Featured Artist Interviews

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Featured Artist Interview with Karen Israel

G1: Do you have a favorite part of your process as you create new paintings?

Karen: My favorite parts of the entire painting process occur at the very beginning which are the design and drawing. These elements pose the biggest challenge but are also what I love the best. 

G1: How do you describe your creative process? 

Karen: Before I begin the painting, I make certain I am happy with the design. I do this by creating thumbnail sketches using a pen or pencil to work out the arrangement of the shapes. I am always looking for horizontals, verticals, and diagonals and if they are not in the reference photos or the still life set up, then I create that movement. It is only then that I begin to consider the particulars, like the type of support I will use for the painting or the color palette and underpainting technique.

G1: Your paintings often feature figures in the landscape. How do you choose themes for your paintings?

Karen: I find that adding a figure (or animal) in a landscape, whether it is actually in my photo references or in the plein aire setting, helps with the scale of the landscape.  It also adds a human-interest element and makes the landscape more relatable to the viewer.

G1: Your paintings seem to tell stories about everyday life. How do you develop ideas for these narrative works of art? 

Karen: I spend a good deal of time in New York City and I love to observe people doing everyday tasks. As I stroll the city streets, my eye catches the figures and urban landscape shapes. I use my phone to capture these scenes, taking many photographs. I generally do not ask for permission as that breaks the mood, and I prefer a spontaneous reference rather than one that is staged. I almost always have to edit, create and re-create the elements to make the design work.

Featured Artist Interview with T. Willie Raney

G1: Can you tell us what led to your use of mixing printmaking, collage, and layering in your work?

T. Willie: I started adding collage elements to my prints as a natural extension of the collagraph process. It was especially easy to use sections of prints that didn't quite "make the cut" and build off those sections by using them as backgrounds. One thing just led to another. It really changed my printmaking as a whole.

G1: Your work often includes visual storytelling with personal historic connections. Can you share an example with us?

T. Willie: My piece entitled “This Deed” (posted below) is an example of storytelling through my work. It is intended to look like a found document. My grandparents on both sides were victims of imminent domain. One home was lost to a town dump in Virginia and the other to build a school that has long since been demolished. The tag on the top shows my aunts and one uncle as children, standing on the steps of their home on P Street in Washington, D.C. On the left side of the piece is a copy of the deed belonging to their mother, my grandmother, ripped, and torn. On the right side is a copy of a map of Washington, D.C., dating back to 1940 when redlining was common practice in real estate. Pictured on the bottom tag are my grandparents from Virginia in front of their home, standing tall and proud. It was a Black middle-class neighborhood as was my DC family in the photo at the top. The dividing red line includes a copy of the 14th Amendment.

 G1: How do you choose the subject matter for your inspirations?

T. Willie: I love objects found in nature because of their colors and textures. I'm always looking at landscapes and the works of landscape artists that are abstract or realistic. I really like creating the illusion of spaces that I would like to be in. On the other hand, I sometimes get immersed in what is going on in the world and I just have to respond to that. Some of my work is statement-based and I always try to focus on my own experience. I only want to speak from within and share what I've lived through.

Featured Artist Interview with Victor Filepp

G1: Some of your images are monochromatic while others are in color. What do you consider when making those choices for your photographs?

Victor: I make the choice based on a feeling and many images work well in either space. Some photographs work best in one or the other. So, the choice is mostly a matter of trial, what does this look like this way, what does it look like another way? In some cases, both are worth printing and, of course, they are different creatures. Each approach has its place. It is a great time to work in photography, we can try so many things that would have taken far longer and been much more difficult in a wet darkroom.

G1: Which past photographers and artists have influenced your work?

Victor: The history of photography is a rich one and my non-exclusive list contains Ansel Adams, Paul Strand, Dorothea Lange, Walker Evans, Jerry Uelsmann and Robert Frank. Contemporary photographers I admire include Clyde Butcher, Keith Carter and Sally Mann. There are too many to list, really. Recently, I have been meditating on the work of Barkley L. Hendricks, though primarily a painter, he was also a photographer.

G1: What is your printing process? Do you have a preferred surface you use for all your work or does this vary by subject?

Victor: I use a pigment printer with archival inks and paper. Currently, I am using a Canson Baryta Photographique II. I have used matte and metallic paper for other projects, but this semigloss surface works well for what I am doing now. At times, I will have a print made commercially. The surface I choose is more by the ‘feel of the project’ rather than the subject.

G1: Do you typically limit the prints of your images?

