Ellen Hopkins Fountain

Tags

artist, arts, interview, painter, Riverarts, rivertowns NY, watercolor

Tell us about yourself.

My husband and I have been living in NY for 27 years but I will always feel rooted to where I grew up in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. My family moved around a bit, to Pennsylvania and then here. It’s the proximity of the city that brought us to Westchester.

Besides making art, what do you do, do you have a day job? 

I got my BFA at Carnegie Mellon.  I worked at the local public television station as a production assistant and worked my way up through props and became a scenic artist for television, theater and film. It was a great beginning for a watercolor painter, I had to mix gallons of colors, work from a designers thumbnail and blow it all up to a 60′ canvas. I did this for 12 years until we started our family. I then went directly into painting at home.

Where does your inspiration come from?  Is there anything you are looking at that particularly speaks to you?

I go to museums and galleries,and I love looking through my collection of art books. This time of year the garden is a huge inspiration as are textiles, water, reflections, clouds and the sky. There is such a visual variety out there to energize my work.

Has any advice influenced you?

As a scenic artist, the best advice was use the biggest brush you can hold.   Sargent said draw everything. Never stop. It’s a great way of learning things. I keep a sketchbook with me and I’m constantly drawing and ideas evolve from that.

How would you describe your creative process?

I’m very dedicated. I make a point of working every day. Either here in the studio or going out someplace. I find that if I haven’t had a chance to draw or paint, something is missing, a lost opportunity.

How do you get out of your creative blocks?

I will go down to the river, or look out my window at the new view of the sky, or look at the garden. A good source is my sketchbooks which I have kept for years and there are always ideas I like to revisit. I like to go through older work and recognize my hand in the work I’ve done and see where I’ve gone since then.

What is the most positive and inspirational thing about being an artist for you?

The gratitude I have that I am destined to do this. Also when children say, Oh look at that sky. It’s something you should paint! To foster that kind of awareness is great.

What are your biggest challenges to creating art and how do you handle them?

Watercolor is very challenging and I strive to do things that I think I can’t do, and I’m usually right, there are a lot of failures along the way. But it’s amazing to just press the boundary.

If you could visit the studio of any artist or designer, who would it be?

I would visit Emile Nolde, a German Expressionist who did watercolor landscapes and flowers. He did it the way very few others people did. I’d also love to see Sargent paint watercolor.

Do you have any advice for artists who are just starting out?

If you want to do it, you need to be passionate about it. You have to develop great work ethic, you have to do it daily, you have to work. Once you do and you find your satisfaction in it, you are one of the most fortunate people going. To have that something touch deep down within you that not everyone gets to express is so very lucky.

What are your main goals for 2012?

I’d like to improve my website. I want to continue painting and get better at it.

Where would you like to be in ten years?

I hope that I will have a barn!

Is there something you are currently working on, or are excited about starting that you can tell us about?

I love to work in series. I’ve gone back to cloud and sky paintings. We lost a huge tree in the yard which opened up a vast sky. I really grieved for that tree, it was protection, shade, beauty and housed all those squirrels and birds. After it fell over it took a while but now I just see this huge expanse.. constantly changing beauty of the skies.

Do you have any upcoming shows?

I have a show in August and September at Locust Grove in Poughkeepsie  lgny.org 

My website is EllenHopkinsFountain.com

Thanks Ellen!!

Ellen will be on the RiverArts studio tour April 28-29. for more info go to riverarts.org

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Patricia van Essche

Tags

artist, arts, interview, pve, watercolor

Tell us about yourself.

If I could draw the answer to this question, it certainly would not be a straight line. I am “PvE” an artist, wife, mother, sister, and friend to many and a keen observer of life-style.  Some might say, I have always been drawn to capturing what I see with line and color.  I love fine lines and happy colors.  Over the years, I just have kept working at my artwork while raising my family and keeping the home fires going.  I am a mother of 3 wife, and love my home and working from my home studio.  My about is really “to design, create and inspire an artful life.”

