Stephen O’Donnell
Masha Krasnova Shabaeva
Interview by I HEART PAINTING.
How would you describe your studio practice?
I work at home and I believe this makes my studio practice more chaotic than it should be. Sometimes I’m easily distracted by all kind of home chores, and there are moments when it’s really difficult to concentrate on work. Generally speaking, sometimes the atmosphere at home is too relaxing for effective work, so lately I’ve started dreaming ever more about a studio somewhere outside my apartment.
Whether it’s a commission for a magazine or my own personal project, my work routine is quite the same. I choose music and begin to work, or sometimes a film or tv show, but it should be stupid enough to watch it without actually looking at the screen.
I make detailed sketches very rarely. It’s easier for me to begin my work from scratch, even if I realize in the process that I don’t like it, than to make a detailed sketch in the beginning. Altogether I’m not pragmatic, neither as a person, nor as an artist. I create my works spontaneously. Of course I always have the main idea and quite definite composition or structure in my mind, but anyway I prefer to rely on my subconscious more than on my conscious thought processes.
What inspires you to make the work that you make?I believe that somehow I’m inspired by my life and everything I see and experience. And of course by my memories. I’m interested in Soviet and Russian imagery and often use it as inspiration. Currently I’m more into the past: Soviet era and post-soviet 90s—the time when I was a child. Once in a while I look through Soviet children’s magazines, trying to analyze this huge distopia of USSR in my own way, in a way that is really personal and intimate. I should say that in general I’m a big fan of all kinds of -topias.
Besides this I used to watch an enormous amount of films of different sorts—good or bad, no matter. Sometimes I think that I should consume less, but it’s kind of my current addiction. I’m also into video games. Especially adventure games and survival horror. I’m more curious about the worlds and the characters than anything else. That is why I play very seldom, because I prefer to watch the walkthroughs on YouTube. In a way it’s a part of my fascination with cinema. Often I watch those gameplay videos out of the corner of my eye when I’m working. To be honest I don’t know if the video games’ aesthetics influence my work, although I haven’t noticed it yet.
How would you describe the physical nature of your artwork?
I’ve experimented a lot with the texture. I tried different ways of drawing and painting when I studied at the painting faculty, but I always felt that a smooth texture is more attractive to me. Maybe it’s an influence of my father, also a painter. I really liked the smooth texture of his paintings when I was a child. I believe that it also goes well with my ideas and stories. Currently I’m making a new series of paintings for upcoming exhibition with gouache. Oh, and I use Wacom for my books and other printed matter. Also screen-printing is my new hobby, but I guess I still need a lot of training to make prints of high quality.
Do you have any friends who are artists that you talk to about your ideas/work on a regular basis?
I’m not used to discussing my ideas with anyone except my husband Timur, I guess. He’s not an artist, he’s an architect, but his opinion helps me a lot. It gives me an ability to see my work from another standpoint. Also Stas Orlov (aka Unomoralez) is a great person to talk to. We don’t discuss our ideas very often, but we frequently chat about different things that inspire us. Those things are pretty the same for me and for him.
What recent work are you the most happy with?
I’m quiet satisfied with the works that I’m making now for my upcoming exhibition in Rotterdam (unfortunately I can’t give out the details yet). A week ago I’ve finished my first pop-up book which is also for this exhibition. Everything is ready, it only has to be published. It turned out a bit scary: it’s about ghosts and shadows of my childhood.
That concludes our interview with Masha- Inspired? Ya -me too! You can explore more of Masha’s work at mashushka.com . Or try to track down a copy of her current book, which looks like this:
Irana Douer
Irana Douer’s work shows a brilliant approach to mixed media. I am really enjoying her slightly sinister female subjects and the combined force of water colour application and strong line work.
http://hungryeyeball.com/2010/05/irana-douer-interview/
Inka Essenhigh
Inka Essenhigh’s paintings seem to exist in the realm of fantasy while creating an hommage to the elements of nature.
These paintings are some of my favourites.
Each piece draws you in to an element of nature (ocean, snow and earth) making them into very tangible ideas.
Neo Rauch
I love Neo Rauch!
Neo Rauch’s work is a combination of bizarre perspective, strange narratives and rich colour palettes. I feel that his understanding of composition and unifying approach to colour brings together the disparate elements of warped perspective and fantastical narrative.