Victor: I am not currently producing editions of my photographs. It would be easy to do that with digital printing but would require storage. There are other considerations. A later print might be reconsidered, and so would not be identical to and earlier one. That said, I tend to think of each as an edition of one.

Featured Artist Interview with Rick Silberberg

G1: Your paintings have an element of mystery, and some seem to explore the intersection between the physical landscape and psychological terrain. How do you choose the subject matter for your work? 

Rick: For the artist painting mostly abstract works, the question of subject matter is quite different than an artist who paints landscapes, places, or people. Many abstract works have no subject matter and represent nothing other than what they are, an aesthetically pleasing arrangement of forms and color. I like to give my abstractions the freedom to include shapes and images which can be interpreted by the viewer using their imagination and emotions. The viewer then can decide the subject matter. Sometimes with surprising results even to me.

G1: How has your work evolved over the years? 

Rick: My work has changed over the years but not too dramatically. I started out doing traditional realistic art as a student but under the influence of the times and the teachers I studied with I began to work in an abstract style. First hard edge and then waves to the organic and the surrealistic. I think rather than evolving I have revolved, returning to old techniques and images in new ways resulting in consistency over the years. Looking back at some old paintings, I realize they could have been done yesterday.

G1: Can you tell us about the role of hand-made substrates and boards that you use for many of your paintings?

Rick: Different surfaces react differently to the pressure of the brush, pen, or pencil. With a change of substrate, you open new possibilities and new demands. For instance, working on a hard surface I like to work with more detail and on canvas I like to use more areas of amorphous color.

G1: Recently you are experimenting with digitized altered photographs. What led you to try this new medium? 

Rick: Since the start of the pandemic, I have been working mostly with photography and photos that are my own that I can alter to reflect or make comments on current happenings ranging from weather to politics and health. I have really been enjoying the freedom and almost infinite potential of the camera’s capture of images and the imagination’s ability to transform and intensify the original photo, even changing it meaning or intent. I will be showing some of these pieces as part of Gallery One’s Visual Journey Exhibit at the Zahn Gallery in September and October.

Featured Artist Interview with Diana Rogers

G1: What role does outdoor painting play in your art making?

Diana: I consider the vast outdoors as my studio. Painting on location in plein air is a way I can connect deeply with mother nature and show my respect for the environment. I take frequent hikes with my painting gear to explore nature in slow motion. I get to know a marsh, valley, or stream up close and personal.

G1: How has your style evolved over time?

Diana: In my recent work, I am exploring the boundaries between abstract and impressionist styles. In my paintings, I simplify the landscape by observing the abstract shapes that are before me. I use lots of bold color and energetic strokes to create loose and vibrant paintings. I see the world through a color forward lens and the pastel medium is ideal to use with pure, intense pigments.

G1: How do climate change concerns impact your work?

Diana: Painting outdoors lets me get to know the beautiful locations we need to protect before they are gone. I can call attention to special places in peril by painting them in a hopeful way. Art plays a vital role in raising awareness of the problems that mother earth faces. By creating art that is color-filled and exuberant, my goal is to share hope and raise awareness that we all can make immediate and lasting impacts in addressing these challenges.

G1: As a landscape painter, what role does the change of seasons play in your work?

Diana: Living in New England, I cherish the change of seasons. My painting practice follows the rhythms and cycles of nature. Each season has its unique color palette and plays a different role in our lives. It is exciting to watch the subtle color changes that occur in the landscape at the cusp of a new season. Salt marshes are a fitting example with their subdued colors of early spring that eventually transition to the rich colors of late summer and fall.

Featured Artist Interview with Jill Vaughn

G1: What role does design play in creating your engaging compositions?

Jill: How do I talk about design? It is all about balance and containing the visual story on that piece of paper and yet letting that story have a life of its own.  Trying to find that balance between overworking my story and saying just enough.  I’ve made many overworked images in my time to know better, yet it still remains a challenge.

G1: How do you choose the mediums used to speak about the issues you are clearly passionate about?

Jill: I’m trying to use materials I have on hand in a new way, and honestly, I’m also trying to be frugal. I’m finding that collage brings in visuals that connect to my thoughts and feelings about the world around me. I’ve used my old stock reports in my collages. It connects to my complicity as a consumer as well as my relationship with nature by reusing paper. I’ll use an old biology book to connect with imagery relating to the bio-engineering of nature.  I’ll use old hiking trail maps connecting to my love of those places while feeling anger about the opening of these national parks to the mining and drilling for natural resources. I’ll see an image of a bird covered in oil and express my grief in a pencil or pen drawing.

