Pauline Adair "Every person is so unique"

Pauline Adair is an artist from Queensland, Australia. With tradeyourtalent she speaks about being an artist in Australia, working together with young talents and the creative state she likes most. 

http://www.sybizcare.com.au/adair/index.htm

http://www.sybizcare.com.au/adair/index.htm

When did you know you wanted to become an artist? 

Since I was about 5 or 6 I think..... I used to make picture story books for my brothers and sisters - looking back now they were hilarious - I wanted to become an artist then, and I still do...!!!

 Your work is about Body Art. What inspires you?

My 4-year-old grandaughter asked me once why I mostly paint people with no clothes on. I answered that it was because I haven't learned to paint the clothes yet.   She looked down her nose at me and said '"Well...... I can paint clothes, and people."Seriously though, I like best of all to paint faces and hands. They, in themselves are so expressive.  The body is just a necessary extra to hold the parts together!  Every person is so unique that I can still name my subjects in my drawings from years ago just by looking at the hands I drew or painted.  

What is it like being an artist in Australia?

Wonderful.... there is so much support for the arts here.  For those who paint the Australian landscape it's a fabulously rich continent of exciting colour, texture and inspiration.

Do you work together with young talents.  What do you learn from them?

I do love to work with young artists.... I sometimes teach workshops for beginners to intermediate, and I love to impart the secrets I've learned over the years. Well, they're not secrets any more....... I do share all the tricks and tips I've learned over the years. On the other hand I always come away having gained a whole lot more knowledge from them as well.  They share back to me!

When are you most creative? 

When I have done all my housework and have nothing on my mind I can then slip into my studio and go into my meditational state of creative conciousness and sometimes unconciousness....where things just happen!  That's the art I like best, and somedays it works, some days it doesn't.... but it's my passion.  I  paint and/or draw every single day if I possibly can... I mean to use up all my paints and I don't want to go to my grave with my paintings still inside me!

http://www.sybizcare.com.au/adair

http://www.sybizcare.com.au/adair

http://www.sybizcare.com.au/adair/index.htm

http://www.sybizcare.com.au/adair

Sandra McArthur: "Natural elements"

 Sandra McArthur: Sea Song, www.sandramaree.com.au

Sandra McArthur is a painter from Australia. She has always been drawing, but it wasn't until college, when Sandra was training to be a school teacher, that she finally knew how much experimenting and creating meant to her.  

What inspires you to your work?

I love walking on the beach at all different times of the day. I am inspired by the natural elements, the sea, sky and the wind.
 

 What is it like being an artist in Australia?
 
 There are many things to inspire you to paint in Australia, especially our beautiful beaches, climate and many opportunities to study art.
 
 You work together with young talents. What do you learn from them or what can you show them?
 
I teach children and adults of all ages. I am particularly interested in helping teenagers find their way in expressing themselves through art. We experiment with many mediums and styles.
 
 When are you most creative?
 
I love working to music, all sorts from country, rock to meditative style and find I need to set aside a good 4 hours, this is the time I need to complete a painting. 

Sandra McArthur, Restless

Sandra McArthur

Special Feature: Surf Artist Fernanda O'Connell "Surfing keeps me interested in painting"

 Fernanda O'Connell : http://fernanda-surfart.blogspot.com/

Fernanda O'Connell : http://fernanda-surfart.blogspot.com/

Surf and Seascape Artist Fernanda O'Connell grew up in Sao Paulo in Brazil and now surfs the oceans of the world. With her art she captures moments and perspectives of the ocean that are quite unique. Currently she surfs, paints and is preoccupied with issues that affect Indonesia and its people. With tradeyourtalent she speaks about growing up in the chaotic city of Sao Paulo, being one of the first females to bodysurf, why painting keeps her surfing and how she raises awareness for the critical conditions of the oeans. 

Fernanda O'Connell : http://fernanda-surfart.blogspot.com/

What was it like growing up in Sao Paulo in Brazil?

Growing up in Sao Paulo was intense. It is such a big chaotic city! I am part of a big family that is really close. Even though we lived on the city, my uncles owned a boat and we used to get to the beach very often and from a very young age I knew deep in my spirit that I was going to leave Sao Paulo and travel the world in search of waves, different cultures and a seaside lifestyle.

Why did you start surfing?

My older cousins were surfers and they were my heroes, they meant the world to me and introduced me to the surf and music. Back then stand up surfing wasn't that big for females but bodyboarding was starting to appear and somehow females in Brazil took to the sport. I was 10 or 11 then, when I travelled to the States and got my first Match 7-7 bodyboard.