Brad Pitt loves Neo Rauch too.
Aron Wiesenfeld
The drawings and paintings of US artist Aron Wiesen convey grim determination through alternating cold and wet landscapes. His figures gaze with intensity as they move through scenic spaces.
While the landscapes seem to evoke the classical sea and forest depictions of a past era, the figures are made modern by way of clothing and accessories. The duffle bag, paper carry-bag and unmistakable plastic garbage bag bring these pieces into a time quite close to the present.
Evan B. Harris
My father was Captain in the British Merchant Navy and one of my favourite modern novels is Katherine Dunn’s Geek Love (a strange & dark tale about a circus folk family). So it’s really no surprise that I fell in love with the paintings of Evan B. Harris. Depicting rich sources of narrative such as the “carny-life” of the circus and nautical folklore seems to be a common thread in Evan’s work. Though these are images that have been worn out by many artists over the years, Evan brings his own unique twists in his approach to these subjects and accomplishes such beautiful work.
How would you describe your studio practice?
I describe my studio practice as the most controlled part of my life. I need that kind of structure to keep me grounded. I’m very meticulous and I need to have everything in its place. I surround myself with all kinds of rusty, broken beaten little objects that I pull my inspiration from. Outside of that I just need a good cup of coffee and a interesting audio book to listen to.
What inspires you?
What inspires my work the most is… Life. My paintings are just a amalgamation of my dreams with past and present memories. All the rest is just filler, little things I’ve picked up along the way. I’m like a magpie, I love shiny things. They can help to create a beautiful composition.
How would you describe your work?
The texture of my work has changed over time. I use to think to be a painter I needed to make a mess by throwing paint all over the place, working on big pieces made of wood with frames, and all that kinda stuff. A real physical way to create, it takes a lot of energy. Now a days, I prefere to take my time and focus on the details. I don’t need the security of all that mess. Just give me a white soft piece of paper and I’m happy as a clam!
Do you speak to other artists about your work?
I do know a lot of others artists, and now and a again I might talk a little shop with them. But for the most part my work is something I do for myself. I’m not looking for others take on it. I feel blessed that folks even know my work and some even like it… good or bad I’m not doing this for prestige or praise.
What project are you working on at the moment?
I just finished a commission that I really like, “Fox Family Field Trip” lots of little details!
Jessica Bell
Zoe Pawlak interviews artist Jessica Bell:
I had the recent pleasure of being visited by Jessica Bell in my studio last month. If you have ever met Jessica, or seen her work recently at The 2010 Cheaper Show, you know that she is not only incredibly skilled at painting and drawing, but an absolute joy to be around. Rare are the times when you can connect with another artist and come away feeling closer to yourself, your own values and set of purposeful directions. I left our conversation wanting to share just how much grey there is in this business of ours and just how much we can act as a compass for one another in these unique and equally exciting times.
Jessica, When we spoke in my studio last month, you were at the end of taking a month off. Tell me about taking a month off last year, why you did it and what it meant to you.
Last July, (2009) was the first time I ever deliberately prohibited myself from making anything. When I did it, I actually felt like it was my only viable option at the time. I had been working through a pretty anemic phase in my painting; I felt like all the juice had been squished out of my brain. I had begun four very large paintings but could not finish them. Ian (my husband) will often ask me when I hit a wall, if I need to step away. This is not in my nature; more than anything I hate to leave something partially finished. It annoys me even to think about it, but at a visceral level, at that point I needed to take a big step back or else I was going to keep on making the same paintings I had already made. Making that decision and following through on it for the entire month of July 2009 was possibly the best decision I have made with respect to my working practice since I began painting full time in 2007. What I did allow myself to do in that month was seek out other artists whose work and practice I admire to gather little nuggets of information and advice about how they are doing all of this. It was during that time that I met another female artist from Vancouver who said something to me that really changed the way I practice; she told me that she hesitated to call herself an artist at all but instead saw herself as one who lived a visual life. Living a visual life is watching, waiting, gathering information and giving thoughts room to breathe; for me this is as essential to the work as the act of making. The time off without the making is really time solely devoted to these other aspects of the visual life.
