Artspan Visual Language Interview with Nancy Bossert

When did you realize you loved art and wanted to be an artist? 

Cannot remember a day when I wasn’t creating.  It definitely goes back to my elementary years.

Who has been your mentor, or greatest influence to date? I cannot say one in particular. 

Everyone I come in contact with I can learn something from.  This can be from the very young to the oldest.  However I had one graduate instructor who could put what I was seeing into words and that was Dorothea Builder.

Who is another living artist you admire and why?  Living?  I have many that are deceased; Lucian Freud and Antonio Garcia Lopez.  They both work tonal hues, craftsman, respectful of form, love of desolate spaces.  They are technically proficient and encourage the viewer to question the scene from multiple principles.

What is your favorite surface to create work on or to work with? Describe it if you make it yourself. 

Wow!  To choose one,  I would have to say 300lb hot press paper.  The paper must be archival, acid free.

What are your favorite materials to use?  I love gesso because it is a binder and provides a workable tooth to my paper for many other materials.  Adding a slight hue to gesso will provide harmony to a finished composition.  The key is to know your materials so well that mixing media becomes second nature, and technique can take over.

Do you have a favorite color palette? Very tonal.  I love browns, yellow ocher, muted greens.  However there is a need to balance these colorations with compliments.

 How often do you work on your artwork? How many hours a week? At least seven hours most days.

What is the one thing you would like to be remembered for?

Craftsmanship

There are many culprits that can crush creativity, such as distractions, self-doubt and fear of failure. What tends to stand in the way of your creativity? Normal family obligations.

How do you overcome these obstacles?  Understanding that these moments happen in everyone’s life, so make the situation positive

What are your inspirations for your work?  Love working with the human form, light, color, texture.

Which work of yours is your favorite? Paintings of my daughter

Getting to know you Q&A

What is your favorite color in your closet? Brown

What book are you reading this week? I am a news junkie

Do you have a favorite television show? Currently: Sons of Anarchy and Project runway 

What color sheets are on your bed right now? Cream

What are you most proud of in your life? My marriage and my children

Who would you love to interview? Not interview, but to have a conversation with the Pope

Do you have a passion or hobby other than painting? What is it? I crochet.

Who would you love to paint? My husband

If you were an animal what would you be and why? Bear, texture, size and movement.

If you were stranded on a desert island and could only take three things, what would they be? So hard.  I take Yarn on every trip, because My hands just can’t be idle.  I couldn’t imagine being somewhere without my family, but I wouldn’t want them to be stranded somewhere just because of my desire…..Crochet hooks, wine.  Not really great choices.   

Share something with us that few people know about you. I will be married 39 years this year.

If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you live? I love Easton.

https://nancybossert.artspan.com/

Studio Visit with Vanessa Katz and Visual Language Magazine

Vanessa Katz

Vanessa Katz was born and raised in England and now resides in Palm Desert, California. At an early age she was always fascinated with color and began painting as a teenager. The art she created in her youth and early career was comprised of only very detailed representational work.

She resumed painting full time after her daughter left home for college.  Bored with the confines of realistic work and with a desire to paint freely, she began to develop an impressionistic style and to paint from her imagination.  Sometimes dreaming a painting or simply allowing it to evolve organically (effortlessly) from within.

Confident and energetic brushwork with bold, bright, rich colors allow the freedom for her to express thoughts, feelings and life in a vibrant way.  The people who view Vanessa’s paintings have commented that her work leaves them feeling happy and uplifted.  “I love the fact that my work can evoke positive emotions. I am honored and thrilled. What a privilege”.

Currently Vanessa’s work includes a variety of subjects from abstracts, landscapes, trees and animals.  One of her passions is to support groups protecting animal rights and has done a series of animals on cigar boxes benefitting pet charities.  This series was a perfect match as her husband has a cigar business and always has many empty cigar boxes.  “They make perfect canvases as they often have such attractive paper borders which create a natural frame and I like the effect of allowing the gold foil from the original cigar label to show through.  I then lacquer them to achieve a very glossy and attractive finish”.   