Fernanda O'Connell : http://fernanda-surfart.blogspot.com/

When did you start doing surf art, what does it mean to you?

I always dabbled into drawing. My mum thought I would become an architect... But when I started travelling around Australia, Indonesia and particularly the Canary Islands I felt the need to draw the seascapes. I was so attracted to drawing and painting waves and that was back in 98. When I settled in Ulladulla I went to an art teacher to teach me the skills to use the paint brush and realised early on the importance to find my style and signature brushstroke so that my work could become recognisable. The recognition for my work grew very quickly and I guess it is a blessing to be able to make a living painting a subject that has been my passion, the ocean. Painting waves keep me interested in surfing, and surfing keeps me inspired to paint!

Fernanda O'Connell : http://fernanda-surfart.blogspot.com/

Your art is really unique. Have you met other artists/surfers doing this? What do you think your connection is?

Thank you, I appreciate it! Through generic websites such as clubofthewaves.com and cabecafeita.com artists get a chance to become aware of other surf artists. I got a chance to meet Jay Alders in Brazil at the Festival Alma Surf which is an artist I really appreciate, and Erick Wilson which is an amazing environmentalist. My latest trip to Hawaii I got to meet Jennifer Prince, Mark Daniels and Patrick Parker which was really nice. And of course, because of the internet I keep in touch with fellow brazilian artists and a fair few european artists.

Is surfing a form of art to you ?

Surfing is surely a form of art. It requires a lot of practice and perseverance to perfect your surfing. I believe creativity is very much a part of surfing as a surfer performs the manouvers in a wave.

Fernanda O'Connell : http://fernanda-surfart.blogspot.com/

What is your favorite place to surf?

I will always have a heart for Indonesia. The arquipelago of the Mentawaii Islands have endless world class breaks. I love the romance of arriving on a uncrowded surf spot and jumping out of the boat and surf all day! But I also love the breaks around my home,  especially Ulladulla Bommie.

The oceans are endangered.  Do you think your art can help to protect them  ? 

I have been involved with Surfrider Foundation through the invitation of the Malibu Boardriders in California for the last 2 years and been personally preoccupied with the issues that affect Indonesia and its people and donated to SurfAid. I would like more and more to collaborate with such organisations, donating and raising awareness of the critical conditions we now face.

                                                         For more on Fernanda  visit: 

http://fernanda-surfart.blogspot.com/

or  

www.fernandaoconnell.com

Painter Geoffrey Krawczyk "Connection to the World"

It is something really rare, something that not all artists are able to do. Being able to create surprise and emotional upheaval in the person viewing the piece of art. The artwork of Geoffrey Krawczyk makes you think about the origins of violence and war, it deals with themes and emotions that are often off-limits in our society. This is probably why I was so affected by something in his work that wasn't actually such an obvious symbol of war: the endless night-sky with its countless amount of twinkling stars. How can something so beautiful be enveloping something so evil? 

Geoffrey Krawczyk, The Rivers of Sheol, www.geoffreyk.com

Geoffrey Krawczyk, The Birth of Tragedy, www.geoffreyk.com

The nature of sacrifice and violence have always influenced the artwork of  Geoffrey Krawczyk, painter and printmaker from Oklahoma. Geoffrey's work has been shown in numerous locations throughout the world, most recently he was included in Wet Paint 2010 at the Zhou B. Art Center in Chicago. He just completed an installation that involved 93 paper models of drone aircraft for the Urban Institute of Contemporary Art in Grand Rapids, MI. Geoffrey is  also teaching art at Southwestern Oklahoma State University.

How is spirituality reflected in your work?

I think spirituality is merely a connection to something bigger than ourselves. Often, this connection is manifested through elaborate mythologies and narratives that don't have much to do with a tangible reality but rather give us a way to quantify our world and our place in it, good or bad. My work is an attempt to create mythologies from the world around us. I believe to think about death, war and violence is to contemplate our own mortality, which is also to contemplate something much bigger than ourselves. I want people to come away from my work not with any sort of solution or narrative in mind but simply with a foundation to consider their own spirituality, their own connection to the world.

Why is war such a big theme in your work? How do you deal with it in your work?

War is one of the constants of human civilization. Again, it is one of the features of our societies that causes us to contemplate mortality. I am interested in how conflict and the way we view and experience it shapes our view of ourselves. I try to present parallels between what is bad about war and what good can come from it. I suppose for myself, it is a sort of therapy. My father is a disabled veteran, so I guess I am drawn to the nature of sacrifice because of that. I feel very small when I consider the enormity of the problems facing the world, including war and violence. Creating is my way of coping. Perhaps, as an artist, I also feel this is my contribution to a better world.

