By Jonathan Burger, Craven Arts Council & Gallery, Inc.
Where are you from and how’d you end up in eastern North Carolina?
I was a military brat, but ended up in Northern Virginia. When my husband and I were getting ready to retire we googled “good places to retire” and many articles about New Bern NC came up, so we came to visit New Bern, fell in love, bought a house and have lived here since 2005.
Do you have any formal training, or are you self-taught?
I don’t have any formal training , I am self-taught but attended many workshops along the way.
Does your work have a central theme, or many themes?
My paintings begin with a word or phrase and then may become process driven but keeping the original idea in mind. Most of my work is done in a series, I think it’s important to carry ideas on until I have said everything I want to say. There can be 10 or 15 paintings in a series.
A lot people have a hard time understanding abstracts, what advice would you give those people when looking at your work?
To understand abstract work its important to look at the painting as a whole with out trying to find literal images. Just respond to the emotion or feelings that the painting inspires.
You use a lot of medium in your work, including pastel, oil, ink, acrylic, and more. Do you have a favorite medium, and why or why not?
My work is mixed media, using acrylic as the paint but adding the addition of oil pastel, collage ink and charcoal. I love acrylic because it dries fast and I can also use it in thin layers reminiscent of my earlier work in watercolor. I use anything that helps in my expressing my ideas.
Is there another artist whose work inspires you or you admire?
I love the abstract expressionists of the 50’ssuch as Klien, Rauschenberg, Motherwell, I love contemporary work by Sammy Peters and Katherine Chang Liu.
What piece, award, or exhibition are you particularly proud of, and why?
I am most proud of the four residency awards I’ve received to work in Ireland in 2013, 2015,2017and 2019, the work that I produced while there resulted in a shift in my work, giving me a love for greys and neutrals, line and texture.
In one sentence, what is art to you?
For me art is a language that allows me to express my ideas in a way that words cannot.
Do you have any advice for someone who wants to become an artist or is just starting out?
My advice to someone who wants to be an artist would be to experiment, experiment, experiment. Look at a lot of art, all kinds of art, soak it up. Once you start to create try not to let others criticism stop you from going on.
I know you’ll be in the Director’s Gallery at Bank of the Arts for August, but where else can people find your work?
My work can be seen in my studio over the Bay Leaf Restaurant. I am represented by City Gallery in Greenville, NC. I also do juried art fairs and this sept I will be in Philadelphia, PA at the Rittenhouse Square Fine Art Show.