Words with Friends | Dorothy O'Connor

February 5, 2024 Amy Parry

Art as Therapy: In Conversation with

Dorothy O’Connor

Dorothy O’Connor is an interesting and complicated person to interview. She uses an intuitive process, tapping into her subconscious to create her work, only to see the meaning of certain things in hindsight. APP caught up with her to gain some insight to her process.

APP: Many of your photographs have a fashion editorial feeling to them. Have you done any commercial photography?

DO: I went back to school at 30 to study photography, but I made a conscious decision not to do commercial work. I’m a tomboy but I love fashion, so the women in my photos are my alter-egos – and I try to incorporate fashion that is timeless – these are the beautiful things that live in the fantastical world that I create.

APP: How do you decide what elements to bring into the setting?

DO: I just make whatever it is without trying to figure out the why or the what while I’m making it. I think it is more authentic if the subconscious just comes through (as it does) and later, when the piece is finished, I can look back in hindsight and piece through what I was doing and why. Like looking back at a particularly vivid dream and figuring out what your subconscious is trying to open your eyes to. The significance of the elements I include can sometimes reveal themselves to me years later.

When I get an idea, I just have to jump in and do it. It’s an impulse, which is a godsend and a curse, because sometimes it makes me start in the wrong order, so I have to undo it and start again, often just to get the color on the walls just right.

APP: Tell me about The Flood. I love the fashion aspect, and the juxtaposition of bringing the outdoor elements in is somewhat jarring and unexpected. And congratulations on the placement at the airport!

DO: Thanks! They just told me they are keeping it installed for another year! That piece came about as a result of my work at an animal rescue. It was very important and very difficult work, but it was a great way for me to be connected to animals (my great love,) and the community. The piece contains many symbolic elements pertaining to so many things.

A few things of significance to me stand out in reference to my experiences in animal welfare and the processing of the unconscious and the grief, and trauma. The water level line reaching just about my height and then receding and the question of whether the room will flood again, but next time perhaps higher. The deer head; beautiful but not alive – I have always associated deer with innocence, vulnerability, and also insight and life. Empty wasps’ nests growing on the woman’s dress like she has been in a place of peril for too long and it has taken root…the three hornets’ nests on the wall (I see that also having a connection to my religious upbringing, and also hornets’ nests symbolizing danger/trouble/death), bones in the dirt…her reach feels like a sliver of a moment to leave that place or risk being pulled back and getting forever mired.

APP: How do you connect the hornets’ nests to religion?

DO: Something about them and the way they are placed reminds me of the holy trinity - and not to sound totally goofy but the natural world has certainly become akin to religion for me (probably always was). When I was little, my parents were born again as Charismatic Catholics. I have many stories - we will have to get a beer sometime! ;) I stopped going to church when I was 14 or 15 I believe - but all of that is quite ingrained. There is so much about sacrifice and martyrdom - especially in Catholicism - to serve selflessly is pious. But it can be incredibly detrimental and dangerous.

APP: What are you currently working on?

DO: I am currently working on an image that will be the latest work in my Scenes series. I reshot it for the third time this past July. Due to many factors - the process has gotten drawn out way more than I hoped it would, but I am now realizing that it just wasn't meant to be finished in 2023. Last year was all about change, processing and learning ;) 2024 feels solid - like forward motion on firmer ground.

To learn more about Dorothy’s work, please visit her website www.dorothyoconnor.com

Words with Friends | Sara Pittman

December 4, 2023 Amy Parry

Letting Nature Take Over: In Conversation with

Sara Pittman

This month Amy Parry Projects visited with Atlanta-based painter Sara Pittman. We discussed her process and progression as an abstract painter, travels to Japan and the exciting news of expecting her first child. APP worked with Sara on our Boca West Country Club project, and we have the pleasure of commissioning a new piece of original work at the 1441 Peachtree luxury apartments, opening summer, 2024.

Untitled, 54”x54”, Oil and Acrylic on Canvas, 2023

APP: Congratulations on your upcoming new addition! Do you think that pregnancy has changed how you paint?

SP: Definitely! I discovered that I had to throw my hands up and let nature take over. My work has evolved from purely non-representational to a suggestion of blooming flowers, while still not being literally floral, which evokes the symbolism of giving birth.

APP: What about your trip to Japan? What kind of inspiration did you find there?

SP: Prior to my trip I was feeling burnt out, like I was wearing shoes that no longer fit. That trip helped me see through new eyes. I was inspired by the sounds, the smells, the way women moved, and I tried to be open to all the beautiful things. I loved the way that kimono patterns contained florals which almost burst into landscape patterns, and I began creating a hint of landscape (again not being literal) in my work. There is an evolution from completely abstract, to the addition of floral and landscape, and reabsorbing those qualities into the abstract.

(Floral) Wonderland, 48”x72”, Oil and Acrylic on Canvas, 2023

APP: It seems like abstract work can be the most difficult to create because of the endless possibilities. What is your starting point? How do you decide what shapes and colors to put to canvas?

SP: I always take 10 minutes before I start painting to make sure I’m in the right headspace. Otherwise, I know it’s not going to work. Then it takes about an hour to get into the flow of it. If I have the right mindset, the painting just reveals itself. If you know yourself, and you’re really being intuitive, the work is a reflection of you. The flow part is like a yoga practice, pursuing curiosity, not perfection.

(Non Representational) Entanglement, 40”x30”, Oil and Acrylic on Canvas, 2023

APP: It also sounds like a meditation practice.

SP: Yes! I used to listen to podcasts while I worked, but I realized that I wasn’t completely present while painting and the flow wasn’t there. Now I listen to music. To me, musicians are the most creative of all artists.

APP: What kind of music do you listen to? Does the kind of music you hear affect your work?

SP: All kinds, pop, alternative, Bon Iver…when Fall hits (my favorite season,) I always put on a Fall-sounding playlist (music that makes me feel cozy,) which helps me to slow down and really get into the flow. Then when I need more energy, I play some Indie-Pop, and I might create something like a leaf caught in the wind.

APP: What would be your dream project?

SP: I’d like to create a huge backdrop for a stage for a ballet. And it must involve music, so maybe a symphony playing at the same time. To combine all these practices would be so beautiful. When I look at a painting, I often hear music.

APP: If you had any advice for other artists, what would it be?

SP: Just keep pushing and have a backbone about rejection. It’s not about you. For every good day, I have 10 rough days, so persistence is vital. Also be open to learning more about yourself, your strengths, your quirks, so you can create something truly intuitive.

To learn more about Sara’s work, please visit her website

Words with Friends | Chintia Kirana

July 10, 2023 Amy Parry

Chintia Kirana: Creating Poetry from the Mundane

Chintia has an interesting story of how her art developed and evolved over time. Born in Indonesia, she came to Montgomery, AL as a refugee with her family at 12 years old, carrying only one suitcase of all her belongings. She had to choose what to bring, and what to leave behind. As a result, she has turned to collecting items that have meaning for her. Amy Parry Projects spent part of an afternoon with her at shedspace, a lovely outdoor space at Whitespace Gallery, where her work was recently on view.

APP: What was it like growing up in Montgomery?

CK: I felt like an outsider, and I was thrown into school without being able to speak English at all. I loved to draw, so I did a lot of that in class. I was able to go back to Indonesia in 2012, and realized that I am an outsider there too…not really being a part of either place completely. It was after my visit that I really started thinking about what home means, and what are the materials I can gather to represent who I am. My grandparents have passed away since my visit, and my cousins have grown big, so the passage of time is also something I want to convey.

APP: What kinds of things do you like to collect?

CK: I like to collect discarded items from everyday activities. Eggshells resonate, because to me they represent the beauty and fragility of life, and a kind of tragic-ness. I collect ash from rituals my family observes, burning joss paper as ghost money for our ancestors, as well as the carbon that comes from build up from the giant wok my family used at their restaurant. I compress those materials to make charcoal and ink for my work. Having left so many things behind, collecting is therapeutic for me. It’s how I heal, and I love the poetry of giving these mundane items another life. With the charcoal I have produced a series called Letters To Loved Ones, after thinking about all the things I’d like to say to my grandparents.

APP: The eggshell installation at shedspace looks like a lovely delicate mobile or wind chimes. Do you preserve them somehow to make them more durable?

CK: I really love the temporary feeling that this space projects…right in the middle of the garden, almost existing outdoors. Right now I coat them with a polyacrylic to give them more sheen.

APP: You mention your fascination with light and shadow on your website.

CK: Yes, earlier I did drawings of dilapidated buildings with a lot of shadow. They were not exactly inviting, but for some reason they draw you in. And in Indonesia we have shadow puppets, which is how we learn about our culture and history. In 3D art, you have to take up more space, and affect the space around the work with the shadows. It makes it more interesting to look at. And with a person, you only get to see a certain part of them depending on how much light you shine on them.

APP: What’s up next?

CK: Little Amal, the puppet of the Syrian refugee girl, has asked me to do a collaboration with them. She is coming to 35 cities in the United States, including Montgomery, in the Fall. In this collaboration I will be able to explore the theme of “what home means.” I love to do work that doesn’t always stay in one place, and keep the work socially engaged, and connected to the community. I’m not sure yet what I’m going to do with collaboration, but it will probably involve eggshells. The location is the site of the old slave market, and I want to pay homage to the history of the place and connect to the present time.

To learn more about Chintia’s work, please visit her website

Words with Friends | Beth Kamhi

May 22, 2023 Amy Parry

Strength and Beauty: A Dynamic Conversation with artist Beth Kamhi

We recently commissioned Beth Kamhi to create a triptych for a residential project, and it has been a pleasure to get to know her a little. Her sculptural wall installations create an interesting balance between industrial and glam, hard and soft, masculine and feminine. Her use of metal ball chain conveys a tough yet delicate feeling throughout her work.

APP: What is your inspiration for using industrial ball chains for your pieces?

BK: My career began in fashion, then in interior design, incorporating faux finishing and textile design, designs for furniture, and eventually I started making art with various materials, but the ball chain just resonated with me. I got hold of a whole bin of it that was rusted out, and I just fell in love. At the time I was also working with VHS tape, and trying other materials like twine and string, because the ball chain can get quite heavy, but it just wasn’t the same.

APP: A lot of it looks like sculptural jewelry or draperies.

BK: Yes! It is a mash up of all the things I have made and designed in earlier days. If you don’t know the scale, some pieces look like earrings. Some are looped through rings so it feels like fabric or hair, and I paint on some of them to create landscape images that have a beaded curtain feeling, and I have painted faces on some, and with the faces I did a kiss series.

APP: How do you paint the ballchain?

BK: Just freehand. I tighten the chain, then paint it and seal it. I don’t paint each individual ball or anything.

APP: You have some pieces with wooden vessels that look like tribal instruments that are really beautiful.

BK: Those are turned wood, that I embellished with the ball chain. I called that the antiquity series, and I really distressed the ball chain with caustic elements to make them have a weathered pearl like lustre. I don't do that anymore because of the chemicals. It was very messy!

APP: Tell us about the commission you are working on for APP.

