Darla Teagarden, Eclectix Interview 30

Darla Teagarden

Darla is a mixed media artist – combining the arts of photography, fashion and theater sets to produce some very artful and inspiring shots. Formerly a stylist, model and dancer, her current works are photographic – often hand drawing the backgrounds and using recycled or vintage props. Darla’s works are wonderfully dramatic, peek-a-boo-like window displays into postcard historical fantasies. They are decorative, feminine and tactile – woven vaudeville beauties. She currently lives in Austin, Texas in a blue house with her son, 3 dogs, a dwarf rabbit and a black pot bellied pig.

The Butcher’s Daughter – Darla Teagarden

My favorite art memory from my childhood is…. I loved vacationing in Northern California… fishing and camping in Lake Shasta. I pretended I owned and controlled parts of the ”wild” and tried to ignore the humdrum- Kitsch of non denominational suburban life as an only child back home.

Evening Field – Darla Teagarden

My interest in art/painting started ….  I’ve been a visual artist actively since 2003 , when I was a mixed media painter. Before then, I studied dance, worked in the vintage retail industry and did some modeling.

Vaudevillian Water Deity- Darla Teagarden

I am often inspired and motivated by…. working self taught artists. The majority of successful artists I know had a leg up through supportive artist parents, college etc… But I love someone’s story when it comes , in a way, from left field as a way to be heard and sometimes to survive.

Conjure in the Rose Garden – Darla Teagarden

If I could spend the day with any artist (dead or alive) it would be… Frida Kahlo. I imagine we would be two peas in a pod. We’d hang out at her Blue house, have a well-made table with lots of food and booze and we would discuss the state of the world.

Darla Teagarden

The tip or art technique (a specific tidbit of craft, advice or mechanical expertise) that has helped me the most is …. Don’t be a giant fragile weakling. You are going to suck, so get over it and just DO. Do it, because you have something to say. Don’t fail small, fail big.

Octo Dutchess, Sea Salt – Darla Teagarden

If I could own one piece of art, out of the world’s collections, it would be … Otto Dix’s Anita Berber. (below)  Anita and the time period in which Otto worked has personal significance to me.

Otto Dix’s- Anita Berber

My favorite piece of my own art is…. My next thing, because if you dwell on something that went right, mixed with all the interruption of life ( which we know there are many) you can get lazy or bored.

The Hostess – Darla Teagarden

My ultimate project or fantasy is … Being paid to travel to shoot and write about amazing people.

Audubon’s Secret Love – Darla Teagarden

The last song I choose to listen to was… Anna Calvi, Jezebel/Moulinette Single.

Lady Tether Heart – Darla Teagarden

The last book I couldn’t put down was…. Laura Hillenbrand’s Unbroken. I know many talented people, some great, but it doesn’t mean shit to me if they are giant tools. I resepct and admire stories about great souls who survive without trading it all in. Last fiction book that moved me that way, was Middlesex  by Jeffrey Eugenides.

Showgirl Kitty – Darla Teagarden

My favorite word is … lately.. “Seabiscuit”

Darla Teagarden

I can’t live without …  Creating. Even if it’s just a collection of beautiful things to look at. Something in the air must always be moving and asking me questions.

The Mourning Cage - Darla Teagarden

It’s not hip, but I really love ….  I’m pretty sure ”not hip” is hip… but I’ll have to choose going to Disneyland. Nothing hip about wearing comfortable shoes, mouse ears, and renting a jazzy to get ahead in lines… if one was so inclined.

Bambina de Assisi – Darla Teagarden

If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be and why? I would live in Spain… So many beautiful people and places.  I’ve always had a love for Barcelona and Madrid..

Bee Charmer - Darla Teagarden

My favorite motto (or quote) is…  “Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.” by  Anais Nin. Simple and true.

Maharani Kishori – Darla Teagarden

Link to Darla’s Website & Portfolio

Edward Walton Wilcox, Eclectix Interview 25

Edward Painting, 2011

“We are spiritual creatures that our lower animal is at constant odds with, or so it seems.”

Twilight Circus - Wilcox

Edward’s art is a spiritual experience, imagery with such luminous light and aura to it that it refuses to be captured in a photograph. His colors are sepias, ambers and the warmest golds of sunsets – against the dark, murky depth of  our world’s underbelly. Seeing his work in person hooked me – classical masterpieces of mood, physics and unearthly delights. Edward is not only a master painter but an accomplished sculptor as well – he shares some of his thoughts here with grateful Eclectix.