Having committed to another month off this year, you mentioned that you spent quite a bit of time doing administrative work. What does that look like for you?
Administrative work this time around pretty much meant being chained to my laptop. This year was a steep learning curve for me. First, I spent a small lifetime on Photoshop, editing images for print and web and eventually learned that while I know how to use Photoshop quite well, I really need to learn how to better use my camera so I don’t need to spend so much time on Photoshop! Secondly, I came to terms with the realization that the Internet, blogs and Twitter are here to stay, and that I needed to get on board. I have resisted these things in the past, but after The Cheaper Show in June I benefited from a tiny explosion of favourable press on the web, and most of it was not from here in Vancouver, or even in Canada for that matter. I came to the realization that they way I presented myself and my work online was really, really important, and deciding what that was going to look like became a priority for me. One significant thing I did was create a site that all of my other projects and work feed into. I am working on a lot of different things at the moment and I felt like they were rather fragmented when you looked at my portfolio, when in essence they are all intricately connected. I decided to create a blog-based site calledwww.jessicabellmadethis.com that funnels all of the things I make into a stream, even those things that I don’t always feel are the strongest and that I would likely refrain from including in my portfolio. One of the qualities inherent in presenting work in this sort of manner is that process becomes very evident and I like seeing that, even for my own benefit.
What did it mean to you to be in the 2010 Cheaper Show?
I can say with conviction that it was the single most important show I have participated in thus far. I am still surprised that I got in and still delighted with the entire experience of it all, beginning to end. After it was over, a friend asked me what it felt like to have been a part of it and I said that I felt suddenly visible. When I went to pick up my cheque for my sold pieces from Graeme (Berglund) I had this moment of feeling like I really should have been paying him for the service that I received through he and the Cheaper Crew in being asked to participate. At the very least I should have baked him a pie or something. Graeme, if you read this, I owe you one pie.
Our last meet up was special to me because we share a lot of similar trepidations about getting ‘too commercial’. If the end result is to live off our work, increase the prices each year and eventually have it hanging in people’s homes, why does it matter so much how it gets sold? Why are we taking the way the work is being sold so seriously?
I’m still trying to figure out why this matters so much and why I have so much apprehension in how I am perceived. I’m trying to trust my gut more and care less. If I were to articulate the fear of over commercialization, I would say that it does come down for me to a reluctance of the things I make as being treated and viewed as merely objects. With the focus being more on ‘selling’ instead of ‘showing’ it feels like that treatment is imminent; I am delighted when people want my work for their homes but I always silently hope and pray that they want it in a different way than they want a really nice set of coasters, for example. While both are important, I want the response to the work I make to be more than just to the aesthetic or the utilitarian.
The conversation you and I had about ‘the end result’ really stuck with me. I had to ask myself what my end results or end goals in doing this are. Right now I have three: making really good work, making it publicly accessible, and sustaining my practice. There is a lot of room for movement in there for how that happens if one can avoid getting tangled up in the hesitancies and fears.
Do you find that your studio practice is your favorite place to be? What does it mean to you to be in the studio full time?
My studio practice is deeply good; it is the one place I know in my life when I can be completely undivided, and my time so purposely spent. I love that. I hate having to multi-task; I only ever want to do one thing at a time. My studio practice is where I can have that. I am so grateful to be able to be there full time, even with all of the conflicts on how to make a life from it.
Allyson Mellberg
Hints of disease and disfigurement reoccur throughout the mixed media explorations of Allyson Mellberg. Her work is subdued in colour which highlights the rich variety of mark-making that she seems to enjoy. She comfortably employs this range of confident marks as an artist might enjoy a range of colours on their palette. From the simple outlines to the carefully placed contour lines of the eyes and mouth there exists an unusually cohesive and deliberate approach that is as startling as the odd figures depicted.
Seonna Hong
When I look at these paintings I feel terror and delight at the same time.
I was in grade four in a new town & at a new school when I fell ill with a flu and a brutal fever ensued. These paintings by Seonna Hong remind me of the strange nightmares I had at that time.
In these works garish and large florals are treated to pastel washes that obscure and sometimes reveal the pattern beneath. Black geometric trajectories weave their way through pointy-branched trees on a scale that overwhelms the anonymous child-like figures with muted facial features or heads turned away.
