural Center of Cape Cod, and the Chatham Creative Arts, all the while making a name for himself on Cape Cod. Helfen is also an active member of some important painting groups on Facebook which include: American Impressionist Society, Inc., and Seascapes, Dunes, Marine, and Coastal Painters.
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And now without further adieu here is Helfen's interview along with selected works. <br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Artist on Artist Interview with Michael Helfen</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Michael Helfen.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Polly: </b>Hello Michael and welcome to my studio blog. It's a pleasure to have you here. Would you mind telling us where you are from and why you choose to paint?</span></div>
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<b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Michael: </b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I live on </span><u style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></u><u style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></u><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Cape Cod</span><u style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></u><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">, more specifically East Sandwich, Massachusetts. I have spent my life as an English teacher (44 years). During that time I have always dabbled in my avocations: writing, directing theater, acting, playing musical instruments. Then I started taking lots of photos. Always did, from the time I was a little boy and owned my own Brownie Kodak box camera. I did craft fairs with my photos, and one day, my wife Donna who was taking a watercolor class at the local high school decided she didn't like the way the course was being taught and offered me her watercolors. I told her, “I can't draw or paint.” She said why don't you take one of your photos you like and try to paint it. I had taught a course in the humanities at the local community college for many years and knew just enough about the theory of painting to get into trouble, so I did. I tried my hand at a little five by seven. When my wife saw it, she said it was pretty good. Donna is my muse. I trust her judgment. She matted it up and I took it to my next photo show. Someone saw it and said they liked my “cat under the deck.” My wife and I knew that cat under the deck was a muddied shadow I didn't</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> know how to handle. The nice woman asked, “What do you call this painting?” I said, “Cat Under Deck.” She bought it, and I have been painting ever since. Sorry for the long response. That was sixteen years ago. But how I got here is probably the true nature of how any artist gets where they are going. Art is such a layered experience. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px;">Oil on Canvas. 6" x 8". 2011.</span><b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px;"> </b></div>
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<b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px;">Polly: </b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px;">Would you please describe your earliest memories when you realized you were an artist?</span></div>
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<b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px;">Michael:</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px;"> I think my response to question 1 says most of it. But I might add that I have always been a cloud reader and a tree reader, not a tea leaf reader. I see faces and objects in everything. Even as a little boy, I had more fun creating my own reality. Don’t get me wrong. Sports have always been a large part of my life, but my imagination and how to express it goes back forever.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: left;">'<i>Chatham Shore Road Cottage</i>' </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: left;">Oil on Canvas. 16" x 20". 2011.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Polly: </b>Could you tell us about your education and training?</span><br />
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<b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Michael: </b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I have no formal background in painting or the visual arts. When Donna, my wife/muse offered me her watercolor materials, she said, you write, you direct theater. You have a sense of design, color, order, balance, symmetry. There were all the elements of art that repeat themselves in music, theater, acting, writing, so why not at least give myself the chance to see what I can do. After I sold that first little watercolor, I started reading every magazine article I could. I got magazines from the library. I went on line and read articles, went to You Tube. Then, I started going to local art guild demos. When I wasn’t immersed in learning that way, I bought more materials and just painted and painted. Then I wanted to know what oil was all about, so I did the same thing with oils. I guess I felt a little like Forest Gump, now that I think about it. </span><u style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></u><u style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></u><u style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></u><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Run</span><u style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></u><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><u style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></u><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Forest</span><u style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></u><u style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></u><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">, Run. Paint, Michael, Paint. Didn’t know enough to stop, and I kept being reward by locals compliments. And every now and again, I would sell something. So, the carrot was always out there. After a while, I wasn’t ashamed of being self taught. I thought most successful artists have their own skill sets and are self taught. A class improves the skill set. The art classes don’t give the artist a skill set. Same with athletes or actors. Athletes have their skills and organized spots help hone those skills. When I directed, I gave young actors the chance to get better, but they came to me with talent. Am I off topic here?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">'<i>At the Harbor</i>' </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Watercolor. 16" x 8". 2013.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Polly: </b>In your own words, please describe your style?</span><br />
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<b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Michael: </b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I wish I could say, I have one particular style. If I had to put a word to it, it would be impressionistic. I am more intrigued by how something I find beautiful or attractive makes me feel. When I see it, I feel it, and I let it go on the paper or canvas. It was the same way I directed a play, acted a part, and played my music. There is a lot of improvisation in my soul, I guess. So that makes me an improvisational impressionist.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; text-align: left;">Helfen at work in his studio ..</span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: left;">. </i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Polly: </b>Tell us about your studio routine – when do you like to paint; how do you get into a rhythm. Do you work on one piece at a time or multiples, and how do you find inspiration, etc.?</span><br />
