Q. Can you talk about your style and how it came to develop? How do you get the feelings of movement and emotion into your work?
A. "I was trained as a fine artist which is different from a background in illustration, like most commercial artists. I hadn't intended to work commercially. I took an illustration class once to explore that option and the teacher told me to stick to fine art since my work was messy and I couldn't stay within the lines. I was fortunate enough to study with many fine teachers that all contributed different talents. The teacher that influenced me the most was a woman that kept trying to explain how movement in a piece was so important and finally it stuck. I was taught not to "outline" which is why my work has a more loose "painterly" look about it. The style of other artists that I admire is very loose and expressive, though i also appreciate the great skill it takes to render an image "realistically." It's just not my focus. I like to show emotion through brush stroke (if I am oil painting) or through the uncontrollable aspect of watercolor. It's my preference to be able to have the time finish a piece while I am still emotionally connected to it, though if I get stuck (and I do) sometimes I need to leave it for an unknown amount of time until the problem is resolved.
Q. "Do you paint on a regular schedule?"
A. Depends on what is going on in my life. I like lately to work in the later afternoons after I have nothing left to procrastinate with. The light in my studio is wonderfully warm and rich at that time and it's a delight to be in there, especially with some good music and dark chocolate. On a psychological level, the beauty of my new studio sometimes makes it difficult for me to be in there, believe it or not, because it's so pleasurable that I don't let myself have it. Complicated, we humans are. I find that I go through periods where I paint more than others. And always I am especially creative just before my period and during my period. I am usually too spacey to do much else anyhow so I love to take the luxury of just being with my work. I used to tell women that in the painting classes I taught and it seems to be true for many women. Check it out. (whatever you do creatively). I am not the type of painter that paints every day, all day. I find I need to "live life" in order to paint it. If I am oil painting I need a very large block of time to be involved. I never paint at night as I am more of a day person and I always work from natural life though that wasn't the case in my younger days.
Q. What is your preferred medium?
A. I go back and forth between watercolor, oils and collage. I love to oil paint on primed paper even better than canvas at times. It's a smoother look. I find that if I am at all tired I turn to watercolor as it involves less energetically. My oil paintings in the past were very large ( 6 - 7 feet) and took a lot of energy.
Q. Who are some of your favorite artists?
A. Depends on my mood. I used to be very into Egon Schiele, Alice Neel, Soutine, all the expressionists. I like Klimt, Turner's landscapes and I love Bonnard. I could go on and on, but I prefer a "loose expressive hand".
Q. Would Melissa consider donating to my organization?
If you would like to be considered for product donations for fund raising for non-profit organizations, contact Melissa and she will be happy to consider your request.