These beautifully dynamic works reveal a battle-field between the organic and the superficial within a complex composition.
Wanda Koop
Wanda Koop is a phenomenal canadian painter, whose work I really admire. Her approach to her subject matter is very unique and these recent works are a great example of that. Bold and sometimes ominous blocks of colour hover in ephemeral soft landscapes. An interesting relationship is created between the foreground and background as the opaque shapes come forward and the translucent landscapes recede back into space.
“Wanda Koop is one of Canada’s most distinguished and inventive artists. Her career spans three decades and includes over 50 solo exhibitions. From the very beginning of her career, Koop garnered critical acclamation for her work. Starting in the 1980s, she charted new directions for painting, pushing the boundaries of presentation and display with her all-encompassing installations. Over the last decade she has become recognized for incorporating poetic video work into her painting environments.”
more of Wanda Koop’s bio:
Jim Houser
Jim Houser’s work is incredibly sparse and deliberate. Colour choices become important as the number of colours used in each piece is severely limited. His approach to his subject is to highlight a super-flatness that is further reinforced by a lack of texture and gradation. In these pieces the dominating turquoise colour creates a coldness and cleaness in a strong and centralized composition.
“I like red and blue and variations of red and blue. That’s the direction it seems to be going. Browns and tans. No more pink. No more orange. No more green. Even my black is just super dark blue or brown. My white has blue or brown in it. Sea water, dog fur, and dried blood. That’s my inspiration.” – Jim Houser
Interview with Jim Houser: http://www.fecalface.com/SF/index.php?Itemid=92&id=852&option=com_content&task=view
Vancouver Artist Alison Lilly
How would you describe your studio practice?
I enjoy working on multiple projects at once on days I am in the studio. I usually work through a process where I could go from painting and applying mediums and then switch gears to writing ideas or doing preliminary sketches for other work and unrelated projects. I find it is a good way to keep myself from overworking or over-thinking a specific piece and it also helps me to sustain a constructive process in regards to my work.
What inspires you to make the work that you make?
I am continuously inspired by many different aspects of historical popular culture, specifically films and photographs of the horror and film noir genre. Music has always inspired me to create art and it is an especially valuable resource for my work for musicians and bands. When I am creating for musicians my intention is for the work to be reflective of their specific musical style and to also be complimentary to the lyrical content of their music. I find working this way to be very unique and rewarding because I always have constant creative input to derive inspiration from.
How would you describe the physical nature of your artwork?
I love utilizing mixed media in my work, most recently I have been working with painting with watercolors and acrylic on different kinds of papers. I really like the outcome and effects I am seeing when I use this method. It creates an interesting visual texture within my work that allows me to be both controlled and random in my execution. My work varies in scale, but I avoid working in a small format, it just seems really constricting for the type of work I do.
Do you have any friends in Vancouver who are artists that you talk to about your ideas/work on a regular basis?
I speak with Rebecca Chaperon in my studio building quite frequently and speak to a lot of my musician friends who come by for studio visits and meetings. Their feedback and input really helps me during the artistic process.
What recent work are you the most happy with?
I have been quite happy with the contract work I have been doing most recently with musicians. I recently finished the design for a CD layout and really enjoyed the process of taking something I had painted on canvas and converting it into a digital media to create something completely new and unique. I also have been enjoying just experimenting and exploring creating mixed media drawings in water color, acrylic, ink and pencil on paper. These are part of a continuous series I have been working on in recent months and will continue to work on in 2011.
http://alisonlilly.blogspot.com/
Vancouver Artist Andrew Pommier
Here are a few of my all-time favourite Andrew Pommier paintings. Hailing from Vancouver Andrew has shown internationally and been involved in a wide variety of art projects. I like his colour choices and appreciate the overall aesthetic that he has developed. Stylized characters become solid and weighty while casting shadows that cause a floating effect.
Below disembodied heads become fruit-like objects in a surreal still-life.
Travis Louie
I recently watched an interview with Travis Louie where he discussed the meditative quality of painting hair. I am fully enamored by his hairy paintings. His grisaille paintings reference those posed photographs of yore that conveyed a slight stiffness and unease associated with holding the pose for extended periods.