BK: It’s part of a series called Tension. It’s ball chain woven through rings that creates a nice tug of power, and then it pools on the ground in puddles. You don’t know what part is pulling, and what’s holding. I like that it looks a bit like fiber art.

APP: What is your dream project?

BK: For years I’ve been thinking about making words with the ballchain, and I’ve finally figured it out. I’d love to do a piece for a big public space with words that creates engagement and a sense of wonderment. I recently bid on a project for an airport. It could say WHERE ARE YOU GOING,...ENJOY THE JOURNEY…we will see…reach for the stars!

APP: That would be a good phrase too! What is next on the horizon?

BK: I’m currently offering large scale prints of my work, and working on prints for wallpaper and fabrics that can be printed on demand. I’m pretty excited about it!

APP: Why do you think the ball chain resonates with you as much as it does?

BK: I like the way the balls are connected, and how it reflects that we are all connected. They are strong, but they can also be really messy, just like life.

To learn more about Beth’s work, please visit her website

Words with Friends | Kerry Steele

March 6, 2023 Amy Parry

Immersed in the Abstract: Kerry Steele

Kerry Steele is an artist based in Charleston, SC who works with Amy Parry Projects, most recently on our Boca West Country Club installation, as well as some residential work. Her use of color and shape draws from nature and adapts well to commissioned work.

APP: What do you think about when you paint?

KS: I think about absolutely nothing. I used to listen to music, but now I don't even do that. Sometimes I create an abstract that is more floral in feeling, or a kind of landscape but not really...I'll add some scribbles to suggest mountains, and then move the paint around the canvas, layering the colors for depth.

APP: What are your favorite colors to work with?

KS: I like to layer a lot of colors on top of each other. There might be some brown or green underneath to make it more interesting, but there may only be a centimeter of that color visible, and that gives the layering some complexity. I also love to paint with orange.

APP: Besides abstracts, you also paint nudes. Where do you get the inspiration?

KS: My grandmother was also an artist, and she also painted abstracts and nudes. Her abstracts were more geometrical, and the paint didn't overlap. Her nudes were not similar to mine either. She always painted a face - I try to leave out facial features. I try to leave a lot out.

APP: What else have you done besides paint?

KS: I used to own my own design firm, and a lot of my work is commissions for interior designers. My artwork has now led me back into the design world by painting for show houses and High Point Market.

To learn more about Kerry’s work, please visit her website

kerrysteele.com

Words with Friends | Melissa Borrell

January 9, 2023 Amy Parry

Melissa Borrell: Finding Art in Sacred Geometry

Melissa Borrell is a multimedia artist who began her career making jewelry as a RISD grad. Seeing how the geometric shapes of her jewelry played with light and shadow, she began to expand into large-scale sculptural pieces. Her work includes 3D wall installations as well as immersive works enveloping multiple rooms. The artist recently sat down with APP to discuss current projects, inspiration, and dreams for the future.

APP: Hi Melissa! We really love the sculpture you made for us at The Wave Hotel in Lake Nona, Florida. It seems to be lit from within, but it’s not. How did you create that effect?

MB: I’m working a lot lately with laser cut acrylic in bright colors, and for that piece I used an “edge glow” acrylic. It is similar to fiber optics, taking ambient light in and then concentrating it on the edges. I called that piece TetraHedonism, playing on the geometric shapes that I used, and the indulgences that can be experienced at the Lake Nona Wave Hotel. I love how the bright acrylic pieces create new colors when layered together.

APP: Since your shapes are very abstract, where do you get your inspiration? Are you referencing anything specific?

MB: I look at things in nature, plants for example, and see how they build forms and connections at a cellular level. I’m inspired by Charles and Rae Eames “The Power Of Ten” Video (you can see it on Youtube). Right now I’m doing a piece for a chemical engineering company, and I’m looking at chemistry to inform the shapes I will create.

APP: What is the wildest project you have worked on?

MB: I’m part of an artist collective called Vision Gland, and we made an immersive environment called KaleidoscopiCave. It was made out of Mylar, and had several rooms, so you could wander through it. Inspired greatly by geometric abstraction, I played with different forms and angles of the three-dimensional space.

APP: What is your dream project?

MB: I’d like to design a playground. I like for my work to be kinetic, functional, and interactive, which is why I like to design jewelry, but I’m more and more interested in bigger scale. I’ve already created a design for an outdoor bench, but a play space is definitely a dream of mine.

To learn more about Melissa’s work, please visit her website

melissaborrell.com

Words with Friends | Janice Rago

November 28, 2022 Amy Parry

An Artist in Bloom:

In Conversation with Janice Rago

APP met with Janice Rago at her studio in SW Atlanta; an expansive enclave she shares with other local Atlanta artists. For a big artists warehouse, it is surprisingly organized and also very cheerful, with two adorable Aussie shepherds in residence. Janice's space is a small room within where she creates beautiful works full of female forms and flowers.

APP: What is the significance of flowers in your work?

JR: My mom was a florist, growing up in Hawaii. She made everything beautiful, so that was always around me, and my love of flowers came from that. In college all I painted was flowers, and hated painting figures. As a senior I took it on as a challenge, and painted figures that whole year. Now I paint figures with flowers, but I am starting to mask them more. I try to leave some mystery, and people viewing my work tell me that they can project whatever they're feeling to the work.

APP: We see a lot of murals of yours around town. Can you tell us how you got involved in that?

JR: I started about 5 or 6 years ago with Forward Warrior, which is a 2 day event in Cabbagetown. We paint a section of a wall on Wylie, (I paint over the same space every year,) and whatever you put up there, you finish in two days. It's fun because artists usually work alone, and we all get to have a big catch up moment. It's a nice weekend event for the neighborhood, so everyone comes out to watch the process, and it becomes an ever changing canvas for the neighborhood.

APP: I also love the mural on Highland Av at the Laundromat.

JR: Yes! That one is a few years old. I've been wanting to update that one. I just got married to Nick Carse, of King of Pops, and they had a big KOP mural on the other side of the building back in the day. The city at that time wasn't used to murals, and because painted advertisements could only be a certain size, they painted over it. I did a later mural in the same place for KOP.

APP: I remember that! I was so disappointed when the first one disappeared! What is your percentage of murals to paintings?

JR: About 50-50%, but I am slowly getting away from murals, because there are a lot requests for things I don't do normally. So I'm starting to say no more, or refer other friends who are artists.

APP: I see you do some mural collabs with Lela Brunet.

JR: Yeah I love her to death. We work together really well because our styles complement each other, but our methods are different. Mine is more organic, and hers are more structured figures. It's good on big mural projects to work together, because sometimes it's scary working alone on a mural. One time a guy hid in some nearby bushes watching me paint for an hour, and sometimes there are late night hours that makes it risky for a woman.

APP: Who are the women in the paintings?

JR: They are composites of women I see...I take different features from different people and put them together in a way that I like. I assemble the ideas in a computer program called ProCreate before I commit to canvas.

APP: What's up next for you?

JR: This spring I'm doing a mural for the Atlanta Botanical Gardens. It will be 28' x 12', for the Orchid Days Exhibit. It'll be done in March or April. I'm super excited about that!

APP: What else do you do when you're not painting?

JR: I have 2 Aussie shepards, and my husband and I love to garden. We have transformed my yard with probably 15,000 plants. Mostly florals, but vegetables too. it's constantly changing.

To learn more about Janice’s work, please visit her website

janiceragoart.com

Words with Friends | Kyle Brooks, aka Black Cat Tips

October 10, 2022 Amy Parry

The Spirit Behind His Art:

An Interview with Kyle “Black Cat Tips” Brooks

Kyle Brooks, better known as Black Cat Tips, is as colorful a character as his artwork. The self-proclaimed poet, thinker, and “teller of tales,” first started painting as a hobby, but soon began experimenting with public art. Painting on abandoned buildings, what he dubbed “Street Folk Art,” created visibility for his artwork, which soon led to commissions and a full-time career as an artist.

Kyle sat down with APP to discuss his origin, inspiration and the thought process that goes into his whimsical creations.

APP: Where does the name "Black Cat Tips" originate?

KB: I never have the best answer for it. I’ve always liked words and mixing and matching words. At the time, I liked the way it sounded. Years before I was making art, I needed a name for a website. I could have named it anything—I could have named it Bobby.

But instead I named it Black Cat Tips… it was just a crazy name I came up with. And now look, I’ve turned into one. I like the magic of some way some words work together. Almost accidental things: the way these things happen out of your control. And maybe I like the way your brain picks up these things and turns them into something else?

APP: So much of the artist's identity has to do with finding a sense of place, whether geographical or communal. When did you find your artistic space?

KB: The semi-brief version was I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I just knew I liked to make things, whether music or drawing. I had an office job that I landed with my Photoshop skills, was recording music and driving a van.

With my free time, I started painting for fun on my own. Painting one thing after another in a new free way. Just fooling around, and over 7-8 years I just painted and painted and painted as a hobby at home.

Then, I got laid off from my office job. My wife said I should show people my paintings and do something with it… I did that, and also started tinkering around with putting art out in public with a street art component. Which is where I came up with the term “Street Folk Art.” I would paint on boarded up windows on abandoned houses, because it wouldn’t hurt the house… it grew and grew, the more people that saw my work on the street led to people buying paintings. I got asked to do bigger and bigger projects and talks. It’s strange and amazing that I’m still going. I feel lucky to be able to do this.

APP: How do you approach storytelling in your work? What story are you trying to tell?

KB: That’s a great question. I appreciate that. It’s funny, when I paint if I’m not looking at something or have a topic, I paint: boots, flowers, and a lot of faces. And then little houses. I always wonder why I paint these things- oh, and I paint clouds! I like to push myself to paint other stuff, but I always gravitate to those objects.

I guess a lot of my stories are strange explanations or meanderings on things I see and think about. I like to communicate. And long-winded answers that never get there. What am I trying to tell?

Part of it is I struggle inside with a lot of things. Painting is fun. It’s happy, it’s always been a therapy to me. It helps me. I would do it even if I didn’t need the money. I would still do it because I feel compelled to. It helps me mentally.

APP: If you didn't live and create Georgia, where else would you like to make art?

KB: I’d like to live out toward the Southwest. I grow tropical plants, so I like humidity. I’ve always lived close to the area I’m in now. Maybe somewhere in the high desert… I don’t like the cold. Let’s say I’d try New Mexico for a year but then may just come back to sopping wet Dekalb County. At least I can paint with a fan and air-conditioning inside.

To learn more about Kyle’s work, please visit his website

blackcattips.com

Words with Friends | Michelle Armas

September 14, 2022 Amy Parry

Colorful Studies: An Interview with Michelle Armas

Elizabeth Stephenson (APP) for Amy Parry Projects

Michelle Armas is an abstract painter based out of Decatur, GA. She works out of her home studio, with her husband and daughter a welcome shout away. A career in graphic design and a stint at Landor in New York City led her to discover her love for painting. With a focus on color, she experiments with what she's termed the "impulse of composition." Her vibrant work has been featured in Sea Contemporary Art Space, Gregg Irby Gallery, and *designsponge, among others.