G1: What role does color choice play in your protest series?

Jill: Certainly red, white, and blue were considerations. Blood red stimulates passion, violence, and fear. Black can represent strength, power and creates a strong contrast with white. I felt our flag and patriotism has been kidnaped and has been used as a source for intimidation. I wanted to defuse these images and see them for what they are by imbedding them in my work, making them seem small. It is therapeutic for me in a world surrounded by violence towards the other.
 
G1: How has your art evolved over time?

Jill: My earlier works were mostly representational landscapes painted en plein air with oil paint on canvas.  I began working in watercolor after starting a family. I didn’t want to asphyxiate my children with the smells of oil paint and turpentine. Watercolor taught me the importance of white space, whereas oil paint taught me about layers. Drawing taught me about intimacy, energy, and emotion. Paradoxically, black and white photography taught me about color and values. My paintings during this period reflected my “domestic bliss,” but this was not to last.

Mid-life changes have been a motivator, and in many ways, a rich source of creative material. I learned about dreamscapes, metaphor, and symbolism. I learned that art was always faithful and never lied – even when I was not able to recognize the truth. Metaphor and symbolism connected me spiritually to the environment, and collage pasted it all together.

Today, images pop into my head as I wrestle with the environmental and political stressors around me.  I make preliminary sketches of those images and then move onto large stretched watercolor paper to develop them further using pen, pencil, oil paint, watercolor, and added household recyclables. 

Featured Artist Interview with Michael Fanelli

G1: What type of subject matter most inspires you?

Michael: I am drawn to natural forms and landscape photography. Not necessarily vistas, but rather subjects that are a few inches to a several feet away. Closer views which seem to mirror my usual visual awareness.

G1: What is your general approach to photography?

Michael: I am interested in exploring and expanding on the language of traditional photography even when pursuing experimental imagery. Celebrating what can be seen with a camera that at times may not be viewable to the eye under normal circumstances. In general, my role is to present the photograph as the camera saw it given technical and subjective parameters, without excessive post-production or computer manipulation.

G1: Can you tell us about your early passion for photography?

Michael: As a child I was seduced by boxes of family photographs, slide shows, 8mm movie nights. It allowed glimpses into the lives of people known and unknown, places they had been, who and what they cared about. There also seemed to be a guessing game as to who might have taken the picture, or notably had been left out of the picture.

G1: How has your art evolved over time?

Michael: My early work in photography began using film, 35mm, medium and large format cameras both in a commercial studio and in the field. Now my workflow is mostly digital. This is important because it allows for a feedback loop in the field, with the opportunity to refine composition, exposure settings, and explore unanticipated phenomenon. It also aids the process of discovery in situations that are difficult to pre-visualize.

Featured Artist Interview with Karen Israel

G1: Can you tell us about your passion for using the pastel medium?

Karen: Pastel allows me to explore color by mixing the pigments through layering. Pastel is immediate, needing no drying time and does not fade or yellow over time once the work is completed and behind museum quality glass.

G1: What role does design play in creating your engaging compositions?

Karen: Design is my top priority and is the skeleton onto which the other elements, such as color and texture, will build. I will often spend a few days sketching a variety of designs before I even begin painting. This is also true when setting up a still life in my studio. I will spend days with the design and arrangement of objects and the light/shadow before I embark on drawing or painting.

G1: What type of subject matter most inspires you?

Karen: It is not the particular subject as much as the design and arrangement of shapes and patterns of light which initially inspires me to paint. I am interested in painting any subject which tells a story or has a point of view.

G1: How has your art evolved over time?

Karen: These days, I paint representational subjects, but think in abstract terms when creating the design and overall concept. During the process of creating, I will ask myself this question: “What if?” Whether painting from life or from a photo reference, it is this question that prompts me to deviate from the literal. For example, if a certain design has a strong vertical and horizontal element, I will create a diagonal to balance this.

GI: Where do you see your art going forward into the future?

Karen: This question touches on the ineffable. I aim to follow my heart without a pre-determined outcome. There is a great excitement in this lack of planning and this, in turn, ignites my creativity.

Featured Artist Interview with Rosemary Cotnoir

G1: How does spending time in nature influence your work?

Rosemary: Nature has a great influence in my work. I look for the abstraction in lines of growth in trees and leaves. Fractals, line patterns, meanderings, foam, and waves are all repeated patterns in nature that appear in my work.

G1: What role does experimenting with patterns play in your art making?

Rosemary: I was exposed to patterns in my work as an interior designer. Then it all came together after seeing Klimt’s “Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer” at the Neue Galerie. It was a turning point for me and now that is all I want to do is make paintings with patterns.

