ASL Artist Q&A Series: Round Two

ASL ARTIST Q&A SERIES: ROUND TWO
Art Saint Louis is pleased to present our second round of our ASL Q&A weekly series highlighting our artist members, focusing on what inspires them--both in their own work as well as work by other artists. We encourage you to connect with the featured artists through their websites and/or social media accounts, all hyperlinked in this post.

Our continued gratitude to the participating artists to ASL Staffers Roxanne Phillips and Robin Hirsch-Steinhoff for their work on the blog.

This week we are featuring artists Ruth Kolker, Kristen McMillion, David Ottinger, Thomas Matthew Pierson, Carmen Alana Tibbets, Larry Torno.

Please stay tuned & visit again next week for more ASL Q&A!


KRISTEN MCMILLION

Kristen McMillion. Pensive Gaze. Etching on Hahnemuhle Copperplate Paper, 11”x14”.

Roxanne: What is your favorite piece of art that you have made and why?
Kristen: My most recent etching is my favorite at the moment. It is entitled Pensive Gaze. This piece is a 6”x8” copper plate that has been etched and printed with black etching ink on 11”x14” Hahnemuhle copperplate paper. I chose an oval as the shape for the copper plate. It is because it mimics a particular mat cutout shape that has been used on a lot of portraits (I have seen it on a lot of frames and photographs at thrift stores). As you can see, the plate is not printed in the center. That breaks it from the traditional portrait. In doing so, it begs the question why. I used traditional “portrait” elements, but because of the odd placement and intense darks it implies further meaning and narrative. The title Pensive Gaze implies a narrative as well. However, the narrative is not spelled out. It is up to the viewer to give it meaning.

Roxanne: What is your favorite artwork by another artist and why?
Kristen: I love the painting The Sea Witch by Chris Mars. It is a painting that is 13”x18”, Oil on Panel, completed in 2019. I enjoy it so much because it has similar elements that I like to work with. It is portrait-like however it implies a further narrative. All of his work has intense detail and a beautiful luminescence. It is enjoyable to look at such impressive work. It inspires me to work even harder as a printmaker and painter. I recommend that you look through all of Mar's grotesquely beautiful, macabre work.


THOMAS MATTHEW PIERSON

Thomas Matthew Pierson. King Ronnie. 2019. Oil on Wood Panel, (3 Panels) 48"x82".

Thomas Matthew Pierson. (detail) King Ronnie. 2019. Oil on Wood Panel, (3 Panels) 48"x82".

Thomas Matthew Pierson. The artist with his artwork King Ronnie. 2019. Oil on Wood Panel, (3 Panels) 48"x82".

Roxanne: What is your favorite piece of art that you have made and why?
Matt: I would like to like to clarify that I do not have any work that I would consider my favorite but certainly works that I have created that I have more of an appreciation for. One of those pieces is a painting I recently completed (within the year) that I titled King Ronnie. It is one of those paintings that you have a love-hate relationship with. It is one of those works that I spent so long working on that I began to really dread painting on it. But the end result was so satisfying that I cannot ignore the final result. I learned so much working on this piece, mainly what not to do and ways to better pursue paintings of this scale. In the end, it is a work that I am thankful for the experience, but I would only ever pursue again if I am ever fortunate to work full-time as an artist.

Roxanne: What is your favorite artwork by another artist and why?
Matt: I don't necessarily have a favorite artist or artwork. I certainly have a strong appreciation and admiration for other artists. To name a few I would say I love the works by Wayne Thiebaud, Chuck Close, and Rembrandt. I enjoy the way Wayne Thiebaud portrays food in his paintings. They are so colorful and fun. You get the impression he holds these food objects as precious and I like how that kind of reflects my view on food. I appreciate Chuck Close and his methodical approach to painting the portrait. I love Rembrandt's Self-Portraits and the way he applied paint to create the contours of the face. Especially later on when he started to break free from the expectations of the paintings of his time. 


CARMEN ALANA TIBBETS

Carmen Alana Tibbets. Inca Dove (Columbiana inca). 2014. Mixed Media, 18”x8”x4”.

Roxanne: What is your favorite piece of art that you have made and why?
Alana: Generally, I am displeased with most of my work. Every so often, a sculpture comes close to what I had in mind, and I keep it around for a while. My favorite from the past ten years is an Inca Dove. It is a simple figure with little embellishment. The clincher for me is the head and face – I was able to capture everything just right. This is one of the few works I've made that looks exactly like the real thing.