APP: My favorite of your abstract expressionistic series are the "Totems on Raw Canvas." What drew you to that shape and process?

MA: My husband and I took our daughter on a year-long trip to Europe, spending 3 months at a time in each location. I wanted to be able to paint easily, with bright pigments that had to quickly dry. So I thought, "Bring ink, raw canvas." I wanted to also have a shape in mind to make the process more streamlined. In the Nordic countries, I was moved by the idea of a totem, a shape familiar to us as humans. But I couldn't wait to start the totem series until we went to the Nordic countries. I started painting them right away once we got to Europe! The colors and places moved me, and that's where that series began.

APP: How does landscape impact your work?

MA: I love trees. I love that they work together, as a system. They make each other stronger, and support each other. The sound of wind through the leaves is so beautiful. Even the way the sunlight dapples through the leaves. That's one of the reasons I love Atlanta. So many trees! We have ones in our yard that are over 200 years old. So big you can't hug them, wrap your hands around. I use nature as inspiration for color and organic shape in my work.

APP: You stated, "I create to express what I can not say with words and to feel connected to the impulse of composition." What process do you use while painting to capture these emotions?

MA: It comes from my mantra on life. I’m very inspired by the journey. It embodies my idea of living beyond my limits and not settling, always striving for better. Having the courage to keep going no matter what. With adversity: there’s always something, there’s always going to be something. That dream, or that goal, is still possible. Keep going!

APP: What is a dream you've fulfilled in your artistic career?

MA: I'm moved by color, as much as I am movement and experience. For me, color is 100% emotional, and I'm an emotional person. Painting helps me get it out. When it comes to color in art, we all feel something different. For every person it's different. And I find that to be powerful.

APP: What is your first memory of color?

MA: My father was an artist, and always encouraged me to make art. My first memory of color is him bringing home colored pencils for me to draw with, and me taking them out and thinking "These are amazing! These are the best things!" My mother also would wear a canary yellow jacket with an eggplant scarf, and I thought that was just "Yes!" The women in my Spanish family have an appreciation for colorful things. Every woman has a bright red bag, it's "our thing."

APP: How has the art community in Atlanta shaped your career?

MA: It's shaped it tremendously! Back in 2006-2007 I joined an all group of women artists, mostly pattern designers in Atlanta. We met each month for four years, and called ourselves the Pattern Sisterhood. We supported each other, commiserated with each other, were each other's guinea pigs. It was a round table of design where we became best friends... and that is everywhere in Atlanta. You can find your people, your supporters. It's a place where you can make friends easily, connect, and why I love it here.

To learn more about Michelle’s work, please visit her website

michellearmas.com

Words with Friends | Jermaine Clark

August 16, 2022 Amy Parry

Jermaine Clark: Blurring the Line Between Marks and Text

Elizabeth Stephenson (APP) for Amy Parry Projects

A painter born and raised in St. Louis, Jermaine Clark studied at Alabama A&M University before moving to Atlanta to pursue his artistic career. His work combines contemporary portraiture with text, and reflects studio training and a background in street art and graffiti. Jermaine beautifies our Atlanta not only through his murals and paintings, but with his tireless work ethic and upbeat attitude. He is currently working on a mural in the Summerhill neighborhood, and participated in Amy Parry Projects and The Atlanta Hawks Basketball Art Installation at State Farm Corporate Headquarters. Jermaine recently sat down with APP’s Elizabeth Stephenson to discuss his work and life in Atlanta.

APP: You recently participated in a Basketball Art Project with the Atlanta Hawks and Amy Parry Projects. If you had to pick an “Artist Dream Team,” who would it be?

JC: The best of all time: I’ll start with one of the first people I studied in high school, Chuck Close… his work amazed me. The things he said about “Showing up to work everyday and not waiting for inspiration,” spoke to me. Of course, Basquiat. And Kehinde Wiley, I would put up there as one of the top living artists. Representation means a lot to me, to see another black male artist working at that scale— his work is phenomenal. Going left a little bit, Banksy. I grew up in a world of graffiti and hip hop, his work is profound work on the streets. And my wildcard is Peter Ferrari, that’s my guy. I love his work… he deserves his flowers, he’s very humble…I love to give him his flowers when I can.

APP: As a muralist and painter, do you find one more fitted to your aesthetic?

JC: I don’t prefer one or the other. With outdoor murals, weather is always a factor, and the elements. But it adds to the challenge, and I love a good challenge. I love to tackle things, face adversity, and then complete them. In the studio, I like to crank out a painting and live with that piece in my creative space. But I also like climbing ladders, dealing with the weather, and beautifying the neighborhood… That’s an important part of what we have to do as artist: extend ourselves to our community.

APP: Where does name of your art brand "Still Dreamin'" originate?

JC: It comes from my mantra on life. I’m very inspired by the journey. It embodies my idea of living beyond my limits and not settling, always striving for better. Having the courage to keep going no matter what. With adversity: there’s always something, there’s always going to be something. That dream, or that goal, is still possible. Keep going!

APP: What is a dream you've fulfilled in your artistic career?

JC: Overall, I’m living my dream. So, I am achieving. I’ve always wanted to be a working artist. I didn’t know what it looked like, or what it would take to get here, but I did it…For me, I’m always working on the next best thing, it’s hard for me to see that I’m here now. I’m living my dream.

APP: How does living in Atlanta contribute to your art?

JC: Living in Atlanta was the turning point in realizing my dream. I’m from a small town, where there’s no representation of African American professional artist, I didn’t see that it was a possibility growing up. But I knew I had to do it. Atlanta has a diverse culture that appreciates the arts community. The journey would have been more difficult if I wasn’t here—Atlanta is validating and gives encouragement. There’s something here for everybody. Find your tribe and find your opportunities. If you have a little hustle and networking, the sky is the limit. And I’m here.

To learn more about Jermaine’s work, please visit his website

xmainestudios.com

Words with Friends | Sarah Gee Miller

June 29, 2021 Amy Parry

A message on determination, bringing order to chaos and sharing beauty with a world that may not always deserve it from Sarah Gee Miller

Sarah Gee Miller proves that every boundary we are taught to believe exists in the world of art is in fact mutable. Self-taught and an artist who began later in life, Sarah Gee Miller creates dynamic and vibrant paintings on panel that have something to say in more ways than one. Despite being impatient and messy herself, her precise works demonstrate what you can accomplish when you devote yourself completely to your craft.

Our call caught her in the middle of completing some works on paper; after speaking, I realized that this was something of a full circle moment in her career as paper collages were her first foray into art making.

Sarah is currently creating a large scale dimensional piece for the lobby of the spectacular Wave Hotel we are working on in Lake Nona, FL. The project gave us the opportunity to commission her after admiring her work from afar for several years.

APP: You mentioned that you learned a lot working on this piece for us; I was wondering if you could tell me more about your process? There’s so much layering to it; did you encounter any difficulties related to that?

SGM: I thought it was probably a good idea to make one again. I have made paintings with the raised parts before, but I used a form of plastic that wasn’t stable; within weeks the plastic warped and fell off so I stopped doing that. With my new process, I hired someone who cuts plywood using a laser. I send the files to his computer and he cuts the shapes that I want, from there I can build the panel. I work on a wood panel normally, so I would build up from that wood panel using those shapes. It’s fascinating because once you add three dimensionality to a painting, everything changes. They cast a shadow and everything comes alive. It was very different and now he’s ready to go for this big job. It was very fun to do it and now all I wanna do is add those extra elements onto my paintings.

APP: I saw that you have an interest in paintings that “assume the physicality of sculpture.” That seems to align really well with this technique. Even though your works aren’t sculptural in the traditional sense, they have that energy and presence of sculpture. Is that something you’ve always been drawn to?

SGM: Always! My next attempt is to have paintings attached to a piece of wire that comes out of the wall, not a mobile but a painting that’s suspended in air. I’m really interested in sculptural issues but I’m not a sculptor and I don’t want to be. However, I do find that my paintings are really sculptural in intention because all around me when I was growing up were these totems from the First Nations people. I think that kinda seeped into my brain in a weird way. I remember as a child walking through a museum and being struck with awe at these modernist shapes from hundreds of years ago. I thought, “these people had it all figured out!” I’ve always been trying to get to where they were because they did it so naturally, and with such commanding power. Sculpture and totems and objects in space are all really important to me.

APP: It sounds to me like the art of the First Nations people was hugely inspirational for you. I had also gotten the sense that the city of Vancouver plays a role in your work, would you agree?

SGM: I owe a huge debt to the First Nations people around me. To this day, I walk down the street and see casual graffiti better than anything I could ever do. The Haida people, the Kwakiutl people, we're all living on their lands here in Vancouver. I’ve also been really influenced by the art of the 60s here in Vancouver because Asians were a huge part of it. I have several heroes here [like] Gordon Smith who sadly passed away at 100. He was an early hard-edge Pop pioneer. His buddies were people like Tanao Tanabe and Roy Kiyooka. Those guys were as Modernist and as Pop as anything else. I love that Vancouver is, on its best days, a real melting pot of Asian and British and First Nations. Everyone came together to produce amazing, amazing art.

APP: I was struck by the quote from your artist statement that, “the technique is itself a language” especially in connection to your use of font based forms. Could you elaborate on your unique use of language?

SGM: Yeah! Actually most of the shapes that I paint with are fonts. I have between 1,000 and 1,500 fonts that are weird. I have alien fonts, science fiction type fonts, wingdings, and other kinds of strange computer stuff. I’m really attracted to certain shapes so I import those fonts onto my computer and turn them into compositions. I then take those fonts and use a digital cutter to cut a template out of plastic; once I’ve done that, I can use those templates to make my work. So in a way, my paintings are actual language.

APP: It’s really amazing that you’re able to use language to say something that isn’t “readable” but that our minds still recognize as satisfying, understandable and beautiful.

SGM: Sometimes I’m smiling to myself because I know that there’s a word in my paintings that’s basically hidden in there. I’m really interested in fonts and language generally and I kind of stumbled onto this technique. Because I’m self-taught, no one told me how to do anything so I had to just fall into it in any way I could. Not only that, but I was a bit late in life to start; I started as an artist after the age of 45. I was 48 by the time I made my first art piece.

APP: Wow! So what were you doing beforehand? How did you get to where you are now?

SGM: I had a whole other life! I had a whole lot of shitty jobs and I went to graduate school and got a degree in English and couldn't figure out what I wanted to do. My husband and I lived in absolute poverty, not knowing what we were doing or where we were going. I had a design company that I formed with a friend and we did recycled fashions and furniture and she was really heavy into modernism. I kind of got the modernist bug from her and when our partnership ended I had nowhere to go and nothing to do and I thought, “I’m gonna make the art I want to look at!” I had no idea what that meant, I just started and being one of those all-or-nothing people, I threw myself into it. I didn’t think I could paint because painting is for the big boys, you know, that went to school. Painting is for Picasso, not for me. So I did these little paper collages for a while and got very successful at that and then suddenly decided, “why can’t I paint?! I want to.” I remember sitting in the car with an artist friend and asking her, “how do I paint'' and she simply replied, “pick up a brush” and I did.