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<b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Michael:</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> You might not believe this, but I get up between </span><u style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></u><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">3:00 a.m.</span><u style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></u><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> and </span><u style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></u><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">4:00 a.m.</span><u style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></u><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> almost every day. I think I am one of those short sleepers. Because I fell in love with painting so late in life, 50 years of age, best I can remember, I figured I had a lot of making up time and experience to do. I believe in what Malcolm Gladwell said in “The Outliers.” He said every successful person had put in 10,000 hours to get where they were: be it sports, music, art. I believe in that theory. If I hadn't felt myself getting better, I might have stopped, but people keep making me feel good about what I was and am doing, so I typically get up at </span><span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1231961508" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;" tabindex="0">3:30</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">, stop in the kitchen, make a pot of coffee, go to what used to be the walk out basement with lots of windows for when the sun comes up, put on my overhead lights and my art light with high intensity bulbs to recreate daylight (In theater we call them fresnels or Kliegels), putter around with my reference photos, take out my oil paints which I seem to be doing more and more of, and decide whether I will first put a ground on a canvas or two or a board, then touch up a detail on a work in progress, chalk or charcoal details for a new painting on a canvas from my reference photos, turn on the radio to my FM classical station. That kind of music settles me, excites me, swallows me up. I do not want words when I am painting. I sometimes might put a sound track of a film on the CD player, but then I get preconceived images of what was going on in the movie. I just want my body to react to what I am painting and the rhythm of the music gets in sync with my process. I always have to have several pieces going on at one time. That way I don’t get too down, bored, squirrely. I just keep changing up when my attention span or mood wanes, and with me, it will. Some people can work on one thing forever. Hats off to them. That’s not my style, not me. I do not know where my inspiration comes from. I have always been in love with life. I have always thrown myself into things completely. I think it is the child in me. I cannot shake him. He’s my forever friend. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Watercolor. 12" x 16". 2011.</span></div>
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<b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Polly: </b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Is there anything specific you look for in your painting, or do you just let things happen in their own nature?</span></div>
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<b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Michael: </b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I have an idea, more a feeling when I begin each work. I guess that is where the inspiration is, and I have little epiphanies as to what I want. I don’t try to out-think</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> it. I don’t want to outguess myself. My wife is always amazed that I can get up in the dark, sneak off to my basement studio at that ungodly hour and find something special that excites me. I have never been threatened or afraid of the blank canvas or the blank page. When I acted, if I forgot a line, I improvised. When I teach, which I still do as an adjunct, I try to never repeat myself. My wife and I are yin and yang. She is “Look before you leap.” She is very organized. I am “He who hesitates is lost.” So, she balances me out, as I do her. By the way, she is a doll maker, a very successful one whose work has been displayed in the Smithsonian in </span><u style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></u><u style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></u><u style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></u><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Washington</span><u style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></u><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><u style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></u><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">D.C.</span><u style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></u><u style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></u><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> She asks me about color for her doll clothes and accessories. Her studio is right next to mine. We can work for hours next to each other with hardly a word between the two of us. When she gets up in the morning at a human hour, she will come down to my studio and flick the lights behind me so as not to rattle me or give me a heart attack. Usually the sun has come up and is pouring through the windows. I don’t even notice. She examines what I have done, offers her suggestions, critiques, and usually says: "Are you done with that?" as if to say I am not done. Or she will say, "Put the brush down and step away from the canvas."</span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Nc-RlwL3oIs/Uycu4kKo-tI/AAAAAAAACiU/uNSohXp6x6U/s1600/AoA+MH+Black+row+boat.+Oil.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Nc-RlwL3oIs/Uycu4kKo-tI/AAAAAAAACiU/uNSohXp6x6U/s1600/AoA+MH+Black+row+boat.+Oil.jpg" height="265" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Oil on Canvas. 6" x 8". 2011.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Polly: </b>Do you listen to music while you paint?, and if so, what kind of tunes can we expect to hear?</span><br />
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<b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Michael: </b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I think I answered this already. It is whatever Steve Murphy is playing on FM 107.5. Ironically he was one of my students where I taught high school more than thirty years ago. I thought he was nestled somewhere on the outer Cape from where the station transmits, but he contacted me through Facebook and told me he lives in Southern California and creates his programming for several stations and send them over the air to them. The other day I sent him a FB message and told him the colors are mine but the strokes are his and Vivaldi’s (the red prince), Mozart’s,. Beethoven’s Roderigo’s, Wagner, </span><u style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></u><u style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></u><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Offenbach</span><u style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></u><u style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></u><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">’s etc.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Helfen's studio ...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Polly: </b>Who are your top five favorite artists (dead and or alive) and why?</span><br />