G1: Can you talk about using layers of color in creating your compositions?

Rosemary: I work in layers. I segue from easel to working on a flat surface. I dilute acrylic paint in small squeeze bottles and squirt it all over the canvas surface letting colors blend into each other. After drying, I study it to pick out certain areas and I usually get the direction of what I want to say. I work intuitively and just let everything come together to impact movement and detail.

G1: How has your art evolved over time?

Rosemary: Early on, I started with sketching scenes in nature and interpreting it on canvas, mostly in oils, and in the impressionist style. It is not in my nature to keep doing the same thing all the time, so I began experimenting with abstraction. Now I would say I mix abstraction with patterns.

Featured Artist Interview with T. Willie Raney

G1: What role does experimentation play in your artmaking?

T. Willie: It plays a big role as I work very intuitively. I usually try to visualize the final piece. It might be inspired by another image or a natural object. Then I might do a sketch or start assembling some of the pieces. Because I work with a lot of layers, I always dry-fit the pieces first. After that, I figure out what layer will be first, second, and then I listen to the art to tell me which medium I should add to it and where.

G1: How does spending time in nature influence your work?

T. Willie: I like to go for walks and I'm always curious about what I'm seeing. I can't help picking up seeds, leaves, bark, stones, a birds' nest, lichen; any textured natural object catches my eye. I keep a collection that I use in my work, either as inspiration or I physically add it to the art.

 G1: How has your art evolved over time?

T. Willie: I used to do mostly representational landscapes, but since the pandemic my work has centered around messaging. I actually didn't create anything that first year. I was so focused on staying safe I just didn't feel creative at all. And then I went to my studio in January 2021 and was able to generate ideas. My ideas were a reaction to all the events in the news I had absorbed over the year. The titles of my art conveyed the messages: "Fishing", "Rise", and "We Too Belong."

 G1: Why collagraphs?

T. Willie: Collagraphs allow me to get the subtle lines, shapes, and textures I see in the natural world. Each layer of paper, mark or tear I make will show. And the best part is I can get all of those textures on the surface of one "plate" at the same time, without having to do multiple prints of different plates as in traditional monotypes.

Featured Artist Interview with Victor Filepp

G1: Your photographs are often monochromatic and have a moody atmosphere. How do you select subject matter for this style?

VF: Typically, I don’t begin with a preconceived idea. When in the field if the scene, or some composition within a scene, is appealing I will shoot it. Later, in the digital darkroom I make determinations about how to best use an image, or sometimes a portion of an image. I’m old enough now that my memory of getting a bunch of black and white images back from a film shoot and it seems nostalgic. I grew up with it. But the decision to make a monochrome image almost always comes later since all RAW images shot with a digital camera are color. RAW images are basically the raw data that comes from the camera. Many times, I find that I can make the images portray what I find appealing about them better in monochrome.

G1: Your images frequently focus on the man-made and natural world in decay. What attracts you to this subject matter?

VF: Some geologists say that we have entered the Anthropocene era with the commencement of significant human impact on Earth's geology and ecosystems and climate change. This relates to photography to some extent because many photographers use the medium to document the entropy of the built environment. There is the curiosity factor, and it can be fascinating to explore abandoned sites. There is also nostalgia for those who may have some connection to a time or place. These images can be captivating, even beautiful, and inform us of situations that might best be addressed; much like conflict photographers who hope that depicting war will help dissuade people from engaging in it.

G1: What role does experimentation play in your artmaking?

VF: I see my work in the dry darkroom as very experimental. I had no experience in wet darkrooms and so entered this part of photography with no set ground rules. Everything was an experiment. How do I do this or that? Is it a good idea to take one approach or another? It is like “beginner’s mind” and when we don’t know, there are no limits or wrong ways. This allows me to push the limits of the medium and offers more creative solutions. I’m a person who learns by doing, so if I’m not experimenting I’m not learning. Frankly, there is so much to learn about working with photography that I don’t see an end in my lifetime.

G1: How does spending time in nature influence your work?

VF: I find it hard to gauge the effect of being outdoors with the practice of photography. To some extent the considerable time I spent outdoors wondering in the woods and fields had an influence. Watching the changes in both the built and natural environments over my lifetime has become a cause for grave concern and influences the subject matter I’m drawn to. Our nation has built so much with little consideration for the natural environment and what is destroyed with development. It seems like the US and many nations have turned a blind eye to what we have wrought and the environmental damage. Can picturing either the destruction or the remaining beauty cause people to act in our best interest? Maybe photographs can tell the story and offer a bit of nudging.