APP: That’s so inspiring to hear; you’re really never too late to start. Do you think there have been any benefits to finding your art practice in your fifties as opposed to say your twenties?

SGM: When I was in my 20s I had absolutely no idea what life had in store for me. I wish I had the fortitude then that I do now, but it happened when it happened. In a way, that’s why I work so hard. I’m in the studio 12-14 hours a day. I’m lucky to have three galleries and a bunch of solo shows, but it’s only because I had to make up for lost time. I’m all in; I’m on fire because my time is shorter than it should be and I’m gonna make it happen. I make art when I don’t want to, I make art when I’m tired, I make art when the last thing I want to do is drag my ass to the studio and I don’t know that I would’ve done that in my earlier years, but with age comes this steely determination.

APP: I’m a bit of a believer in divine timing, in the sense that everything happens when it’s meant to. How do you feel on the subject?

SGM: I happen to believe that the universe is entirely chaos. If there’s no order then we make our own order and my paintings are all about that. I impose order on chaos. I’m not really into emotion or expression. I'm really into an iron will. I will turn this terrible, chaotic universe into something that is peaceful, calm, and rational. It’s been wonderful; when I finish a painting and I look at it I think, “yeah that feels right.”

APP: There is so much associated with being an artist beyond what most people envision, such as being your own accountant, keeping up your social media, etc. What kinds of struggles have you personally come up against?

SGM: I can’t really walk or stand. I have to find ways to work smart. I have my physical issue where other artists have mental issues or financial ones; we’re the walking wounded really! I’m not that special but it is another element I have to deal with. Every artist that works for themselves is a hero in my book.

APP: Could you tell me a bit more about the concept “mesotopia” behind why you make what you make?

SGM: That’s pretty much my core belief - mesotopia. It’s not utopia and it’s not dystopia, it’s somewhere in the middle. That’s where I come from philosophically, practically and artistically. I want to love this world and I want to make beautiful things, but I don’t buy into anything. I definitely do not reject anything positive, but I don’t buy into it either. It’s sort of an enlightened agnosticism. I’m not interested in thwarting anybody’s beliefs except for the horrible things. For instance I’ll stand up against racism and homophobia until I die. Mesotopia is sort of a neutrality, but it’s empathetic too. My mesotopia is sort of a land where I come from. It’s where I’m very empathetic to the struggles of the world, but I don’t want to involve myself in them.

To learn more about Sarah’s work, please visit her website

www.sarahgeemiller.com

Words with Friends | Mike Black

May 18, 2021 Amy Parry

Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

Mallory Johnson for Amy Parry Projects (APP) + Mike Black (MB)

Lively, creative energy permeates the studio of Atlanta artist Mike Black. We sat down to discuss some of the projects he’s working on, his background, his technique and much more. At the same time, following in their father’s footsteps, his kids used nontraditional materials to create their very own works of art. In this case, transforming sticks into samurai swords with painted designs.

Known for his happy colorful paintings which incorporate textured sculptural elements, these recognizable works hung side by side with stunning black pieces; a clear shift from his commission work.

His work underwent some changes this past year when he was able to devote more time to his art and as it reflected his disappointment at the state of racial injustices in our country.

APP: We have loved following your practice over the years and have been dying to place your work. Wondering about your recent spackle technique; what inspired you to start doing that?

MB: Ace Hardware is my art supply store you know, so basically, I would walk around and look at things and figure out how I could incorporate this or how I could use that or what it could do for the work. I’m really into textures and things of that nature so I thought drywall spackle - let’s see what I can do with that. I like to work in not-your-basic medium and to make work with materials we’re all familiar with. It was really just a trial-and-error thing. 80% of the work is trial and error. Nobody taught me how to take the drywall trowel and make all that nonsense. The same thing’s true with pouring resin on stuff and seeing what the resin’s gonna do. You take the stuff you learn in art school or wherever and use it as you will. You have to learn the rules to break the rules type of deal.

APP: Did you come from a blue-collar background, is that another reason you incorporate some of those kinds of non-traditional art materials into your work?

MB: My family growing up were all blue-collar; they were longshoremen in Seattle. It’s a very hands-on physical type of job and I guess that bled through into my art-making career. I steered towards making things with my hands, towards more tactile, structural, big things as opposed to fine paintings and whatnot. I was really more inclined to build stuff and I think that really came from the blue-collar upbringing I had.

APP: That was something that interested me in your art: the line between fine art and more graffiti inspired street art. Has that always been something you incorporated?

MB: I guess that’s where it all started. The street art graffiti type stuff has always caught my eye since I was a little kid, then I went to art school and learned “fine art” and I took what I could from that and then kind of steered away from it. I wouldn’t consider myself a fine artist whatever the hell that means. I like to make stuff. To me you can cross the two, the highbrow with the lowbrow graffiti and street stuff and to me it's all art; it’s all the same.

In an ideal world, I would make pieces and just put them out there, paint a building or just put a sculpture out somewhere and just leave it, graffiti style. I have a project in mind for these big blue tubes where I would make the piece and just go put it out somewhere like it’s a tag that someone threw out in the middle of the night because I think that is how it should be done. You shouldn’t have to go to a gallery or have to go to a museum because lots of time people won't do that. Your common, everyday folk may not want to go to a gallery. Maybe they've never even been to a gallery. I just want people to see the work and feel it and if you like it then you like it if you don’t then you don’t, that's fine. Just as long as it’s out there for people to see, you know?

APP: One of my favorites is the one with that big, gilded frame. I’m really loving that idea of using such a traditional fine art element and then spray painting over top of it.

MB: Oh yeah, I’ve got plans! I got that frame from a friend and that’s a legit heavy frame so I’m gonna take a mold of it. I’ll take it apart and make a mold of one of the sections and then make 10 foot sticks of that out of foam so it’ll look just like that. Once I paint it gold, it will look legit but won’t weigh 5,000 pounds or be super expensive. I just like to have it here so I can stick pieces in it and see what it looks like. I like the street art vibe with the hoity toity frame.

APP: That’s such a smart idea to use foam, because you’d never know but it still achieves the same effect.

MB: Yeah, you would never know and I’m also a big fan of treating things as what they are material-wise. At the end of the day, that’s just a piece of wood with some concrete, drywall spackle, tape and some spray paint. If something happens to it or I take it a step too far and I don’t like it as much anymore it’s like, “you know what? That’s just a piece of wood with some paint on it, it's not a big deal. It’s fine.” With the foam frame it’s like if I screw them up it’s just a piece of foam who cares. Or if my kids decide they want to spray paint something and it's the wrong thing to spray paint, then it’s no big deal.

APP: It seems like the Black Lives Matter movement has a real place within your work.

MB: It’s just important in life really. I feel really strongly about the racial issues in our country, and the way people are treated. I have a whole series of black pieces now because of what was happening this summer and not just what was happening this summer but what has been happening systemically since black people were brought to this country. I came home and all the paintings were these bright vibrant things that I made because they’re happy things and I could make these pieces with these colors in mind because it’s supposed to evoke these good feelings and I want people to be happy. Well, I came home from a little trip and shit was all going down this summer and I was sitting in the studio looking at my work and thinking I’m not happy right now, people aren’t happy, so I painted everything black. I took all my paintings and painted them all black.

If you look at this one (above), you can see what it was underneath. I didn’t feel all bright and happy and the world wasn’t all bright and happy, so I just said “fuck it” and painted all of my shit black. Black is beautiful, there are lots of different layers to it. I ended up with like every different type of black paint. I got that black pigment paint you can buy now that’s like the blackest of the blacks. I went to every spray paint supply place and got textured paint, flat, glossy, semi-gloss just any kind of black I could get my hands on. It was actually pretty fun, a whole new adventure in my art making practice.

APP: How has Covid had an effect on your work this past year?

MB: Covid has had a huge impact on my work in a positive way. I was off from my “real job” in the film industry. I'm constantly working on movies and stuff which totally takes away from this whole thing. Then the pandemic happened and for seven months straight I was just painting and painting and painting. I was able to just sit and be with the work; I actually had time to walk away and come back instead of working project to project. Over the pandemic, I just painted stuff to paint stuff for no other reason than to paint stuff and I got a lot of really good feedback from the public thanks to social media. I sold a bunch of paintings, made a bunch of new connections, and had some shows in New York. Some people I did a project with a few years back were putting together a show in Brooklyn regarding the pandemic and artists persevering through the pandemic. Due to all my social media posts and my constant output of artwork they asked me to be part of the show.

APP: Do you have any other collaborations coming up?

MB: I actually have a couple of collaborations in the works with a few local artists. My favorite thing is to collaborate with people, because everyone has their own thing that they do, and we can all teach each other some things. I recently reached out to Emily Mann because I love her work and wanted to see if she was interested in working together. We’ve never even met in person; we’ve just been chit-chatting back and forth. One night I was in here and she posted something, and I was like “Jesus Christ, I love her work! Why don’t I just ask her if she wants to make something and she was like, ‘I love your work too!’”. So, we have no idea what we’re gonna make but we’re gonna make something big.

MJ: So looking forward to seeing what y'all come up with!

APP: Lastly, we were excited when we saw your digitally created mural, do you have something like that in the works for a real building?

MB: I was kind of just fishing with that. I put it out into the ether to see and a few people have hit me back up being interested in me doing that. It hasn’t officially been signed off as a project that’s gonna happen, but it looks like it will be in the near future. I’ve got a few different places that I’m in negotiations with that want me to do it.

APP: Can’t wait!

Words with Friends | Shira Barzilay

April 15, 2021 Amy Parry

A conversation between Mallory Johnson (MJ), Amy Parry (AP) and Shira Barzilay (SB), the brilliant and original mind behind the brand KOKETIT

MJ: What prompted you to start combining female figures with these images from nature?

SB: Everything fell together when I was drawing on images and drawing female figures. I started realizing that by combining these drawings on photographs I was able to tell different stories in a way that was exciting for me. Here, the images would serve as a canvas that already had a story. The more I practiced minimalism and abstract art rather than figurative fashion drawings, the more sophisticated the narrative became. There was such dissonance between how little of a change I would make and how much the story would completely shift. I always admired the aesthetic of minimalism. With minimalism I realized I would have to aspire to do that; I would have to bring myself one day to think like that, but it was always on my mind.

AP: Your work reminds me of Henri Matisse. His style was maximalist in his younger years but transitioned to those cut outs in his later years. His later works could not have been as impactful without that earlier life experience.

SB: Same for Picasso as well! He had a realistic figurative style in his early years. People dropped that classic mentality to figure out the way to express who they were. That’s where things become interesting - when artists stopped going after the herd and started listening to their inner selves. Everybody has that, people are just too scared to embark on that journey. It set them free and that is why I’m inspired by them, not because of their style or aesthetic. I’m more interested in the story behind the work than the presentation because it’s like a well of knowledge that I can become inspired by. That is going to enrich me a lot more than if I respond to a line or a color.

