Author: Ivana Starcevic

Bill Sabatini

Featured Artist - Bill Sabatini

April 2023

Please introduce yourself and describe your background

Originally from Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, I was fortunate to have my artistic talent recognized and supported my family and teachers. At an early age I knew I wanted to be an architect. I attended a small liberal arts college, Franklin and Marshall College, where I majored in fine art and art history. That experience enabled me to pursue and earn a Master of Architecture at the University of New Mexico. Now, after 40 years of successful architectural practice, I am resuming a life long dream as a fine artist.

What is your earliest memory of creating art?

I created art as a young child, never understanding its power and potential for success. My art helped to set me apart from others and to grow my inner confidence and self worth. This has served me throughout life.

Describe your primary medium and why you’ve chosen it for your artwork

I work with acrylic paint and medium simply because I like its convenience. It provides me with the flexibility to achieve my creative goals. I also love to draw.

What other media have you used?

I am fascinated by collage. Using paper, fabric and mixed media, I can be spontaneous and carefree creating imagery in smaller formats thus escaping the pressure “do it right” the first time.  I can throw it away if I don’t like it!

Describe your artwork in 10 words or less

Its not what it means but how it makes you feel.

What inspires your work?

My architectural design was characterized by simple form, dramatic patterns of color, light and shade, visual simplicity, and the important relationship of positive and negative space. So it is with my art. I am inspired and influenced by the pure light, strong form, varied textures, vibrant color and most importantly by the dramatic contrasts of the southwestern landscape--blue and orange skies, green and red earth, yellow vegetation and purple shadows. With a passion for drawing, I use line as a means to create movement and direction and as contrast in scale to simple planes and forms. I revel in color and its ability to elicit emotion. I strive to create simple, memorable and emotionally charged imagery.

If you could spend the day with any artist, dead or alive, who would it be and why?

William Turner. Even in a time when abstraction wasn’t even considered, he created powerful, emotionally charged images that transcend their subject matter. His technique was loose and full of energy and unconstrained. I would like to experience that energy and emotion with him.

Do you show your work commercially?  If so, where?

Yes, I have shown my work at the Mariposa Gallery, Sumner and Dene, Zendo Coffee, the Gallery with a Cause, and the RGAA Encantada show in Albuquerque.  Also the Moon and Dove Gallery in Corrales, the Taos Artist Collective, the Main Street Gallery in Kansas City, and Gallery One in Montgomery AL.  I have staged two shows over the last two years at the first Friday Arts Walk in Albuquerque. In 2023 I have shows scheduled for the 4th Street Arts, the Open Space Gallery, and Fusion in Albuquerque.

What is something most people don’t know about you?

I drove a trash truck in my teenage and college years, and once drove over a fire hydrant.

What advice would you offer younger artists just beginning their art careers?

I would tell them to never doubt or diminish their own art talent and passion due to either criticism or seeming indifference by the public, their friends or families. We are all our own worst enemy. You can overcome your own doubts knowing that self criticism is normal and actually good for you. Just don’t let it defeat you.

Seize it!

Your website:

www.billsabatini.com

Carolyn Berry

MARCH 2023

Featured Artist - Carolyn Berry

Please introduce yourself and describe your background

I grew up in Kansas but have lived in Ohio, Minnesota, Denver and Alberta, Canada before moving here four years ago.  As a high school teacher in Lawrence, KS, I have experience in numerous art disciplines but primarily taught drawing painting, graphic design and advanced placement in art.  I have also been an admissions counselor/recruiter for the Columbus College of Art and Design.

What is your earliest memory of creating art?

I got in trouble in third grade for smearing my crayons to mix new colors on one of my school Halloween drawings.  The rule breaking started early.

Describe your primary medium and why you’ve chosen it for your artwork

Encaustic and collage.  I like mixed media layered approaches and choose to combine photographic images, drawing, painting or collage papers to express my ideas.  Encaustic wax is applied when it enhances the image or creates a unique surface texture.
What other media have you used?

