IN THE MIND OF AN ARTIST

The Interview – Part 1

Please describe the most joyful and/or the most painful

artwork you ever created and why you qualified it as such?

The most painful piece of art I ever created was never finished, which fits quite well into the concept and essence of the thing anyways. It was a watercolor, big, 18 x 24 if I remember right. I don’t particularly care for watercolor beyond a tool for sketches and gesture making, so this was pushing me way out of my comfort zone with both its size and need for detail. It was to be part of my senior collection which had a theme exploring memories of my father (who was absent and alcoholic until I was aged 20 when he miraculously sobered and returned to sanity) and more broadly my relationship with myself as a daughter.

The image was a homestead. It was a peaceful, landscaped setting. Idyllic in only the way a city girl who grew up with a single mom who never had enough money, could think of as idyllic. A big house sat off in the background with swathes of pretty green grasses and country blue skies. The foreground held a large tree under which a man was sitting, leaning his back on the tree, legs extended with a handgun on the ground next to him.

I’ve always hated anything overtly violent or aggressive. It disturbed me that the gun had shown up in the work almost without my realizing it. It wasn’t planned, I didn’t sketch it in, it was just suddenly there. Now I was looking at some cowboy that was either preparing suicide, murder or protection. Such contrast to the idyll behind it. When it dawned on me that’s about all I understood of men, in this obscure protector/villain dichotomy, it hurt too much to finish. Or maybe that was just the excuse I grabbed to get out of having to spend another 12 hours to bring it to completion and therefore work on gaining a deeper understanding of men beyond this socially induced dichotomy. That seems like another layer to the same story. My art tends to go that way, bleeding the reality of my subconscious motivations in a way that becomes part of the statement that no one ever quite understands.

Artist’s Profile

Melissa studied Studio Art and Psychology at the University of Minnesota. She creates artistic pieces that add visual narration to her written word. She uses a blog format to publish insightful reflections, poetry and essays about life, spirituality and trauma recovery. She is also the proud homeschool mom to a budding Rockstar and has dreams of one day owning an artist’s retreat and wellness center.

Melissa’s Website

About ‘In The Mind Of An Artist’

‘In The Mind Of An Artist’ aims to uncover the artistic mind, the perspective of individuals living under the influence of art. By and large we live collective lives, but artists see life a bit; well sometimes very different than others. As some seem to float from one artwork to another; others are deeply encrusted in their work making it difficult to catch that ride offered by the world around them, creating realities in which one person (the artist) must navigate in order to survive in society. If you are an artist and this speaks to you, please contact me if you like to share your story.

This series of articles, written by artists is about the artist’s way of processing and reacting to events in their lives. These can be tangible communal events or struggles of philosophical and psychological nature.

Through these articles artists will share their intimate views. Talking about how their perspectives changed as they trapped themselves in the cobwebs of art.

By design ‘In The Mind Of An Artist’ will not contain any images of artwork, biography, profile, lists of exhibitions, books or the artist’s creative process.

The goal here is to give the artist a chance to pause from the creation of art for a moment and explore the self.

Interviews will also be included in this series.

To submit your article, get an invitation to participate or for more information on this new series please email jo@edgeofhumanity.com .

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ABOUT

The NO MIDDLEMAN ART GALLERY is designed to connect art seekers and collectors with artists DIRECTLY. The gallery is not a mall, but instead a collection of remarkable works of art that bring together artists and potential buyers.

Following Edge of Humanity Magazine‘s footsteps of publishing unparalleled content from artists and photographers worldwide, the NO MIDDLEMAN ART GALLERY is on a mission to provide it’s viewers art that is unique and diverse.

OUR CONCEPT

Written By Joelcy Kay – Curator

Every piece of art, crafts, or textiles, hanging on my walls or ceiling tells a tiny passage of my life. Most of it was acquired during my travels. Many of these treasures are damaged whether because they were broken on arrival, as the pieces were tightly stuffed into my backpack, or weathered by the unforgiving Florida tropical humidity. But in the end, they are my precious processions and they are part of the stories I tell. It feels good to have rugs hanging from the ceiling, masks on the walls, and drinking my morning coffee thinking of the mugs’ tale. The point here is that art has a lot to offer each one of us; ART IS VERY PERSONAL!

The NO MIDDLEMAN ART GALLERY offers that personal experience as the individual has the opportunity to buy the art from the creator and by doing so a new event to remember is born. When you hang the work of art on your wall there is a story behind it; an artist you now know and follow. And instead of the usual “I purchased this at “WWW(BIG BIG ART STORE).COM” the connection enriches the emotional value of your art piece.

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The gallery is designed to connect the art seekers and collectors with artists directly. We offer artists a COMMISSION FREE / CONTRACT FREE online platform to sell their creations and engage with their clients using portfolio pages that are engaging with large images and a dramatic black background.

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For details regarding participating in the NO MIDDLEMAN ART GALLERY please contact Joelcy Kay the curator at jo@edgeofhumanity.com.

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2 thoughts on “IN THE MIND OF AN ARTIST”…it hurt too much to finish.””

I was trying to create the cover artwork for my YA novel. I was drawing or attempting to draw a castle. I could see it in my mind, I just could not get that transferred to the canvas. When my son took one look and made a few attempts at not hurting my feelings but trying to be honest, I scrapped the attempts and sought help from another. I was disappointed in myself, but loved the cover my friend created.

I enjoyed this article very much in it’s entirety so hope you do not mind me speaking only directly towards your misunderstanding of men at the time you were tackling the painting. I think as much as women suffer from this, men do too in today’s society. We get our gauges, expectations and understandings of the opposite sex from how they are portrayed in media. From movies. Music. Advertising. We are having our minds molded into these expectations and not by actual interaction.