An Interview with Artist Jean Hirons

2/20/13

I came into contact with Jean Hirons during my recent show at River Road Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Bethesda. Jean creates vibrant works in pastels with a wonderful sensitivity to color and natural light. I'm particularly struck by her Prague and Budapest miniatures.

A member of the Waverly Street Gallery, Jean recently published a book called Finding Your Style in Pastel to help beginning through advanced artists explore this medium. It's available in print and e-book, and it offers tips as well as exercises. She also offers a blog filled with instructional posts on process.

Q: When writing Finding Your Style in Pastel, what new things did you learn about yourself?

A: I’ve always known that the organization of information is one of my primary strengths. I worked at the Library of Congress in the cataloging area and wrote the standard manuals for serials catalogers. So I knew I could write and organize. What was more challenging was to figure why and how I did what I do in the much more intuitive process of painting. When teaching, students would ask why I used that color and not another and I really couldn’t answer.  In writing the book, I was able to think in terms of color theory to figure out what was the basis of my intuitive decisions. It was really an eye-opener! Having written the book, I now have a whole new vocabulary that I can use when I’m teaching, such as the “center of interest painting,” the “big shape painting,” “soft surfaces” and so forth. I feel much more confident as a teacher having spent an intensive 18 months writing the book.

Q: What's the one thing you'd like people who aren't familiar with you/your work to know about you?

A: As an artist, I guess there are several things that define me. One is that I believe very strongly that we must be true to ourselves and paint what we love and in the manner in which we love to paint, regardless of current trends. Thus, I am not an abstract painter. It doesn’t satisfy me at all. I need to relate to something I see. I want my paintings to be painterly, not photo realistic, but also to have enough detail to engage the eye over time. The abstraction is in the underlying composition of shapes and values and I think this is the most important aspect of any kind of painting. 

Aside from painting, my other passion is the piano. I’ve always been a real amateur, but some years ago I began studying with a truly wonderful teacher. I joined a piano group,  bought a new piano, and decided to take myself more seriously. I’m still very limited but I get much more satisfaction because I know I’m giving it my all.

Q: What's your favorite piece from an upcoming show and why?

A: My next show will be at the Waverly Street Gallery in Bethesda in October. In 2011 and 2012, I had shows in Bethesda and Massachusetts called “Shore Houses.”  I’ve become known for my paintings of buildings and was dubbed the “Architect of Color” in a June 2011 article in the Pastel Journal. With both of those shows behind me and the book published, I decided to just paint whatever I wanted to paint. I realized that the one common theme was the presence of some kind of water. No houses this time, but brooks, harbors, rivers, ocean. I grew up on the ocean so this isn’t surprising.  I’m calling the show “Waterscapes.” It’s hard to say what my favorite piece is. I’ve been playing with squares and I particularly like the painting The Autumn Marsh, one of four 20" x 20" paintings that will be in the show. Marsh in Autumn (2) is another favorite. It’s of the same scene that I painted from a number of years ago. The older painting was full of bright reds and oranges; the current painting is more subdued and much more pleasing to me. Both paintings are from the Eastern Shore/Delaware Bay area.

  Autumn on the Marsh 

(On UART 400 grit sand paper)

 Marsh in Autumn

(On Pastelbord)

Q: Do you paint intuitively, with a hardcore plan, or somewhere in between?

A: It all depends on the subject matter. If I have the perfect subject, I might forgo studies and just jump in to the painting. But I’m more likely in the studio to do composition and value studies and sometimes color studies. I love to work from black and white and supply my own color. I do studies to play with various places to begin the color as well as the overall color palette. Because pastel is all about layering, this is very important to the success of the painting.  Once into the piece, however, it becomes quite intuitive. I might decide to alter the composition or change the colors. What works in a small study doesn’t always work in a larger painting. I like to keep all of my options open! 

Q: Who is your biggest influence and why?