Besides making art, what do you do, do you have a day job? 

Besides creating art, I keep a blog and have been posting nearly every day for six years.  The connections that I have made are incredible and much of my work comes from my blog readers.  By keeping the blog, it has helped me to get instant feedback and also reinforced my own originality. It really means the world to me to know that I might be making an impression on a reader with my artwork and my words.  Much of my focus is positive and enthusiastic.  My art makes people smile. I am a huge fan of social media and having a presence on the web.

Where does your inspiration come from?  

Inspiration can come in many forms.  Since much of my work is commissioned, a deadline can be very motivating.  I am inspired by everything which tends to be somewhat four season based. Autumn interjects a warmth, Winter is invigorating, Spring is colorful and Summer seems to be easy to love.  I love homes, people, pets, parties, weddings and shops and things that make one feel a sense of belonging.  Reading “What’s a dog for?”  Listening to Andrew Bird, Andrew Belle and love jazz. I do love travel, skiing, playing tennis, running, walking my dog and then making art.

How would you describe your creative process?

My creative process is perhaps a bit obsessive compulsive.  Before I begin to actually get to work, I do a ton of gathering and collecting and editing.  It has to be in my head before I can get it to the paper.  I like to have things lined up before I begin.  I know many artists thrive on chaos but I love having my area organized and my table clean when I work.  What can I say, I like to make my bed and then get to work.

How do you get out of your creative blocks?

I cannot say that I have creative ruts, because I always have work and am always thinking of the next work.  So in many ways when I am working, I have to stay focused to finish what I have before I can go to the next and that takes discipline because some things are more exciting.  It’s a bit like finishing your veggies before dessert.

What is the most positive and inspirational thing about being an artist

The joy it brings me and to others.

What is the most difficult thing about being an artist for you?

The most difficult thing about the creative profession is that people tell me that they cannot draw a straight line all the time, what they do not realize is that straight lines are over rated and that it is work just like any other job. It is work but it is also so rewarding.

What are your biggest challenges to creating art and how do you handle them?

Biggest challenge for me is to let perfectionism go.  Get to work.  Get it done.  Do it again. Sometimes I might not be satisfied and the important thing is to get it done and then keep doing it.

If you could visit the studio of any artist or designer, who would it be?

If I could peak inside of any studio, I would want to go back in time to Cecil Beaton, Ludwig Bemelmans.

Has any advice influenced you?

I suppose the advice that has influenced me and my work would be my parents, my family, and that of many loyal clients who are supportive and encouraging and love my artwork.

Do you have any advice for artists just starting out?

My advice to other artists who are starting is to start.  Start and find a style that works.  Even if it is one thing, just keep doing that one thing over and over until you find your work taking shape.

How do you balance work and family?

The reason I do what I do is that I am able to balance being a Mother and an artist.  Now that my sons are in college and my daughter in 8th grade gives me time for my artwork but I always found time.   I love preparing home cooked meals, walking our dog, doing nice things that make me feel lucky to do what I do.

Do you have any main goals for now or the future?

My main goals for 2013 are already in progress and I am very excited to be launching a brand new site which will really reflect me and more of my work.  The internet has changed and people are starved for time, so grabbing one’s attention immediately is so crucial.  With a new site, I hope to attract more of the customer who wants my work, understands the “cache” and my niche. I plan to have new artwork seasonally and to limit the number of commissions.  I also plan to have a book published with my work.  A sort of coffee table book with my artwork and quotes.  I will continue to free lance work for several clients, J.McLaughlin, Sheridan Road and several other private repeat clients who come back for annual artwork or custom commissions.  I also want to create a line of cards and items to sell with my artwork licensed. In ten years, I know that my work will be in demand and that it will continue to make me very happy.

Is there something you are currently working on, or are excited about starting that you can tell us about?

I am working on a job for a client all the way in Dubai.  It is for an internet business involving food.

Do you have a blog or website?

My website is pvedesign.com

My blog is pvedesign.blogspot.com

Thanks so much, Patricia!