AP: There couldn't be you without Picasso.

SB: I believe every artist in the 21st century has been inspired by Picasso. I feel like he is the father of where art is today. He freed the art world to me and gave people the key to explore differently.

MJ: You mentioned that you are able to tell a story within each piece. Do you see them as their own separate stories or is there an intention to connect them and make one larger story?

SB: Both. Every post is very unique to my experience and emotional journey. A lot of the time I create out of my own experience; it's kind of autobiographical. You can look through my feed that day and understand what I was going through, and what was on my mind. In that way they're all very individualistic but they are part of a series and that series is “The World is My Canvas.” The conceptual meaning of it is to free the mind of limitations. Through digital work I get to draw on a screen. I don’t have to climb a mountain and use crazy techniques to express myself, I can do it on a screen with a pen and convey the same idea. The idea is to really let the world be a blank canvas. Through my motifs which are the faces or the female body or some sort of female expression- because it's me obviously- I am able to explore that relationship between nature and the female form. The reason I use nature a lot is because nature is so objective and pure, and it relays a lot of emotion to me. The mountains to me symbolize my tribulations and obstacles and wanting to achieve my own limitations. Nature serves as a good canvas, but I hate sticking to one thing so if you look at my [Instagram] feed there are always going to be different elements that I try to play with because I don’t want to get stuck in one place.

MJ: It seems to me that there would be some catharsis in having a bad day, sitting down and working that out on the page and then having other people relate with what you’re feeling at that time.

SB: It’s so funny because this became very apparent to me more over the pandemic when I was stuck at home. I discovered what a satisfying role my own creativity serves in my life and how important it is to my well-being and my confidence. No matter what I'm going through, I always know that somehow, I can convert that to something positive. I know it sounds a little bit cliché but every time it’s satisfying. I cannot imagine myself doing anything else. Art makes me happy. It makes me really excited about what’s to come next.

MJ: Do you have anything in mind that you’re looking forward to doing in the future - collaborations or different subject matter that you've been thinking of incorporating?

SB: I’m really bad about planning for the future. Every time I plan something, something completely different ends up happening. Like with my art, I start drawing something and it becomes something else. I don't plan ahead on subjects; I just meditate on my intention. I have a vision even if it’s very abstract. Thinking about what I want to be doing, how I wanna be feeling, what material I want to be touching. So, I can’t see it but I can sense it and it’s kind of like an intuitive situation.

MJ: That’s interesting that you say it’s really intuitive, are you someone who uses this as a kind of spiritual outlet for yourself?

SB: Yeah for sure. I meditate every single morning, I started last year. I had intentions of meditating for five years, it was on my to do list. When the pandemic arrived, I thought ooh la la this is the perfect opportunity to sit my ass down and do it, so I did! I have been embarking on a spiritual journey and meditation is so unbelievably helpful and it's so approachable! I downloaded an app called Calm and I do it every day for like 12 mins and it's been amazing and now I advocate it.

MJ: We talked a little about your influences, do you have any creatives that you follow right now who spark something for you?

SB: I’ve always said that at dinner I’d love to sit down with Chopin and Picasso, those are my two biggest influences. I feel like an old lady, but Chopin is my go to guy when I wanna get serious work done. In terms of current amazing people, I am very inspired by the Spanish artist/actress Miranda Makaroff. I met her 2 or 3 years ago at an event in Barcelona for influencers. I’ve been following her art and her life ever since and she’s a huge inspiration because I love her art, and the way she approaches social media. She doesn’t take herself too seriously. She’s fun and she’s a complete original which is so hard to find these days. It seems like lately everyone is a copy of everyone else. I suffer from a lot of rip-offs. I have two people ripping off other things so when I see her work it’s like a breath of fresh air. She’s amazing.

AP: I am curious about your branding and about how making your art has become a career. Are you a full-time working artist?

SB: KOKETIT, my brand, has been around for about 6-7 years. It started as a temporary tattoo line, then I opened up the online shop for my business and it kind of grew from there. I used to be a graphic editor for a magazine and that was a full-time job, so I slowly built my brand on the side. Slowly but surely the brand got so much bigger than the full-time job that last year I quit and became a full-time artist. It was a dream come true because I always wanted to be my own brand and be my own boss. I used to draw portraits of people at events. Then all of a sudden, I was out of a job and the one thing that I had to rely on was the one thing I was scared to rely on the most - that was me as an artist selling my own drawings as is. No shticks, no gimmicks, no commercial aspects, no nothing, just my art and people would either wanna buy it or not. Covid kind of put that mirror in my face and I had to deal with it. I’m so grateful it did because now I get to live off of my purest craft which is actually making art.

People always ask me how can you make money from being an artist? Well, first of all I say I have an art business. I am a businesswoman and I handle my own affairs. It’s incredibly rewarding even when you have to do the gray tasks like accounting and not the creative stuff. It's all worth it because it's my business and I love it. It took me a long time to get there, but it’s the best place I could have wanted to be.

I really want to pursue more than digital work. I started doing canvas work, taking commissions, working with art dealers and really getting inside the art world. I’ve always been really scared of the art world because it’s scary! I don't come from that world; I come from Israel, a place where art is still standoffish and I feel like my approach is different and it creates something new. Covid really was the time for me to make that change and it’s all happening now.

AP: I think that’s the cool thing about the digital age of artwork is that we all have been brought together and there is room for everybody. It can’t just be the galleries anymore. We’re all allowed to see it, we all have access to it now which is a major change from how the art world used to be. Then with Covid too, we’re not going to events, so art has to come to us. Covid rocked your world in a great way.

SB: I also listened to a lot of marketing podcasts because with lockdown there was nothing else to do besides jog and walk, so I studied what it means to do art marketing in the Covid era. It was really interesting to see how Covid changed the art world; how people are at home staring at blank walls wanting to fill them with art and how online shopping has tripled in this quarter. Before I landed where I am now, I did so many different things, moving from one thing to the next and never sticking on one thing. I wouldn't give it the love and time that it needed, and I feel like right now the art world is changing so fast that we either change with it or get left behind.

View Shira’s complete website here: www.koketit.com

Words with Friends | Victoria Villasana

February 24, 2021 Amy Parry

She’s So Punk Rock

Interview between Victoria Villasana + Mallory Johnson (for APP)

Recently I had the pleasure of speaking with Victoria Villasana about her process, inspirations, spirituality and what we can expect to see next from her in the future. Born in Guadalajara Mexico, Villasana is an artist who creates powerful work through the combination of black and white photography and colorful yarn. Her pieces stand as a reminder of the capacity for greatness within all of us and calls on textile’s ability to connect and comfort. She finds beauty in imperfection, nonconformity, and in forcing an emotional reaction from a disconnected society.

APP: I loved the quote from you about “painting with yarn” and “dressing your portraits.” Can you elaborate on what it means to you to combine fashion and art in this way?

VV: When you’re a kid you're not thinking about if you're doing it right you just start drawing. You get into this really fun energy where you don’t want it to be perfect, you just want to create and be playful. This medium really allowed me to connect with that sensation. I never plan anything in advance, I just really go for it. I follow my intuition and start layering and enter into a kind of meditative state where other parts of myself that are not normally at the front of my consciousness start to come out in the patterns and the colors. If I am creating an image of a musician I’m listening to their music or if I’m doing an activist maybe the night before I’ll watch a lot of commentary on that person or read about them. I try to understand them, more than just the celebrity aspect. I interrogate the story behind why they made certain decisions in order to bring that into my work by dressing them with all of these colors.

APP: I noticed a motif across many of your pieces are these rays that radiate from the heads of your subjects, is there any meaning or symbolism behind this artistic choice?

VV: The rays symbolize the life and energy that we all have. I see how powerful we can be as humans. We are more than just matter, we have an energy and presence that we can’t entirely understand. Using this design, I try to capture that feeling of radiance and power.

APP: What do you think is the most universalizing aspect of your work?

VV: There is something about Pop Culture that we can all feel connected through. To have a subject like James Baldwin or Nina Simone is a way for people from Mexico, Europe or the US to connect. We all know them and we relate with the art they created whether it’s their music or writing, it inspires some emotion in us.

APP: What inspired you to start creating these portraits?

VV: When I started I wanted to say something with my art. Something that bothered me about the news was that it was a lot of statistics about war and violence, people are desensitized and the group, person or culture, are dehumanized. By using black and white portraits and then adding the color I am making people connect on a more emotional level rather than see them as just another statistic. This was my inspiration in the beginning, it has now become a collage of many experiences, many feelings I have at the moment, and things that I’m questioning.

APP: Would you agree that the care you take in creating these pieces counteracts the flat monotony of celebrity images that we so often see in the media?

VV: It is important to have a holistic approach not a binary one because for me there are always two sides of the story. I don't want people to see a character in exactly the same way as me. For instance with Nina Simone, I like to share it the way I see her and people can agree or disagree. People are more complex than to just put them in black and white and I’m interested in that complexity. To be who you are is something very important and powerful and it's why I admire these people and do these portraits. They broke the status quo and changed things for the rest of us.

APP: What part does color have to play in your work?

VV: We are drawn to color because nature is very colorful. I think this attraction to color is a part of being human. There might also be a cultural ancestry background to it as well. We all had grandmas and aunties who knit or used color for something, this can bring up a really unconscious memory of a time when we were nurtured and we belonged somewhere.

APP: Your subjects include celebrities as well as regular people such as farmers. Is there something rebellious in saying all of these people equally deserve our attention?

VV: I use a lot of famous actors and writers in my portraits, and sometimes I get annoyed with myself because I know there are millions of people who aren’t famous who are doing the exact same thing. I did a series of portraits of people in different trades, the focus being working class people who are really special to me. One example are Tortilleras, the women who make the tortillas. These women put a lot of care into these handmade tortillas and the tacos taste amazing because of it. Or, the guys in the streets of Mexico who you sometimes see on a bicycle carrying a basket with sweet bread. People such as these are so important in our society. They make us happy and often are taken for granted, but they are equally valuable.

APP: Why leave the yarn uncut?

VV: I liked the concept from Japanese culture, where if a teapot breaks they highlight that crack with gold. They are able to see beauty in the imperfection. To leave these unfinished is a reflection of ourselves as well because we are always becoming. We are never perfect or done; we are always learning, evolving and expanding. I also chose to leave the yarn hanging partly because of the aesthetics; I liked the feeling of things not put into a box. I like letting things be wild a little bit, unrestrained by the edges of a canvas.

APP: Can you tell me more about your street art pieces, how did it feel to let go and leave them to be experienced by people in the natural environment?

VV: It was really interesting to put it on the street and come back to them the next day and see that the wind had played with the strings and placed them in different ways. Sometimes I would come back one month later and see that someone had pulled the strings. They were ephemeral pieces and it was nice to see how the environment had kind of degraded the piece in what was a really natural process. I look at these changes in the same way as fruit that starts to rot, it is a beautiful process and part of the cycle of life.

