Artist on Artist Interview with Sarah Park

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! 

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. 

And now without any further adieu here is Sarah's interview along with selected works ...

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Polly: 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? 

Sarah: 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!

Then we went to the photography department, there was this wonderfully animated man, Lonnie Graham. 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.

August 20, 1831.

Solar Plate Etching. Arches Watercolor Paper.

Polly: Would you please describe your earliest memories when you realized you knew you were an artist?

Sarah: 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.

Rebirth #1

Solar Plate Etching. Arches Watercolor Paper.

Polly: Could you tell us about your education and training?

Sarah: 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.

Rebirth #2

Solar Plate Etching. Arches Watercolor Paper. 

Polly: In your own words, would you please describe your style?

Sarah: Neo-Antiqurian, Victorian Macabre with a splash of childhood wonder and playfulness.

Rebirth #3

Solar Plate Etching. Arches Watercolor Paper.

Polly: 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?  

Sarah:  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. 

- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
The Red Balloon, the 1956 film by Albert Lamorisse. My husband, H. Gray Park. 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!!

Rebirth #4.

Solar Plate Etching. Arches Watercolor Paper.

Polly: 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? 

Sarah: 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

The shop's influence: 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.

Wood Thrush.

Solar Plate Etching. Arches Watercolor Paper.

Polly: Tell us about your choice of cameras?

Sarah: 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.

Mrs. Havershaw's Flowers 

Solar Plate Etching. Arches Watercolor Paper.

Polly: 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? 

Sarah: 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.

-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.

Male Swimmer #1

Polly: Tell us about your new series and how it came to be?

Sarah:  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.

Heoing.

Polly: Are there some artistic ideas you’d like to explore with your photography, but haven’t yet and what are they?

Sarah: Yes of course. Like the 6th Book of Harry Potter or Season 7 of Doc Martin, good things come to those who wait.

I told you, Bunny. 

Polly: If you could try your hand at another medium or genre what would it be and why?

Sarah: Printmaking, silk screens in particular. For their boldness. And Bookmaking, because I love book making.

In the Garden.

Polly: If you could have dinner with one person, dead or alive, who would it be and why?

Sarah: 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!!!!

Star of Bethelem

Polly: Who has been the greatest support to you as an artist and how?

Sarah: Being married to a fellow artist is a support in of itself. There is an inherent understanding.

Running through the Crocuses.

Polly: What has been most challenging for you as an artist?

Sarah: Time. Time. Time. Carving out time in this busy world we live in. However having said that, It CAN be done!!!

Red Bathing Suit.

Polly: Tell us what your thoughts are on being an artist?

Sarah: It's like the Peace Corp motto, "It's the toughest job you'll ever love".

Black Bathing Suit #2.

Polly: If you were conducting this interview what one question would you ask yourself and what would the answer be?

Sarah: I would ask about what kind of papers do you like to print on?
- 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.

Chartreuse Pulpit #2 

Polly: What words of wisdom would you offer to young, aspiring artists?

Sarah: 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.

Thank You for asking me all of these really great questions and having me on your blog. I feel honored. :-)


Polly: 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!!

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To learn more about Sarah Park and her fine art photography, please visit her Facebook page.

Facebook: Sarah Park Fine Art Conservation Framing LLC

Website: www.parkfinearts.com (under construction)
Blog: www.parkfinearts.wordpress.com

Artist on Artist Interview with Michael Helfen.

For this month's Artist on Artist interview it gives me great pleasure in introducing Cape Cod Painter, Michael Helfen.

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. 

And now without further adieu here is Helfen's interview along with selected works.  

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Artist on Artist Interview with Michael Helfen

Michael Helfen.

Polly: 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?

Michael: I live on Cape Cod, 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 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. 

'At Rest' 

Oil on Canvas. 6" x 8". 2011. 

Polly: Would you please describe your earliest memories when you realized you were an artist?

Michael: 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.

'Chatham Shore Road Cottage' 

Oil on Canvas. 16" x 20". 2011.

Polly: Could you tell us about your education and training?

Michael: 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. Run Forest, 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?

