Eleanor McGough - Painter

Deluge, acrylic on panel 48h x 72w

Eleanor McGough

Name: Eleanor McGough
City/State: Minneapolis MN
Email: EFMartist@aol.com
Website: www.mnartists.org/Eleanor_McGough
MNartist.org profile: www.mnartists.org/Eleanor_McGough

Tell me about your work? What are you currently working on? How is this different from past projects?

 My paintings commingle forms from biology, textiles, maps, and geometry to convey a kaleidoscope world of interconnectedness.

Currently my focus is on large 4ft x 6ft acrylic paintings that are created on two merged panels. These works have subtle echoes of land or seascapes, and the merged panels have a reference to Asian screen paintings.

Working on this larger scale is really physically engaging and the works more easily become “a place” in my perception- as if one could disappear in to them.

The Marsh, acrylic on panel 48h x 72w

"What is Art?" is certainly too big of a question to ask here, but what do you hope your audience takes away from your art? What statement do you hope to make?

 I believe art can transport people, even if only for a brief blip, into a separate realm or way of thinking. 

In my own work, I hope to reveal simultaneity between the grand scale and the miniscule -- a sense of infinite interconnectedness (through reoccurring pattern) of all things.

Jettison, acrylic on panel 36h x 72w

What was the best advice given to you as an artist? 

 My Father, who was an architect, once told me that the path to success (however you want to define that term) as an artist is an extra long road.  He said I should have perseverance above all else.

Tell me about your work space and your creative process.

Currently Craig Bell and I share a studio in the Northup King Building (#369)  in NE Minneapolis.

My works start out with loose very randomly applied paint, and I build layers this way while intermittently slowing things down with interjections of tiny details and delicately painted line forms.

I tend to work either on the floor or a large work table, preferring for the work to be flat as I work on it, although I do end up moving the panels all around when I want to make the paint move or drip on it’s own accord.  It becomes a balancing act of getting paint to do what paint does when thrown, splattered or dripped, with more deliberate and calculated decisions painted by my hand.

Aerial View III, acrylic on panel 24x24

Who are some of the Minnesota artists you enjoy?

 Linda Deg Lee  www.lindadeglee.com

Jack Pavlik  www.mnartists.org/Jack_Pavlik

Jantje Visscher  www.jantevisscher.com

If I were to follow you around to see art in Minnesota, which places would we go? What would we see?

Groveland Gallery (Justin Terlecki paintings, Jeremy Lund prints) www.grovelandgallery.com

Como Park Conservatory- the Pavilion, the Japanese Garden, the Sunken Garden  www.comozooconservatory.org

Minneapolis Institute of Art—I love seeing the rotating shows in the MAEP gallery  www.artsmia.org

Where do you go online for good art resources, whether to find a new artist, or to see what is going on in the art world locally and otherwise?

MNArtists -  www.mnartists.org

quodlibetica- www.quodlibetica.com

Fleeting, acrylic on panel 48h x 72w

What can we expect to see from you in the future?

I will be part of Art-a-Whirl May 18-20, 2012 in the Northrup King Building in NE Mpls. Studio #369.

In 2013, I have a solo show at The Phipps Center for the Arts in Hudson WI.

Justin Terlecki - Painter/Printmaker

"Balcony" acrylic on canvas  27" x 31"

Justin Terlecki

Name: Justin Terlecki
City/State: St. Paul, MN
Email: justinterlecki@hotmail.com
Website: http://www.grovelandgallery.com/artistdetail.php?aID=TerJ
MNartist.org profile: http: // MNartists.org/Terlecki

Facebook page: http: //facebook.com/justin.terlecki

Bio~ 

I studied painting and printmaking at Youngstown State University, located in Northeast Ohio, and completed my BFA in 1997.  Since 1998, I have been living in the Twin Cities. 

My home and studio space is in the Frogtown neighborhood of St. Paul.  I also work at Wet Paint art supply store on Grand Avenue.

Tell me about your work? What are you currently working on? How is this different from past projects?

I work mainly from personal experiences and memory. Using these experiences as inspiration, I create detailed narratives. I am intrigued by how our thought process and time alters our memories. During the past five years, travel has also played an important role in my work. In 2010, I created a series of prints, inspired by recent travels to India and Spain. This work was funded by the Jerome Fellowship for Emerging Printmakers through Highpoint Center for Printmaking.  In my paintings and prints, I strive to portray the subtle nuances of communication, human relationships, and connection. Currently, I am focused on childhood memories and the concept of loss. 

"Lake Erie" acrylic on canvas 33"x42"

"What is Art?" is certainly too big of a question to ask here, but what do you hope your audience takes away from your art? What statement do you hope to make?

