“She never looked nice.
She looked like art, and art wasn't supposed to look nice;
it was supposed to make you feel something.”
-Rainbow Rowell
Friday, April 26, 2019
Friday, March 8, 2019
Ali Cavanaugh
Ali Cavanaugh
"In addition to being a painter,
I am a wife and mother of four,
born
and raised in the rural Midwest.
I began doing art in high
school and was encouraged to go to art school.
I bounced around in
several different majors before settling into painting.
I painted in oils for
about 10 years after art school, and then picked up watercolor and
taught myself that medium in 2006.
I studied art in Grand
Rapids, Michigan and New York City, and I lived in Santa Fe for many
years where I developed my "modern fresco" process.
It was during my time in
the southwest that my art gained
momentum and was established with
collectors and galleries.
I currently live in the
Midwest with my family.
I paint every day and enjoy a quiet life
in
the small rural town of Ste Genevieve, Missouri.
Fun for me is being with
my family.
I have four children and a granddaughter.
My time with them is
everything to me."
"My
love for the inner beauty in people is what draws me to them.
It's
the unseen presence in the depth of a soul that I'm inspired by.
Painting is the vehicle that I use to capture that beauty that I
see.
So what I'm saying is that it's not the paint
that I'm in love
with, it's the person.
That's what drives me to the easel everyday. "
"There
are a few things that I value in my artistic process.
The fun in playing and exploring art materials, the challenge in
capturing the unique person, and also to see the joy in other's as
they are touched by my paintings.
The best part of being an artist is getting paid to do what I
love.
The worst part is that it is not an easy job.
To succeed in the
art world it takes many long years of building up
one's technique and
style and artistic voice.
I would say an average of 10 years,
working full time -for not
even minimum wage- to get a footing in the art world.
This job requires so much self reliance and discipline in spite of
continual rejection.
It is an isolating job.
An artist spends a majority of the time alone in the studio.
In the end, if one has the passion to propel them,
it can be done,
and can be quite rewarding.
Even when an artist is established though, the artist's life can
still be quite difficult."
"Do
more paintings, not less paintings that are more precious.
It's
in the daily grind of exhausting a process that magic is discovered. "
"Don't
wish for it, work for it.
Long hours of hard work are the only thing that guarantees
success."
(Interviewed by Carli Vogel)
Friday, February 22, 2019
Straight
"What is straight? A line can be straight, or a street, but the human
heart, oh, no, it's curved like a road through mountains." - Blanche
DuBois from A Streetcar Named Desire
Friday, February 8, 2019
Friday, February 1, 2019
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