Getting to know so many of the Clarksville’s local artists has been a true privilege for me since opening ARTifact, an Art & Antique Emporium just shy of 4 years ago.
The artist community is Clarksville is huge, thriving and extrodinairely diverse. And I love sharing their talents each First Thursday.
But now I am starting a new series for Clarksville Online so you can meet them too, from the comfort of your own home.
Please give us a brief bio, where you are from and how you started in this field?
I grew up in Phoenix, AZ, but I am married to a man in the military, so for the past 16 years we have been living all over the United States. I have taken this opportunity to get my Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree from the Empire State College, State University of New York and to study with as many artists in every city we have lived in!
I love art! And I have always been drawn to color, it is one of my strongest memories, the color of the light as it lands on my childhood bedroom. The shadows on my mother or father’s face in the evening light as they would tuck me into bed. I want to use color and shadow to create dimension, to make that two-dimensional form feel three-dimensional!
What medium do you use? How did you decide on this medium?
I have worked in pastel for the past 13 years, and in oil for about a year and a half. I love pastel for it’s vibrancy, and the way you are able to achieve such bold color harmonies.
I love putting the pigment straight on the paper without the use of a brush! It is so freeing.
A lot of people don’t know that pastel has the same pigment that oil paint has, only a different binder holding it together. Therefore, it is a very durable medium.
People call it a chalk, but unless you are talking about the cheap student grade varieties, it is not a chalk at all!!!
Pastels that were painted in the 1800’s by Monet and Cassatt are in better quality than their oil paintings, that have started to crack.
I began to paint in oil because I discovered that people were hesitant to buy anything that had to be framed under glass.
What I love about painting in oil, is not the brush work. I find it tedious and difficult after not using brushes in pastel for 13 year. I like to use a palette knife and to apply the paint really thick and make the painting have texture – a very three- dimensional quality. I like to involve the viewer in the process and I want them to touch the painting, not just look at it!
Could you tell us about some of your work? How will you describe your style?
I would describe my style as impressionistic. I try to keep it loose. I don’t want it to be photo-realistic. My goal is for you to have to stand several feet away for it to make sense. With my pastels, I want there to be beautiful color! I always start with the opposite color from what I want. So if I am painting a red apple, I will paint it green initially, then paint the red over top so the green shows through. This gives the form depth. If I just painted it red it would be flat and boring!
With my oil paintings, I initially use a brush and paint on a thin background layer. Then I pull out the palette knife and just start building up the form like it is a sculpture and I am working my way around it.
I want my art to speak to the viewers. I don’t want them to just say ‘Oh that is pretty’ I want them to love it, be moved by it, or just need it and not know why.
Any influences or anyone you look up to when it comes to your art?
I have always loved the Impressionists, Monet, Cassat, Renoir, Degas. And then two non-Impressionists I have always loved are: Picasso, because everyone knows his later works but he was a very skilled in perspective before he began his Cubism movement; and Sargent, who was a very photo-realistic portrait painter. But his skill level takes my breath away!
Modern painters, I am drawn to Hua Chen. He was the official painter of the 2008 Summer Olympics. He is an incredible figure painter and I think one of todays most talented impressionists.
Where do you show your work? What is your favorite piece that you have ever made?
My work is currently on display at ARTifacts in Clarksville, TN; The Hopkinsville Art Guild in Hopkinsville, KY; and the Tennessee Art League in Nashville, TN.
My favorite piece of work I have ever made… I have two right now, one has been my favorite for a couple of years, Serenity, it is a pastel, 18 x 24. (photo above)
The other is a new piece, Explosion of Color, oil, 11 x 14.
o Thanks to Reisa for taking the time to share with us your knowledge, work and expertise!
