As I start this blog post, I already feel the need to apologize to any other artists I've featured that may feel their spotlight waned in comparison. I promise it wasn't intentional, I've just followed Ms. Gwinn for so long that I have much to say! To the best of my knowledge she started her social media presence up around 2012 and I started following her not long after! Her work, to me, is definitively surreal and sometimes grotesque, in the best way. The Sun by Heather Gwinn When I first started following her her artwork was only really pen and paper. She has an amazing eye for composition and design; it amazed me when I found out she's only self-taught. The Tetrad by Heather Gwinn Eventually she started adding color and wow... it really brought her work to life. This piece mildly gives me the creeps, but I cant help but love it. It's visually interesting to me, it feels organic and smooth, and with the neutral palette it makes me think of nature. Kaleidoscope Garden by Heather Gwinn This one mesmerizes me. She keeps her colors muted across most of her pieces and it always gives me this feeling of dysphoria and foreboding. They feel dimensional and otherworldly. It's one of my favorite paintings shes ever done! Artist Q&AWhat medium did you start with? My first medium was pen and ink (Sharpie was the very first). I've always done a lot of writing and penmanship practice so my control of a pen is pretty solid and pens are ALWAYS laying about (until you need one of course). I still do a fair bit of pen and ink work (holla to my Copics ... my homeboys ... my heart) but have spent about 80% of my creative time in the last year with oil paints. What is a medium you’ve always wanted to try? I've done some ceramics historically and would REALLY like to try my hand at sculpting with intent (as opposed to just mucking about - which is delightful in its own way). I like the tactile nature of sculpture, it's like kneading bread or giving a massage - feeling your medium push back against your hands is viscerally satisfying. What subject matter do you feel most drawn to? Birds ... damn birds all day 'err day. I have recently finished three paintings that feature beaks or birds and I have so many more swirling about in my head. Hooded birds, fat birds, thin creepy birds with giant feet, birds with snake hair, birds with ferocity and fear, birds with kindness and wisdom .. hell birds with ferocity and wisdom. I do paint other things sometimes, but the birds just keep coming back. When did you realize you wanted to make a career out of your art? Truly, I'm not really sure I do. I daydream about a life where I wake up and face a canvas every day, where I research techniques and experiment and spend all my hours dreaming and creating. The reality, however; is that the tension between my 'survival job' and my parenting time and my art is very valuable to my process. I've gravitated toward oil painting because of the cure time. I wait for layers to cure and I go off to work or I drive my daughter to rehearsal or I catch some sleep and in the meantime, I am processing and thinking and wondering about my next move with the painting. It makes for a slow progression and sometimes lots of frustration, but I see value in moving slowly with my work and allowing the personal alchemy of my growth as an artist the space it needs. How do you balance making art for money and for fun? Oh that's easy. There was a time, several years ago, when I was selling quite a bit of art and very very aware of my audience. I took commissions and drew the visions others presented to me ... and I was miserable with it. Once creation feels like a job to me some of the magic is lost. I don't create for money anymore. I feel very comfortable with the notion that if I create what I think is marvelous my tribe will show itself. I may never make much money from my work, but I make something far more important. Integrity and authenticity and self respect are, for me, all tied up in being able to do exactly what I want on the canvas. Much of it is not particularly marketable. What do you want to contribute to the art world? Sometimes I wish I thought in terms of the 'art world'. Ultimately, I'd like my contribution to be authenticity and bravery. I'm exhausted with the hiding I've done for acceptance and propriety, the hiding I've done to feel safe. At the St. James Art show in Louisville, many years ago, a man walked by with a young girl in tow, she was probably four or five. They both peeked into my booth and the man went on but the girl lagged behind. She declared that they should stop to look and he said 'That's too weird for me. Not my style.' (which I've heard about four million times since I started sharing my work). The girl sighed and looked disappointed and said 'you never like anything real.' This question makes me think of her and makes me proud that I'd done something she saw as real. She's my audience. What’s your favorite piece of art advice? I'm not entirely sure it's art advice ... as opposed to advice in general. I often encourage people to create something, ANYTHING, that brings them any sense of calm and contentment and worth. The world is hard and living in it is difficult and we are so often forced into small cages of productivity to survive and get by. The very audacious act of being productive and creative when it is NOT required is powerful and builds a sense of agency in me that is hard to achieve in any other way. I create because it makes me feel good and I believe it makes me feel good because it is not required for me to survive, to pay my bills or to engage in my community. It's something I do wholly for me, a purely selfish act... and it's wonderful.