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<b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Michael: </b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The impressionists are where my heart is. Van Gogh: I love his colors and strokes; Cezanne: I love his pastel like colors and his geometrics; and Renoir: I love the way he paints people, in particular. I also like Lionel Feininger for his unique sense of color and geometry; Andrew Wyeth for subject and mood. And a local guy still very much alive with whom I have been fortunate enough to paint several times at his </span><span class="aBn" data-term="goog_1231961509" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;" tabindex="0">Monday</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> Night Painters group: Paul Schulenburg. Toss in Picasso and Marc Chagall for their child like presence, and you have a good idea where my heart lies. Oops, that's more than five, isn't it?</span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QNwpHEb1mgo/UycwXAy2vJI/AAAAAAAACig/GsywinFdg6g/s1600/AoA+MH+I%2527ll+Have+Water+on+the+Rocks+Please.+Oil.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QNwpHEb1mgo/UycwXAy2vJI/AAAAAAAACig/GsywinFdg6g/s1600/AoA+MH+I%2527ll+Have+Water+on+the+Rocks+Please.+Oil.jpg" height="308" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">'<i>Water on the Rocks</i>'</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> Oil on Canvas. 8" x 10". 2013. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Polly: </b>Your work is primarily done on small standard size canvases. Could you tell us why this is so, and do you have any plans on working with larger, perhaps custom size canvases?</span><br />
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<b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Michael: </b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I have a small house by all standards. Some of my friends have larger work spaces for example; one artist friend who has been in </span><u style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></u><u style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></u><u style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></u><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">New York</span><u style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></u><u style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></u><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> galleries and taught at Parson’s has converted his garage. He has pieces 6 feet by 8 feet. He has to rent a truck to transport them to a show. We were both showing in the Arts Foundation juried winter show. I had a 20" x 24" piece. He had the 6' x 8' piece. Who do you think had the easier time transporting the work, never mind the framing and storage expense. If someone hires me to do a much larger painting, I will find a way to get it done. I am quite inventive with space. It is part of my theater director experience. I adapt well. The largest piece I have done is 30" x 30". I do have several canvases stacked away in the studio are that are 48" x 36" and 60" x 15", more like the size I see you work with. One word for that: Someday.</span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Mir73B12_w0/UycxE9I79VI/AAAAAAAACio/tVSiMC65f2c/s1600/AoA+MH+Courtyard+Acrylic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Mir73B12_w0/UycxE9I79VI/AAAAAAAACio/tVSiMC65f2c/s1600/AoA+MH+Courtyard+Acrylic.jpg" height="307" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">'<i>Mediterranean Courtyard</i>'</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> Acrylic on Canvas. 16" x 20". 2013. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Polly: </b>If you could try your hand at another medium or genre, what would it be and why?</span><br />
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<b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Michael: </b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I have tried watercolor, acrylic, as well as water miscible oils. I like each for the subject. I play with watercolor first for its delicacy and lightness. Florals and some marine offerings. Then I go for the oils when I fell like I need to get rugged and masculine. I like to mix it up and make lots of changes; oil will forgive me. When I think really modern, I get down and dirty with acrylic. Donna says no ponies or pastels in the house. You can tell a lot about how messy I am. I know where some of my weaknesses are.</span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kLAB8h_dXHE/UydRwPHIdyI/AAAAAAAACkM/x6HogM3PdnU/s1600/Z+AoA+MH+Studio+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kLAB8h_dXHE/UydRwPHIdyI/AAAAAAAACkM/x6HogM3PdnU/s1600/Z+AoA+MH+Studio+1.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Another view of Helfen's studio ...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Polly: </b>Do you consider yourself to be an extrovert or an introvert, or a combination of the two?</span><br />
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<b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Michael: </b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I am definitely a combination. I can mix it up with the best of them, but my job has always determined that. You cannot be an effective teacher as an introvert. Yet, I love my solitude. Living on </span><u style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></u><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Cape Cod</span><u style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></u><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> is the right place for me if I can’t have </span><u style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></u><u style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></u><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Italy</span><u style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></u><u style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></u><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> or the South of France. It’s funny, I never feel alone when I am painting. I am always talking to myself with my inner voice. Lots of conversation going on there. I usually feel more vulnerable at art shows and openings. So, maybe I am more an introvert. But once a week this semester, I instruct a writing class of 22 students for three straight hours, and I enjoy it. Go figure. Ironically, I remember the head of guidance telling students where I taught: Have Mr. Helfen write your letter of recommendation if you know him. He paints portraits of his students with words. Maybe she was the first to know where I was really going with this painting thing.</span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tQVQBu_94k8/UycxwPkNfNI/AAAAAAAACiw/ghZUncddUgE/s1600/AoA+MH+Big+Red+Poppi+Acrylic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tQVQBu_94k8/UycxwPkNfNI/AAAAAAAACiw/ghZUncddUgE/s1600/AoA+MH+Big+Red+Poppi+Acrylic.jpg" height="392" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">'<i>Big Red Poppy</i>' </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Acrylic on Canvas. 24" x 24". 2010.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Polly: </b>If you could have dinner with one person, dead or alive, who would it be and why?</span><br />