Art is an expression of existence. What it delivers to the viewer is an opportunity to view their own world in a new, unique way. Art, whether it be film, dance, or visual, provides an escape from daily life. In my own work, I really enjoy individual interpretations. Personally, I don't feel it necessary for the viewer to understand my intentions for creating a specific piece.  My only goal is to create work that engages and connects with the viewer. I love the process of painting and creating and to share my energy with the viewer is very satisfying. 

What was the best advice given to you as an artist? 

I think the best advice is that you need to work hard. An art professor of mine once told me that if you work long enough, eventually people will pay attention. 

"Cathedral of Seville, Corpus Christi"  lithography & screenprint  28" x 33" 

Tell me about your work space and your creative process.

I live in an artists' cooperative in St. Paul. The benefit of this is that the spaces are large enough to have a painting studio. My painting studio is actually in my bedroom. My easel is always set up, as well as my paints and drawing supplies. Before I begin a piece, I usually do preliminary sketches to lay out the composition. I always have the idea first before starting a work, and never approach the canvas blindly. The excitement is the process and the problem solving along the way.  The goal is to unify the piece and there are always surprises and difficulties.  I think the challenges of creating, and the intense focus during the process is what keeps me going. 

Who are some of the Minnesota artists you enjoy?

Eleanor McGough http://www.mnartists.org/artistHome.do?rid=96594

Carolyn Swiszcz   http://www.carolynswiszcz.com/

Rod Massey  http://www.rodmassey.com/index.html

James Boyd Brent  http://www.jamesboydbrent.com/?page_id=22

Barbara Kreft   http://www.circagallery.org/html/kreft_barbara_1.html

Gregory Graham   http://gregorygrahamart.com/gregorygrahamart.com/Home.html

If I were to follow you around to see art in Minnesota, which places would we go? What would we see?

Highpoint Center for Printmaking  http://www.highpointprintmaking.org/home/

Minneapolis Institute of the Arts   http://www.artsmia.org/

Walker Art Center   http://www.walkerart.org/

Groveland Gallery   http://www.grovelandgallery.com/

The Museum of Russian Art  http://tmora.org/

"101810 Lake Erie" watercolor  18" x 24"

Where do you go online for good art resources, whether to find a new artist, or to see what is going on in the art world locally and otherwise?

Mnartists.org    http://www.mnartists.org/home.do

Local Artists Interviews   http://www.local-artist-interviews.com/

Art Hounds  http://minnesota.publicradio.org/projects/ongoing/art-hounds/

Art 21   http://www.pbs.org/art21/

Res Artis    http://www.resartis.org/en/

"Biking in the Rain, S.C." acrylic on canvas  32" x 34"

What can we expect to see from you in the future?
Currently, I am in a group show entitled "New Year, New Artists" at Groveland Gallery in Minneapolis. This show, featuring four new paintings, runs until February 25th, 2012.

Groveland Gallery

I am also working on book illustrations for "The Book of Bartholomew" by Mark Granlund and in March, I  will also be hosting a demonstration on creating Pysanky, traditional Ukrainian Easter Egg dyeing. This event is open to the public and will be held  at Wet Paint art supply store.  

Leslie Pilgrim - Painter

Leslie Pilgrim

Leslie Pilgrim

email: lespilgim@juno.com

website: winterberryinc.com

mnartists page: http://www.mnartists.org/artistHome.do?rid=195061

Bio~
I have worked as an artist and writer for nearly 20 years. My works—sold both locally and nationally—are in healthcare, residential, and corporate collections throughout the country. Each of my creations is a stand-alone piece, yet, the works are fluid and organic, which allows for the pairing or grouping of several pieces into a larger original composition. My vibrant acrylic-on-panel pieces are drenched in color, punctuated by texture, and inspired by nature—tide pools along the Oregon coast, Minnesota’s North Shore, a star-filled night sky, flowers swaying in a summer breeze. To me, there is nothing quite as visually joyful as the interplay of colors. And color—like time, space, or sound—has no beginning or end. The compositional possibilities are infinite.

Tell me about your work? What are you currently working on? How is this different from past projects?

I only work with acrylic paints and mediums. I paint on panels. For the first decade or so of my art career, I only created mixed media collage pieces. Then I hit burned out on creating this type of work and I haven’t worked on collages for several years. I am currently working on several paintings for healthcare installations, galleries, and my studio.

"What is Art?" is certainly too big of a question to ask here, but what do you hope your audience takes away from your art? What statement do you hope to make?

Life is complicated. My art is not. I just want it to make people smile.

What was the best advice given to you as an artist?
Be flexible.