'At the Harbor' 

Watercolor. 16" x 8". 2013.

Polly: In your own words, please describe your style?

Michael: 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.

Helfen at work in his studio ... 

Polly: 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.?

Michael: You might not believe this, but I get up between 3:00 a.m. and 4:00 a.m. 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 3:30, 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. 

'Fishing Boats at Rock Harbor' 

Watercolor. 12" x 16". 2011.

Polly: Is there anything specific you look for in your painting, or do you just let things happen in their own nature?

Michael: 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 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 Washington D.C. 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."

'Black Row Boat' 

Oil on Canvas. 6" x 8". 2011.

Polly: Do you listen to music while you paint?, and if so, what kind of tunes can we expect to hear?

Michael: 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, Offenbach’s etc.

Helfen's studio ...

Polly: Who are your top five favorite artists (dead and or alive) and why?

Michael: 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 Monday 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?

'Water on the Rocks'

 Oil on Canvas. 8" x 10". 2013. 

Polly: 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?

Michael: 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 New York 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.

'Mediterranean Courtyard'

 Acrylic on Canvas. 16" x 20". 2013. 

Polly: If you could try your hand at another medium or genre, what would it be and why?

Michael: 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.

Another view of Helfen's studio ...

Polly: Do you consider yourself to be an extrovert or an introvert, or a combination of the two?

Michael: 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 Cape Cod is the right place for me if I can’t have Italy 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.

'Big Red Poppy' 

Acrylic on Canvas. 24" x 24". 2010.

Polly: If you could have dinner with one person, dead or alive, who would it be and why?

Michael: 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.

'Cahoons Hollow Beach' 

Oil on Canvas. 10" x 20". 2011.

Polly: Who has been the greatest support to you as an artist?

Michael: 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.”

Helfen and his wife, Donna ... 

Polly: What has been the most challenging for you as an artist?

Michael: 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. 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.

'Catch the Wind' 

Watercolor. 8" x 10". 2010. 

Polly: Tell us what your thoughts are on being an artist?

Michael: 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 Florida home. I told her I was Mike, the painter. Her fiancé had a grown son named 'Mike' who was painting her Cape 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.

'Welfleet Wharf and Fishing Boats' 

Oil on Canvas. 11" x 14". 2013. 

Polly: In your own mind, what characteristics constitute a good painting?

Michael: 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.

'Waiting for the Tide to Rise' 

Oil on Canvas. 8" x 10". 2013.

Polly: If you were conducting this interview, what one question would you ask yourself and what would the answer be?

Michael: At my age, with shoulder replacement concerns and more to come on my left shoulder, I worry. I would ask a painter: 

- 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? 

- 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.

A closer look into Helfen's studio ... 

Polly: Would you mind sharing with us something interesting about yourself most people wouldn't know? 

Michael: 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.

'Sandy Neck Dunes View of the Bay' 

Oil on Canvas. 11" x 14". 2011.

Polly: And lastly, what words of wisdom would you offer to young artists?

Michael: 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.

'Provincetown Harbor View' 

Oil on Canvas. 14" x 18". 2011.

Polly: Thank you so much for your time, Michael. Is there anything else you would like to share with us about you and your art?

Michael: 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.

---

Polly: Once more, thank you so very much, Michael, for a most enjoyable and insightful interview! And I, too, hope we get the chance to some day and Donna as well ... I would like very much! My very best wishes to you with your career! 

Big cheers and Paint! Paint! Paint! 

~ Polly ~


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To learn more about Michael Helfen and his work, please visit his website ....

- Website: Michael Helfen
- Facebook: Michael Helfen Art
- Etsy Shop: ZenCar


Helfen's work is currently on display at the following locations .... 

- Picture This Gallery, Sandwich, MA.

- The Grove Manchester by the Sea (Lynnfield), MA.   

- All That Matters Belmont, MA.

Helfen's Current Exhibition Schedule: 

- April 2014: Solo Show. Mashpee Library. 

- 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. 

- Helfen's Cape Cod home also acts as a gallery during the summer months. Helfen's home is located approximately 8mins from Route 6, the Mid Cape Highway. Please call 508-888-3133 for details.