I also have a fiber and enameling background and often create encaustic mixed media sculptures from natural materials.

Describe your artwork in 10 words or less

Mixed media art incorporating encaustic and/or collage processes.

What inspires your work?

Nature, vintage papers, rustic or unusual textured surfaces that invoke the idea of memory or the passage of time.

If you could spend the day with any artist, dead or alive, who would it be and why?

Joseph Cornell.  I would love to know how he collected all the objects found in his art boxes and his process of combining them together to tell stories.  He was a recluse and rarely showed his work, so I would try to find out why he lived and created this way.

Do you show your work commercially?  If so, where? 

Currently, I show my work at the New Mexico Art League but have recently had exhibits at the Open Space Visitor Center Gallery in ABQ and at the Placitas Artist Series.

What is something most people don’t know about you?

I taught dance fitness part-time for twenty-five years.

What advice would you offer younger artists just beginning their art careers?

Try as many art processes as you can to find your creative passion.  Study with as many artists as you can so that glean tips or processes that would take you years to learn by yourself.

Your website:

www.carolynberryart.com

Janet Bothne

February 2023

Featured Artist - Janet Bothne

Please introduce yourself and describe your background

My love of art goes back to my childhood where I was given much encouragement and space to explore creativity. Over the years, I’ve explored many mediums and styles ranging from fastidious realism in oils, pastels and watercolor, to where I am currently— vibrant abstract works in acrylic & mixed media. While mastering draftsmanship, perspective, and the many techniques that go into good realism certainly gave me a wonderful foundation in my practice, it wasn’t until I let go of realistic subject matter that I found my “center” with abstraction. Leaving the pre-set subject matter behind and delving into my imagination was like letting go of a crutch; it’s been freeing and constantly vexing at the same time. Now when I think of going back to realism, I think of it as getting the answers before taking a test.

What is your earliest memory of creating art?

Coloring with my mom when I was about 5 years old. All my friends went to Kindergarten and my parents couldn’t afford to send me. (It wasn’t free back then.) She’d spend hours drawing and coloring with me, and when asked by friends why I wasn’t going to school, I remember telling them, “My mom needs me to color with her at home.”

Describe your primary medium and why you’ve chosen it for your artwork

After years of working in oils, pastels, watercolors and dry media, I’ve ended up with acrylics and mixed media. When I started getting nauseous from oil paint fumes (despite good ventilation in my studio) I knew it was time for a change. I hadn’t used acrylics since high school, but I quickly learned to let the paint show me what it wanted to do, instead of trying to make it behave like oils. I’ve come to love how quickly it dries, allowing me to apply many layers while keeping colors fresh.

What other media have you used?

Just about everything under the sun. Watercolors for still life and landscapes, portraits in pastel, oils for just about all sorts of subjects and now acrylics and collage for abstracts.

Describe your artwork in 10 words or less

Expressive, vibrant compositions about color & color contexts

What inspires your work?

Color and color relationships

If you could spend the day with any artist, dead or alive, who would it be and why?

It’s so hard to choose! But if I can only choose one, I’d have to say Hans Hofmann. He embraced what I’ve come to understand about “letting paint be paint” and he was a teacher to many of the most noted abstract painters from mid-century America. Attending his classes in Provincetown, MA would have been my “Mecca”.

Do you show your work commercially?  If so, where? 

I currently have work at Weems Gallery, Hotel Andaluz and at various restaurants, and other public spaces in Albuquerque. I also have reps in CA, FL, MA, MD, and TX.

What is something most people don’t know about you?

I’m a frustrated musician at heart.

What advice would you offer younger artists just beginning their art careers?

Stay true to whatever your passion is regarding your work. Over decades I’ve had numerous people tell me what I “should be doing” to please this group or that, or to fit in here or there, but in the end, following those leads doesn’t necessarily lead to authenticity.