Tell me about your work space and your creative process.
Although I have a studio in the Northrup King Building (Studio #444) in NE Minneapolis to display my art, my work studio is in my home basement. I usually create off and on throughout the day, although when I’m working on a large project, I can work for 12 hours at a time. My paintings germinate not necessarily from a specific composition I want to create, but from color combinations I want to play with—maybe butter yellow and chartreuse, or orange and a pinky magenta, or just reds.

Who are some of the Minnesota artists you enjoy?

The Twin Cities are overflowing with great artists. And I have had the pleasure of getting to know many of them.

Sheryl Tuorila www.sheryltuorila.com

Jodi Reeb Myers www.jodireebmyers.com

Shannyn Potter www.shannynjoypotter.com

Justin Terlecki MNartists profile

Jack Dale MNartists profile

Nanci Yermakoff MNartists profile

If I were to follow you around to see art in Minnesota, which places would we go? What would we see?

The Museum of Russian Art www.tmora.org

In Season restaurant www.inseasonrestaurant.com

Grand Hand Gallery www.thegrandhand.com

Your Art’s Desire gallery www.yourartsdesiremtka.com

Hudson Hospital in Wisconsin.

Where do you go online for good art resources, whether to find a new artist, or to see what is going on in the art world locally and otherwise?
I like the www.MNartists.org newsletter. www.twincitiesfinearts.org sends out a good email about what is going on in galleries in the Twin Cites.

What can we expect to see from you in the future?

Larger pieces for public spaces


12/2012/L10

Anna Miller - Painter

Anna Miller

SpotArt Gallery Featured Interview

"Spotastic"

February 11th - March 11 2011

Reception: Friday 2/11 7-11pm

Details and Directions

Anna Miller
Saint Paul, MN
AnnaRUok@msn.com
http://www.bluecanvas.com/annamiller
http://www.mnartists.org/Anna_Miller

Artist Bio ~
Anna Miller hails from Sioux Falls, SD and received a BA in Art and Art History from the University of Minnesota. Since then she's been showing steadily throughout the state in salons, restaurants, coffee shops, and galleries. Currently, she works at Wet Paint Artists' Materials, which allows for many opportunities to meet other artists and experiment with new materials. Her favorite mediums include acrylic, watercolor, ink, oil pastel, and the beloved Pentel Pocket Brush Pen.

December 2010 (part of monthly self portraits), Marker in Sketchbook, 5x8”

Tell me about your work. What are you currently working on? How is this different from past projects?
Generally, I like to draw and paint women. When looking for inspiration, I’ll leaf through a fashion magazine or one of my many pin-up art books. Themes change, but more often than not a drawing or painting by me is going to include a lady. My work is also very driven by color and I like to work with contrasting hues. My older works are saturated with bright reds and greens, whereas recently, I’ve been working with blue and orange. My two newest paintings depict a mysterious woman dancing in a blue abyss with orange and green accents. Some people have pointed out that I’ve taken a turn to a more nautical style, which may be true, but it’s entirely based on a tube of Old Holland, Indigo Deep that I fell in love with.

This past year, I set out to create a self portrait each month. It was meant to be just an exercise, but it turned into a nice little body of work. Each drawing reflects my attitude towards that time of year and is a record of how I've changed. I think it would be interesting to continue this for a number of years, kind of like a growth chart for adulthood.

A Lady Never Admits Her Feet Hurt, 2006, Relief Print, 12x20”

"What is Art?" is certainly too big of a question to ask here, but how do you hope your art is perceived by your audience? Or what statement do you hope to make with your art?
I include myself in many of my paintings and these works usually have a strong personal meaning. Painting can be a cathartic form of therapy that allows me to release frustrations and fears that I build up inside myself. A lot of the time, other people will interpret a meaning based on their own ideas and experiences that is not what I intended, but just as valid. This is what I love about making art. It opens discussions and there is no right or wrong answer. I like to suggest to the viewer a narrative and a sense of familiarity that they can take away with them to ponder and interpret.

I’m not really into relaying a message through my art, be it politically or socially, but if someone gets that out of my work, I won’t dispute it. Above all, my intentions are to add beauty to my world. This may explain why I use a lot of feminine imagery, bright colors, and organic shapes. To me, that’s beautiful and I hope that others respond positively to that.

The Misadventure of Holly Hobby, 2006, Watercolor on Paper, 15x19”

What was the best advice given to you as an artist?
Avid visual journalist Roz Stendahl (http://rozwoundup.typepad.com) stresses that you shouldn't cover up your mistakes. I like this attitude because it allows for creative freedom in my artwork. I don't worry about what the outcome will be when I'm drawing in my sketchbook or starting a new painting, which is always so daunting. I tend to just let things happen and often times, the “mistakes” are what give the art life and make it interesting. Letting go can also be a learning process in discovering new techniques or knowing what not to do next time.