“Wilcox uses glazes, paint removers and a sepia palette to construct glossy memento moris such as substance-abusing young blonds and Neutras flambés. Playing off the lurid Gothic Romantic style, Wilcox says his works, like the movement he references, rebuke and seduce…”  from Mindy Farrabee, Los Angeles Times

I Keep the Devil in a Small House Just Outside of Town - Wilcox

My favorite art memory from my childhood is…  My first, most impressionable memory has to be my kindergarten art teacher – Mrs. Tatem demonstrating to me how when painting a portrait you must always begin with the eyes of the subject.  Then you simply fill the surrounding area with the rest of the figure!  I liken that strategy to my fathers equally fascinating advice for carving a wooden Indian.“Simply carve away anything that does not look like an Indian.”

Sleepwalker - Wilcox

 My interest in art/painting started …  It was probably my learning disabilities that led me to an interest in art.  As a small boy, my parents did a stellar job convincing me that I was a genius and that my severe dyslexia and slight autism were signs that my mind worked in special and mysterious ways. I had an acute grasp of creative processes probably due to the fact that by comparison I didn’t understand much else.

Monocle - Wilcox

I am often inspired and motivated by… things I do not understand, by that I mean emotional responses such as fear or dread, love and death, sentamentality and faith.  Concepts that we all experience yet are not always rational.  We are spiritual creatures that our lower animal is at constant odds with or so it seems.

The Tethered Beast - Wilcox

If I could spend the day with any artist (dead or alive) it would be…

 And we would…. Well actually, I already have. When I worked for a gallery on Palm Beach years ago I had the amazing opportunity to spend the day with Robert Raushenberg and John Chamberlin. I will never forget the scene of those two getting high in the back of the Mercedes and playing the harmonica all over town.  Robert had polished off half a bottle of Jack before noon,  he was like the Hemingway of painters.

The Roman Gibbet - Wilcox

 The tip or art technique (a specific tidbit of craft, advice or mechanical expertise) that has helped me the most is …. a lack of fear when approaching a new challenge, knowing that there is no wrong way in art!

Ivory Tower - Wilcox

If I could own one piece of art, out of the world’s collections, it would be …

Brueghel’s Winter, Return From the Hunt (below)

Brueghel

My favorite piece of my own art is… I would probably have to say the ”Adam and Eve Altarpiece”. (below), because…   It was an ambitious work of sculpture that took years of tinkering. The subject matter as well. The perfect metaphor for the plight of humanity. Man’s ability to choose, whether it’s right or wrong, everything has consequences.

Adam and Eve - Wilcox

My ultimate project or fantasy is … to build a totally functional High Gothic wind mill with living quarters.

Man Tinkling - Wilcox

The last song I choose to listen to was… Last Night by Moby

Salome - Wilcox

The last book I couldn’t put down was …. Complete Works of Breughel

The Secret I Keep in the Red River Grows - Wilcox

My favorite word is … Taciturn

Girl from Wiesbaden - Edward Walton Wilcox

I can’t live without … My beautiful Family

Der Blu Hare - Edward Walton Wilcox

 A lot has been written about your style and the vintage patina your works have. What is the best link about the technical process you go thru to attain it?

http://youtu.be/KusZFszRZwc

Laughing Stock - Edward Walton Wilcox

What inspired or led to this “look” to your works? How did it evolve?  My exposure to some of the mansions of Palm Beach as a child was perhaps the beginning of the journey.  Then several trips to Europe followed and sealed the deal.  I site the whole “beauty of decay” thing. Nostalgia, they say, is a denial of the present and its attributes.  Perhaps its a common myth that we all like to share, that the past was somehow better than things are now.  Da Vinci was accused, as I am, of being a bit of an antiquarian, in the sense of making things appear older than they are. I find comfort in the practice somehow.

Edward Walton Wilcox

Upcoming Exhbition: “Guns & Roses” , opens Nov. 12, 2011,  at Fabien Castanier Gallery, Studio City, CA

Edward’s Website Link

Der Sinkken Yacht - Wilcox

LINK to the current Eclectix website – art news & exhibit listings

Pamela Wilson, Eclectix Interview 17

Artist Pamela Wilson

“ I never know when they will speak to me, but “ghosts” and I have a rapport. I read a lot, and find that the more I put in my brain- the more I get out. I live in extremes- I’m either bored to tears, or highly titillated. My mother used to tell me if I’m bored- it’s my fault.” 

