Loaded Questions: Meet Our Emerging Artists!

Loaded Questions: Meet Our Emerging Artists

With 12 brand new artists entering the gallery at once, we thought it might be fun to present our talent with quick fire questions. Below you will find questions and answers for the twitter generation. Get to know our bright new talent in 50 words or less!  We asked the artists the following questions:

1. In three words, describe your work
2. What helps you stay creative and inspired? What influences you?
3. What would you like people to know or think about when they are looking at your work?

Jeana Marino

1. Sensual, Strength, Radiance

2. I envision music and how the brush dances on a canvas. I am inspired by love , light and movement...particularly dance.. The female form inspires.

3. I have never taken an art class. One day picked up a paintbrush.  Four months later was showing my work. I paint for a purpose.  I would like you to know my pieces are all about the human experience. Additionally, my hope is you will find yourself in them.

Mark Westphal

1. It Be Fierce

2. My grandmother would take me on early morning walks when I was young, and she would sing songs and tell stories and all the while picking up things off the street and pin them to her sweater. By the end of the walk, bits of foil, fallen leaves, wild flowers, and bright twine have been combined into a lovely corsage like nothing seen anywhere, and she would wear it all day. She had true style, and gave me permission to be myself from her love and creativity.

3. I would so love to have THAT power…alas. 

John Weber

1. Junk to wow!

2. Other artists are really important to me in keeping me creative and also serve as influences

3. How much? 

Rene Norman

1. Color, composition, texture.

2. Yoga & hiking in nature. I am also constantly immersed in interior design magazines.

3. My work is always evolving. I work in an intuitive and childlike manner. I want to feel free to get lost and discover. 

Amy Long

1. Tacky, soulful, witty

2. Ice-cream! And my personal experience of what goes on around me and moves my soul

3. How awesome I am…Just kidding! I just want viewers to think about the piece and enjoy that experience. 

Jenny Meyer

1. Modern, abstract, whimsical. 2. I'm really inspired by popular culture and different forms of entertainment, such as: games, toys, and cartoons. I rely on a lot of animation, illustration and picture books to gather imagery. Pop art has had a big influence on my work. 3. I hope my work inspires people to see the world in a different light and put them in a cheerful mood. 

Sean Kim

1. View, Emotion, Reminiscence' or 'Restoration of Human Emotions'

2. Taking a second look at daily life keeps me inspired

3. I want them to think about the idea of re-connection and what that means to them. 

Rebecca Bennett

1. Vibrant, Ethereal, Zen

2. The most productive days are the days of strict experimentation and play with no intended finished outcome. Being a part of a group of working artists in our community also keeps me moving forward.

3. My intention with the Sprout Series is to evoke an inner calm while at the same time bringing a sense of whimsy and levity. These pieces can be grouped or stand alone to make an otherwise unused space vibrant. 

Mandi Ballard

1. Tactile, Unexpected, Peaceful

2. I stay creative by being in touch with my passion for my process and am inspired by simple observance of the life surrounding me

3. Despite appearances, nothing is truly simple. 

K.C Collins

1. Imaginary friends, playscapes, and base camp 2. Solid work habits are the path to "inspiration" and "creativity." I draw influence from a lot of different people, places, and things.

3. Most people turn their cell phones off when they go to the movies. It would be nice if they did that when looking at a painting.

Art Buzz Austin Artist- MANDY BALLARD

I work with textiles. The ability of a piece of fabric to start as a plain sheet, blank and white like a canvas, and then become so much more, fascinated me as a young child and continues to inspire me. I cannot imagine working with any other medium.

My work is abstract, inspired by the simple life I am surrounded by. A glimpse of the frog or turtles who live in my pond, or of the flowers I plant each each spring, prompt a a trip to the dye vat to capture the feeling of each experience. From there I build layer upon layer of dye color, wax, silk screening and paint. I brush and dip and finally build in more depth with stitch.