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<b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Michael: </b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I really do not know. I want to be profound here, but who really has the answers? And to what questions? Maybe Steve Martin, we were both born on the same day and in same year. We are both Renaissance men. We both like to tell a good joke or even a bad one. We both like philosophy. We both play musical instruments, write, act, direct. I don’t really know if he paints, but he has become a household name. I’d probably like to know if balloon blowing made all the difference. But then there is always my father whose best advice to me was, “Son, if you want to be a good man, don’t do anything I've ever done.” He’s gone now, but I’d like to know what he’d done to say that.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Oil on Canvas. 10" x 20". 2011.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Polly: </b>Who has been the greatest support to you as an artist?</span><br />
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<b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Michael:</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> My wife Donna, no doubt. She has always believed in me. When my work is bad, she says so. She doesn’t want me to embarrass myself. When I need praise, she is there for me. She supports my efforts and gets as excited and sometimes more than I do when I make a sale or win recognition of any kind. And she recognized my talent and encouraged it from the day I painted the “Cat under Deck.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Helfen and his wife, Donna ... </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Polly: </b>What has been the most challenging for you as an artist?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Michael: </b>Developing patience with my work. I tend to run before I can walk. I have to take time to slow down. Painting has become an exercise is meditation. It has helped my blood pressure, I am quite sure. Anything is possible if I just give it time and don’t rush. Being free and loose. I am not afraid to make mistakes. I find mistakes find me, and that is how I learn. I almost have to do something wrong before I get it right, whatever right might be. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Finally. realizing that art is a business and not just a hobby, trying to understand pricing my work. Early on, people were telling me I was giving away my work. I have to get used to the fact that my worth in the market place is increasing. I just have to constantly think about that worth factor.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">'<i>Catch the Wind</i>' </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Watercolor. 8" x 10". 2010. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Polly: </b>Tell us what your thoughts are on being an artist?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Michael: </b>When one’s entire life has been spent dealing with creativity and thinking outside the box, being an artist is not a particularly “in my face”thought. Funny little story. A woman who bought several of my pieces including a commission asked me to call her when the work was done. I called, not realizing I was getting her in her <u></u><u></u>Florida<u></u><u></u> home. I told her I was Mike, the painter. Her fiancé had a grown son named 'Mike' who was painting her <u></u>Cape </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Cod house, and she thought I was THAT Mike. She said, I must call myself an artist, not a painter. Is an artist more talented than a painter, more creative, held in higher esteem? I let other people call me an artist. What I do is paint every day. The result is art.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAwr1O1B8JOlnrkHcI8K-VvruqEHVE6bW0dijoX7GZtLILnxP5bvw_BBXpGvm44zanv759Yu7LY_3dtFWQwvSD8TyHMEvBjJ6-kwTyZIrTwDkLMrAjL3ONV8sFi00-zBE_1E-f2D9x88I/s1600/AoA+MH+Welfleet+wharf+and+Fishing+Boats.+Oil.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAwr1O1B8JOlnrkHcI8K-VvruqEHVE6bW0dijoX7GZtLILnxP5bvw_BBXpGvm44zanv759Yu7LY_3dtFWQwvSD8TyHMEvBjJ6-kwTyZIrTwDkLMrAjL3ONV8sFi00-zBE_1E-f2D9x88I/s1600/AoA+MH+Welfleet+wharf+and+Fishing+Boats.+Oil.jpg" height="311" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: left;">'<i>Welfleet Wharf and Fishing Boats</i>' </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Polly: </b>In your own mind, what characteristics constitute a good painting?</span><br />
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<b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Michael:</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> I am beginning to feel what my wife Donna senses when she looks at my work. There is a construct in my mind, I suppose. An image with the balance, symmetry, composition, light, focal point … all those good things. But it is more. There is a "gestalt", when the sum is greater than each of the parts taken together, where I can stand back and walk away content. What pleases me may not please someone else. Like the lady who bought the "Cat under Deck". I didn't think the painting was that good because of the muddied shadow, but in her eyes, it was what she wanted and admired. This is why I named my business 'Eye of the Beholder'. After she bought the painting, I called myself 'Eye of the Beholder'. I always say everything in my booth or on the walls in a show is sold when the right eyes see it.</span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-npl10CebIr4/UyczDhi3zQI/AAAAAAAACjE/d6pshfy47Zc/s1600/AoA+MH+Waiting+for+the+Tide+to+come+in.+Oil.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-npl10CebIr4/UyczDhi3zQI/AAAAAAAACjE/d6pshfy47Zc/s1600/AoA+MH+Waiting+for+the+Tide+to+come+in.+Oil.jpg" height="305" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">'<i>Waiting for the Tide to Rise</i>' </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Oil on Canvas. 8" x 10". 2013.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Polly: </b>If you were conducting this interview, what one question would you ask yourself and what would the answer be?</span><br />
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<b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Michael:</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> At my age, with shoulder replacement concerns and more to come on my left shoulder, I worry. I would ask a painter: </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">- What would you do if you couldn't paint any more? If I couldn't do this anymore? I truly have found something that makes me happy and more complete. So, the question is: what if it ended today? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">- Answer: All things happen for a reason. I try not to dwell on that. I am caught up in a very long moment with no end in sight. I love writing. I love acting; I love directing. I no longer do that with the passion I once did. I suppose I would either die or move on to some other activity, but I somehow envision myself as a male Grandma Moses or Monet.</span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MD0D3YBGtow/UydaD9fABPI/AAAAAAAACkw/r3bRzeZN6bo/s1600/Z+AoA+MH+Studio+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MD0D3YBGtow/UydaD9fABPI/AAAAAAAACkw/r3bRzeZN6bo/s1600/Z+AoA+MH+Studio+2.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A closer look into Helfen's studio ... </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Polly: </b>Would you mind sharing with us something interesting about yourself most people wouldn't know? </span><br />