Tell me about your working space and your creative process?
I do have a studio in the basement of my house, but really, it’s just a space to keep all of my art supplies and collections of junk. In the summertime, I move my easel and paints up to my screened in back porch. Sometimes I'll spend the entire day out there painting, drawing, or reading. It's blissful. I wish I could use the porch all year round because the basement is just too cold and dank for creative thinking. I keep sketchbooks and carry one with me almost everywhere I go, so in reality, my working space is wherever I happen to be.

I like to draw people and record strange situations in my sketchbooks, but I don't like to be noticed when I’m working. For me, drawing and paintings is a private act, but people are always interested to see an artist at work. I'm kind of a hypocrite because, here I am invading the privacy of strangers by secretly drawing them, but I get all defensive when they want to take a peek.

My creative process is pretty spontaneous. I don’t do a lot of planning because I find that when I do, the outcome is stale and unexciting. When I start a new painting, I choose a couple of key colors, turn on some music, and intuitively move the paint around the canvas. More often than not this doesn’t create a final product, but a nice backdrop for a focus character. The main characters in my paintings are usually inspired by a photograph, either from a photo session with a model or some spontaneous act of awesome caught on camera. I participated in Urban Arts: A Night of Art and Burlesque last August and took a lot of photos during the burlesque show. These have been great fodder for new paintings.

Identity Can't Save You Now!, 2006, Acrylic and Marker on Canvas, 24x36”

Who are some of the Minnesota artists you enjoy?
I recently discovered Michael Thomsen (http://www.mdthomsen.com) and love the tiny worlds he creates with found object. His style really reminds me of two other artists, whose work I admire: Mary Solberg (http://marysolberg.30art.com) and John Ready (www.johnreadyart.com).

I've participated in two shows put on by Urban Arts (http://www.urbanarts-tc.com) and had the opportunity of showing with wonderful artists such as Kao Lee Thao (http://www.innerswirl.com), Mai C. Vang (http://www.chaosmaiart.com) and Chris Navarre.

Other artists I've come to admire are Dan Weiken (www.danwieken.com) for his intricate pen and ink drawings, Chuck U (www.chucku.com) for his colorful and psychedelic urban illustrations, and Caitlin Karolczak (http://studiosilenti.com) for her haunting, monochromatic oil paintings that seem from another world and time.

Also, I can't forget some of my talented co-workers at Wet Paint: Kristina Fjellman (www.kristinafjellman.com), Justin Terlecki, (www.mnartists.org/terlecki), Paul Damon (http://www.pauldamonlandscapes.com), Gregory Graham (http://www.gregorygrahamart.com), Dana O’Malley (http://www.danaomalley.com), Steve Robbins (www.comicartiststeve.com), Liz Carlson (www.mnartists.org/liz_carlson), and Kate Katzer (http://katzerova.blogspot.com).

Plenty of Fish in the Sea, 2010, Acrylic, Ink, and Oil Pastel on Canvas, 18x24”

If I were to follow you around to see art in Minnesota, which places would we go? What would we see?
I don't generally go to galleries randomly. That is, I'm only going to see an art show if I've gotten a postcard that intrigues me or an invitation from somebody I know.

If you were to follow me around to some of my favorite places to draw, you might find yourself at the Como Zoo and Conservatory, The Life Drawing Co-op at MCAD on Monday nights, a music venue where some of my favorite local bands play (Gluek's, The Fineline, Palmer's, Bunker's, etc.) or at a friend's house during what we call “Art Club.”

All Dolled Up (detail), 2009, Installation, 1-car garage

Where do you go online for good art resources, whether to find a new artist, or to see what is going on in the art world locally and otherwise?

I’m a member of BlueCanvas.com, which is a social networking site for artists that also prints a quarterly periodical. I’ve discovered a lot of great artists through that site. I'm also a huge fan of Hi Fructose (http://hifructose.com). I don't visit the site as much as I devour the magazine.

Do you have any exhibits to promote in the near future?
February 11 through March 11, I'll have work up at SpotArt gallery in Northeast Minneapolis. This is a group show with a lot of different artists and a variety of styles. I’m showing most of the monthly self portraits from 2010. I don’t have anything scheduled at the moment because I took a hiatus from showing to create new work. I'm starting to get out there again, so look for me when you're out and about.

If you were to receive a $2,000 art grant to do anything you want, what would you do?
A year and a half ago I did my first installation in my garage. It was called All Dolled Up and it was based on the interior of a doll house from my childhood. All of the materials used were my own or handed down from my relatives, which worked for the nostalgic nature of the show. I have many more ideas for installations and would like to pursue these, but my resources are limited. If I had a $2,000 grant, I would put it towards building a name for myself as an installation artist.

Northeast Minneapolis Arts Association