A: When I was in college, we had a show of paintings by RichardSchmid and I was completely taken with them. I still love his work and think he is one of the greatest living oil painters in the US.  The impressionists influenced my love of color and painterly representation. Among pastel painters, my favorite is Duane Wakeham, a landscape painter from California, whose work is ethereal and truly beautiful. However, the types of paintings I do more closely resemble the work of Washington State artist Susan Ogilvie, with whom I have studied.

Q: What do you feel is the best thing about being an artist in the DC area?

A: There are mixed blessings of being in DC. On the one hand, we have a wealth of great art easily accessible to us at all times. But I’m not sure that DC is a great art town when it comes to people purchasing art. I’ve been a member of the Waverly Street Gallery in Bethesda since 2004 and since that time I’ve seen most of the galleries in Bethesda close. If there is any area that could support art, it is Bethesda. But there are now very few dedicated galleries. I hope that the improving economy will change this picture, but for now, it is hard.

However, there are a great number of creative people and I’ve been fortunate to be part of a community of wonderful artists and musicians that enriches my life far more than painting sales.

Q: A lot of artists have that one piece in their studio that they would never ever sell. Tell us about yours.

A: I sold the painting that I never wanted to sell!  It’s called “The Horse Farm.”  It was done as the second painting of the day during an outdoor plein air festival. I didn’t completely finish it and I loved the way it looked. My husband convinced me that I needed the money and could do others. So I sold it to a friend. I’ve never done anything else like it.  

The Horse Farm

(on Textured Board)

Thanks, Jean, for sharing your passion for pastels! It was a pleasure learning about you and your work. For more about Jean and her beautiful art, visit her website or drop by the Waverly Street Gallery on 4600 East-West Highway in Bethesda.

Today's Gratitude

2/16/13

I deinstalled my show at River Road Unitarian yesterday. Many thanks to curator Mary Ferguson for organizing it... and to the new owner of Red String (Fortune) for giving this piece a home. When she picked it up, she asked if I think about my paintings after they're sold. I told her I do, so much so that I worry about them. If someone redecorates or their taste in art changes ten years down the road, does the piece end up in a dumpster somewhere? My memories and emotions are embedded in my paintings. They are a huge part of me.

When people buy my work, I feel like they are validating my existence not as an artist, but as a person. They are understanding struggles, celebrating high points, and standing right with me as I make visual the intense wonder I feel, both when I was a young girl and now as a 43-year-old woman. Wonder about the world, why we exist, and what it all means.

Since my little sideswipe with uterine cancer last fall, I've been trying hard to express gratitude for something, no matter how small, every day. The big things I repeat often: how grateful I am for it being caught early, for surgery removing it all, for not needing radiation/chemo. But there are other equally big things, big quiet things, that I need to vocalize more. Like making sure my friends know how much I appreciate their support for my art. Here's my dear friend and co-worker Lesley who just happened to match two paintings at the River Road reception. Thanks to each of you who come out and look at art whether it's the work of someone you know or not. People who look at and experience art keep our visual culture alive, and make us artists want to keep on doing what our hearts know best.

Family Portrait by David Hagen

1/20/13

David Hagen does the coolest portraits and pictures of monsters munching on cities and more. He's also been known to add robots to otherwise innocuous scenes, so we asked him to add a robot to our family. Yes, our robot insurance is paid up.

He's usually a regular at Artomatic with lots of small works guaranteed to put a smile on your face, so be sure to check him out. Thanks, David!

1/4/13

My solo at River Road Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Bethesda is now up! Here's a new piece, finished on New Year's Day. Many thanks to Mary Ferguson for curating! Back in Memphis Again. 24 x 22 inches. I'm experimenting with not covering the words these days. I'm sure there's some kind of subconscious reason for that.