APP: Do you have a favorite piece that you’ve ever made or maybe even a least favorite?

VV: When I go through my early works some I’m very proud of, others I’m like oh my god I can't believe I was posting this! The more you do something the better you get, especially being completely self taught. I’m sometimes tempted to erase that but it's part of my story in the same way as my background with fashion and as a florist add to what I do now. I don’t ever have any that I like completely; it sounds really depressing but for me the most important thing is to be able to translate the feeling into something and be able to share it. Sometimes it’s not even the piece itself, but how people interact with it. For instance, I did a super simple piece with the words “Boys Do Cry.” It was amazing to see people actually connect with the piece and even feel inspired to share their own stories.

APP: You bring this rebellious feminine spirit to your work, was this always a goal or is it part of who you are and it makes its way into your work?

VV: I think I’ve always been a punk. I was always a rebel with a cause, never just a rebel for the sake of it. From a really young age I questioned my culture. If I wanted to believe or think something it was something I really investigated for myself. I was able to think, at this point in my life I really resonated with this, and maybe 10 years from now I'm not going to relate with that any longer but I’m sure it will come from me and not because my parents or culture told me.

APP: What does the future hold for you?

VV: What I have learned is that things arrive at the right time without needing to force them so right now I'm enjoying this and I'm going to give it 100% and I trust that when the time is right to leave this, and not completely, I will be more drawn to do other types of things. It would be amazing to connect textile with something like artificial intelligence or light or music. It's funny because I'm really interested in the past and history but I'm also very interested in technology and the future. I want to follow that interest and do large format artwork or art that connects with topics like spirituality, science, and the cosmos.

Please visit Victoria’s website / instagram to learn more.

Words With Friends | Ken Wood

December 11, 2020 Amy Parry

We recently had the pleasure of working with St. Louis, MO based artist Ken Wood for a custom print for the forthcoming Canopy by Hilton in Grand Rapids, MI (designed by the talented team at Anderson/Miller LTD). Ken’s gorgeous abstract prints perfectly fit the mid-century modern aesthetic of this new hotel, which opened in the city’s Heartside District in September 2020.

At the beginning of this project, we wanted to learn more about this print-maker/professor so we asked our 2019 intern, Mallory Johnson (credited below as APP) to share the following conversation she had with Ken after his work was initially approved by Canopy.

Enjoy!

APP: What would you say your motivation or purpose is as an artist?

KW: Making art is how I look at and reflect on things around me. I like finding shapes in the environment and then bringing them into sketches to give them a new context. Recently these sketches take the form of photographs, usually of shadows and pavement. Instagram has been a good way to make these sketches visible, and a recent project of mine uses photography not just as the means but also as the end product. Anyway, I try to build an abstract language out of these found shapes within the compositions I make; it helps me bring the everyday into the work, and see the beauty in the everyday.

APP: What do you hope people take away from your work? What one emotion do you want your art to stir up in the viewer?

KW: I don’t like it when things get too complicated (in images as in life), so in my prints, each composition is made up of only a few simple gestures. I’d like there to be a feeling of calm in them. But at the same time I want to challenge the viewer – maybe a shape hovers between abstraction and something almost recognizable, but not quite. This is meant to engage, and to invite the viewer to connect the image in front of them to other shapes or experiences in their lives. Of course, color is the other player here – somehow being the most subtle and most powerful element all at the same time. My sense of calm from the gentle melding of two colors might be someone else’s horror at their violent collision – or vice versa.

APP: How does being a professor play into your work; do you ever get inspiration from your students?

KW: When I was in grad school, I started to come up with assignments for myself as a way of re-learning the basics – essentially foundation drawing assignments, like trying to convey various depths of pictorial space within very tight constraints (sometimes absurdly tight). When I started teaching, I based an entire drawing course on pictorial space projects that stemmed from these studio experiments. I always return to the foundation principals when making work (compositional strategies, figure-ground relationships, color theory, etc), and I work with the same things when I teach, so they have always been woven together for me.

What most inspires me about teaching is the moment that someone peels away from the curriculum and forges their own way - when they start piecing together a vision just as they are catching their first glimpse of it. It is beautiful and joyous (and scary); this is the main thing that reinforces for me the need for art in our lives.

APP: Why did you choose printmaking?

KW: I was studying Architecture and taking a lot of painting and drawing classes on the side. I had taken basic drawing and wanted to move up, but Advanced Drawing didn’t fit into my schedule, so the professor convinced me to take Lithography I. She said, “It’s just like drawing! Plus process.” What I didn’t realize was that the ‘process’ was hours and hours of grinding a stone for each drawing. It took me a couple of tries, but I finally made a print that didn’t scum (fill completely with ink), then made my first 3-color print. I signed up for Litho II the next semester; I was hooked. After college I continued printmaking with a night class; I’d stay up until 2 or 3am twice a week printing, then slog through my draughting job the next day. That’s when I decided to leave architecture and get a graduate degree in Printmaking.

APP: What strikes me the most about your work is the way you balance colorful organic forms with a level of precision. How do you achieve this affect?

KW: I really appreciate this question, because I put a lot of time and thought into trying to make the work both organic and precise. Thank you for noticing! I feel like the printmaking process is a great way to separate out all the different things you want from a project so that you can work on them one at a time. For instance, the initial sketches have the most improvisation; the large scale templates are where I work out the exact shapes; and the color all happens in the printing. Each step allows room for refining and micro-changes, like moving a charcoal line 1/8 inch over in the templates, or shifting a yellow to become just a smidge more yellow-orange in the printing stage. The shapes are the constant for me, whereas color is where all the surprises happen (and the most joy!).

APP: How do you think - or do you think - your architectural background has influenced your art making?

KW: At my first architecture job I was put in charge of making blueprints. This was before AutoCAD and plotters, so everything was hand-draughted; nevertheless, our blueprint station was pretty high tech. We had a vacuum exposure unit and a registration system for keeping multi-layer prints lined up. What’s funny is that this is exactly what we use at my school now for making silkscreens. Later, when I started making relief prints, I made all my plates on my draughting table, with X-ACTO knives, parallel rule and triangle, just as I used in school to build architectural models. Mostly, I credit architecture school with giving me a thorough exploration in the many ways to approach composition and space. It’s a foundation that I use in everything.

APP: You were an adjunct Professor for two years in Rome, Italy. As far as your time there —do you think the city itself impacted you as an artist? If so, is there a specific painting or building that continues to inspire you?

KW: Rome (the city of Piranesi) gave me a chance to reconcile the two interests in my life, architecture and printmaking. As I explored the city and started to see the layers upon layers of built urban fabric, the idea started forming that architecture and art were not so separate, and that there were many ways (historically and in the present) that they worked in tandem. I was doing a lot of running in Villa Borghese at the time, and the idea of paths started to come into my drawings; then paths on top of paths. That was the start of the body of work that I’m still pursuing today.

The Church of Sant’ Ivo has been a lasting inspiration; the way Borromini could create contrast between a curve and a curve – within the same line – is still mind-blowing. And Caravaggio’s Calling of St. Matthew, with its background that toggles between shallow and infinite depth, has always been a favorite for teaching composition, light and space.

Whenever a student protests that they can’t possibly make their drawing any more contrasty, I say: look at Caravaggio.

APP: Great advice. Thank you, Ken! We are so excited to share your work with guests of the Grand Rapids Canopy.

Click here to learn more about Ken Wood’s work.

Words with Friends | Brett Smith

October 19, 2017 Amy Parry

Brett Smith is a self-taught abstract artist, represented in Atlanta by Sandler Hudson Gallery. We've been following his work for some time and just love it. We were delighted when he said yes to the casual interview, seen below. Thanks, Brett!

APP: So why Atlanta? As a South African native, how did you settle on this "city in a forest" and what are some things that keep you here?

BS: I got a tennis scholarship to play for Georgia State University. Back then, Atlanta was going to host the '96 Olympics so I thought that would be a great experience. Compared to other college towns, Atlanta seemed to be an exciting city to live in and had a lot going for it, so it really was an easy choice. Apartheid was ending in South Africa and the future was very uncertain, I had this opportunity and I grabbed it.

APP: I know your current series is called "From Scaffold to Thicket" and is largely inspired by all the cranes and construction chaos that is always scattered around our city. Can you talk about the thicket element and how this body is a progression from past bodies of work that are more obviously about nature?

BS: The full name of the current body of work is ‘the portrait of a landscape under construction, from scaffold to thicket we build.’ Recently the themes and ideas behind my work have shifted. I have become more interested in how we interact with nature not just being inspired by trees, flowers, branches etc. This delicate balance we have with each other and our precious planet, all the systems and structures that make up this complex web we interact with on a daily basis (and for the most part ignore) has become my new muse. All the construction going on around us in urban environments amplifies this idea of a constant need to build and grow. Nature also has a constant need (and struggle) to grow and flourish and this tension is the starting point for the current work.

APP: What kinds of "art tools" do you use that might surprise people?

BS: Lol!! Studio secrets! Well, the new paintings are made with an empty ballpoint pen and sometimes the back of a paint brush. I have also used paint stirring sticks from Home Depot and Popsicle sticks, whatever works!

APP: Can you comment on the trial and error aspect of creating these layers of lines and how you begin/when you finish?

BS: The paintings are really this great combo of painting and drawing. Technically, they are made of paint and a cold wax medium but I view them more as drawings. I just start drawing elements and images from photographs that I have taken or collected from social media or the internet. At some point I will pick up the paint brush and paint over some or part of the drawing. This creates a ghost like quality which for me is evocative of the building being destroyed over time and then I draw new images over the top. Recently I have used oil pastel to make additional images once the paint dries. This can be considered an example of trial and error as you are taking a big risk when you decide to draw over something that you already think is successful, but no risk no reward!

APP: We noticed you experimented recently with a bit of 3D. Is sculpture something you think you will dig deeper into?

BS: Yes, sculpture is increasingly on my mind. It seems like a natural progression for me and I have some ideas when this work gets exhibited, so stay tuned!

APP: You've been doing the black and white thing through this series but we love your past use of color also, particularly the orange. Do you have a color you like best?

BS: That is a tough one, color is so seductive. Orange was a stand out from the LIFE series but I’m not willing to say that is my favorite. I think it depends on the shade and intensity of the color; I mean there is red and then there is REDDDD!!!

APP: Do you ever draw curves? Or doodle in circles?

BS: I do, the first work on paper I ever did was circles drawn with watercolor pencil. It was based on bubbles in water; water is life after all. A lot of my work based on flowers also embraces the curve or looped line. I like exploring line in all its forms I just try and find what will be appropriate for what I’m trying to achieve visually and thematically.

APP: We would love to see your florals!

We noticed that you use the hashtag #globalwarming sometimes when you post images of your work. How does the work comment on this very timely topic?

BS: It gets back to this idea of balance. We need to keep building and expanding our cities, communities and population, (but) the environment is struggling to survive. It really is the war of our time; too many wrong moves and the ramifications can be catastrophic. I’m trying not to take sides just observing and trying to start a conversation. I want the paintings to be slightly overwhelming, hints of scaffolding and construction cranes draw the viewer in as these images are familiar to everyone, and then you can explore the pictures and put your own spin on it.

