“I think the creative act is very different than the ability to perform a skill set. I think that individual choice is as distinctive as the human being who makes those choices.”
“I am a humanist in my work. That is very important to me, to always have content, to always be involved in storytelling that is important to other people. Otherwise, why bother?”
Do people still feel the need to own, to have present in one’s life, an artifact, a painting, made by somebody else?
I’m lucky in the sense that I am able to portray my feelings with a brush rather easily. I don’t know whether I can attribute this to slow accumulation over a lifetime—looking at so many paintings, the careful observation of everything.
The ability to remove the cerebral assumptions of what you think you know and just respond honestly can be key to developing authentic work.
With glass, I am able to incorporate light and color into the work, giving my sculptures another dimension—one that feels a bit more alive.
“My aim is always to respond to and respect the cultures wherever I am working and let the experience of being there enter the work. ” —Suzanne Benton
There is no question that plein air painting is a class of painting unto itself, and we understood early on that it can be more akin to an extreme sport than a creative activity.
“My mind is an evocative jumble of myths, facts, and fictions. I view and articulate my world through narrative.”
Whereas miniature painting has a history as a decorative art form that documents history, my work in miniature focuses more on self-expression. I strive to create work that has its own voice, instead of producing a beautiful, yet inaccessible object.