Solo at RRUUC in Bethesda Jan 5 - Feb 15, 2013

1/1/13

Number the Days, a solo of my work that continues to explore what remembering looks like is on display from January 5 through February 15, 2013 at the River Road Unitarian Universalist Congregation Fellowship Hall, 6301 River Road, Bethesda, Maryland. Please drop by the reception Sunday, January 20, 2013 from 3 to 5 p.m. I'd love to see you!

The exhibit can be viewed Monday through Friday from 10 am to 4 pm by calling the RRUUC office (301-229-0400) to ensure that no conflicting activity is scheduled. Happy New Year, and my 2013 be your best year yet!!

 

An Interview with Artist Terry Sitz

11/23/12

Terry Sitz is a fellow artdc.org forum user who also incorporates text into her vibrant yoga-inspired, collage-based work. Getting to know about her work has been like a breath of fresh air and makes me miss the little tastes of yoga I've enjoyed in the past. And learning about why she creates, and the open, earnest way in which she talks about making art, really resonates with me.

Q: Do you make art intuitively, with a hardcore plan, or somewhere in between? 

One of the things I enjoy most about making art is that it is a VERY unconscious journey for me and I learn a lot about myself in the process.  It is very freeing and empowering at the same time.  When I trust my unconscious, I do some of my best art.  So, I start with a rough idea of what I want to create--maybe a sketch, or a poem or struggle that is stuck in my head.  I will often do some very loose sketches…and then ideas come to me when I am not focused on the art-- in a dream, or when I am walking my dogs. Sometimes during a yoga class, I'll be gazing at the ceiling between postures and I start imagining colors that I will use in my work--it's all very fluid.

One of my most recent creations, "Emerging Spirit," started out as me interpreting a poem that touched my heart, but when I sat down to draw--I was very resistant in actually drawing in relation to the poem.  Instead, I began a spontaneous drawing and  I wasn't sure what it was about.   A few days later, I was talking to my husband about the artwork and suddenly,  I burst out crying.  What a surprise.  As I talked, I realized I was drawing about a very painful and yet important struggle of how to mother when your children are young adults…This understanding that my unconscious offered through my art was huge.  The energy flowed and I was alive in the artwork.  It emerged so freely. So in this very detailed answer…my work is completely an unconscious and self explorative process and out of that experience is growth and a wonderful sense of exhilaration.  I feel full when I finish a piece.

Q: What's the one thing you'd like people who aren't familiar with you/your work to know about you? 

When you look at my art, you see me… at my most primal level.   I grew up in a family where secrets were a way of life.  Only recently have I freed myself from those constraints and when I did, art has just danced out of my soul and with it: bold colors, strong people (mostly women at this point), lots of vulnerability.   My art is a window (opened wide) into where I am at the exact moment of each creation.  Sometimes it's the joy of doing yoga, sometimes it's synchronicity, sometimes it's my husband's voice gently guiding me through a tough moment.  And often there is a bit of poetry (these days Rumi) that resonates with my work. 

In the past, I would try to create work that others would like, want to hang on the wall, approve of, etc.  My work was very flat and there was little energy in it.  And then at some point, I just decided to drop the veil and put myself out.  It wasn't the most natural thing for me--but now that I have gone down that path, it is tremendously freeing and it isn't just about my way of creating art, but a way that I am choosing to live.   I am trying to be very present in my life.  Being present has made a huge difference in my art and life.  And it is such a challenge.

Q: Who is your biggest influence and why?  

From a purely artistic standpoint,  I  admire anyone who puts themselves out there--artist, musician, dancer, actor…but as artists, I have always admired Matisse, Picasso and Modigliani.  I like how they broke the rules in ways that were so much against the grain of what was acceptable for their generation. And they all shared the joy in reinterpreting the female form.   I could see  myself as one of les Fauves--if women could have been.   