APP: We loved seeing the recent work alongside many other great Sandler Hudson artists in Summer Thunder. Is there a solo show in the works so we can mark our calendars?

BS: There is definitely a solo show in the works, still working on the dates.

APP: Speaking of other artists, who are some of your favorite mark-makers?

BS: Cy Twombly probably has had the greatest influence on me. I feel like he is ever-present. There has been such a move to take the hand of the artist out of the painting process, for better or worse, I find I always come back to painters who get their hands dirty: Joan Mitchell, Brice Marden, Pollock and Shiraga come to mind.

APP: What are some of your favorite places to get inspired around ATL? In the city or in nature?

BS: I love walking the Beltline. I feel like it is such a great addition to the vitality of the City. The Mercedes-Benz stadium was just incredible to watch as it was being built. Anywhere a building is going up or coming down for that matter. Buildings are far more interesting during the construction phase or the destruction phase, they are constantly changing while they are being built, kind of like watching a plant grow. I took many ‘thicket’ photographs of thorn bushes in Africa last time I was there, and I see this influence in the new paintings.

APP: Do you follow "Cranes of Atlanta" on instagram?

BS: No, but I will!

APP: Do that.

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To learn more about Brett's work, please visit Sandler Hudson Gallery or Brett's website.

APP Words with Friends - Galen Cheney

February 13, 2017 Amy Parry

Galen Cheney is a Vermont-based artist that APP has felt a strong gravitation to lately. Cheney's work is so expressive and complex, yet seems to fit within a multitude of environments. We look forward to placing her work. In the meantime, a conversation...

APP: Galen, we just love your work and have to give a nod to the abstract expressionists that came before you. We are huge fans of Clyfford Still, Betty Parsons, Helen Frankenthaler and Cy Twombly. Want to tell us about some of your favs?

GC: Yes, the Abstract Expressionists are my painting heroes, generally. Their art was their life and vice-versa. My favorites among them are Joan Mitchell and DeKooning. They had a willingness — perhaps even a compulsion — to risk everything in a painting in order to create something meaningful, something new. I admire and aspire to that degree of artistic bravery. Like you, I am also a big Twombly fan, as well as Guston and Diebenkorn. And there are so many good painters working today: Mark Bradford is at the top of my list; I relate to the physicality of his work, his manipulation of non-traditional materials in the service of sublime beauty. A few other contemporary favorites are Cecily Brown, Susan Rothenberg, Leonardo Drew, Julie Mehretu, Bill Jensen, and John Walker. There are really too many to name.

APP: Agree completely. How do you see the changes in your life reflected in your work, particularly in where you have lived? I know you were born in LA and spent time in both MD and MA before settling in Vermont. In terms of street art, and referencing layered urban mark-making, where does this come from?

GC: I have spent a lot of time in Italy, and my first visits there when I was 14 and 15 had an enormous impact on me. Yes, the art that I saw was part of it, particularly ancient frescoes in Pompeii and frescoes in Florence by Giotto and Masaccio, but just as affecting was the ancient history that suffused everything. Witnessing noisy, contemporary life, including the day’s graffiti, within that ancient context affected me deeply.

I am drawn to the enduring human need for visual self-expression. Graffiti, ancient and contemporary, is a rich example of that. These days I spend a lot of time in New York, and even its walls covered in layers of torn-off posters are a turn-on for me. I often employ a similar kind of process in my own work — laying paint on, scraping it off; gluing paper or fabric on, pulling it off. It’s not a planned technique in order to achieve a particular effect, rather it is just a process of working. All those changes of direction in the making of a painting amount to rich and varied surfaces that are a record of the process.

APP: And in 2015 you were a fellow at the Da Wang Culture Highland in China. How lasting of an effect did the residency have on you? I know you took just a brush, ink and a marker, so it seems you were already open to the calligraphic and to using papers more common there. Can you give an example of something gleaned in Shenzhen that inspired a significant influence within your practice?

GC: My time in China continues to strongly inform my work. When I was there I began really focusing on collage as a method for making work. I love scavenging, and I did that, gathering cast-off papers, hand-written notes, paper trash, basically. I combined those with special Chinese papers and passages of ink brush paintings that I was working on. I was energized by the process that I began there and I am continuing to work in that way today, though with painted textiles more often than paper. I love paper, but I am sensitive to the needs of framing paper pieces and wanted to explore more durable materials.

APP: Do you sew outside of using that technique as a manipulation in your work? Can you comment on any feminist concerns you have as an artist? What your work says or ignores?

GC: No, I do not sew! I didn’t grow up in a sewing household, though I recently inherited a friend’s old sewing machine and I am determined to learn the basics. Hand-stitching is such a slow process, and though I like the look of it, the speed of it is at odds with my preferred way of working. And then there’s the feminine association that seems to inevitably arise with stitching. That said, more and more artists — both women and men — are working with thread in various ways and it feels like it is losing that strict association with the feminine or feminist. I am a feminist, though my work is not overtly about that. I just try to make strong paintings.

APP: And you succeed. When did you make your series of "War Paintings?" Are you anticipating more work in this vein given the current turmoil in our world/our own country?

GC: The War Paintings were a response to the bombing of Beirut in 2006. Sadly, since then there have been and continue to be other wars that might have inspired that work. My work is abstract, though I think it has everything to do with the world we are living in. It will never be a narrative of current events. While it embodies the complexities of contemporary life, my work, if successful will rise above the noise. This is the promise of art, to enrich us, engage us, to help us make sense of being human.

**APP: You've really shown your work everywhere. Was there a particular place or group of people that you felt just "got" your work?

GC:** Mostly it has been other painters that have most appreciated my work. Though now, after many years of tenacious and uncompromising painting, things are beginning to shift and my work is gaining broader recognition and appeal. I am always pushing myself to become a better painter with every painting I make. For me, that struggle, that process of discovery is the whole point. And just maybe the stars are beginning to align.

APP: What is a typical winter day for you?

GC: Coffee first, followed by hauling wood for the wood stove and filling the bird-feeder. If there is time, I’ll do a little reading (right now I am reading the Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead), painting, hiking in the back woods with my dog, Viggo, answering emails, looking online for artist opportunities. There are always chores to do, but I get into my studio (which is in my house) just about every day. I often paint at night, which comes early during winter in Vermont.

To learn more about Galen, please visit her website.

Source: http://galencheney.com/

Sharon Shapiro / In Defense of Figurative Art

October 24, 2016 Amy Parry

Artists since the beginning of time have attempted to capture their social realities in their work, mimicking their sights and surroundings and offering impressions of the people and places that are important to them. As artists became more experimental and photography emerged as an available method to capture the real, figurative work has often taken a backseat to abstract and conceptual art particularly on display in the world’s museums and galleries.

Alice Neel, Lucien Freud, Chuck Close, Kehinde Wiley, Eric Fischl, Fairfield Porter, Marlene Dumas, Wayne Thiebaud, Amy Cutler and Sharon Shapiro, an artist Amy Parry Projects is very fond of, all offer proof that figurative work is still so impactful and significant when done well.

*Long Shadow*, 1994, acrylic on canvas, 23 x 24 inches
Collection of The Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia (MOCA GA)

The first painting of Sharon’s I ever saw was Longshadow (above), a very odd little piece featuring a serious baby wearing a black glove. It was reminiscent of a portrait a wealthy family would commission of a child of great birthright, but what the heck was that glove all about? The thoughts that this painting provoked and the enduring uncertainty it offers is what I love most about Sharon’s work.

Amy Parry Projects is currently working with Sharon on a trio of layered, framed artworks for the guestrooms of a historic Atlanta hotel being renovated. In defense of figurative painting, and to attempt to explain why it can often be more interesting than a beautifully painted landscape, here are some words from some of Sharon’s collectors.

Please enjoy the thoughts and figures and let us know if we can connect you with Sharon!

I think for art to be serious and important, the kind that asks people to linger before it and really look at it, it has to have some kind of content. Abstract art, if it is more than decoration, makes an argument — i.e. has content — in its purely formal expression. But people can perhaps more easily overlook abstract art, and that is what makes it a safe choice for interiors. It is harder to walk past a face without engaging.

Figurative art demands attention because it opens a dialogue with viewers; it compels questions like who is she? What is she doing? What is she feeling? Where is she? but it doesn’t offer easy answers.

*Pilgrimage 4*, acrylic on canvas, 56 x 50 inches, Collection of Karen Goodchild

My experience is that people, whether or not they think of themselves as art-lovers or connoisseurs, are eager to enter into these conversations with paintings. They see a work and try out different narratives and meanings for the piece. These possible meanings make them look closely, asking question of the work that ideally will cause them to engage with the work’s formal qualities (how has the artist created the gleam in the figure’s eye? Why do the background trees seem threatening?). These questions will not always be answered, but I don’t find that viewers are upset at the open-endedness of their interaction.

Humans are narrative machines; we produce stories endlessly from the material of own experience, and figurative art offers an intense visual prompt to this story telling. Ultimately, living with Sharon’s work, has helped me see how deeply satisfying it is for people to encounter important art. Even though we are surrounded by endless images of people, a painted or drawn image carries a weight of creative intention through the effort of its facture that is satisfying on so many levels.

- Karen Goodchild, Chair of Art + Art History Departments, Wofford College

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The watercolor I have by Sharon Shapiro, titled 'Heaven,' is one of my most treasured works of art. Based on a vintage photograph, it depicts a topless pin-up girl in a swimming pool with one arm raised in a greeting. Lush greenery surrounds her. It's a charming and funny picture, really. I have it hanging in my dining room in view of another nude painting from the 60s that my aunt painted.

I think most people are a little alarmed when they encounter it in such a prominent spot: I entertain a lot so guests are frequently confronted with it.

*Heaven*, 2011, watercolor on paper, 30 x 22 inches, Collection of Robin Bernat

After a while, and in context to the other works in my dining and living rooms, I think they are better able to settle into their enjoyment of the work and whatever initial uneasiness about what might be provocative melts away. Sharon's deft handling of the watercolor is irresistible in my opinion.

- Robin Bernat, Owner/Curator of {Poem88} Gallery

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In 2014 I bought the painting 'Seam Splitter' and it has brought me so much joy. Every time I pass it, I notice something new and wonder what this woman is thinking. On top of being really beautiful, it's light and airy and mysterious and intense at the same time.

*Seam Splitter*, 2013, watercolor on paper, 22 x 30 inches, Collection of Joanne LaMotte

I get positive feedback and comments on this painting a lot. People always ask me who she is and who the painter is. Most of the comments center around the painting being, delicate, beautiful, and intriguing. People wonder what she's thinking. She seems to be a throwback to another era which I like. I've also moved her around several times in my house and she works in every room. She's part of the family now! Folks always stop and pause to look at her, whereas they don't really notice or do that with my abstract art.