Your website:

www.janetbothne.com

Fran Krukar

DEcember 2022

Featured Artist - Fran Krukar

Please introduce yourself and describe your background

My name is Fran Krukar and I’m a watercolorist.  As a Military wife, I took art and college classes in many places, graduating from the University of New Mexico in 1980. Some years later, I took watercolor classes from Dorothy Voorhees and many workshops sponsored by the New Mexico Watercolor Society.

What is your earliest memory of creating art?

At the age of nine or ten, I used some clay-like material we had to play with into a fluted bowl.

Describe your primary medium and why you’ve chosen it for your artwork

Watercolor is my only medium.  Watercolor chose me rather than me choosing it since it is the only medium that keeps my allergies happy.

What other media have you used?

Clay for about ten years until my allergies said enough of that.

Describe your artwork in 10 words or less

They are traditional, sometimes contemporary still lives and realistic portraits.

What inspires your work?

The challenge of portraits, or capturing brief moments of time and my new interest of painting interstate highway intersections all inspire many ideas.

If you could spend the day with any artist, dead or alive, who would it be and why?

That would be Vincent Van Gogh.  He had a hard life but never lost his determination to paint.  The brushstrokes in thick paint show so much confidence.  The way he sees his subject matter of ordinary people and things we see every day and take for granted, such as a vase of flowers, then makes us see them in a totally new way is mind-blowing.

Do you show your work commercially?  If so, where? 

The work is shown at Yucca Gallery, the Corrales Studio Tour and local exhibits including Masterworks, New Mexico Watercolor Society, New Mexico Art League and State Fair.

What is something most people don’t know about you? My husband sailed a catamaran in our younger years.

What advice would you offer younger artists just beginning their art careers?

Paint what you love and never give up.

Beth Larsen

November 2022

Featured Artist - Beth Larsen

 

 

Please introduce yourself and describe your background

 I’m from the Midwest but made my way to New Mexico a few years after college.

I instantly loved New Mexico’s culture, land, and climate. For many years, I worked in marketing but became very interested in the importance of art education when my daughter was young. This led me to run a nonprofit art education organization for children for 9 years.  Years of attending inspiring the organization’s lectures and learning about art history and art-making techniques inform my work.  I’ve taken local art classes and enjoyed online classes from wonderful artists all over the world.

 What is your earliest memory of creating art?

 Standing at an easel in kindergarten, painting something!

Describe your primary medium and why you’ve chosen it for your artwork

 I love the versatility of acrylic paints.  They can be vibrant, bold, or subtle and translucent. They layer beautifully.

What other media have you used?

My botanicals are created with monoprints of plant leaves and layers of paint.  I’ve also used a cyanotype process which uses blueprint chemicals and the power of the sun to leave a plant print on watercolor paper.  Some of my mixed media pieces have bits of fabric in them - a nod to my art-making beginnings in fiber arts.

Describe your artwork in 10 words or less

Acrylic / mixed media abstracts, abstract landscapes, and botanical paintings

What inspires your work?

I love exploring the expression of thoughts, experiences, and place through abstract paintings. Color, shapes, and paint help me communicate when words fall short. The process of art making is blissful and fulfilling, challenging and exciting.

If you could spend the day with any artist, dead or alive, who would it be and why?

 I’ve long been fascinated by Alexander Calder.  His work was absolutely ingenious and innovative.

Do you show your work commercially?  If so, where?

Besides the Corrales Art Studio Tour, I’ve participated in the Alameda Studio Tour as well as various exhibitions presented by the New Mexico Art League and Rio Grande Art Association.  My work has also been rented for use in the TV/film industry.

What is something most people don’t know about you?

I’m a very good whistler. 😉

What advice would you offer younger artists just beginning their art career?

 This is the best time is history to be an artist!  Enjoy the journey and always remember to follow your bliss.