Featured Artist Interview with Ann Knickerbocker

Get to know Ann Knickerbocker in our interview as she shares the inspiration behind her exciting new works in the ARxT exhibition.

G1: Tell us about your process used to create the paintings included in the ARxT Exhibition now on view in the Guilford Art Center.

Ann: All of these paintings are re-workings of older paintings. Whenever a painting hangs in my house, it gets subjected to continual scrutiny.  I may find something seems wrong to my eye or I just notice a spot that needs attention. A gallery owner once told me that she thought the underpainting added sheen and depth. I hope she is right!

G1: Why do you focus on abstract art?

Ann:  I feel that all painting is abstract. 

G1: Can you tell us about the role of text that you add to your paintings.

Ann: The text in this new series of paintings is subtler, almost erased, compared to the work in last fall’s “True Vision” Exhibition. I don’t want to direct the viewer too much this time through words. I’ll let the image and colors speak for themselves and give the viewer room to develop a response.

Featured Artist Interview with Diana Rogers

 G1: In the Her Season exhibit, your artist statement talks about the connections between the change of seasons and transitions in our lives. How does this impact your artwork?

Diana: As I spend more time in the great outdoors, I have come to understand how the stages of our daily lives are like Mother Nature’s constantly changing cycles. There is a time and season in life to grow and flourish and other points in our own journey to take a step back from the fast pace of life for reflection and renewal. As an artist, I enjoy observing subtle changes as time passes in the natural world and my work reflects the creativity and energy I draw from spending time in nature.

G1: Several works in this exhibit focus on the rhythms and cycles of nature. What do you mean by that?

Diana: When we are on the cusp of a new season, it is the ideal time to slow down, take a pause and observe nature re-invent itself. Living in New England, we watch the seasons change from the subtle palette of early spring all the way through the vibrant colors of fall foliage. Nature and art give us a deep well of healing energy to draw from during each cycle in our lives, particularly at times of change when renewal is most welcomed.

G1: How has your work evolved over the years?

Diana: I think that nature has a way of pushing us forward and not letting us remain still for too long. As I grow older, my approach to art has gotten bolder and more spontaneous. It is rewarding to take some risks and travel down new artistic paths. Most recently, I have been exploring the boundaries between abstract and representational styles to depict the natural world through a color-forward lens. I use exuberant color and energetic mark-making to capture the movement and spirit of a place in a moment of time. My work continues to show my reverence for Mother Nature and calls attention to the places we cherish but need to protect and restore in this era of climate change.

Click here to view the “Her Season” exhibit featuring Jill Vaughn and Diana Rogers. 

Featured Artist Interview with Jill Vaughn

G1: You have a new exhibit “Her Season” now on view which includes several works that have hands drawn in them. What inspired the hands?

Jill: I have long thought about how we touch Nature and what better way to describe this action than to actually draw my own hands literally doing this. Another idea that intrigues me is how artists throughout history have always touched their art. While making with my hands, I feel a direct connection to these artists and part of a lineage that dates back to antiquity. 

 G1: In the Her Season exhibit, your artist statement includes a reference to the “gift economy”. What do you mean by that?

 Jill: This question could be better answered by author an environmental activist, Robin Wall Kimmerer. But I will try to make a stab at it. When a gift is given, one is grateful for the received item or gesture, and for the generosity of the giver. In return, the receiver of the gift often wants to reciprocate this act of kindness. When these actions of generosity are part of a culture, a community becomes strengthened and generosity and gratitude prevails.

Likewise, when Nature gifts us a plentiful crop, and man and animals take only what is needed, the excess is returned to the earth. There is no waste. This process of regeneration is what drove Teosinte and the Feminine and Seeded Harvest. In a consumer driven economy, gratitude is not a consideration in the exchange. There is no need to give back to Nature for a jug of clean water or a carton of eggs purchased miles from its source. In this type of transaction, Nature is considered a commodity for profit and the concept of reciprocity and gratitude is usually missing from the equation.

 G1: How has your art evolved over the years?

 Jill: My earlier work was mostly beautifully rendered landscapes done en plein air. I’m still very fond of these pieces, but as I grow older, I feel the need to say more about what is going on both nationally and locally — especially with respect to the environment and other topical issues that concern me. My art is a natural platform for me to voice how I feel about these things and to hopefully help bring about positive change. 

 Click here to view the “Her Season” exhibit featuring Diana Rogers and Jill Vaughn.