The dreaded Artist Statement »
Hello Everyone :)
I have a big show coming up on Aug 20th at Gallery 360 in Mpls. I’m extremely proud of the work. It is my best yet, for sure. Now I have to work on my artist statement. If you are an artist, you know that this is a troublesome, almost painful task. An artist statement is intended to allow readers to, in a short, concise, interesting way, understand who I am, what I do, how I do it and why I do it. For visual artists words are not often our forte, so this is incredibly perplexing.
By second grade everyone told me, with a strange confidence, that I would be an artist when I grew up. So why I’m compelled to make art is either genetic, or perhaps something amazing happened in years 0-7??
While the WHY question is really tough to peg, the WHAT question is equally as confusing. What do I paint? The easy answer is: botanicals and nature. But how do I use words to explain my memories of my Dutch grandparent’s tulip gardens? Or how those boxes of flowers smelled when they were shipped to our house for my mother’s wedding flower business? How can I explain the pure excitement of seeing that first daffodil sprouting from the muddy, ugly ground?
Even more perplexing is my secret love affair with color. How in the world does one explain that seeing an old house with two different white paints can inspire a painting? Or how I am constantly doing calculations, on walks, drives, the grocery store, as to how I might mix a color with paint?
Then there is the inspiration question. Somehow I need to be able to explain that a color I see at the hardware store, plus the composition of a design of a Japanese textile, plus the lines of a plant on a house I see in South Minneapolis while I walk my dog, can be the foundation for a painting?
That leaves the easy part: how I make a piece. I start with a layer of acrylics, then move to oil paints. I finish it was oil pastels, then a layer of varnish. Riveting? Probably not, but it is the most definite answer I can give to any of these questions.
There really is no good way to explain how all these jumbled thoughts and memories in my head get spilled out onto a canvas. I’m lucky, I have a dear friend who is a writer. Perhaps she can untangle some of this mess. Julie Hanus (Senior Editor of American Craft magazine), I need your help! Save me with your brilliance!
Wish me (and Julie) luck!
Now, how would I mix the color of that light that is shining on Spencer’s fur ?. . . .