Vanessa chooses to use different mediums such as ink, crayon, charcoal and gold leaf.  Her preference is mainly using acrylic, her favorite brands being Golden and Holbein.  She also loves to use Japanese fine art papers, old postcards, symbols, old ledger books and letters, in fact most anything interesting she can get her hands on to add to her mixed media pieces.  “It is very engaging and exciting for me to experiment with all the various papers and the like. It is important to me that my work creates an element of intrigue and wonder. I attend many workshops to learn new and interesting techniques from other artists. The journey of discovery is what amazes me. As an artist the process of learning while experimenting creates an internal vibration. It is very empowering and exciting."

Painting for Vanessa is all about the expression of fun and her love of life.  She paints with a sense of ease, serenity and excitement.  When she finds herself struggling to “make it happen”, she realizes it is time to stop for the day.  She listens to music, paints while standing and moves and dances to get in the “flow and the zone” and then hopefully a masterpiece is born!

Her studio is in her home, which allows her more time to paint.  She offers her collectors ‘Take Tea and See’ by appointment.  This is a chance for them to visit her and see her work up close and personal.  She serves tea (she is English after all and coffee is offered too). 

“You cannot begin to convey the texture, energy, depth and color of a painting in a photo so I love when collectors can see and feel the work in person – it is a completely different experience.  Collectors love to see my studio where the work actually happens. It gives me a chance to describe the process of creating the work of art and share a connection with my collectors”.

The life of a successful artist includes a great deal of time networking, marketing and being on the computer, which Vanessa embraces and enjoys.  She has a website and an active Facebook page. She has built a large following on Facebook in which she is constantly sharing her own work and in addition features other artists and interesting art related stories.  She strives to make it interesting, inspiring and to allow a glimpse into the life of an artist.

Vanessa truly shares her love of painting in her work.

She invites you to visit her website:

www.VanessaKatzArt.com

and / or connect with her on her Facebook Page

www.Facebook.com/AbstractArt4U

Visual Language Studio Visit Rod Seeley, Digital Fractal Art

Stylized Digital Fractal Art
Creating a New Art Form 

Rod Seeley

The first question I’m asked when someone views my art is ”how did you do that”?...   Quickly followed by a puzzled look of disbelief when I attempt to explain the process and show them the “original” piece of Fractal Art used to create my unique style of artwork.

Although I’ve always had a creative nature and was an award winning Creative Director of an ad agency in the 1970’s, I never really considered myself to be an artist since I couldn’t really draw all that well and certainly couldn’t paint to save my life.

In 2010 for fun I decided to experiment with several different digital paint programs. Well known (Corel Painter) and a few lesser known but easier to use programs. My early pieces were a combination of digital art mixed with digital paint techniques which I reproduced on canvas (gliclee). Although they looked great it didn’t really allow me to be as creative as I wanted to be.

Sometime in 2011 by accident I discovered Fractal Art. At the time I had no idea what fractal art even was or how it was created. Here is a brief description of the background of the art.

“Fractal art is a form of algorithmic art created by calculating fractal objects and representing the calculation results as still images, animations, and media.  Fractal art developed from the mid-1980s onwards. It is a genre of computer art and digital art which are part of new media art. The Julia set and Mandlebrot sets can be considered as icons of fractal art.

Fractal art (especially in the western world) is not drawn or painted by hand. It is usually created indirectly with the assistance of fractal-generating software, iterating through three phases: setting parameters of appropriate fractal software; executing the possibly lengthy calculation; and evaluating the product. In some cases, other graphics programs are used to further modify the images produced.

This is called post-processing. Non-fractal imagery may also be integrated into the artwork.” – from Wikipedia.

There are a number of outstanding Fractal Artists around but nearly all stop where I start because in general fractal art is very detailed and has a distinct computer generated algorithmic look. I use at least 6 different fractal software programs to create my “Original” piece of artwork. All of these programs are a little different but all work much like a child’s kaleidoscope in the sense that once you move the image displayed you can’t go back. Once I finalize the piece I want to use, my process begins.

The “metamorphosis” begins in Photoshop which is my base program but I rarely use any of the filters provided with the program. Instead I use nearly a dozen plug in programs to create my work. Unlike most artists I have no idea what shape the creation will take or what the final the color combinations will be most of the time. When the piece “Wow’s” me I stop. In many cases I will use the same “Original” piece to create 5 or more pieces and it is doubtful that the average person would know the finished pieces came from the same piece of art.