Paul Rodenhauser

October 2022

Featured Artist - Paul Rodenhauser

Please introduce yourself and describe your background

Creative expression has become a way of life since my arrival in New Mexico sixteen years ago.  I was fortunate to have already retired from my academic position at Tulane University School of Medicine when Hurricane Katrina triggered the deluge in New Orleans. I was still teaching a few hours a week when the city flooded.  After returning from mandatory evacuation and pursuing arrangements to restore damaged property, relocating to the higher ground became my top priority. My interests include painting, photography, pottery, ornamental poultry, landscape gardening, 19th-century literature, creative writing--and Musetta, my cat.

What is your earliest memory of creating art?

As a teenager, I dabbled with acrylics on just a few occasions before becoming caught up in a liberal arts education with an emphasis on science. Ultimately, I earned a doctorate in medicine and pursued residency education in psychiatry. During that fifty-year trajectory of preparing for and serving in the medical profession, I had only occasional free time to pursue creative interests.  Photography fit in most easily.

Describe your primary medium and why you’ve chosen it for your artwork

Oils (on canvas) have been my only medium. I don’t recall selecting oils as a result of an active decision. Starting and sticking with oils was more a consequence of eliminating options that seemed less natural for me.

What other media have you used?

None, unless crayons count.

Describe your artwork in 10 words or less

Bringing nature, especially birds, to life on canvas is gratifying.

What inspires your work?

My passion for the natural environment is mainly birds but all forms of life.

If you could spend the day with any artist, dead or alive, who would it be and why?

Claude Monet. I had the distinct pleasure of visiting his home and gardens in Giverny. The opportunity to reflect on Monet’s captivation with nature and art--and their interconnection—was an extraordinary, unforgettable privilege.

Do you show your work commercially?  If so, where? 

Not in a gallery currently, but I do enter shows.

What is something most people don’t know about you?

I started painting at age 70.

What advice would you offer younger artists just beginning their art careers?

Consider all forms of creativity as expressions of what cannot be communicated in words. Follow your calling and your voice. Let art serve you--and others.

Bill Monthan

August 2022

Featured Artist - Bill Monthan

I have been admiring art since early childhood. My father was a commercial artist and photographer. My mother was an author and editor. Both were in the advertising field in Los Angeles and Beverly Hills in my early years. The crowd that they surrounded themselves with were creative artists from all mediums, including graphic arts, music and theatre. I studied many of the art mediums offered while attending Northern Arizona University (NAU). Ironically, the only area of coursework I did not focus on while at NAU was painting. After this seven-year journey of studying art, I realized I would struggle to support a family as an artist so I entered the healthcare field by studying Respiratory Care and Cardiopulmonary Medicine. My journey in healthcare took me from clinical practice to healthcare leadership over a 35-year span of time. During that time, my wife and I raised three sons.  Throughout the years in healthcare, I continued to draw and do illustrations primarily working with pastels. Once I retired from healthcare, I took painting lessons and focused on oil painting. I have been a member of the Corrales Society of Artists since 2012. I have participated in studio tours in Corrales and Alameda and also have been accepted into numerous juried shows including Corrales Fine Arts Show, Old Church Fine Arts Show, RGAA Encantada, and Masterworks.

What is your earliest memory of creating art?

While in first or second grade, I was asked by my teacher to draw a picture that explained what my father did for a living. I went to my dad's third-floor studio and I saw illustrations/drawings of high fashion women’s shoes that he was working on for some ads. So, I drew a picture of a shoe cobbler making shoes and told my class that my dad repaired and made shoes for a living.

Describe your primary medium and why you’ve chosen it for your artwork

I’m currently working with oil paint. This slow-drying medium fits my style and the speed at which I work. I like the versatility of color mixing that oil paint offers as well as the ability to layer it for the desired effect. The oil medium allows for creative expression in imagery. Painting also challenges me as an artist where my skill struggles to keep up with my creativity and imagination.