Some Bullets Are Special - Pamela Wilson

Pamela is one of the most incredible painters out there today, I could stare at her images on a slideshow endlessly…. From Pamela: “I recently read a Chuck Close quote: “Inspiration is for amateurs. The pros just show up for work.” Inspiration and work are both necessary and equal parts of anything worth making.. I guess that’s what I do- show up for work.

On GOOD days- I get some coffee, head directly to the studio at 8:00AM, turn on some Tom Waits, work my fingers to the bone, run five miles on the beach (I live in God’s country- Santa Barbara, CA), eat like a health nut,  pat myself on the back, pat my dogs on the head, and read myself to sleep.

On MOST days, I drag myself to the studio by 10:30AM (twenty-two feet from my back door), turn on some Tom Waits,  stress myself over deadlines yet unmet and paintings that will never be done, scold myself for not being Jeremy Geddes, eat crap because I’m too hungry or lazy to care, virtually ignore my dogs and the laundry, paint until midnight, and stay up even later watching “O Brother Where Art Thou” until I forget my troubles, and fall asleep.”

Pamela Wilson

 My favorite art memory from my childhood is … My Aunt Georgia (93 this year) is an artist, and visited often when I was young- so often that she had a ready-made studio for painting in our basement. I watched her combine several photographs, taken on our many camping trips in the Colorado mountains, to create a large painting. She worked on it every time she visited, and I was enthralled to watch her mix color on the palette and make trees and rocks come to life. It took her months, but I watched every stroke as she worked like I wasn’t there, except for the occasional jokes (my family is full of comedians). She taught me to use a paint brush properly- “Never scrub, always back and forth”- which was a huge deal to me! I was probably seven years old, and knew then that I wanted to be just like her. That painting hung in our Pike’s Peak cabin for decades, and no one knows where it is now. My dad thinks he accidentally sold it with the cabin in 1985.. Tragedy.

The Flying Dream - Pamela Wilson

I remember that my first disappointment was when I drew the picture for the Art Contest in the TV Guide- I drew it well, took so much time, erased and fixed every part over and over, and was so proud to send it off- finally- I was sure I would win First Prize!! ( I don’t remember the prize- art school? ha) When I never heard from them, I was distraught. My mother told me that it was so good that they probably thought I traced it. I never tried again.

 Phoenix – Pamela Wilson

My interest in art/painting started … Apparently, at the age of three or four, I drew a table and chairs in perspective, and my family decided immediately that I was an artist. I jumped on the bandwagon and never looked back. I was always drawing, but I hated coloring in coloring books, as I couldn’t stay inside the lines like my big sister (who hogged all the unbroken crayons anyway- because she was convinced that she was the queen of the world). I did try, however, to convince her that she needed to push on the crayon and make the color brighter. She ignored me completely. Her pictures looked so pale to me.

The Thing With Feathers - Pamela Wilson

 I am often inspired and motivated by … Deadlines. Antique objects- dolls, cages, taxidermied animals, musical instruments, clothing, books, tools, etc.- all have “ghosts,” as well as some places, people,  and dreams. I never know when they will speak to me, but “ghosts” and I have a rapport. I read a lot, and find that the more I put in my brain- the more I get out. I live in extremes- I’m either bored to tears, or highly titillated. My mother used to tell me if I’m bored- it’s my fault. I daydream- always have. Inspiration is an illusive term, hard to describe.

The Unashamed - Pamela Wilson

Art is the thing one makes because she wants to see it in the world, and it doesn’t already exist. (I read that somewhere- maybe Tom Robbins..) I think an artist has the luxury of always being open to inspiration.

Absinthe Drinker and Hostile Silence - Pamela Wilson

 If I could spend the day with any artist (dead or alive) it would be … I would definitely spend the day with Tom Waits. I’m afraid that my circus bum image of him would be spoiled- but I’m willing to take the risk. And we would…. Our day would involve mucking around Chicago, sans plans or maps, just riding the train, getting lost, picking through junk shops, and hunting/decorating moose heads in bars- where we would bond over Bloody Marys and knock-knock jokes. And we’d probably get matching tattoos- bad monkeys- to honor each other- and our day.

Crestfallen Interlopers - Pamela Wilson

 The tip or art technique (a specific tidbit of craft, advice or mechanical expertise) that has helped me the most is …. Rabbit skin glue is king. So is Dancolite.