Plein-air and Studio Efforts ...

Plein-air and Studio Efforts - 'Hazy Day'

24" x 30". Oil on Sandply Panel. 2014. Copyright.

Please inquire here for pricing and shipping

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The chosen location and time of day,

just down the road from my studio!

I love atmospheric perspective!

And it was a classic late summer kind of day; 

hazy, hot, and humid!!

Though, later that day the weather changed dramatically 

and pushed all of the humidity out of the area,

taking away the original atmosphere 

I was drawn too. 

With the humidity gone, I still went 

to the site to rough out the composition.

The weather changed yet again while I was on location 

and the sun disappeared behind the clouds

making my plein-air efforts seemingly futile. 

 After the day of my plein-air efforts;

 the hazy, hot and humid weather 

which I was enjoying so much

did not return for the rest of the season,

so, I put the painting to the side in the studio

with the intention of finishing it at some point.

.

.

.

Recently, I started thinking about this piece again and

was also feeling the need to take a break from my Binoculars paintings

which I've been working on for the last several weeks.

I felt more compelled to work from my memory and imagination

and to just have fun and play with the paint rather

than rely on my original reference photo because the painting

already had the important information I needed.

Revisiting 'Hazy Day' on the easel ...

'Hazy Day' work-in-progress ...

Detail shot of some palette knife work ...

If you have any questions about this painting, please feel free to ask,
by leaving your question either in the comment section or sending me an email.

Please stay tuned for more what's new from the studio!

Thank you and Cheers, ~ Polly ~

Opus

Binoculars #187 - Opus.

20" x 72". Oil on Gessoed Sandply Panel. 2014.

Copyright.

Gallery location to be announced ...

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The title of piece was inspired for two reasons.
1. for its very definition - any artistic work, esp. one on a large scale.
(and 20"x 72" is large for me)
and 2. by the album title by musical artist, Schiller.

While working in the studio I often listen to music.
I find it gives me rhythm and inspiration, it leads me straight to
'the zone'
where hours just suddenly fly by and the next thing I know
the day has turned into night, and it's time to rest the brushes and palette knives.

When it comes to titling a piece, in the past,
I always included the exact location of the scene ...
but now that has changed for me.
I've noticed over the years by pin-pointing a place
a sense of mystery is removed from the viewer
and has locked the painting into a specific realm.

So, I would like to restore that sense of wonder,
by freeing the painting so it can be appreciated for its own merit,
and to give the viewer a feeling as if they've discovered the location
on their own while out and about on a peaceful, meditative walk.  

I'm restoring my painting's voice,
 so that it may speak directly to the heart.

.
.
.
.

With that, I leave you with the stages of this new born piece.

If you have any questions about this painting, please feel free to ask,
by leaving your question either in the comment section or sending me an email.

Please stay tuned for more what's new from the studio!

Thank you and Cheers, ~ Polly ~

Freedom and Focus.

Binoculars #186 - Sparkling Surf.

18" x 70". Oil on Birch Panel. 2014.

Copyright.

Available at Susan Powell Fine Art.

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This piece is the start of a new direction for the Binoculars series.

Over the years the Binoculars series has gotten progressively larger and larger,

and to keep the series challenging and interesting for myself I've decided to 

play with paint rather than just automatically paint, and to play with composition, 

and to revisit a few of the original elements that made the series happen.

I want to discover new colours, new textures, new techniques 

that can be mixed and matched in different ways.

Binoculars #186 - Sparkling Surf, is loaded with texture,

and has areas of contrasting thick and thin paint.

Working in the larger format allows for an interesting balance of freedom and focus.

Freedom, to play with the paint itself and keeping certain elements as they are. 

Focus, in the regards to areas that require attention and refinement.

Hopefully giving an overall balance to the finished product. 

I'm looking forward to this new approach to the series!

If you have any questions about this painting, please feel free to ask,
by leaving your question either in the comment section or sending me an email.

Please stay tuned for more what's new from the studio!

Thank you and Cheers, ~ Polly ~