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Welcome to installment number two of my year long series! This month I want to talk about my friend Mani and the colorful art he creates. I first met Mani years ago when we worked at Michael's together and I've watched his progress with his art page over the years. His page started really showing up on my feed more and more and I could tell he was getting serious with his art! I know he really utilizes Patreon which I feel like requires a lot of effort so I commend him for that for sure! Nowadays he sets up at a local artist market regularly and is really establishing a local presence! Go Mani :) Untitled by Mani Blunt I absolutely love this piece. The tree, the butterfly, all of the parts I feel like are so well done and matching. It wasn't even until I saw the piece a second time that I noticed the snail! The best part of this one is the tree to me, the leaves look straight out of an illustrated storybook. It has both weathered and fragile elements to it.... As soon as Mani posted this one I knew it was my top favorite. The original has sold, but prints are available! Artist Q&ATell me about your current medium. For the last year, I’ve been focusing on alcohol-based markers, colored pencils, and pigmented acrylic inks. I’ve found that, even with the limited number of colors available, I can do a lot of fun things with ink-washing techniques from a minimal palette. What medium did you start with? It’s difficult to pin down that exact answer, since I’ve been playing with art for longer than I can remember… but I did a lot with pencils and colored pencils in my early stages after determining that art was my biggest passion. What is a medium you’ve always wanted to try? I would love to be able to get into sculpting or whittling some day, to make figures and not just flat images. What subject matter do you feel most drawn to? Emotions and mental health… growth and discovery. I tend to gravitate towards subjects representative of “life from death” in reflection of my own transformations and regrowth after introspective discoveries. My other focus is also my “inner monster” that I use to represent navigating through life as a person within the LGBT spectrums, in a society that raised me to hide and suppress myself. When did you realize you wanted to make a career out of your art? When art became less about what others wanted me to practice, and more about being something that I enjoyed and could make others happy through, I started more seriously considering finding ways to utilize my talents more regularly. Tell me about a current piece in progress. Currently, I’m making some final touches on a 5x7 piece, which is going to be used as the prize of a contest on my Discord community! The contest involves a currency of watermelon emoticons, so I’m focusing the design on something that represents my brand (wolves) and watermelon. What is a struggle you think you share with other artists in your community? Pricing is a huge struggle for me, and that seems to be a common consensus… how to price yourself in a way that is respectful of your own time and effort, doesn’t hurt the economy of other artists, but is also within a reasonable and attainable range for clients. How do you balance making art for money and for fun? While it’s important to get through the projects you’ve promised to clients, you definitely have to give yourself some downtime for personal projects. This allows you to experiment with techniques, and gives you a reprieve for more freedom of expression. Art can be professional work, but if you don’t allow yourself room to breathe, you may find yourself burning out quickly. What is your favorite painting technique? Ink-wash has been my favorite medium and technique to explore. I’ve learned a lot from watercolor and oil painting, and some from digital; but it will never cease to impress me how much I can do with inks and how versatile they are. What artists inspire you? One of my early inspirations was Allison Strom (Shirotsuki on DeviantArt, AllieBirdSeed on Tumblr); she made such whimsical pieces that connected me to other realms within my imagination and kindled the flames of my love for fantasy. She was so warm and cheery to meet back in 2010, and watching her travel across the country and continue to grow in her craft for years to come was encouraging that, some day, that could be me. I have many more from across the years, but my current inspirations are more recent and closer to home. I’ve only known them for a brief few weeks, but between Philip Bawasanta (Phil Tomato) and Ryan Barry, I’ve been introduced to a network of international artists who genuinely want to help each other grow. As artists within the professional industry, I’m in awe of how they both work through their craft and tackle their daily struggles within society. What do you want to contribute to the art world? One of my favorite compliments that I’ve received on my art is that “It helps me feel less alone in the world.” I want to make pieces that move people, that connect with people, things that inspire people and make them feel. I’m not afraid of showcasing my odd tastes and styles, getting a few uncomfortable grimaces here and there, if it means two to three times