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<b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Michael: </b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Gosh, haven’t I made myself vulnerable enough, yet? I would say, I love knowing I will be part of someone else’s life for a long time, even though we may never see each other or contact each other again. There is something egotistical, I admit, but deeply human about a piece of me living on outside of me. And, I guessed my wife’s first name when we were in college. That is how we met- pure luck (for me; I hope for her). We dated five years and will celebrate our forty-sixth anniversary this June. 51 years based on a lucky guess. What do you think? Personal and unique enough.? Enough of this.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Polly: </b>And lastly, what words of wisdom would you offer to young artists?</span><br />
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<b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Michael: </b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Do what you love, but be able to pay your bills. My mind is clear when I don’t obsess over my financial responsibilities. Do your art or craft, whatever it is. If it meant to be, you will get it done and be happy, but don’t follow false dreams expecting the world to beat a path to your door. Make sure you can afford your door and home.</span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yoQx8r39gJ8/Uyc00fGczZI/AAAAAAAACjY/tjZA_ybZf4U/s1600/AoA+MH+Provincetown+Harbor+view+Acrylic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yoQx8r39gJ8/Uyc00fGczZI/AAAAAAAACjY/tjZA_ybZf4U/s1600/AoA+MH+Provincetown+Harbor+view+Acrylic.jpg" height="301" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">'<i>Provincetown Harbor View</i>' </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Oil on Canvas. 14" x 18". 2011.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Polly: </b>Thank you so much for your time, Michael. Is there anything else you would like to share with us about you and your art?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Michael: </b>I've met some really wonderful people because of my art work. Some in person; other on line. You, for instance. I think you are quite special, Polly. I would like to meet you in person one day. And there are some other Facebook friends and on line artists with whom I would love to share space and time</span>.<br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Polly: </b>Once more, </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">thank you so very much, Michael, for a most enjoyable and insightful interview! And </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I, too, hope we get the chance to some day and Donna as well ... I would like very much! My very best </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">wishes to you with your career!</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Big cheers and </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Paint! Paint! Paint! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">~ Polly ~</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">To learn more about Michael Helfen and his work, please visit his website ....</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">- W</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">ebsite: </span><a href="http://michael-helfen.artistwebsites.com/" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Michael Helfen</a><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">- Facebook: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Michael-Helfen-Art/1422507444664285">Michael Helfen Art</a></span><span id="goog_1828431579"></span><span id="goog_1828431580"></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/"></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">- Etsy Shop: <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/zencar">ZenCar</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Helfen's work is currently on display at the following locations .... </span><br />
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- <a href="http://www.picturethiscustomframing.com/" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Picture This Gallery</a><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">, Sandwich, MA.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">- <a href="http://thegrovema.com/">The Grove</a> Manchester by the Sea (Lynnfield), MA. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">- <a href="http://allthatmattersantiques.com/">All That Matters</a> Belmont, MA.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Helfen's Current Exhibition Schedule: </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">- April 2014: Solo Show. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Mashpee Library. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">- Summer 2014: 14 Outdoor Shows in Sandwich, Osterville, Harwich, Mashpee and West Yarmouth. Please call 508-888-3133 or email for more information of dates and times. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">- Helfen's Cape Cod home also acts as a gallery during the summer months. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Helfen's home is located approximately 8mins from Route 6, the Mid Cape Highway. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Please call </span><a href="tel:508-888-3133" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;" target="_blank" value="+15088883133">508-888-3133</a><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> for details.</span><br />
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<br />Seip Fine Arthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14735530936798470898noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132107618926525653.post-90265001158322616462014-03-27T12:25:00.003-04:002014-06-14T08:45:38.422-04:00Plein-air and Studio Efforts ...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Plein-air and Studio Efforts - 'Hazy Day'</div>
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24" x 30". Oil on Sandply Panel. 2014. Copyright.</div>
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Please inquire <a href="mailto:seipfineart@gmail.com">here</a> for pricing and shipping</div>
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The chosen location and time of day,</div>
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just down the road from my studio!</div>
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I love atmospheric perspective!</div>
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And it was a classic late summer kind of day; </div>
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hazy, hot, and humid!!</div>
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Though, later that day the weather changed dramatically </div>
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and pushed all of the humidity out of the area,</div>
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taking away the original atmosphere </div>
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I was drawn too. </div>
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With the humidity gone, I still went </div>
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to the site to rough out the composition.</div>
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The weather changed yet again while I was on location </div>