Do you think it is hard to be an artist today?

Yes and no. I think with the amazing technology that exists it is possible to really promote yourself globally in a way that was not possible just a few years ago. However, because of that ease, there are many more people jumping into the fray. But I think it is possible to carve out a niche for yourself, even in the midst of thousands of other talented people. In the end, it will always be the ones who work the hardest that succeed.

What was your most difficult project?

This last installation that I mentioned was pretty taxing. It involves 93 paper models of drone aircraft. I only had a few weeks to make them and they were all done by hand. The final result was great but it was a relief to see it completed.

 If your worked together with young artists, what advice would you give them for their future career?

What I tell my students is to never stop working hard and making work. Talent alone will not succeed. If someone notices that you are talented, and gives you an opportunity, you have to follow up that interest with discipline. If they see that you are working very hard, that makes a much bigger impression. Everyone has talent; not very many are willing to cultivate discipline. And, truthfully, working constantly will only improve your work.

Geoffrey Krawczyk, Installation: Sell/ Cell, http://geoffreyk.com/

Interview with Illustrator and Painter Susan Sorrell Hill: Fairy Tales and Magic

Susan Sorrell Hill is a painter and illustrator living in Northern California. Her artwork is quite magical in every way, just by looking at it you are drawn right into a fairytale. Currently she is working on a children's folktale "The Emperor's Pear Tree", the book will probably be published in the Spring of 2012.

                                                            www.susansorrellhill.com

Your work is often inspired by fairy tales? How do they inspire you and why?

I love fairy tales because most of them incorporate an element of Mystery, an indication that there is a lot more to Life than meets the eye, maybe more than we can ever know with our rational minds. And because there is this element of Mystery, an artist has a wider realm of imagination to work in. I have always been fascinated by the “archetypal Journey of Life”: the themes and patterns that appear all over the world and influence every personʼs life. In literature, these archetypes have been traditionally expressed in fairy tales and folktales, as well as in ancient myths. They also are expressed in the Tarot, and discussed in psychology texts. Because I love books even more than art-for-the-wall, I have gravitated--in this second half of my life--back to my first love, illustration for childrenʼs books.

What was your hardest work up until now?

The hardest work has been making the decision to focus on book illustration, rather than to make work solely for galleries. Despite all of the brilliant art that has been and is being done for books, illustrators are still usually seen as second-class artists, so I had to discover that I really loved illustration, before I could give up the fantasy and hope of being the toast of the New York gallery scene. At the same time, I made the difficult decision to return to watercolors and working small, and to put oils, which I had been working with for years, aside for the time being. After that, the way ahead looked clearer.

Why did you choose art?

I donʼt think that it was a choice. Making beautiful things has always been my best talent, no matter which medium I was working in. Iʼve painted large in other mediums, made jewelry, thrown pots, sculpted with handmade paper, painted on silk, sewn clothes, designed patterns for textiles and gift wrap, and probably some other things that Iʼve forgotten. In the end, it wasnʼt “to be or not to be an artist,” but just which medium to really focus on.

Did you ever want to do something else besides art?

As a pre-teenager, I wanted to be a Rock ʻn Roll singer (despite the fact that I couldnʼt sing, and was very uncomfortable in front of a crowd). Fortunately, that fantasy faded. I knew early on that making art was my calling, but if I would ever have considered anything else, it would have been working as a chef, a clothing designer or a gardener. I have enjoyed all of those in a tiny way in my personal life, but it seems that to be a really great illustrator, drawing and painting must become the primary creative focus.

Anything else? 

When I was in my twenties, working as a graphic designer and illustrator (before the digital era), my work was used for posters, ads, logos or business stationary. It was fun to see that work in print, and widely distributed. But I find working on a book project, especially with a text that Iʼve written myself, to be far, far more enjoyable and creatively challenging than any form or art for commerce. To be immersed in setting the stage, inventing the characters, and visually creating the ʻflowʼ of a book is deeply satisfying. A bit like playing ʻgod,ʼ perhaps! Finding oneʼs way in the book illustration field seems to take persistence, and perhaps some luck too. Iʼve learned that there are hurdles inherent on any path...perhaps especially on a artistʼs path, because creative work is such a personal thing. But in the end, the question that guides our choices has to be, “Do I love it?”

  www.susansorrellhill.com

  www.susansorrellhill.com

  www.susansorrellhill.com

  Susan's Blog: http://susansorrellhill.wordpress.com/