Praeterita

  Empty Dreams, etching, aquatint, softground, experimental technique, 15 cm x 10 cm, 2018 Part 46 of an interview series in which artists reply to the same six questions. Saeedeh Golriz is an Iranian printmaker, living in Iran. She mentions that she once wanted to be a chef --- appropriate to the art of printmaking, which is a similar process of combining different elements in often long recipes to produce the finished piece. Both are a form of alchemy, and as you can see by Saeedeh's work, she is an expert printmaking alchemist who makes haunting and accomplished prints. You can see more of her work here . PH: What medium/media do you chiefly use, and why? SG : Printmaking, more specifically etching and aquatint, I enjoy the creative parts of it, both when I am in control of the process and also the unexpected surprises that come along the way. I can plan the whole design, but there will be unpredicted elements to it, which is perfect for my taste. PH: What piece are you current...

  Allsorts , marker, ink, flashe on 6-inch-square birch panels Part 45 of an interview series in which artists reply to the same six questions. Stella Untalan, an artist from Philadelphia, is someone who epitomizes the possibilities of abstract art: rigorous formal repetitions of elements, the grid as a basis for the exploration of two-dimensional space, and the beauty of color , line, and texture. You can see more of her work here . Philip Hartigan : What medium do you chiefly use, and why? Stella Untalan : Paper is my favorite surface. It is sexy in every way. The surface responds to everything you offer it  — at each touch it reacts and I react back. My work for the past few years falls into two categories: Small works on paper, and drawings on painted panels or MDF. I’m currently using various graffiti-based markers by POSCA, Montana, and Krink. I mix some custom colors for the refillable Montana markers. The work is on paper, museum quality board, or synthetic papers like...

Manhattan Sky , oil on canvas, wax and gold leaf, 24 inches x 48 inches x 2 inches Part 44 of an interview series in which artists reply to the same six questions. Lorelei French Sowa is a painter located in Florida, USA. Her paintings, whether they refer to landscape, birds, or abstract patterns, are marked by a strong sense of shape, bold execution, and multilayered textures of paint or collage. You can see more of her work here . Philip Hartigan : What medium/media do you chiefly use, and why? Lorelei French Sowa : Paint is my primary medium, but within the scope of 2D, I vacillate between acrylics and oil. I love the problem-solving that 2D provides. The world is full of depth and shapes, and organizing that space on a flat panel and understanding the limitations and the possibilities of the medium paint requires intense creativity. The problem of how to depict something is an interesting one. There are a thousand and one ways you can go about it. There's no set rule. Philip Ha...

Boudoir II , 40 inches x 48 inches, acrylic/charcoal/collage on panel, 2022 Part 43 of an interview series in which artists reply to the same six questions. Leslie Peterson Sapp is a painter and printmaker based in Oregon, USA. She makes painting and prints that call to mind mid-twentieth century magazine and book cover images, and film noir mystery. You can see more of her work here . Other interviews on this blog are available here. Philip Hartigan : What medium/media do you chiefly use, and why? Leslie Peterson Sapp: I use acrylic paint and paper. This is because I enjoy being able to collage paper and combine it with paint. Back in college I used oils, which are a far more sensual experience. But oil rots paper, and once I started working with collage and drawing, I switched. Now I am accustomed to the short drying time: it has a completely different rhythm than oil paint. PH : What piece are you currently working on? LSP : I’m working on a piece I’m calling “Boudoir”. It’s a ...

“ It's Not Black and White ”, (interior/open), Book board, mulberry paper, used typewriter ribbon, canvas, hemp cord, 2021 Part 42 of an interview series in which artists reply to the same six questions. Debra Disman makes sculptural objects from a combination of materials that can be read as fiber art, yet also imply book forms. Her work is  a mesmerising combination of materials, textures, and forms that are combined with exceptional skill. You can see more of her work  here . Other interviews on this blog are available  here . Philip Hartigan: What medium/media do you chiefly use, and why? Debra Disman : At the present time, I am working primarily in what you might call fiber: cloth/fabric/textiles/, including canvas, jute, lace and ribbon; and thread/string/cord, along with book board, paper, such as watercolor and mulberry papers; acrylic paint and adhesives. I interweave other materials such as used typewriter ribbon, varnish and plaster gauze into the works---whate...