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and the sun disappeared behind the clouds</div>
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making my plein-air efforts seemingly futile. </div>
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After the day of my plein-air efforts;</div>
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the hazy, hot and humid weather </div>
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which I was enjoying so much</div>
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did not return for the rest of the season,</div>
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so, I put the painting to the side in the studio</div>
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with the intention of finishing it at some point.</div>
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Recently, I started thinking about this piece again and</div>
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was also feeling the need to take a break from my Binoculars paintings</div>
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which I've been working on for the last several weeks.</div>
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I felt more compelled to work from my memory and imagination</div>
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and to just have fun and play with the paint rather</div>
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than rely on my original reference photo because the painting</div>
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already had the important information I needed.</div>
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Revisiting 'Hazy Day' on the easel ...</div>
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'Hazy Day' work-in-progress ...</div>
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Detail shot of some palette knife work ...</div>
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If you have any questions about this painting, please feel free to ask,<br />
by leaving your question either in the comment section or sending me an <a href="mailto:seipfineart@gmail.com">email</a>.<br />
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Please stay tuned for more what's new from the studio!</div>
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Thank you and Cheers, ~ Polly ~</div>
Seip Fine Arthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14735530936798470898noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132107618926525653.post-3407848078571432362014-02-27T08:40:00.003-05:002014-06-14T08:43:40.875-04:00Opus<div style="text-align: center;">
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Binoculars #187 - Opus.</div>
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20" x 72". Oil on Gessoed Sandply Panel. 2014.</div>
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Gallery location to be announced ...</div>
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The title of piece was inspired for two reasons.<br />
1. for its very definition - any artistic work, esp. one on a large scale.<br />
(and 20"x 72" is large for me)<br />
and 2. by the album title by musical artist, Schiller. <br />
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While working in the studio I often listen to music.<br />
I find it gives me rhythm and inspiration, it leads me straight to<br />
'the zone'<br />
where hours just suddenly fly by and the next thing I know<br />
the day has turned into night, and it's time to rest the brushes and palette knives.<br />
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When it comes to titling a piece, in the past,<br />
I always included the exact location of the scene ...<br />
but now that has changed for me.<br />
I've noticed over the years by pin-pointing a place<br />
a sense of mystery is removed from the viewer<br />
and has locked the painting into a specific realm.<br />
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So, I would like to restore that sense of wonder,<br />
by freeing the painting so it can be appreciated for its own merit,<br />
and to give the viewer a feeling as if they've discovered the location<br />
on their own while out and about on a peaceful, meditative walk. <br />
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I'm restoring my painting's voice,<br />
so that it may speak directly to the heart.<br />
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With that, I leave you with the stages of this new born piece. <br />
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If you have any questions about this painting, please feel free to ask,<br />
by leaving your question either in the comment section or sending me an <a href="mailto:seipfineart@gmail.com">email</a>.<br />
<br /></div>
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Please stay tuned for more what's new from the studio!</div>
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Thank you and Cheers, ~ Polly ~</div>
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Seip Fine Arthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14735530936798470898noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132107618926525653.post-693481092507847452014-02-05T13:56:00.000-05:002014-06-14T08:44:36.990-04:00Freedom and Focus.<div style="text-align: center;">
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Binoculars #186 - Sparkling Surf.</div>
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18" x 70". Oil on Birch Panel. 2014.</div>
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Available at <a href="http://www.susanpowellfineart.com/">Susan Powell Fine Art.</a></div>
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This piece is the start of a new direction for the Binoculars series.</div>
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Over the years the Binoculars series has gotten progressively larger and larger,</div>
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and to keep the series challenging and interesting for myself I've decided to </div>
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play with paint rather than just automatically paint, and to play with composition, </div>
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and to revisit a few of the original elements that made the series happen.</div>
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I want to discover new colours, new textures, new techniques </div>
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that can be mixed and matched in different ways.</div>
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Binoculars #186 - Sparkling Surf, is loaded with texture,</div>
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and has areas of contrasting thick and thin paint.</div>
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Working in the larger format allows for an interesting balance of freedom and focus.</div>
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Freedom, to play with the paint itself and keeping certain elements as they are. </div>
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Focus, in the regards to areas that require attention and refinement.</div>
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Hopefully giving an overall balance to the finished product. </div>
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I'm looking forward to this new approach to the series!<br />
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If you have any questions about this painting, please feel free to ask,<br />
