I think whenever artists are asked this question it’s like the questions you’re asked on a first date that’s heading south: there can be no right or wrong answer, but you’re being judged all the same.
I think problems arise when the questioner mistakes admiration of a particular artist, art style or art work with being influenced by that artist, style or work. Here’s an example: I love, love, love the paintings of pre-Raphaelite/Neoclassic artist John William Waterhouse. I think the way he wove mythology and and romance into his work is inspired, and I covet the sumptuous feel of his oil paintings. I think that if eating fine chocolate could stir a visual response, we’d all see Waterhouse paintings whenever a Callebaut truffle touched our tongues.
Penelope and the Suitors. Oil on canvas, 74 x 51 in. 1912. City of Aberdeen Art Gallery and Museums Collection, Aberdeen, Scotland.
But I don’t paint beautifully sculpted women and men from mythology on large canvases with fully developed backgrounds. The only thing I think one might argue that I have taken into my own work from Waterhouse is the desire to have my works tell a story and maybe that’s enough to say that this artist whom I admire has influenced my work… but I’m not sold on that arguement.
However, I do have a modest list of artists who I feel have influenced my art. I tend to divide the list into two parts: some names on the list are artists with whom I have studied in person (my “real-life” list), while others are those who I have studied from afar (my “fantasy art team” list). Here’s the names on my real-life list:
- Geoffrey Cowan: my middle school art teacher. Mr Cowan was the first art teacher Lestock school ever had - I mean real art instruction - not “Hey, let’s cut a pumpkin out of a piece of construction paper!” - but composition, value, perspective, etc. It was during a class on value that it suddenly occurred to me that this, this art thing, was actually real and someone might make a living at it.
- Richard Nostbakken http://www.nostbakken.com/ my high school art teacher. Richard is a teacher at Luther College High School and works as an artist in Regina, Saskatchewan. Richard was the first person to treat me as a fellow artist, as an equal. I know many of the students in his classes were there because they thought it would be easier than gym class, but for those of us who showed any interest, Richard was a challenging, thought-provoking teacher. He never came flat out and told you you were wrong, but he had a way of questioning your opinions and assumptions that made you work to defend what you had done. I don’t think he taught his students so much as he lead them.
- Leesa Streifler http://www.artsask.ca/en/collections/themes/humour/leesa-streifler my drawing instructor in university. My drawing style was influenced by Leesa, who was huge on gesture drawing as a way of capturing the way a subject felt or moved. While I never did loosen up entirely to her suit her taste, my current drawing technique relies heavily on gesture to capture my subject.
- Jack Cowin http://www.collectorscovey.com/jackcowinbio.html was my printmaking instructor in university and everything I know about printmaking I learned from him. Trained as a medical illustrator, Jack had an eye for detail and a sense of patience for the process that I admired. But I think the thing about his work that influenced me the most was his connection to his subjects. Jack’s fish, birds or dogs weren’t just any fish, bird or dog, but a specific animal; an animal he could, and did, talk to us about.
- Marsha Kennedy http://www.mysteria.ca/Marshapg.html supervised my final graduating exhibition. Even then, in a place where “fine art” did not include wildlife or animal art, Marsha recognised that animals were the means by which I told my stories; probably because she uses animal imagery in her own art. Granted, she did push and challenge me to go beyond merely pretty pictures and think about why I wanted to included animals in my art.
Well, that’s it for my “real-life” list; next time, I’ll tell you all about the names on my “fantasy art team.”
WIP: Catch Up! Mallard Ducklings. Scratchboard (etching on Claybord Black), 11 x 4.5 in. Copyright 2007, Tania Nault.
I’m not usually a fan of saccharine (makes my teeth ache) but I think this is the cutest piece of artwork I’ve ever done. I can only hope it’s cute enough for someone to take it home from the “Reflections of Nature” show and earn the organisers (and me) a bit of cash.
Probably about a year before I started this blog, I started reading other art blogs in earnest and it recently occurred to me that many of my favourites are opposites (sorry, just had the Sesame Street “One of these things is not like the other” song in my head for a second there). Here, let me show you what I mean:
- short/long:
Short posts like those on illustrator Renée Nault’s blog where you look long and read short (by-the way, no relative, although I do have a sister named Renée, which is how I came across illustrator Renée’s blog - while doing a google search on my sister’s name for fun) or
Long, luxurious posts a là Katherine Tyrell’s Making a Mark, you know you’re getting her A-game every time you visit. - snarky/respectful:
Snarky, rueful humour completely appeals to me, so I think Hugh MacLeod’s blog Gaping Void with cartoons drawn on the back of business cards is simply brilliant; although
Respectful, careful posts also appeal to me, like those of Robert Genn’s The Painter’s Keys. - topical/timeless:
Topical stories like those on Art News Blog that show me something new almost every day are great, but so are
Timeless advice like that of art business maven Alyson B. Stanfield on the Art Biz Blog, her articles, podcasts and posts are full of advice that (excepting technological advances) will be as relevant to artists today as they will be in five or ten years. - niche/mass appeal:
Niche blogs like Just Goldens with photos of, you guessed it, Golden Retrievers…. it’s Mack’s favourite blog, paws down; or if you prefer blogs with a bit more
Mass appeal (well, in that it would likely appeal to any artist) like Charlie Parker’s Lines and Colors where “if it has lines and/or colours, it’s fair game.”
Just an interesting observation… any opposites blogs on your reading list? Tell me about them!
WIP: Catch Up! Mallard Ducklings. Scratchboard (etching on Claybord Black), 11 x 4.5 in. Copyright 2007, Tania Nault.
Okay, so I don’t really paint, but my artwork is very “critter” inspired. And so I’ve joined a new group: “I Paint Critters“ we’re a collection of wildlife and animal artists who met on WetCanvas! We’ll be appearing online via a group blog - that is all the members will contribute to content on the blog. Although “I Paint Critters” will be a group effort, it’s the brainchild of wildlife artist Clifford VanMeter. So thanks to Cliff for this opportunity to bark about my art in another venue!
As you can see from the above, I’m pretty much done with the etching process on Catch Up! Next step: adding colour.
WIP: Catch Up! Mallard Ducklings. Scratchboard (etching on Claybord Black), 11 x 4.5 in. Copyright 2007, Tania Nault.
I’ve got added a few reeds in the background, some duckweed on the surface of the water and I’ve given them legs. I also lightened the ducklings and the leaves because I’ve decided to colour this one. Although, before I get too far ahead of myself, I’ve want to add more reeds to the background. Oh, and I think I’m going to change the duckling on the right a bit and make him look like he’s quacking to the duck on the left.
Usually, the thought of changing something on a board mid-stream makes me nervous, but this time, nada. I’m not entirely sure why, maybe it’s because I just started this one as a bit of a lark, but I’m having fun just letting it evolve on its own time.
WIP: Catch Up! Mallard Ducklings. Scratchboard (etching on Claybord Black), 11 x 4.5 in. Copyright 2007, Tania Nault.
Here’s the newest thing on my “easel.” It’s a board I’m doing for the “Reflections of Nature Show” with the Saskatchewn Wildlife Art Association. The show has a “miniatures” category for works under 54 square inches, which they use as a fund raiser, and I thought I’d enter something in that category just for the fun of it. I realise this work is not a true miniature in the strictist sense of the word, but it meets the size guidelines for this show, so that’s what I’m working with.
I’m recyling an idea from my days as a watercolour painter (in the late 1990’s) and I’m liking this smaller, more compact, close-up view a lot more than the old watercolour. I think the ducklings are approximately life size in this work and they’re cute little beggars, even if I must say so myself.
