Blog - hop!
Now it is Blog - hop time! I was asked to participate in this ongoing blog - hop, and I thought it would be a fun thing to do. Last Monday I was 'tagged' in an artist's blog, and today it is my turn to answer some questions about my art, and to link to three other artist's blogs who will continue the hop next Monday.
The questions:
- How does my creative process work?
- How does my work differ from others of its genre?
- What am I working on now?
- Why do you do what you do?
How does my creative process work?
For many years now I have almost exclusively been painting birds. And
inspiration for painting birds I get every time I see them outside. I have two
ways of approaching my paintings, or two ‘methods’. The first is when I have
already decided what bird to paint and have the reference photo chosen and
ready. Then I start to create an abstract background for that specific bird in
mind. The other way is when I just start playing and experiment with colours
and texture and when I feel that I have a background that I am happy with, I
put it aside until I find the bird to paint on it. The first method usually
results in more harmonic paintings while the second method result in more
experimental and fun paintings.
If I do not have a clear picture in mind for what I want to do on canvas
I take my art journal and experiment with ideas there.
I love to experiment with texture, collage, written text and how to
combine them together to create a complimentary setting for my birds. I usually
try to achieve different kinds of moods and atmosphere in my backgrounds:
calmness, storm, peacefulness, energy, etc. Whatever either tells the story of
how I feel while painting, or the story I want to create for the bird. Often
when I do not know what I feel or what I want to paint, I add a poem or other
written story to the background, and let those words influence what comes next.
If you see one of my flying gulls with backgrounds that mimic the feel and texture
of stormy water, you can be quite sure to find a poem about the soaring see and
the cry of the gulls somewhere on the papers in the background. I have found
that I succeed much better in creating these different atmospheres if I paint
abstract backgrounds, than if I would paint more realistic backgrounds. Not to
mention that it is plain fun to mess around with paint and different materials
and see what you can come up with.
In my journals I use all the materials I have at hand except for oil
colours. When I paint on canvas I use acrylic, acrylic gel medium and different
papers for the background, and oil for when I paint the bird. I am quite picky
when it comes to the material that I use for my paintings. All the papers,
poems or song sheets have some direct connection to me and my life. I only use
book pages from books that I have read, or books in foreign languages that I
have personally bought from the different countries that I have visited, old
letters from my family, or my favourite poems that I always write in my own
handwriting. And when it comes to the birds I try to only paint birds that I
have seen in real life and have been able to get my own reference photo of. Not
only to avoid any copyright infringement, but also to make sure that I not only
get the likeness of the bird right, but that I am able to capture the attitude
and personality of the bird.
In short the birds symbolises the visible, the beauty of the world,
freedom, the touchable and the ‘real’ life. The abstract backgrounds symbolises
the invisible, feelings, atmosphere, and the dream world.
How does my work differ from others of its genre?
I do not think my work differs so much from other artists, although I
hope that I am able to fill my work with something that is uniquely ‘me’. I
know many other artists who combine abstract with realism, but maybe my work is
different in the sense that it is not pure collage, not pure anything. It is
mixed media done my way.
What am I working on now?
I have been working on a series of small bird paintings for an
exhibition in Finland that will open on Saturday the 30th of this
month. I will be exhibiting with 9 other bird artists, and I am so looking
forward to it as I think it will be an unforgettable experience! After that I
have a few commissions that I need to finish.
Suomi's song. Light-vented bulbul. Mixed media on canvas, 30x30cm. This was the last painting I got finished for the exhibition. It just have time to dry for a week now before I will pack it in my suit case and travel with it home to Finland.
Black-headed gull. I don't have a good name for this one yet. Mixed media on canvas, 25x25cm.
Why do you do what you do?
Why do I paint birds, or why do I do art? The first question I have already answered in a previous
post, if you are interested you can read about it here: Why birds? So I will
address the second question here. But I do not know if I actually have an
answer to it. Why do any artist do art or other creative things? Maybe because
I feel that it is the only thing I am really good at. I never get bored doing
art. Nothing is right or wrong as only personal taste matters. The
possibilities are endless and all you need is a little bit of courage to do it.
The artist who tagged me:
Robyn is a writer and mixed media artist with a passion to inspire women to grow in faith through her words and art. She is embracing the creative life, while homeschooling her children, and serving Christ in His church. She and her family reside in Ohio where she leads women’s retreats and Bible studies. Robyn enjoys singing and painting, preferably at the same time.You will find a stack of books on her desk at any given moment. She is an avid reader who travels a well-worn path to her local library.
Here are links to two more artists who will answer the same questions on their blog next Monday:
"I am an artist living in the farm country of north Louisiana, along with my husband, our three cats and seven (yeah, 7!) dogs. I love to paint everything (including the walls in our house) and find constant inspiration in my daily life: dogs, cats, cows, horses, trees, fields, ponds and bayous, morning light, afternoon light ... you get the idea. My work is greatly inspired by the style of America’s Golden Age of Illustration, particularly the work of Howard Pyle, N. C. Wyeth, Maxfield Parrish, Jessie Wilcox Smith, Elizabeth Shippen Green and others. I’ve been painting my whole life, and I have sold my work to patrons all over the USA, Canada, the UK and Europe. As a follower of Christ, and with God’s help, my daily goal is to live every aspect of my life to the glory of God, from the most mundane and necessary of chores to the work I enjoy the best, ever grateful to be able to share whatever gifts I most graciously have been given."
I hope you have enjoyed this hop, and I am always glad and happy to receive comments!!
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