Artist Snapshot: Janet A. Cook

I try to draw every day. It does not have to be great; I just do it. I carry a tiny Moleskin sketchbook and Micron pens with me, and I sketch on the subway. Should I see a scene that has a special appeal, I will draw it.

Artist Snapshot: Jill Nathanson

Does the work transmit the qualities, the kind of experiences and the intuitions I’m after? Is the painting transmitting the amazing relations of color and light, matter and formation, that painting is able to bring to our eyes and intuition?
Too many artists, and way too many people, are bent on impressing more than connecting with others. Impressing is walling yourself off, connecting is letting your guard down, which takes more confidence and guts than the self-effacing get credit for.
I’m always asking myself how it’s possible to create something meaningful from something commonplace. Painting is a way for me to try to prove that poetry, beauty or whatever else you want to call it comes from how you see versus what you see.
Every small meditative thought can contribute to artistic pursuits. In that regard, making coffee and staring out of the window can be considered a part of the creative process. And I do both several times a day.
What is the vernacular of the picture-making, and how do I express things through that? Some of the best moments are when a painting can describe back to me the feeling of my work just by looking.