- Joanne LaMotte, Jewelry Designer

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Sharon’s painting 'Burn' has has been in place in my living room for ten years now and has inspired endless reactions and comments as guests have flowed through our home. It has an immediacy that is hard to ignore, and it is actually more than figurative. The geometry of the ovals and stripes gives it a modern feel I think, and during part of the day, sunlight gives the illusion that the woman has temporary wings.

*Burn*, 2005, acrylic on canvas, 48 x 60 inches, Collection of Wyn Owens

It by far attracts more attention than the large William Albert Allard Montana landscape photo I have in the same room or the Alex Webb photo of school boys, although both are superb pieces in my judgement.

In my experience, Sharon’s works have a way of riveting bystanders. There is some magic there that I’m personally poorly equipped to articulate, but I witness the magic’s effect on people all the time.

- Wyn Owens, Investment Manager / Founding Partner of New Generation Advisors

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More of our favorite works by Sharon Shapiro...

Lela Brunet / ATL is Hot

August 18, 2016 Amy Parry

We visited ATL artist Lela Brunet recently - what a treat. We were interested in meeting her to learn more about her striking, figurative work. We left with a new friend and a feeling of excitement about the groundswell of creative energy that can be felt in ATL these days. Lela and her friends are artists who are bridging the gap between street art and fine art, doing their own thing and finding great opportunities for support to continue to do so. Lela spent as much time talking about her people as she did her own work, so as a nod to each of them, their links are shared below.

Video courtesy of Mutiny Artwrx

A recent graduate of Kennesaw State University (College of the Arts) Lela just moved into a new studio space in Mutiny Artwrx, which was developed and founded by JP McChesney, an artist himself. You may also know him from his other endeavors over at Paris on Ponce where Mutiny artists are offered a space to show their work. Lela's studio mate is another artist we have been following, Megan Mosholder, who sounds like she is having an incredibly busy/successful year. We also met Ray Geier, who dropped by the studio during our visit and told us all about the street painting he had completed around East Atlanta Village. He led us through all the great things happening with Elizabeth Jarrett's performance space Downtown Players Club and collaborative entity Deer Bear Wolf, as well as with Notch8 Gallery which opened last year in South Atlanta.

Although we were largely in the dark about most of those, Lela exhibits her work at K ai Lin Gallery and Kibbee Gallery, two venues we know and love. She was very gracious in speaking about Yu Kai and Ben Goldman, respective curators of those spaces and their support and encouragement of her as an artist. Prior to becoming her gallerist, she explained that Kai recommended her to Orpheus Brewing and she has since designed imagery for their labels, painted on site, etc.

In addition to her studio practice and pushing forward into a new body of work, Lela has done murals with Moreland Avenue Mural Project, Forward Warrior, Phoenix Fest and Living Walls.

What is she working on now? She just collaborated with several other ATL artists to coat the exterior walls of Hodge Podge Coffeehouse & Gallery in art and it looks great. She is also preparing to work on a mural for the new Mailchimp offices within Ponce City Market.

Basically, pretty soon you won't be able to drive around ATL without seeing Lela's work. In the meantime, here is a sampling of our favorite figurative works (available through Kai Lin Gallery).

Go, Lela!
www.lelabrunet.com

Fran O'Neill Never Planned to Be an Abstract Painter

June 28, 2016 Amy Parry

Originally published JUNE 9, 2016 // BY JAIME DESIMONE

The paintings of Australian-born Fran O'Neill rely upon a construction/deconstruction equation, where she uses her physical body to produce, alter, destroy, and recreate oversized gestures. Layer upon layer, O'Neill applies paint only to swipe, smear, and remove it with her body or another material. Her paintings are as much as an additive process as a subtractive one, where at times she reinvents imagery on the same canvas. In preparation for Confronting the Canvas: Women of Abstraction, O'Neill answered a few questions about her process and the ideas behind her work.

Fran O'Neill attends the members' preview for *Confronting the Canvas: Women of Abstraction*. Image courtesy of Thomas Hager.

Describe your approach to painting.

Having grown up in Australia and currently living in the city of New York, the mixing of past experiences of my life become and feed my painting. The ability to manipulate oil paint and watercolor is core to my practice; abstraction, color, movement of the paint, and shifting scale all come into play on the canvas/paper. I crave space, and how “space” can be open, compressed, complex, grand, intimate, and sometimes, all within the same image, intrigues me.

I look for moments in life that have a special or unexpected quality about them. Perhaps it is the way that light hits a surface, or the juxtaposition of shapes, textures or a tiny happening, a memory or a fragment of a dream or reality. There are times when I glimpse something, and I have no idea what I am looking at, or when the strangeness of real life seems dreamlike or indescribable for a split second, then materializes into focus. Sometimes it's that fleeting moment that catches my eye and plays in my imagination. I don't necessarily seek to recreate what I have seen but more the experience of how it felt and how I perceived it. I entwine those experiences with others, and as I begin to paint, and with that, the direct application of paint in the moment can add its own dynamic to the image-making process.

The act of creating becomes “all important” in my process, exploring the fluid movement of the paint as I apply it. How to recreate the tension or emotive quality without needing to name, locate, or describe a narrative or an exact experience/memory. Broad movements, simplified palettes versus intricate and sometimes cluttered space(s). Seeing the process take place on the canvas-drips, glimpses of under layers, forms take shape and/or break down on the surface, the rotation of the canvas, all coalesce to make a whole. My process is organic, intuitive, and improvisational.

I seek to always surprise myself, and with that, I am intent on researching beyond my “go-to mediums,” as I believe it is always necessary for an artist to continually reinvent one's imagery and not to be afraid of where that journey takes me. Striving for newness and to be open to change is a necessary part of my practice.

Visitors discuss Fran O'Neill's forty untitled panels at the *Confronting the Canvas* members' preview. Image courtesy of Thomas Hager.

How did you develop this unusual approach to abstraction?

I never planned on being an abstract painter. It was a natural and curious progression that began with working from perception. I began as a figure painter and moved to landscape painting. After a conversation with a friend who knew that I have sewn some of my own clothes, wondered if I'd ever considered using "patterns in my work," and I began to use patterned material from various locations as backdrops, teamed with a Balinese doll. Slowly, the doll began to exit the work, and the patterning took precedent. The use of pattern from highly repetitious work began to be more sporadic, and I discovered that it was “mark-making and movement” of the paint that really excited me. This has kept me occupied for sometime now.

What ideas do you explore in your work?

Movement, scale, light, and color. I'm always seeking to surprise myself.

Describe your color palette.

My color palette changes with each painting. I've been known to buy a color that I find ugly or just can't imagine using. Sometimes I use it straight away, other times it sits on my studio table for months, until the moment calls for it. I am after creating light with color and any means necessary to achieve this. No color is out of the question.

Visitors are framed by Fran O'Neill's *leading* at the *Confronting the Canvas* members' preview. Image courtesy of Thomas Hager.

Describe your titles. What meaning do they convey?

I deliberately title work in “lowercase,” as I consider the title to be secondary to the painting and more of a way of identifying one from another, not necessarily the “meaning” of the work. I seek simple one- or two-word phrases that don't give too much of a narrative, to allow viewers to have their own experience, not to be swayed by my thinking. Sometimes I use lines from song titles. I've been known to re-title work, until a word or phrase sticks to the image.

What does “abstraction” mean to you?

Now that's a big question. Today, for me it has to do with sensuality and sensibility, in terms of surface. To me there is abstraction in figuration and landscape. It could be the simplification an idea to obtain its essence? Or does that sound just like some “art talk” …

Who, if any, abstract painters have influenced your work?

I've looked at the Abstract Expressionists and others including but not limited to Philip Guston, Joan Mitchell, Lee Bontecou, Helen Frankenthaler, Terry Winters, Elizabeth Murray, Joanne Greenbaum, Amy Sillman, Bill Jensen, Margrit Lewzcuk, and recently Daniel Hesidence. Variations on why they've held my interest include mystery in the making or imagery, a sense of spirit and purpose, along with surprise in the making, and this has allowed me a glimpse into how I see their approach to their vision. This has given me the ability to seek my own voice via paint.

How much do these influences or other inspirations guide your painting process?

We live in such a visual fast-moving word. It is hard to say what doesn't influence my work. In terms of painting and/or painters, I try to see a variety of work, and hoping that on both a conscious and sub-conscious level I am soaking in all that is good, mashing it around and that it comes out in an interesting way on my surfaces.

Do you see yourself as an action painter or one who is continuing the tradition of Abstraction Expressionism?

I don't consider myself an action painter. Though I do recognize and see the link to Abstract Expressionism in my work.

Does being a woman change artistic output?

I don't think it does for me. I just work.

At times, paintings are discussed as masculine; at others, feminine. Are your works gendered?

I've had my work described as “masculine and muscular,” terms that I believe are coined to my work due to the scale and contrast of the mark-making. The connotations associated with gender and any stereotypical ideas are ones that I am not interested in. Either term can be good or bad.

What, if any, is the role of women painters in contemporary art?

I think it is the same as any other gender. To be true to oneself and to seek and go after the journey.

Why do we need this all-female show?

Hmm. Women are still making strides. I do believe that only I can make my work, and this is the same with any other gender. I do think that society does instill ideas regarding gender and that this occurs on a continued and not so subtle way. I struggle with this question. And think back to that quote by Joan Mitchell who was asked to be in a female painting show, to which she declined and said “ask me to be in a painting show” (or something akin to this), and I'm there. There is the chance that someone will not necessarily give it the same credence that they would if it was a male who painted it. I like to think this perception is changing and will continue to change. Like the gun laws, or lack of. Always debatable depending on who is at the table. (An abstract answer?)

Did the feminist movement impact your career?

I've been aware of the feminist movement from undergrad. I use to say that it didn't really affect me as a painter or my career, however, the further I get into my career, that more grateful I am for those women who fought for the right to make work that they wanted and to show the significance of being female. Unfortunately, sexism is still alive. When I teach, I really encourage my female students to find other female artists, present and historical, to enable them to see that anything is possible.

Fran O'Neill discusses her process in front of the grid of forty untitled panels at the *Confronting the Canvas* members' preview. Image courtesy of Thomas Hager.

Where do you find inspiration?

Anywhere and everywhere.

What's your workspace like? When and where do you like to create your art?

I have a studio in Long Island City with great natural light. When the weather is good, I ride my bike and aim to arrive to my studio early in the morning and work to late afternoon. Additionally, I have a very small room at my house that allows me to make work at home at anytime. Riding my bike gives me good thinking and looking time along the way.

What's your next project?

Always ongoing. To date, I would say that I don't have a start or finish of a project, though looking back, I can see moments when the work changed. And in that process, I step forwards and backwards constantly.

How will exhibiting your work at MOCA Jacksonville affect your career?

Exhibiting at MOCA Jacksonville is a tremendous step for my work and for my career. I see it as confirmation that I am on the right track. Exhibiting along side the other artists is a gift and a significant moment for me, and I am excited to see how the works might talk to each other. Ultimately, I hope the exhibition will allow the audience to see the impact and relevance of abstraction today.

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Original post on MOCA Jacksonville site can be accessed here.