Diane Rudnick Mann Interview

Diane Rudnick Mann 

Cherrie  

27.75 x 32”  pastel

Diane Rudnick Mann continues her focus on The Beauty of Ordinary Objects with her intensely colored pastels.


How do you decide on your lighting and your palette? 

Since my work is defined by very high contrast- shadow and light, I have a very specific way to set up the lighting for my paintings.  My latest series of paintings all have black backgrounds. When I set up what I want to paint it is in front of a black background in a dimly lit room.  I then shine a lamp on the set up so I can see the real highlights and shadows.  My intention is to bring that drama to the painting.

As far as a palette, the objects I use define the color.  An apple will be red, etc.

Diane Rudnick Mann

Radishes

20.5 x 26”  pastel  

Can you describe your process, or take us through the steps involved?

I set up my paintings and then photograph them.  My paintings are usually large so I enlarge the photo to the size I want to paint and then transfer the outline to the paper.  Because I work in pastel I paint from right to left as I’m left handed.  I complete each section as I move across the painting.  After all my years of painting, I still get a thrill watching the painting develop across the paper.

Diane Rudnick Mann

Diane Rudnick Mann's exhibition opens October 4, 2011.

Della Rollé Interview

Della Rollé
Hang in There 

12 1/2"h x 6"w bronze, edition of 9

Della Rollé focuses her humorous worldview on animals, creating sculptures infused with whimsy.

When did you realize that you wanted to be an artist?

I have always loved to draw, and illustrated my grade school and high school yearbooks.  The pivotal moment for me as an artist was the first time I held clay in my hands and worked from the figure.  That was in 1991 and I realized Sculpture was to be my passion.  I still have the same excitement every time I sculpt with clay.

Where are you from? Did your upbringing contribute to your development as an artist?

My father was in the Navy and we moved often, mostly in California.  Drawing became the continuity in my life.  Making new friends and changing schools constantly contributed to my creative imagination and why I find humor in my work. 

  

How often do you start a new work?

Generating a new idea may take days or years so there is never a set time to start a new work.  Many ideas are rejected.

Does your own life experience play a role in your imagery?

Yes.  Recently I have included my love for animals in my humorous sculptures and they will be featured in my next show at TAG in October. 

Della Rollé

Pelicanview

31"h x 5"w x 5"d bronze, edition of 9

Is there a separation between your "normal" life and your artwork. if so, how do you manage to keep each in its place?

Definitely not!  My artwork reflects my personal life view.  Hopefully when you look at my work, you smile.

  

Of terra cotta, bronze, and stainless steel, …why one or the other? How do you decide which to use?

Each type of fired clay, metal, acrylic and marble/resin reflects light in strong and subtle ways.  That is how I decide which one to use.


You have a great sense of humor, and in your artist statement you state, “I see humor and beauty in all body types and find that the humor intrinsic in human behavior is reflected in the body.” So, may I ask …..just what is so funny?

Everything is funny!  I think feet, hands, faces, body types, hair are all humorous and beautiful at the same time.  That is why I sculpt.

Della Rollé


Della Rollé's exhibition at TAG begins October 4, 2011.

Interview With Carole Garland

Carole Garland
LA Morning
oil on canvas
16 x 20"

In Carole Garland’s recent oils, an elevated perspective of LA. reveals the mirage - like layers that make up the city.

When did you first realize (or decide) that you were a painter?

While I was always drawing and received encouragement in gradeschool, it was observing a Chicago Art Institute  outdoor workshop in Saugatuck, Michigan, that moved me to think about becoming an artist.  I saw painters standing  at their easels and working from a model.  When I was 16 I started taking figure drawing classes at the Art Institute. After that, it was a long and bumpy road before I could become a full-time artist.  BUT...I painted as often as I could, sometimes weekends only.

Where do you your find inspiration for your works?


Unfortunately, I find inspiration everywhere, which makes me want to paint everything, which makes me scattered. In fact, I've spent years painting in the Santa Monica Mountains working in watercolor and oil during which time I was always drawn to the woods, canyons and mountains. Seascapes were of less interest. The angle of a tree, a shadow across a field... A landscape evoked a mood, a remembered feeling, a sense of awe, a place of peace.  I painted in one area of Solstice so often, it felt like my living room.  

 But in the last few years I've been drawn to the Los Angeles environment, which is incredible and diverse, geometric and architectural.  For instance, inspiration for this show LAyers came  from the walks I take at the top of Kenneth Hahn Park, with overviews of the city in every direction, from the beach to downtown,   but 90 percent of the time it's overcast and so what    you see is like a mirage. And that is what I attempted to capture.