What other media have you used?

While studying art at NAU, I focused on art history, drawing, design, sculpture, ceramics, Jewelry making, and etching.

Describe your artwork in 10 words or less

Whimsical, Surrealistic, Impressionistic, color dominant, dreamy, fantasy, and cartoon quality.

What inspires your work?

The beautiful, target-rich world we live in is inspiring in so many ways. I’m inspired by the atmospheric light, ever-changing clouds, and the reflections contrasted by shape-making shadows. One of my biggest inspirations comes from how other artists see and express beauty and create feelings with their art. I’m inspired by art that projects a timeless quality and hints at something that is beyond our current life experiences.

If you could spend the day with any artist, dead or alive, who would it be and why?

Michelangelo because he excelled in sculpture and painting. (Although my favorite period of painting was the 19th century and the impressionism period).

Do you show your work commercially?  If so, where? 

I show my work at Yucca Art Gallery in Old Town, all the Range Cafes, Sobremesa Restaurant/Brewery, and social media.

What is something most people don’t know about you?

I enjoyed a competitive athletic spirit in sports throughout the 1970s, 80’s, and 90’s. I was an Arizona State Handball Champion, Nevada State Doubles Racquetball Champion and I coached youth soccer in New Mexico for 16 years.

What advice would you offer younger artists just beginning their art careers?

Artists of all ages entering the field should try to find a passion in a medium and subject matter. Pursue your passion as long as it continues to bring you happiness. Don’t let critics discourage you from pursuing your artistic passion. Once you find your passion try to learn something every day and develop your skills. Realize that if you work hard and follow your passion that someday you will surprise yourself, and possibly many others with your incredible talent.

Featured Artist – Pauline Eaton

August 2022

Featured Artist - Pauline Eaton

A Corrales Treasure:  Pauline Eaton, Artist, 1935-2021

Pauline Eaton's Credo as an Artist… from “CRAWLING TO THE LIGHT”

“Only one who has a personal religion, a unique view of the universe, can be a true artist. “-- Friedrich Schlegel

“The purpose of life is spiritual growth.   We are evolving souls. We participate in the on-goingness of creation.   We participate for the purpose of extending opportunities for growth in each other. We MUST participate, because this is when we are most in God's image--that of creator--that this I, why we, in turn, were created.. “

In this sense, we are all artists or called to be such.  As an artist, I believe my role is to continue making connections and 'realizing my place in the FΑΒRIC OF ALL THAT IS. --Pauline Eaton

Pauline was an artist for the world and identified with William Blake’s intense belief that the spiritual and the manifest are totally entwined.  She painted to express these beliefs and for the benefit of her audience.  Pauline’s paintings are in transparent watercolor, most of which are 46” x 36”.  Some reached up to 5 and 10 feet tall.  Her work is striking, thought-provoking, and colorful.

We are fortunate that she and her husband, Charles, chose Corrales as their home in 1993.  In 1998, she directed the first Corrales Art Studio Tour (CAST).  Today, CAST is one of the largest and most successful studio tours in the Southwest. The Corrales Society of Artists (CSA) was formed in 2007 as Pauline and other local artists saw the need for a more formal organization and management of CAST.  Now, CSA has a membership of over130, and CAST hosts over 80 artists, local galleries, and students from 2 local schools.

Pauline died last October at the age of 87.  We are grateful for Pauline’s pioneer work with CAST, CSA, and her generosity in sharing time with other local artists in promoting a world-class art community in Corrales.

Featured Artist – Martha Rajkay

July 2022

Featured Artist - Martha Rajkay

Please introduce yourself and describe your background

Born in Hungary I come from a family of artists. I have a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, Masters in Art Therapy and a Masters in Social Work. I have been a photographer, commercial graphic artist and painter for over 50 years.

What is your earliest memory of creating art?

