“I think everyone is talented and everyone is an artist. When you see a barista making a matcha latte, they have to have a sense that they're creating something beautiful, or else they wouldn't be able to function. They may not describe it that way, but it's my job, as an artist, to see the soul of things.”
“While music still remains an important part of my artistic life, painting has unlocked a tremendous amount of creative potential that continues to shape my experience as a human in the world.”
“Most of my work develops by letting my hands form something from the clay, and if I like how it looks, I embellish on it. If I don’t like it, I smush it down (technical term!) and start over.”
“I believe pets are one of those common denominators people have. I might not agree with someone’s politics or anything else about them, but I can relate to them when they talk about their love for their pets.”
“One of my favorite courses in college was color theory, in which we learned the Munsell system, a very physics-oriented methodology, and I was introduced to a world far beyond the color wheel. As I created my artwork, I became very interested in exploring vibrant hues of color to evoke emotions.”
“Clay is just mud, so the stakes for experimenting with shapes and my reasons for making those shapes are low, really low. Until it’s fired, you get infinite do-overs. That lets me play.”
The Arkansas Art Scene Blog is taking a short break for the Holidays. Check back January 15, 2024 for the start of more interviews with terrific Arkansas Artists.
“I work on both figurative pieces and abstracted landscapes because they inform one another. When I hit a wall with one subject, I can go to the other and find an insight, a fluid methodology.”
“When I think I've actually painted something that creates the illusion of nature, I am humbled by the ‘real thing’.”
“I have always felt very blessed behind the camera. The people I work with seem to open themselves up to me. It's very touching and I never take it for granted.”
“I paint simply for the love of the craft and out of a desire to master it.”
“I love that my position at the museum gives me a “day job” that allows me to use so many of my skills to create and share art, solve historical mysteries like Sherlock Holmes, search for treasures like Indiana Jones, and sometimes curate order out of chaos. It’s a dream job.”
“I consider myself a serious student of art who likes to paint really nutty stuff.”
“I find the medium that I use must serve form and content. I like a graphic line, layers of texture and color, and an energetic mark.”
“I strive to have an abstract quality to my paintings when viewed up close, and if I do my job, it will resolve into a realistic depiction as the viewer gains distance.”
“So far in 2023 there have been 14,343 unique visitors to the blog, a 14.3% increase over 2022!”
“I love watercolor because it moves and changes and creates amazing shapes. It is like reacting and working with something that is alive and has a mind of its own.”
“I got my first camera when I was 13 and began asking my friends to model for me. It’s painful remembering how terrible those images were, but also fascinating to think of it as the foundation for what I’ve done professionally for 31 years.”
“As I grow in my career as an artist, I can’t help but think I will continue to take workshops to enhance my skills so I can pass along that knowledge to others through workshops and other volunteer activity.”
“I've always been influenced by music in my art career – like stealing titles from song lyrics. Sometimes I think I choose art just so I can have something to do while listening.”