I never start work with a particular goal in mind, but gradually develop a direction that I hope brings to the viewer a bit of the same enjoyment and pleasure I take in art made from humble silks, cottons and linens.-MANDY BALLARD

Art Buzz Austin Artist- MARK WESTPHAL

Being this planet's eldest certifiable bohemian living a lavish life of distressed gentility, i recently came out of the vapory clouds just long enough to realize that if i wanted original art on my empty walls that i would have to make the art myself. (I had a similar realization regarding "cooking" years earlier.) Knowing that i have a flair for the mindnumbingly tedious coupled with a mothlike penchant for absolutely anything shiny, sequins seemed the logical medium for my expression.
As for my artistic inspirations, i could literally go on and on about post-Justinian Byzantine mosaics, the deathless glories of Ravenna, and my admiration for the godlike, ever experimental Leonardo da Vinci, but, really, what artist in their right mind wants to invite such comparisons to their own humble exertions? the very idea...so let's just say MY inspiration comes from the costume jewelry of Elsa Schiaparelli. The dancing of Fred Astaire. And my monthly blood sacrifice to my beloved landlady who kindly forgives my blaring Beethoven, the only thing to listen to while fantasizing you are making "great art" out of a board, some glue, and a bunch of sequins.
Deep down inside, I know that my art is comparable to the colored rock or pinto bean matadors and ballerinas of the early sixties, crafted out of a box by loving hands at home, but then again, isn't marble sculpture just hitting some rock with a hammer? it isn't what it is that is important, it's what it IS that is important. Deep Meanings? Revealed Truths? Hell, I dunno...My art changes with Light, constantly moving while standing perfectly still: that is more than enough for me.- MARK WESTPHAL

Art Buzz Austin Artist- RENE NORMAN

" let go & jump in. this is my approach to making art. i have neither a pre-determined plan nor a particular message in mind. my interest lies in creating my own form of organized chaos that evokes a sense of calm. tension and restraint  are also at play.

color & composition are my two driving elements. i am just to name a few. nature, architecture and interior design also influence my work. inspired by a number of artists: rothko, diebenkorn and martin, this series of work implements a variety of media including

acrylic, colored pencil, tape, thread and paper. all of this is my attempt to conjure relationships within & around the boundaries created by these lines. i work intuitively in a reductive manner by adding and editing layers and gestures. "
-RENE NORMAN

     

Art Buzz Austin Artist- KELLY MARSHALL

I once heard, “Life has it’s up and it’s downs, it’s heartaches and it’s parties” – this is the flow of life and this is what I paint, My studio is full of people, acrylic people, some of them I know others I just know their stories.
My grandmother was what I call a great “Texas Artist”. She painted phenomenal landscapes, barns, bluebonnets and roses, all in oil. Growing up in a different era, I don’t have the time or the patience – so I use acrylic on canvas predominately for the quicker gratification, I can’t imagine waiting for the oil to dry!
In my work you may notice the eye is sometimes larger than it should be – you’re right I have never been formally trained but I do believe that the eyes are the windows to one’s soul. I want you to know what my person is feeling…are they heartbroken, the life of the party or living quietly in the shadows? Sit back and enjoy the people!
- KELLY MARSHALL

Art Buzz Austin Artist- JOHN WEBER

  "As an apprentice , I have found myself in the shadow of a great artist. My daily work is building stainless steel kinetic sculpture, through the influence of my mentor, I have been introduced into the life of art, and a world of possibilities. Ive been working with stainless steel for just over three years and have been building my own sculpture for a short time longer. Through my apprenticeship I have the resources and inspiration to bring my own ideas and visions to life. My pieces are all recycled stainless steel, and range from many different styles, from organic, to industrial. My art has introduced me to new artist, new ideas, friendships, organizations, collaborations , and partnerships. I am most motivated by working with, and sharing ideas with other artist, especially those who survive through their art. I feel these influences are the most important for an artist who survives by his or her craft. My pieces are a direct reflection of my imagination , and influenced by the growth and struggles of a young artist. My art offers a unique insight, in the way that all of the steel in my pieces was produced for a different intention, and I have made it into what you see."

-JOHN WEBER

Art Buzz Austin Artist- JEANA MARINO

"I paint Figurative Art (creating unique ways of seeing feminine energy ).
My approach to painting is placing emphasis on representing specific emotions and various abstractions using color and heavy brush strokes. Within each image an open invitation is presented. Individual influences come from movement and music; particularly the human silhouette. Medium of choice is acrylic and my technique is formed as I go. Repeatedly, my work is descriptive in spirit – natural shapes and form taken from the world at large. My paintings have been described as “capturing a ritual of vitality”. It is difficult to determine when a painting is finished, but usually I instinctively know when the moment has arrived. I can say more often than not, my paintings finish themselves. There was a time when I questioned a piece, made a change, and then tried again. Now-a-days, I allow it to just simply BE." -JEANA MARINO