Blog

Q: How are you inspired to create the powerful and compelling art you are known for?
Do you begin with a theme in mind, or does it emerge while you are working? What inspires your work, the current political conditions, the environment, the books you read, your dreams, or a conversation with a friend… In other words… does your inspiration come more from internal or external sources?

A: I do two types of painting:
In the first case, I paint subjects that have to be painted: stories and dreams that are overflowing into my waking world and demanding representation.
Translating a dream sequence into a still image requires deep introspection vis a vis the dream. When constructing the composition, I am careful to bring in the symbols that best give the message and a composition which best describes the mood of the painting. It is an ongoing process. As I paint a dream, I comprehend it better. I relive it in a sense, but with a much more profound sense of understanding. Other symbols will appear. Colors will be influenced.

For fun, I did a series of ten self-portraits morphed with my Totem animals. Totem animals to me, represent different human characteristics like joyfulness, courage, insight etc… They are represented by animals who I have chosen for various different reasons: either I dreamt about them or I have pulled them consistently from my Medicine card deck (an oracle deck).
more » “Interview with the Artist Liba Waring Stambollion”

Q: How are you inspired to create the powerful and compelling art you are known for?

A: This is a very complex process for me. Often images flash into my brain, details that I know will depict a future painting, an important moment of it. Often these visions are hazy and incomplete, so I consciously work on the details in my head. I shape it in myself until I can clearly see the main character and what I want to communicate through it, using the pieces of detail I’ve seen before in my mind. This can take days or even weeks, depending on the subject of the painting.

I often work on several paintings at once, always picking out what has the strongest emotional motivation for me and what sounds loudest in my mind and heart. These visions don’t disappear until the work is completed. From the first chaos, the thoughts finally clear up and the finished work is outlined. The colors always come so naturally to the given artwork, I just simple know where I have to put them and which one will fit the best to the painting. I feel the colors inside myself. It’s a kind of conversation. They tell me where they belong to.

Q: What inspired the post-editing that turns your models into marionette dolls? more » “Interview with the Artist Vivien Szaniszlo”

There is always something deeply engaging about a well-made mural. It can make for an almost overwhelming artistic experience — something not just large but complex, and able to be viewed in different ways and from different perspective. Perhaps the best way to describe it, in fact, came in an interview we had with sci-fi- and fantasy-inspired surrealist painter Glenn Barr. more » “Finding America’s Best Street Murals”

Carbon Console is a so called SellFable Machine Relic. An immersive, multidisciplinary art installation, emanating light and sound. It’s a portal that will carry the visitor away like an ancient sailing ship, towards unknown shores: anywhere but here. Whether it is experienced as a portal, a chapel, a mausoleum, a refuge, or something altogether different, is up to the visitor. Its true purpose is open to everyone’s own interpretation and imagination.
more » “Carbon Console – an Interactive Installation by SellFable”

Q: How long have you been an artist? Please tell us a little about your chosen medium? Do you do any other creative arts projects or work in other mediums?

A: I’ve been painting on and off since I was sixteen and eventually became full time around 1995. Oils are my favoured medium and I’ve recently been exploring different surfaces and grounds. Ball point pen is my second choice as I find it’s a lovely meditative process building up the gradations of tone and soft cross hatches.

more » “Interview with the Artist Brad Gray”