emilywhalen

Wednesday, August 13, 2014

MOOD Alicia R Peterson

Alicia R Peterson paints contemporary, abstract art in acrylic on linen or canvas in the NYC greater area. Here's her artist statement, which can be found at http://aliciarpeterson.com where one may also purchase her work.

I create space for the unspeakable. I birth unworldly creatures and they linger in the shadows. I paint from the heart intuitively in raw expression. I percolate, ripen and my work pours out of me. I flow. I see the persistence of my essence and it feeds me.
Sometimes, I paint the power of less.
I am a self-taught artist. An inner voice called to me in 1994. I painted what I thought no one could see. What I did not know. I held my work close, private. I took studio art classes but left feeling constrained. Instead, I chose to paint voraciously in solitude.
In 2013, I embraced my longing to be seen and understood. Philip Pearlstein curated my first NY group exhibition at Gallery North in East Setauket. Shortly after, I began studies with painter Stan Brodsky at the Art League of Long Island.I am honored to be a Doctor of Audiology, and retired in 2010 after twenty-six years. Art is my lifeblood.
Line, color and space connect us. I paint our universal existence. In this ecstatic moment we are not alone.
Alicia R Peterson, Copyright © 2014

Do you paint en plein air? If so, please tell us about your traveling studio.

Just recently doing abstract workings in plein air a very interesting and challenging experience.

When is the best time for you to create?

Always… my artist eye never stops looking and creating

Are there any special conditions you enjoy or even require?

I get paint all over my studio and me and I relish this! I will listen to music or listen to the sounds of nature or listen to the music within. I often dance before hand to get the creative juices going.

What feelings do you hope to evoke from your audience with your art?

My about page http://aliciarpeterson.com/about/ talks on this

Line, color and space connect us. I paint our universal existence. In this ecstatic moment we are not alone.

Is there anything about your workspace that helps you channel those energies? How do you know when you’ve made your message clear or if people “got it”?

I see moments of transformation in people’s faces as they enter my paintings. These moments are some of my most significant moments as an artist.

Recent works

http://aliciarpeterson.com/recent-works/

Or VIDEO!!!!

http://aliciarpeterson.com/video/

MOOD interview with Sally Herman

Sally Herman is a collage artist in Montreal, Quebec. She is a graduate of Ringling College of Art + Design and has had a career in advertising in NYC and SF. Her art invites the viewer to make their own story, or add for themselves to what she already glued down in textures, letters and colors. More of her work can be seen at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/108782618@N08/ and http://www.pinterest.com/herman0740/sallyhermancollage/

What’s your workspace like?

Ha! I'm in the middle of transitioning out of a walk-in closet, to a WHOLE ROOM in my home at the moment. I've actually enjoyed my time in the little space, but I'm starting to spend too much time moving things around in order to work - so my son's recently vacated room will be my new studio by summer's end.

When is the best time for you to create?

Right now, I work from 9AM till 1 or 2PM if I can pull it off. Monday through Friday. Afternoons are for art-related work on the computer, etc.

Are there any special conditions you enjoy or even require?

I prefer to work in silence - my ideas are noisy enough! I work with little scraps of paper, so while that threatens to become chaotic at times, I try to keep it fairly organized.

What feelings do you hope to evoke from your audience with your art? Is there anything about your workspace that helps you channel those energies? How do you know when you’ve made your message clear or if people “got it”?

Oh gosh, I don't know if anyone will 'get' what I do. I only hope that they see this work and respond to it emotionally. That they feel happy, rested, refreshed and even a bit energized after looking at my work. I hadn't thought of it before, but my workspace needs to be calm, happy, busy, - all the things I feel my collages reflect.

Is there anything else you want to say about how you work or what you do, or any aspect of this topic?

I don't know if this is on topic for you, but I've been struggling with how to arrange my new space. It sounds funny, but the little space forced me to work with what I had available. In the new space, I'm almost paralyzed with the idea of how big to make the table, how many tables can I get into the space, where will the shelves (that I've never had but desperately need) go, how many will I need, etc, etc? I'm finding it more difficult to "upgrade" than I thought I would!

MOOD series introduction

Does the artist’s studio Influence the mood of finished art?

The following posts are a short series of interviews with artists, discussing their work environment and the feelings they communicate with their art.

This is a response to a challenge from Alyson Stanfield, the Art Biz Coach. She wanted us to practice talking about art and connecting with our community by promoting another classmate. I decided this was a good chance to get to know a few of my colleagues, and also to discuss with them something that had been on my mind for a while - how much the conditions of our work space is actually felt by the audience in the finished work of art.

When I was applying to art schools, I learned that admissions interviewers do not want to hear answers like “I am passionate about art and have been doing it my whole life” when they ask applicants why they want to go to their school. All artists have those feelings, but they’re just the first step of self-awareness when it comes to making a career of art. It’s important to dig deeper, and to think about how our art is relevant to other people besides ourselves. Check out what our coach says about art: “Many people say art is self-expression, but I believe that in its most powerful and life-affirming state, art is a form of communication. I think your art is incomplete until someone else experiences it. It must get out into the world” and “Something magical happens when people interact with your art in a real space. And when they finally make a deep, meaningful connection with the work, I call it an Ecstatic Encounter. Aren’t these Ecstatic Encounters what you live for? Aren’t they Why you do what you do?” proving, once again, that she really gets both business AND art – you can learn more about her at ArtBizCoach.com

I wanted to know if I could create a painting that makes people feel calm and at peace, even if the conditions in which I’m painting were nothing like that scene. Is it common for a grouchy artist to make cheerful art? If my feelings during the process of painting can be felt long after it’s hung on the wall and I’m not standing next to the painting talking about it, then the ideal space is worth cultivating. Artists are often reminded that if we were “real”, that we would create despite any obstacle. I’m arguing that even though creative people continue expressing themselves even when they’re uncomfortable or don’t have good supplies, that for an artist to really thrive, to really make their best art, that they must also have some kind of control over their working environment.