by leaving your question either in the comment section or sending me an <a href="mailto:seipfineart@gmail.com">email</a>.<br />
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Please stay tuned for more what's new from the studio!</div>
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Thank you and Cheers, ~ Polly ~</div>
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Seip Fine Arthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14735530936798470898noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132107618926525653.post-40362675935831025642014-02-01T07:53:00.000-05:002015-02-12T11:52:22.958-05:00Artist on Artist Interview with Eleanor Bennett<div class="im">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This month's 'Artist on Artist' interview is unique in that, UK based photographer - Eleanor Bennett, approached my blog seeking to be interviewed. I was flattered (and still am) to have been asked by an acclaimed photographer because normally it's the other way around for me; I seek out the artists and ask them to be interviewed, and to be featured on my blog.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Eleanor Bennett is a young self-taught, award-winning professional photographer, and her work has garnered respect from high profile magazines such as British Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, and Life Force Magazine. H</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">er youthful and curious mind, and keen interest in observing her surroundings links her</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> great spectrum of subject matters - anything and everything, colour or black and white, compare and contrast; is interesting in the eyes of Eleanor Bennett.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">So, without any further adieu, here is Eleanor Bennett's interview along with selected works. </span><br />
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Eleanor Leonne Bennett.</div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Polly</b>: <i>Hello Eleanor, and welcome to my studio blog, it’s a pleasure to have you here! Would you mind telling us where you are from and why photography is your chosen medium?</i></span><br />
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<b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Eleanor</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">: Thank you for having me, it's lovely to be here! I am from Cheshire in England and photography is my chosen medium as I have won the most awards in this field and it means I can readily express myself with the click of a shutter.</span></div>
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Happy Hour. 12 x 8. Photograph. 2012.</div>
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<b>Polly:</b> <i>Would you please describe your earliest memories when you realised you were an artist?</i></div>
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<b>Eleanor</b>: Around the age of 7. Crafting was my life when I was little. I just always had to create. I loved to watch Smart! and Art Attack on the tv. I used to have a whole palette of colors when I was tiny all the different shades I needed to construct clay models. I wanted to become an animator for Aardman at that age.</div>
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<b>Polly:</b> <i>Could you tell us about your education and training?</i></div>
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<b>Eleanor: </b>I am home schooled and all my training is through being self taught.</div>
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Evil Within. 8 x 10. Photography. 2010.</div>
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<b>Polly: </b><i>In your own words please describe your style?</i></div>
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<b>Eleanor: </b>Contemporary, strange, abstract, emotive, honest and often macabre.<br />
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<b>Eleanor: </b>Always my Panasonic Lumix models. I currently have a Panasonic FZ48 which I greatly enjoying using. I first started winning awards in droves when I photographed with my FZ38. I need a bridge camera that doesn't leave its mark and saves me from post processing I want some control of the image as I take it even if it is open to more flaws.</div>
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Mirror of the Stream. 10 x 8. Photograph. 2011 </div>
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<b>Polly:</b> <i>Your work covers a great spectrum of subject matters; is there a particular subject you’re especially fond of and would like to explore a little further in depth and why?</i><br />
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<b>Eleanor: </b>I enjoy medicine, anatomy, mental illness and destruction as my main themes. I like to photograph what other people don't and the closer I can get to pinpoint a thought process or deconstruct a barrier the happier I am.</div>
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Girl Holding a Vintage. 8 x 10. Photograph. 2013.</div>
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<b>Polly: </b><i>There seems to be quite the dichotomy in your work. While in one photograph it can seem like a casual random moment, another seems to be planned/staged (and I mean that in the best sense of the term) and thought out. Am I correct in thinking this or, is there something greater at work behind the lens? </i></div>
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<b>Eleanor: </b>Self portraits of mine are most often planned as a rule with the greater majority of my work being little random moments. Thematically a lot of these random moments add up to a portfolio of more emotional resonance. There are many images that work together well of mine that were taken years apart.</div>
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Fire from Stream. 8 x 10. Photography. 2011.</div>
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<b>Polly: </b><i>Please tell us about your influences and how you find inspiration?</i></div>
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<b>Eleanor: </b>Mainly just from the world around me and current events. I cite a lot of my creativity in what I see in the natural world. All of our finest designs and repetitive patterns we see in clothes and decor is no match to what designs are preserved in the fossil record. It is amazing the neat and organised way of beauty I see when I step outdoors. A twist in bark or the colors dispersed throughout rock sediment could be next year's season!</div>
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Fading to Sky. 10 x 12. Photography. 2013.</div>
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<b>Polly: </b><i>If, you could try your hand at another medium or genre what would it be and why?</i></div>
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<b>Eleanor: </b>Songwriting. Because I share in the anguish of a lot of entertainment consumers that I could do a better job if graced the opportunity.<br />
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Eleanor Bennett. Self-portrait in London. </div>
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<b>Polly:</b> <i>If, you could have dinner with one person, dead or alive, who would it be and why?</i><br />
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<b>Eleanor</b>: Very hard to pick just one, especially a person of note. I would probably say Damon Albarn as I can say that he was another great inspiration when I was very young to think different. And to never be ashamed of it.</div>