Leaf Stack #43 , 2021, hand dyed fabrics, thread, 24” x 18” mounted on stretcher bars Part 41 of an interview series in which artists reply to the same six questions. Lisa Flowers Ross is an Idaho-based artist working with fabrics and other materials that she combines into pieces that emerge as semi-abstract recollections of natural forms, or as more formal abstract pieces. Lisa has been awarded several artist residencies including at Playa in Oregon, Brush Creek in Wyoming, Flathead Lake Biological Station (through Open AIR) in Montana, and in May 2022 she will spend a couple of weeks at the Holly House in Shelton, WA. In June 2022 her work will be shown in Baker City, Oregon, and in 2023 at the Visions Art Museum in San Diego. You can see more of her work  here . Other interviews on this blog are available  here . Philip Hartigan: What medium/media do you chiefly use, and why? Lisa Flowers Ross : Currently, my main medium is fabric. I started creating artworks with fabric in...

Chain of Events , encaustic monotype on Sumi-e paper Part 40 of an interview series in which artists reply to the same six questions. Michelle Hernandez, based in New Jersey, USA, works with encaustic to create monotypes and mixed media work that take full advantage of the rich range of mark making and depth of surface made possible by those materials. You can see more of her work here . Other interviews on this blog are available  here . Philip Hartigan: What medium/media do you chiefly use, and why? Michelle Hernandez : My primary medium is encaustic painting and encaustic monotype printing which I then turn into mixed-media collages (usually). I practiced as an interior and industrial designer for years and wanted to embark on a medium which really fed into my need for tactile manipulation. I’m a very hands-on person. As I researched different mediums, the encaustic process intrigued me; it’s a 4,000 year old medium once used by Romans and Egyptians in various forms. It’s a...

A Consolation , acrylic on panel, 12 inches x 18 inches, 2022. Part 39 of an interview series in which artists reply to the same six questions. Anna Wetzel Artz is an artist and educator based in the Seattle area. Her visual art, inspired by nature and landscape, consists of accumulations of beautifully spare and sensitive marks that suggest natural forms while retaining a keen semi-abstract sensibility. You can see more of her work  here . Other interviews on this blog are available  here . Philip Hartigan: What medium/media do you chiefly use, and why? Anna Wetzel Artz : I move back and forth between painting and drawing, mostly acrylic on panel and ink or colored pencil on paper. I’m interested in creating layers of expressive marks that evoke natural textures and landscapes, and appreciate materials that dry quickly and allow me to attend to several pieces simultaneously. I also create out of my home studio, working around teaching and parenting roles, so it helps to have ...

  Phthalo + quinacridone + azo 1.4.16 , watercolor on paper, 75 cm x 53 cm. Part 38 of an interview series in which artists reply to the same six questions. Helen Reynolds is a New Zealand artist whose work in many media explores systems, layers, and translucency. Her recent watercolour pieces push the boundaries of what we normally expect of that medium, often emerging as large-scale abstract pieces that focus on a single gesture carried as far as it can go. Her website is here . Other interviews on this blog are available here . Philip Hartigan : What medium/media do you chiefly use, and why? Helen Reynolds : I’ve been working almost entirely in watercolour for five years now. Watercolour is translucent, treacherous and delicate - I love it. I started using watercolours when my daughter was quite ill and I was spending most of my day looking after her. Watercolour fits into women’s lives when those lives are constrained to the domestic. You can put watercolour down quickly, it do...

A few years ago, I ran a series of more than 30 artist interviews on my blog called  Six of the Bes t (click the link to jump into the series). Some of the best responses came from asking each artist this question: What's the first ever piece of art you remember making? In this post and the previous post , I've collected some of the most interesting answers. Click on each artist's name to find out more about their work. Luis Roca : A painted macaroni piece of my left hand on green construction paper in kindergarten. Tim McFarlane : The very first piece of art that I remember making was a cardboard figure of a man made out of a shoebox that my mother had. I was probably seven or so and that was the first thing that I put together by myself, using only my imagination. I remember it being a very spontaneous act: I pulled the box out from a bottom drawer in my mothers bureau, started cutting it up with scissors and wound up with a rough, squared off approximation of a f...

A few years ago, I ran a series of more than 30 artist interviews on my blog called Six of the Bes t (click the link to jump into the series). Some of the best responses came from asking each artist this question: What's the first ever piece of art you remember making? In these posts, I've collected some of the most interesting answers. Click on each artist's name to find out more about their work. Donna Hapac : As a child – maybe 5 or 6 years old – I decided I wanted to make a series of related pictures of a swimmer, like in a storyboard or film strip. I took a length of toilet paper which was already divided into squares that suited my idea and I drew it with crayons. Seth Friedma n : Until I was 38, I never tried making anything that might be called art.  In 2008, thanks to severe malaise and my wife's constant prodding, I carved a rock from our backyard. I am still amazed that (a) the result did not suck, and (b) the waking door to my recurring dream (a hous...