I won a painting contest at the age of 8 and I was featured on TV.

Describe your primary medium and why you’ve chosen it for your artwork

I paint in acrylics because of their speed and vibrant colors.

What other media have you used?

I was a commercial photographer for many years.

Describe your artwork in 10 words or less

Impressionistic, colorful, vibrant and individually expressionistic.

What inspires your work?

Nature.

If you could spend the day with any artist, dead or alive, who would it be and why?

Rembrandt.

Do you show your work commercially?  If so, where? 

Local studio tours.

What is something most people don’t know

Born in Hungary to a family of artists.

What advice would you offer younger artists just beginning their art careers?

Express yourself without fear of being judged.

Featured Artist – Pat Kirby

June 2022

Featured Artist - Pat Kirby

Please introduce yourself and describe your background

All children, except one, grow up. Spoiler alert. Me, Pat Kirby. I’m the one that didn’t grow up.

Okay, so the real answer is Peter Pan, but spend five minutes with me and it’ll be obvious that emotional maturity isn’t taking my calls at the moment. Or ever.

I went through the physiological transformation of growing up in El Paso, Texas, a place that was called a cow town, but the only bovines I ever saw were chopped in bloody pieces and wrapped in Styrofoam and plastic. Nevertheless, I grew up horsey. My mom, a single mom, got it in her head that I was going to learn to ride a horse. Probably because she hoped I’d go horse crazy and skip the boy crazy phase. Wrong. I was very good at multitasking. I was like, “Sure, Mom, challenge accepted. Hold my drink.”

Every week, Mom would schlep me out to a riding stable on the outskirts of town where I learned that horses are biting, kicking beasties that delight in scraping their young riders off on tree limbs. And they are beautiful.

The horse thing is relevant. I’m getting to it. Chill.

I graduated high school and matriculated at New Mexico State University. (I’ve now used the word “matriculated” in a sentence. Go, me!) I graduated with a degree that would be used to cover a suspicious stain on the wall, a couple of dogs, a husband, and about a hundred dollars to my name. The latter being an incentive to try my hand at grown-up employment.

That experiment lasted a little over a decade before I realized my first-grade teacher’s assessment was correct. I ran with scissors, ate paste, and didn’t play well with others.

Hence…art. The refuge of all dysfunctional human beings. True story. The first paintings happened when a malcontent cave person was hiding in the darkest reaches of the family cave and started scribbling on the walls with charcoal. That may not be a true story. If I got my wish and had the conversation mentioned a couple questions below this one, I could fact check that yarn. Anybody got a time machine?

Anyway, throughout my failed adulthood, and beginning in childhood, all I’ve ever wanted was to be the greatest horse artist ever. Not a horse who makes art. Drawing with hooves is hard. A human who draws really amazing horses. My earliest influences were Sam Savvit and Frederic Remington. By influences, I mean I copied the hell out of their work. Those who can, do. Those who can’t, copy. The horse phase was followed by the embarrassing unicorn and Pegasus phase (with rainbows!).

To this day, all I draw are horses. It may look like a dog, a bird, a cow, a dragon, etc., but every critter that emerges from my pencil is just a horse with modified anatomy. This, no doubt, is the root of my difficulties with drawing humans, who are the most oddly constructed creatures in the animal kingdom.

I’ve never been adept at color and instead am fascinated with depicting gesture and motion in a paucity of lines. My wind chimes and shamans, glorified silhouettes in steel, are part of that ongoing exploration. How to infuse a work with life in two-dimensions with little-to-no shading or detail. This can be blamed on two things: First, color is hard and I’m lazy.

Second, the vastly underrated illustrations of Jan Pienkowski. As a child, I encountered his work on the cover of an October edition of a Cricket magazine. The cover featured a deliciously spooky and wondrously detailed landscape, all in silhouette. Witches on brooms in the sky, a fairy tale castle with a ghost emerging from a dungeon; a drawbridge over a creepy ravine occupied by a skinny troll; an island with a unicorn and Baba Yaga’s hut. I stared at that cover for hours. And copied the crap out of it.