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The Lovely Vintage. 8 x 10. Photography. 2013.</div>
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<b>Polly:</b> <i>Who has been the greatest support to you as an artist and how?</i></div>
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<b>Eleanor: </b>My strength of character. When you don't come from a family of artists (or the ones who do don't spend any time with you) you can only be supported so much. Nobody ever prepared me for all the rejections and losses I would make. One thing that is instantaneous to me upon a family or close friend dying is to take a picture either of them or something to explain what they've gone through. Because you often don't get chance for a good cry in the hustle and bustle of this hectic life. I make some type of preservation in imagery to equate the preservation of my stability.</div>
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Cotton Spools. 8 x 10. Photograph. 2013. </div>
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<b>Polly: </b><i>What has been most challenging for you as an artist?</i></div>
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<b>Eleanor:</b> Youth, with the fact a lot more people would take me seriously if this was in twenty years time that I had achieved the same acclaim.</div>
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<b>Polly:</b> <i>Tell us what your thoughts are on being an artist!?</i></div>
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<b>Eleanor:</b> That if you can't assign to yourself something entirely original then turn to biographical work. I would much rather hear about your day than a tall tale of someone else's day passed off as if your own.</div>
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Festival Reflections. 8 x 10. Photography. 2013.</div>
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<b>Polly: </b><i>If, you were conducting this interview what one question would you ask yourself and what would the answer be?</i></div>
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<b>Eleanor:</b> Do you think you can apply yourself to most creative fields, however they may be challenging? Yes, a little fresh education and a new goal never hurt anyone willing and ambitious.</div>
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Acceptance of Injury. 8 x 10. Photography. 2013.</div>
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<b>Polly:</b> <i>Would you mind sharing with us something interesting about yourself most people wouldn't know?</i></div>
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<b style="font-family: georgia, serif;">Eleanor: </b><span style="font-family: georgia, serif;">I was due to be born on Valentines day but was ten days too late. If you were to know me in real life most people would find me cynical and sarcastic. I absorb information rapidly in all subjects I show interest in. I collect antiques and I know the value of a lot of precious objects. It feeds into my creativity because I have a real passion for art done well in a vaste amount of areas.</span></div>
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Early Morn. 8 x 10. Photography. 2014. </div>
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<b>Polly: </b><i>And lastly, what words of wisdom would you offer to young artists?</i><br />
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<b>Eleanor: </b>Just hold out when people try to dismiss you for your age. Don't be afraid to put whatever is personal out there in regards to your experiences. It often makes people realise you are emotionally valid when you have something to declare. In the face of criticism be someone to be proud of and steer far away from logical fallacies and knee-jerk reactions.</div>
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Composed Frames. 8 x 10. Photography. 2013.</div>
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<b><br /></b><b>Polly: </b><i>Thank you so much for your time Eleanor! Is there anything else you would like to share with us about you and or your art?</i></div>
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<b>Eleanor:</b> Thank you for the lovely interview. All I really have left to share is that people need to follow my Facebook page and official website to know what I'm really doing. I'm so busy even I don't know what is set in stone for me in the next 12 months. I also provide services as a writer, book cover designer, curator, senior editor and communications assistant.<br />
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Again ... thank you so much Eleanor for your interview and sharing your thoughts on your work with us today! Best wishes to you in your career and happy snapping!<br />
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Cheers, ~ Polly ~<br />
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Eleanor Bennett up-coming exhibition schedule ...<br />
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Jan 25-29 2014: Glaxo Smithkline (North Site), Greenford Road, Middx, UB6 0HE</div>
<span style="font-family: georgia, serif;">Feb 1-5 2014: Kings House & Queens House, Kymberley Road, Harrow, HA1 1YR</span><br />
<span style="font-family: georgia, serif;">Feb 8-12 2014: Building B5, 4 Roundwood Avenue, Stockley Park, UB111BQ</span><br />
<span style="font-family: georgia, serif;">Apr 30 - May 4 2014: Forum One, Solent Business Park,Parkway, Whiteley, PO15 7PA</span><br />
<span style="font-family: georgia, serif;">May 7-11 2014: Hamlyn House & Hill House, 21 Highgate Hill, N19 5LP</span><br />
<span style="font-family: georgia, serif;">May 14-18 2014: Quayside Tower, Broad Street, B12HF</span><br />
<span style="font-family: georgia, serif;">May 21-25 2014: 382-386, 388-390 & 414-428 Midsummer Boulevard, MK9 2EA</span><br />
<span style="font-family: georgia, serif;">May 28 - Jun 1 2014: 12-13 Bruton Street, W1J 6QA</span><br />
<span style="font-family: georgia, serif;">Jun 4-8 2014: Bray House, Westcott Way, SL6 3QH</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: georgia, serif;">To learn more about Eleanor Bennett and her photography please visit her official website.</span><br />
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Official Website: <a href="http://www.eleanorleonnebennett.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" target="_blank">Eleanor Leonne Bennett</a><br />
Official Blog: <a href="http://blog.zenfolio.com/blog/2013/10/getting-published-at-a-young-age-by-eleanor-bennett" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" target="_blank">ZenFolioBlog</a><br />
Official FB: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Eleanor-Leonne-Bennett-Art/182236515143617" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" target="_blank">Eleanor Leonne Bennett Art</a><br />
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Check out more interviews with Eleanor Bennett ...<br />
<a href="http://idolmag.co.uk/go-getters/eleanor-bennett" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" target="_blank">Idol Magazine</a><br />
<a href="http://www.womenyoushouldknow.net/women-talk-with-award-winning-photographer-eleanor-leonne-bennett/" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" target="_blank">Women You Should Know </a><br />
<a href="http://artsawardvoice.com/magazine/articles/interviews/interview-eleanor-leonne-bennett%E2%80%A8" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" target="_blank">Arts Awards Voice</a><br />
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