That said,  when I think of people who have had an influence, I would say my father had a huge influence--he was an engineer who constantly corrected my work to the point that I could not get his negative voice out of my head.   The result:  my art was stiff.  It took decades, but I was able to quiet that negative voice.  And while it's not the journey that I think I would have asked for, having started from that place required me to hear my own very strong voice and become fiercely comfortable with it.  Had he not pushed me so negatively, I think the strength that I now express in my work may have been missing.  I had to find the push back--balancing the strength and yet maintaining my softness.

Q: Yoga is reflected in your work. What role has that played in your art?

I started practicing yoga three years ago as a huge skeptic.  I thought it would improve my spine strength and flexibility.  The biggest surprise is that it really got in my head.  I became a much a more flexible and present person.  I started taking bigger risks in my life and it flowed into my art.  

There is power in learning  to let go of anxiety and to focus on what is starring back at you.  For me that lesson was born in the yoga studio.  When I began to do that, I was able to feel things in a deeper and richer way.  I began noticing the the small pleasures and beauty that surrounded me.  Since I have brought that mindfulness into my life, it has helped me be a more joyful person.  That's reflected hugely in my art.  Some of my work has been born from the joy I felt after practicing, some of the work depicts postures from yoga and some of it is just more free because I am more free. I am convinced that yoga can bring that kind of fullness and creativity to everyone, if they are willing to try--and they can bring it to their writing, their accounting, their parenting, their relationships…it sounds like I drank the Kool-aid, but when your find a very simple source for joy, you want to share it.

Q: What challenges does the DC area present for local artists? 

I have to admit, I am a total newbie to the DC art scene. I have been a closet artist for decades--friends encouraging me to put myself out, but  I stayed hidden.  So it's only this year that I have gone all in. My daughter, who is an aspiring film maker, talked me into doing Artomatic with her and I feel like the Dick Van Dyke episode where Laura opens the inflatable raft--once it's out of the box, it's out of the box.  I jumped in with both feet.  Artomatic was a wonderful experience--from there I was invited to do a solo reception at Bikram Yoga Bethesda.  The owner, John and I, jumped into putting together a really tight show and we had a turnout of more than 150 who stayed most of the night.  I had produced archival pigment prints with Old Town Editions--outstanding printmakers--and had a really great response and also included some of my blog writings in the show.

So long answer to say, I don't know enough to really speak about the local art scene, except to say that you must have lots of energy and a good plan to get yourself out to the greater community.  There are so many talented artists in DC and my challenge now is gaining a foothold/finding the right venues for my work.  I have a marketing background so I understand some of what is required, but there the art world still has it's mysteries for me.  

I would like the opportunity to meet more artists.  Art can be such a solitary existence and those connections are important and I need to find the places to do that and make the time.  

Q: A lot of artists have that one piece in their studio that they would never ever sell. Tell us about yours.

My favorite, nfs piece is Surrender (above).  I have it hanging in my sunroom near my dining table and visible from my kitchen.  It's the piece of a woman lounging nude, but snuggled under a blanket, starring outward.  Kind of exposed, yet hidden (sound familiar?). She looks straight at me--through me--and has a look on her face that is both vulnerable and confident.  The word "surrender" scrolls down her back.  When I look at her, I feel peace--and it reminds me to let go of the angst that I can grind through during my day… I feel that every time I look at her.  I created prints of the piece and I have heard the same feedback from several of the people that purchased it.  So, Surrender will stay with me.

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thank you, Terry, for sharing insights into your process and for making art that radiates beauty and energy! Visit www.terrysitz.com to see more pieces (including my favorite, Restless Spirit). I have a lot to be grateful for this Thanksgiving holiday, and it's connecting with artists like Terry that make my own artistic journey fulfilling. 

Video on Process and Content

10/24/12

Stephen and I will be hanging my solo Evidence at Studio Gallery Sunday. Here's a short video about what I do and why.

Evidence will be up from October 31 to November 24, with a First Friday reception Nov. 2 from 6:30 to 8:30pm and another one Saturday, Nov. 10 from 4 to 6pm. Please drop by!