Roxanne: What is your favorite artwork by another artist and why?
Alana: When I was in high school, I went on a field trip to the Albuquerque Museum where the Armand Hammer collection was on display. I only remember one artwork, and it has stuck with me to this day: Portrait of a Man Holding a Black Hat (ca. 1637. Oil on Panel, 31 5/16”x27 x 5/16”) by Rembrandt van Rijn. I was hypnotized and spent the entire time staring at this one painting. The level of detail is amazing; every facial pore, nostril hair and thread in the fabric is there to see. I was fascinated by the lace. You are clearly looking at a painting, the brush strokes are obvious, but the man is alive, so alive! The painting was behind glass for security, and every moment you expected the man to shift, nod, or turn and walk away into the shadow. I still have the postcard I bought that day hanging in my studio. After working in my medium for decades, the lessons I take from this painting are that the portrayal of life does not mean you have to recreate everything perfectly, and that showing the hand of the artist through the work is an essential part of the process.


LARRY TORNO

Larry Torno. Pyramids of Saint Louis. 2010. Photograph, 10"x11".

Roxanne: What is your favorite piece of art that you have made and why?
Larry: It’s not there anymore. Just like the cloud. You had to appreciate it when it was around. Because it went away. They tore it down.
It was a poolside shed. You might call it a shack. It was part changing rooms, part kitchen, and part storage area for the community center swimming pool.
I found it one day. By accident. Photographed it as the sun was going down. Came back another time. Photographed it in mid-afternoon daylight. Found it this day in full sunshine. Liked the way the shed turned to black. Looked imposing. Saw the cloud coming. Waited. Changed shapes and drifted into nothing. Wasn’t sure what I had. It happened too fast.
Realized later it was more than I was looking for. It wasn’t a shed. It wasn’t a shack. It wasn’t a changing room, a kitchen, or a storage area.
It was a pyramid. Right here in the Midwest. In a parking lot. With the smell of chlorine in the air.

Roxanne: What is your favorite artwork by another artist and why?
Larry: I saw this painting (Large Reclining Nude (The Pink Nude). 1935. 66x92 cm) in a Time-Life series on Henri Matisse when I was in college (early 70s). Not only was I taken aback by the beauty of the image, and the amazing composition, but also by the accompanying text which showed 22 images of the progression of this painting. I was naive in believing that one merely sat in front of a canvas and painted a vision. I didn't understand the extent of commitment by the artist to explore, change, create, revise, see, and create again until reaching a final resolve. I learned a lot about the importance of including and excluding elements to create a vision. It's not always about what's in an image, but what is left out and open to interpretation.


DAVID OTTINGER

David Ottinger. The Nature of The Problem. 2005. Oil on Canvas, 36”x108”.

Roxanne: What is your favorite piece of art that you have made and why?
David: The above painting is titled The Nature of The Problem it measures 36"x108". It is Oil and Wax on Canvas. The painting is important to me because of a number of reasons. First, it is a painting of my youngest son Aaron. At the time the painting was completed he was a student at North Central College in Naperville, IL. He was a Philosophy major and would always present me with arguments about the nature of a problem. Hence the title. One day I said "you are not arguing with me but rather yourself." We find the figure on the right presenting an argument as the others are contemplating that argument.

Roxanne: What is your favorite artwork by another artist and why?
David: Rembrandt's painting the Night Watch or The Militia Company of District 11 under the command of Captain Frans Banninck Cocq from 1642 is about a coming together in a similar manner and presenting an image of unity. I feel both paintings engage the conversation also in a similar way.


RUTHY KOLKER

Ruth Kolker. Waterfront. Mixed-media Painting on Paper, 32”x24".

Roxanne: What is your favorite piece of art that you have made and why?
Ruth: Combining painting and printmaking offers an exciting journey of discovery. How the disciplines are layered help to create a strong visual texture and are often inspired by landscapes and natural forms. Pattern, texture, shape, line and color are woven together to transform the spirit of each composition. I invite you the viewer to respond.
My artwork titled Waterfront offers a place of escape, a space for introspection. I want you to be pulled in different directions, drawn into the real and abstract images of nature. The place where living naturally occurs can be interpreted in different ways. Incisive lines, subtle gestures and modeled forms lead you into neutral space. It is my focus to transpose the mood and spirit of each painting into a tactile fabric of paint. 

Susan Bostwick. Ceramic sculpture. 10 3/4”x6 3/4".

Roxanne: What is your favorite artwork by another artist and why?
Ruth: This imaginative ceramic sculpture was created by Edwardsville-based artist Susan Bostwick. The removable lid is a bird resting on top of a small birdhouse. Susan’s attention to detail and storytelling is well documented.