as many people feel less ostracized from seeing someone else like them. Everyone deserves to feel loved and be seen… even us “odd ducks”. What’s your favorite piece of art advice? Practice. Practice always, practice everything, and keep pushing your limits and comfort zones. Draw as frequently as you can, even if some pieces don’t feel as refined as others. Too many artists will stop producing art because they feel it doesn’t meet their standards, but they haven’t put much time into it; we see amazingly talented people producing beautiful works, and instantly assign in our heads that our quality should look the same. Everyone has starting points, stepping stones, and things to learn. The only way to the top is to keep climbing. If this is your passion, please keep moving -- I promise you it’s worth it. Tell me about your favorite piece of artwork you’ve ever done. I can honestly say that I love a lot of my pieces for their aesthetic and heartwarming qualities… but, at this time, I would have to say that my favorite piece of artwork is still “Fear and Monsters”. It depicts a humanoid form, with a monster’s skull and fur, lying in a pool of blood and surrounded by clouds of shadow and smoke. Within the clouds are the words “I’ve met many demons and supped with monsters; but the ones I fear most will always be humans.” I made this piece to represent a lot of things in my life… from my physical and social gender transition (assigned female at birth, but transmasculine), to the social “taboo” of mental health struggles, down to just being outside of the cookie-cutter “normals” and status quo. For much of my life growing up, I was the odd one out that people didn’t generally want to be around; I was a decent enough person, but I didn’t fit their ideals of what a “normal girl” would be like. I didn’t know how to talk about my struggles with depression and suicidal thoughts--especially not when my own mother denied that they existed, and declared that I was just seeking attention. I wanted to be seen… without drawing attention to myself. I never knew how to find that balance, and was often left out of things until I started pretending to be the person my parents and peers wanted me to be. I fell into the trap of a “people pleasing” mentality. I wanted to be loved for who I was… but no “normal” human would understand me. Only the fellow misfits and outcasts would spend enough time with me to get to know me. To this day, this is my most meaningful piece of art in my portfolio, and is the one that speaks the loudest to the fellow “Monsters” who can relate. Welcome to the first of 12 artist spotlight posts I have planned! This month I'm featuring Artelies, a bright and bold painter out of South Carolina. I originally first saw her work at a convention/market and from there found her on social media. Her style is extremely recognizable, focusing around owls, fantasy, and bright color! All some of my favorite things. Sunny Side Owl By Artelies One of my favorite paintings she's done. I've never seen an artist be able to turn anything into an owl... including an egg yolk. A master of many textures, I've watched Artelies paint everything from glass to fur to egg white over the years and she nails it every time. Untitled by Artelies I really couldn't choose just one piece to feature. You all know my soft spot for anatomical hearts and this one really just takes the cake. She has other heart paintings that are equally gorgeous, but the tentacle/rib combination really makes this piece special. Artist Q&ATell me about your current medium. So currently I'm using acrylic , colors are bright , the paint dry fast which I love ! Tried oil once .. was not a fan What medium did you start with? I started with acrylic paints What is a medium you’ve always wanted to try? Can't think of anything at the moment. What subject matter do you feel most drawn to? Well owls of course When did you realize you wanted to make a career out of your art? 2012 I sold my first painting for 35 bucks to someone a barely knew. I knew it was something I wanted to continue doing so I did Tell me about a current piece in progress. I just finished a shadow box of an owl version of the mad hatter ! Love it ! What is a struggle you think you share with other artists in your community? Reaching people of social media. And also learning the business side to all this. How do you balance making art for money and for fun? I paint stuff that inspires me I try not to take on to many commission pieces. What is your favorite painting technique? I wouldn't know how to explain lol What artists inspire you? Jasmine Griffith , Jesse Smith,...so many more! What are your thoughts on the duct tape banana? Lol some people have to much money Do you have a favorite art movement? Not sure What do you want to contribute to the art world? Don't know if have have anything knew to offer lol What’s your favorite piece of art advice? Paint everyday Tell me about your favorite piece of artwork you’ve ever done. So hard to pick one but I loved this good dog and octo piece I did they were fighting ... Much going on so many colors ...big eyes .. love bigs eyes , sadly it got ripped but it's cool I'll happily keep it to myself |
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