What is your earliest memory of creating art?

I’m around five years old. I’m sitting on the couch with bottle of red paint and a brush. There’s a sheet of paper in the vicinity and brush is supposed to meet paint and then kiss the paper in the most artistic manner possible. I’m fixing to paint a red cow, because red cows go faster than silly old brown cows. Zoom!

What actually happens is the paint bottle tips over and the result transforms the couch into a crime scene. Which it very nearly was as my mother contemplated killing me when she saw the mess. The unveiling of my first masterpiece, however, was postponed as I attempted to hide my work beneath a throw pillow. By the time Mom found it, the paint had congealed into a lovely, indelible mess.

Thereafter, I became a plein air painter because Mom kicked me and my art supplies outside.

Describe your primary medium and why you’ve chosen it for your artwork

Metal, primarily steel. Why? Because manipulating iron alloy requires extreme heat. I was the kid who played with matches and set things on fire with a ray of sunshine focused through a magnifying glass. Also, sometimes ate dirt, but I digress.

Plasma torch. Welder. Angle grinder. Power tools that melt and pulverize metal. What’s not to like?

What other media have you used?

My own blood. Not intentionally, but when you work with metal and power tools, bleeding will ensue. And tetanus.

A plain, old-fashioned No. 2 pencil is my weapon of choice for drawing. A hamster on speed has a longer attention span than me, so throughout the years I have dabbled in many other media including: watercolor, oil, acrylics, and pastels.

Presently, I’m working toward the goal of finally mastering human figurative drawing. That goal, combined with a love of anime and manga, led to the purchase of a digital tablet. Digital art gives me the ability to make loads of mistakes without wasting paper. It also spares the home furnishings any disasters when I do some painting.

Describe your artwork in 10 words or less

Sketches in steel.

What inspires your work?

Uh, everything? I prime the creative pump by going online and looking at art. I’ve been a geek long before it was cool, so fanart, art created by fans of science fiction/fantasy books, TV shows, movies, video games, etc., is a perennial favorite. Eldritch, weird and surreal illustrations are my catnip, as are weird and wonderful sculptures and assemblage art. Monsters, gimme the monsters!

Once my muse is awake, everything is inspiration. A group of dogs playing in a yard. The texture of a crumbling old wall. Everything.

If you could spend the day with any artist, dead or alive, who would it be and why?

The person who painted the Paleolithic cave paintings in Lascaux, France. The artist(s) had far better mastery of color than I do, now, in the 21st century. And they were painting with beetle guts and berry juice.

I don’t speak Cave person and they wouldn’t speak English, so the convo would be mostly grunts and hand signals. Pretty much like any evening with my spouse.

Do you show your work commercially?  If so, where?

Back in the halcyon days, before a plague ravaged the land, I could be found at local craft shows. This year, my main venue will be CAST.

What is something most people don’t know about you?

I hate sock monkeys. I’m not overly fond of real live monkeys either. (It’s the poo-flinging. And the creepy little hands.) Any configuration of runny egg—sunny side up, poached, soft boiled—makes me ill. I love most nuts, but despise pecans. I frequently fall in love with the villain in movies. I don’t find kittens or human babies particularly appealing, but snakes and spiders are awesome.

What advice would you offer younger artists just beginning their art careers?

If you want to be an artist, be an artist. Ignore the naysayers who prattle on about growing up and getting a real career. Art is a real career.

Learn to accept criticism, but don’t believe that all criticism is valid.

Learn to identify your audience and recognize that you are part of that audience. Create art that you love, that’d you’d buy, and you’ll find an audience.

Keep abreast of trends, but don’t try to fit your vision to match what is trendy.

Don’t be a snob. Art, craft, sculpture, design, illustration. It’s all art.