Foreboding and Heavy Sky - Pamela Wilson

If I could own one piece of art, out of the world’s collections, it would be … That’s easy. Nothing could be better than living with any piece by Robert (& Shana) ParkeHarrison (below). Preferably a big one. Since the moment I first saw his work in my then gallery- Claire Oliver/ Philadelphia/1997- I was hooked. I am so moved by his concept of the unending need of humans to create and fix- regardless of the futility.. It’s like Tom Waits meets Dr. Seuss meets Terry Gilliam meets Sisyphus. The work just has everything.

Robert & Shana ParkeHarrison

I’d also like to own, (if I would be allowed two),  one of Anselm Keifer’s (below)  painted photographs that I saw in one of his obscure hand-made photo books, in 1988 at the LA Contemporary, which revealed to me the theretofore unimagined possibility of painting on my own B/W photographs- which became my sole obsession for many years. 

Heavy Cloud - Anselm Kiefer

 My favorite piece of my own art is … Hmm. Off the top of my head- that would have to be a painted b/w photo I did of my son in graduate school- part of a series entitled “Addiction to Small Shames.” (below)  There are two of him, standing side by side. It’s a large photo- 4 ft.- and it was such a great experience to make- from the laborious printing of the photo- with the enlarger turned sideways on the floor to get it that large- I had to expose it on a wall- to the first stroke of sticky blood-red paint- the end result and the way it moves me still (it hangs in my bedroom) makes it my favorite. Because …It reminds me of what art can do for me- take me into my wreck, delight and hurt me at the same time, and push me to solve problems.

Addiction to Small Shames - Pamela Wilson

 My ultimate project or fantasy is … I am at my very heart an assemblage artist. Random antique/ vintage objects made into little otherworlds, with photo/lightbox aspects and little odd things- like false doors and secret compartments, and whatever else I may add or design, or find arresting. Collecting objects, and working with little tools and brass hardware- the entire process is the ultimate way to spend time. I was so inspired first by the assemblages of Robert Rauschenberg (Untitled, 1954 was THE ONE) (below), and then by Joseph Cornell’s arresting boxes of imagination. I once completed a series of suitcase art wherein each vintage suitcase represented a mental disorder, each recalling a friend or family member who had dealt with, or died from, each specific disorder. It was the most rewarding project. I also did a series of light boxes in antique leaded windows, with these amazing (transparent/manipulated) photographs I took. I want to do more and more and more.

Rauschenberg

 The last song I chose to listen to was … I have been playing “Lemonade,” by CocoRosie, endlessly for a couple of months. I’m weird like that; it takes me there. (“We ate ice cream, in a desert dream…”)

Resinous Darkness & Secret Kinships - Pamela Wilson

 My favorite word is … There are so many that I love: darksome, pirouette, drag, interlude, cherry, somnambulist, asylum, reliquary, parricide, infanticide, regicide (all the -cides..)

Sleepwalking With Scarecrows - Pamela Wilson

 I can’t live without … Tom Waits’ “Frank’s Wild Years.“ My sun/son, Robinson.

Orbits of Daisy - Pamela Wilson

It’s not hip, but I really love …Tomato sandwiches. Watching the film “City of Lost Children” in French. (I don’t understand French.)

The Nuisance - Pamela Wilson

Pamela’s – Website 

LINK to the current Eclectix website – art news & exhibit listings

(This entry was  originally posted on 2/16/11 and transferred here –  as we are discontinuing our other blog site)

Transferred comment -

From Sweetness

Great Interview and great art. Yes Pamela, the pro’s show up and you are a Pro!

Thursday, February 24, 2011 – 08:01 PM

Mary Jane Ansell, Eclectix Interview 16

Mary Jane Ansell

“ Ultimately, make sure it’s yourself who you are trying to impress the most, with each new piece! ” 

Dan, BP Portrait Award - Mary Jane Ansell

I first saw Mary Jane’s work while playing tourist in London, at the BP Awards show at the National Portrait Gallery (above and below). I was completely floored by her incredible, detailed rendering. Every single hair was captured in all it’s own minute detail! Mary Jane’s art just left a beautiful ache in my heart, haunting me as I left the exhibition. Her latest series, “The Beauty of the Hours” is a graceful, moody and captivating group of work. She currently works from her studio in Brighton’s North Laine, after going for her morning walk on the beach. 

Georgie, BP Portrait Award - Mary Jane Ansell

Can you tell us where you were born and a little history about your childhood?  I was born in South Shropshire, England, in a beautiful spot in the middle of the country side – our neighbors were cows, foxes, sheep… we kept lots of wildlife – raised ducks, climbed trees that sort of thing, very rural idyl – I’ve always thought it was a great way to grow up in terms of developing a kids imagination, my brother and I were always disappearing off for some “adventure” or another and coming back covered in mud and leaves… we never got to fester the concept of boredom!