 I also am terribly excited by abstract artists and their manipulation of paint.  Am currently reading a interesting biography of Joan Mitchell, whose work is exquisite.  Among artists I've loved and poured over their work are George Inness, Whistler's nocturnes, Sargeant, Matisse, Hopper, Diebancorn, Twombly, Howard Hodgkin and Gerhard Richter.

Carole Garland
LAyers
oil on canvas
12 x 48"

Can you teach somebody to be an artist or is it an innate ability?

Some people have an innate ability to draw.  I definitely did to some degree and got pats on the back for it.  But there are many famous 20th century artists who couldn't draw and didn't do well in artschool.  But their drive and passion to express themselves in art carried them forward.  I have a friend who says he can't draw but his reverence for nature and his knowledge of California historic painters has propelled him into becoming an artist, and his love of art carries him forward.

How do you decide on your palette?

I started with a simple palette influenced by Frank Serrano's workshop in plein air painting. I continued to use that until in a class with Jove Wang, I was told to add some new colors to my palette, otherwise all my work would look the same.

I took that to heart and started adding cadmium red, viridian green, cadmium orange, etc.  I am no longer afraid of color. Although I still don't use enough of it.  

Does art serve a function beyond decorating walls? In your opinion, what is the purpose of art?

I just thought of a series "SOFA ART".In which, you would take orders for paintings to match the color of the sofa and living room decor. I do some work that is decorative and which I enjoy doing.  But the deepest motivation is probably close to spiritual, a divine sense of purpose to recreate the world of spirit, emotion, place, one painting at a time.

Carole Garland in the studo.

Carole Garland's exhibition begins October 4, 2011.

Layers of Landscape: Lorraine Bubar, Peter Kempson, Brigitte Schobert

September 6 - October 1, 2011
Reception:   Saturday, September 10, 4-8pm
Artist Panel:   Saturday, September 17, 3 pm


Lorraine Bubar
Papercut Fusion 


In her new show Papercut Fusion, Lorraine Bubar offers a blueprint for the multi-layered environments that surround us. At first glance, her pieces depict scenes of Koi fish, birds, and water lilies in their natural environments. However, her papercuts reveal a deeper story. Created by children and adults in numerous cultures for diverse purposes, papercuts have crossed the boundaries of culture, art, and craft. Lorraine connects this heritage and skill through a richness of imagery and a complexity of technique. While historical papercuts were never intended to hold a permanent value, Bubar develops a decorative tradition into an artistic one. Each layer upon layer of paper adds color, form and figure, resulting in a kaleidoscope of colors, shape  and surprisingly delicate detail. Lines and shapes overlap and the scene emerges out of  texture and depth. Through the flat, two dimensional medium of paper, Bubar transforms nature into a three dimensional dynamic experience. Her papercuts become a reflection of the intricate layers of life.

Peter Kempson

Urban Landscapes: LA and Italy

In Urban Landscapes: LA and Italy, Kempson unlocks new perspectives of two environments with deeply-entrenched preconceptions. Los Angeles, often viewed as a sprawling no man’s land, is revitalized through a detailed attention to the most unexpected places such as a neglected, graffiti-ravaged back alley. Kempson animates the city in its diversity, acknowledging both the magnificence and profanity of the shiny cars, bright lights and cracking pavement. While Los Angeles may not offer the validation many seek, it remains for Kempson a flawed yet magical muse.
Italy is widely regarded as a cultural and historic mecca, but Kempson’s brushstrokes transform Venice into a modern and accessible destination. His work helps decode the mystery of the watery city and reveals the simple beauty the complex, medieval city offers. Urban Landscapes: LA and Italy not only brings new perspectives to old cities, but inextricably links them in the space between art and life.

Brigitte Schobert

Woodcuts and Monotypes

Brigitte Schobert's woodcuts of the four seasons merge the cyclical nature of life and its rituals with cyclical composition. Rounded blocks of color create pastoral landscapes inhabited by abstracted figures in motion. They participate in activities of annual events that are familiar to us in our daily lives, yet the images can as well be seen as representing the different stages of a person's life. In her new abstract prints, She explores different techniques, exchanging carved wood plates with a matrix that does not retain information when the impression is made. She achieves a balance between control and whimsy, allowing the vivid colors of oil based inks to merge in unpredictable ways, layer after layer. Her new approach is a more painterly way of printmaking than the woodcuts and demonstrates the versatility of this medium.