The key to my creative process is I don’t want the artwork to look computer generated and the pieces must be bright, vibrant and have Wow appeal. 

I reproduce my Limited Edition artwork on “High Gloss” Aluminum in a custom aluminum shadow frame which gives the artwork an additional visual dimension. I wasn’t aware until I exhibited at Art Expo New York in 2013 that I had created a new art form.

In the artwork displayed in this article, I have added an “Original Art” insert so it is easier to see the transformation to the finished art.

My artwork has been exhibited at many large National & International Art Shows; Art Expo New York 2013 & 2014, Spectrum New York 2013 & 2014, Spectrum Miami 2013 & 2014. Artwork has also been exhibited at Montreal Art Center and Southern Nevada Museum of Fine Art, Las Vegas.

Artwork has also been published in a number Juried Art Publications; International Contemporary Masters Volume 7 & 8 and others.

Over the last several years my artwork has won many awards both online and at Regional Juried Shows but it is taking time for Digital Art to become established as an art form especially by galleries who frequently feel computer generated artwork doesn’t match up with other traditional art forms like oils, watercolor or pastels.

I enjoy creating artwork that is visual and makes people stop to take closer look. I consider my artwork to be vibrant “happy art” where the viewer decides what the subject is and everyone has a different vision.

Web Site – www.RodSeeleyArt.com

    

Birgit Huttemann-Holz Studio Visit with Visual Language Magazine

Birgit Huttemann-Holz               

Detroit- Inside the Pioneer Building, studio 303, February 2014

It is still frigid outside, a city frozen almost solid. I open the door to my sanctuary, turn on the light, plug in my electric tools, and turn on the heater.

I connect my IPod, listen a moment to myself, select the music and turn up the volume. Ready! I step into the U-form of my working space. It surrounds me and allows me to concentrate on my art, not finding things.  On the right are my paint griddle and electric skillets, my pigments and waxy brushes.

On my left are oil paints, oil sticks, oil pastels, and brushes with a blue tape on their handle. The blue tape reminds me to not dip them in wax! For now, directly in front of me, is a large architectural drawing table placed horizontally position. About 5 meters behind me stands a large mirror. I only have to turn around to get a distant glance of my painting so that I can view and critique my work.  One, no, two more things - I coat my hands with barrier cream and fasten the apron behind my back. Maybe that is my daily routine. Every other move is dictated by my soul, and my dreams. I am talking about my work - it’s a love affair!

Today, I went downtown before coming to the studio and bought some cobalt blue oil paint. I can’t wait to get my hands into that startling deep blue. Yes, “Mother Nature is my competition!” I start with clear encaustic layers on my wooden panel.  I torch, scrape away the excess wax with my razorblades and start anew. After two layers I add some pigments to my wax. Layer after layer I build the foundation, then the background, it is now that I and set the temperament of the painting. 

Then I start with the outlines and followed by shadows. Today, it is black, straight from the tube, oil, glistening, as thick as my pinky, a bit of linseed oil, pouring, generous and then brush work: Bold, playful, but with many exclamation marks!! It’s a dance that only just begins. I turn and add wax again, burnt umber on top. And so it goes back and forth. In between, I fuse everything with my Iwatani torch, a furious little thing. I do not use propane. I use butane, a very hot merciless flame, a flame for the impatient, impetuous dare devil. Firedrake!

Now, the detail - cobalt blue of course! I push the oily paint directly on my fingertips - sometimes, I am wearing gloves, but not today! It is a sensory overload. I  flick the paint, smear, set accents, wipe , mix, add wax , torch it, burn in, let it pool, scrape away, cover, reveal.

It is my ‘Fascinosum’. And the best of all? Gestural painting! Movement, storm, impact, sweeping, bulging, ripping apart, prying open, with a high arc flying  across the plane.

Mighty paintings – ‘Sturm und Drang’ (storm and stress) - they plea: Be careful! At the same time they wave you over and whisper: Come join! Be unrestrained!

An abstract landscape. Cross-border breed, lyrical, upside down. Scratched, incised agitation, reflection, fly-fishing for urgrunds (primal cause or ultimate cosmic principle).

Rising water. A falling flower bud will slay you! Beauty and abyss! Excessive curiosity, spellbound, trance.

Birgit Huttemann-Holz     

www.brightstroke.com