Toy Soldiers – Mary Jane Ansell

What was first piece of art that you remember creating?  Ahh – this is funny, my mum’s just given me a couple of examples of just this in fact – I used to make tiny little pop up scenes – I can vividly remember making a desert island, about 2 1/2 inches across complete with coconut tree and a shark patrolling its waters – the shark was on a little handle so you could make him swim about… I read a lot then but I cant remember what I was reading that inspired that!

Girl Reflected, “The Beauty of the Hours” – Mary Jane Ansell

What inspired/prompted the vision/image for the most recent piece you completed?  I’ve just had a solo show, “The Beauty of the Hours”.  In this new body of work, centering on a series of pictures of Georgie and Sofia, two models who I’ve been working with a lot over the last couple of years.

The Beauty of the Hours – Mary Jane Ansell

I wanted to play with the kind of imagery that the classic portraits and fashion shoots for Vogue which Cecil Beaton produced in the 50′s called to my mind. Mixed with nineteenth-century French academic salon painting- Ingres, Bouguereau… those kinds of influences. At the same time I was working on a portrait of Henry Allingham, WWI veteran (and at one time oldest man in the world) for Armistice Day. Polar opposites – that I must say I relished.

Mary Jane Ansell

If there was an artist, dead or alive, that you could spend 24 hours with; who would it be and what would you do?  Right now I’d go for Ingres or Bouguereau to take me through their techniques… it depends what I’m tackling as to who’s brain I’d like to pick most!

Mary Jane Ansell

Do you work from live models sitting most the time? from photos?  I work in a number of ways depending on the piece – often I’ll begin with thumbnail sketches – really quick notes to get the idea down. I may be working with a particular sitter or I’ll look for a model and location that suits the mood of that idea. I work in a slow process, building up many layers. Back in the studio I work from many, many reference photos – but it’s important to keep your hand in, working from life too. There is no substitute for understanding the subtleties of skin color than to work from life.

Girl In A Naval Cap, “The Beauty of the Hours” - Mary Jane Ansell

What materials, specific brand of paint/glue/pencil do you prefer to use? I prefer M. Graham or Old Holland Oils, Rosemary and Co. brushes and Spectrum mediums. I’m an inveterate tester of techniques, always seeking the holy grail of the perfect tools. The perfect medium, trying to adjust the feel of the paint under the brush just so, the speed it dries, the shine (or lack of it) and all the other considerations that go in to bringing about the image that you started out with in your minds eye!

By Her Own Hand - Mary Jane Ansell

Is there a technique, procedure or tip that you have discovered, you could pass onto other artists? Keep looking for your unique visual language – it’s the one that rings most true, keep pushing yourself and learning. Don’t lose sight of what you love about it, prepare for very long hours, lots of plate spinning, be professional. Write down your techniques! Don’t reinvent the wheel – most of this stuff has been honed by someone somewhere… and ultimately make sure it’s yourself who you are trying to impress the most with each new piece!

Mary Jane Ansell

What is your favorite word? Elbow.   Last song you chose to listen to? Elbow.

Mary Jane Ansell

If you could pick one piece of art to own, out of the world’s museums, personal collections and galleries, what would it be? Too many… probably Ingres’ Grand Odalisque (below) so I could pour over it’s technique.

Ingres' Grand Odalisque

Of all your works, what is your own personal favorite? What was the thought or vision behind the work and why is it your favorite?  I’m not sure I have a favorite – some mean more than others to me – the pieces I’ve had selected for the BP Portrait Award for example, I’ve kept those.

Hear No, See No, Speak No, Part II - Mary Jane Ansell

What was the last event/movie/art/anything that really moved you emotionally? Be it sad, angry or happy?  The unveiling of my portrait of the WWI veteran was very moving – finally getting to show it to the friends and family and seeing their response meant a lot. (below)

Henry Allingham, WWI veteran - Mary Jane Ansell

I can’t live without … Coffee in the morning

The Cafe - Mary Jane Ansell

It’s not hip, but I really love … Reading old cookery books in bed.

Mary Jane Ansell

My favorite motto is…. Follow your bliss. (Joseph Campbell)

Mary Jane Ansell

Mary Jane’s Website 

LINK to the current Eclectix website – art news & exhibit listings

(This entry was  originally posted on 1/24/11 and transferred here –  as we are discontinuing our other blog site)