Why I Paint What I Paint

Recent conversations with some artist friends about inspiration, styles and methods ignited my own questions personally about why I paint what I do and what prompts my choices of subjects, painting sizes and so on. So I figured I'd post about it, mainly just thinking out loud, but also in case anyone ever wonders. ;-)

© 2015 Tammy Kaufman - As Long as Life Lasts - soft pastels on Ampersand Pastelbord 8" x 10"

I used to think I just painted things I thought were pretty and used whatever surfaces I had available. But on deeper inspection, I realized I do consciously and purposefully select not only my specific subject matter but also the specific sizes and surfaces I use, and it’s become clear to me that it’s much more than just random choices.

© 2015 Tammy Kaufman - Give Peace a Chance - soft pastels on Richeson Premium Board 8" x 10"

With regard to the sizes of my works, they are small. Some artists would even call them “minis”, as I tend to be most comfortable painting in the 4x6 to 9x12 range. I used to think the main reason for that was due simply to ease of storage of smaller works, especially those requiring glass when framing like the pastels I do. Or the reduced intimidation factor of a smaller surface. But on really thinking about it, I believe there is more to it than that. I’ve always watched in dismay as our society has focused so much on the “more, more, MORE” and “bigger is better” mindset. Perhaps my resistance to “painting bigger” has something to do with wanting to show that small things have meaning too and can even be quite intricate, even though they are often overlooked in the never-ending societal quest for More.

© 2015 Tammy Kaufman - For the Love of Nature - soft pastels on Pastel Premier Paper 5" x 5"

Subject matter is another issue that on first glance belies its deeper meaning. Yes, I paint pastoral landscapes, a seemingly benign and typical subject. But on closer inspection, you’ll notice it’s very rare to see any architecture or manmade structures in my works, and rarer still to find any human figures in them, if at all. That is not by accident. Although I’m not naïve nor jaded, and I do believe the world is full of kind, compassionate and wonderful people, all one has to do is watch five minutes of world news to see what a heart of darkness so many of our species have toward one another, animals, and even the earth itself. My landscapes are painted as an homage to Mother Nature and envision a world sans the destructive forces of man, with scenes welcoming the viewer in as the first one to see them. These are quiet works, speaking with more of a whisper than a shout. There seems to be so much noise in the world already, with everyone and everything screaming constantly, so I find that I’m drawn to paint a quieter, softer, calmer world, the kind of world I want to see.  

© 2015 Tammy Kaufman - Windows of My Soul - soft pastels on Canson Mi-Tientes Paper 8" x 10"

And on that note, I’ll leave things with one of my favorite quotes from the immortal Bob Ross who best stated my overall purpose in painting: "That's why I paint. It's because I can create the kind of world I want, and I can make this world as happy as I want it."

© 2015 Tammy Kaufman - Lost in the Melody- soft pastels on Richeson Premium Board 9" x 12"

Art of the Carolinas

I got a call a couple of weeks ago from an artist friend here in town, asking me if I'd be willing to be the pastel demo artist for Art of the Carolinas, the annual art expo hosted by Jerry's Artarama. As I always take my vacation during AOC, I was already off work that week so agreed to do it. Once the date grew closer, I began to get quite nervous - What was I going to paint for the demo? Would I be able to answer questions about process and materials satisfactorily? Am I good enough to even be doing this??

Before I knew it, Friday morning had arrived and I was at the Hilton setting up my booth. For that first day, my booth mate was a very experienced painter, Dick Ensing, so I was initially a bit intimidated and worried about my serious lack of experience at less than three years painting compared to his lifetime as an artist. Dick was very friendly and engaging, however, so I soon relaxed, and the fact he was demoing oil paints gave me something interesting to watch during my less busy periods too. Being the first day of the expo, Fridays are always a madhouse and this year was no exception. This turned out to be a good thing, though, as I was too busy to worry about much of anything other than talking to people about art and doing a little painting as well. My first demo was a 9 x 12 soft pastel.

© 2015 Tammy Kaufman - One Touch of Nature - soft pastels on Sennelier La Carte Pastel Card 9" x 12"

Throughout the day, I got to talk with so many interesting people, along with a lot of my artist friends who were kind enough to stop by my booth during their shopping, and it was a blast watching people try pastels for the first time. I think many folks had no idea how much fun this medium is until they tried it, and it was wonderful seeing those big smiles break across their faces as they played with the soft pastels and the oil pastels - and more than a few headed straight over to buy their own starter sets of pastels and surfaces!

Saturday was a little slower, and I was delighted to see some of the same people stop back by my booth to let me know they had either taken a pastel workshop or signed up for one, and were having loads of fun. I enjoyed talking with more new folks as well as having additional artist friends come by and visit, and managed to turn out three mini demos Saturday. My booth mate for Saturday and Sunday was one of the regular staff at Jerry's who has helped me with my shopping in the store many times prior, Greg Halloran. Greg was demoing oil paints and created some very intriguing paintings with the help of any visitors to the booth he could persuade to pick up a brush and join him!

After the two long days on Friday and Saturday, Sunday was a little shorter and quite a bit less busy, so I actually had time to do a little shopping of my own, picking up some pastel paper and several frames during my break. But I still got another mini demo done, and even had a pencil artist stop by who had never tried oil pastels but wanted to see if he could do a painting with them. He ended up painting a lovely little snow scene which I had him sign and take home to keep. I don't have a picture of that one, but I did put four of the little minis I did over the weekend on my easel all together for a "group photo".

© 2015 Tammy Kaufman - Clockwise from top left: Quietude, oil pastels on Ampersand Gessobord; Listening, oil pastels on Richeson Premium; Melodious Thoughts, soft pastels on Richeson Premium; The True Nature of Things, soft pastels on Richeson Premium - all 5" x 7"

It was an honor to be part of Art of the Carolinas as a demo artist, and I am forever grateful to Kimberlee Maselli, Ophelia Staton, Sharon DiGiulio and everyone else responsible whose name I may have missed, for providing me this opportunity. I'd also like to extend my gratitude to Jerry's Artarama as well as their vendors who make the event such a success year after year.

Raining Sunshine

The weather outside may be frightful here this week, but it's definitely raining sunshine in my life right now. To put the magnitude of this into perspective, let me start from the beginning.

In late June 2013, I decided on a whim that I wanted to try my hand at painting for a hobby, so got a cheap student grade watercolor set and a pad of paper and set about attempting to learn to paint. It didn't take long for the art bug to bite for real, though, and I began experimenting with a variety of media including acrylic paint, charcoal and graphite. Frustrated with the student grade paints, I moved up to artist quality watercolors and acrylics, then expanded to Gouache and colored pencils which worked much, much better and were a lot more enjoyable to use.

As much fun as I was having, however,  I still felt like something was missing so in September of 2013 I picked up a small set of student grade soft pastels and a little pad of pastel paper just to see what they were like. After my first two attempts, I was more frustrated than ever and decided perhaps soft pastels just weren't for me. Luckily, I was intercepted by some other pastel artists who noted that my frustration was in all likelihood due to the lower quality of my pastels and the very challenging paper I had selected to use with them rather than an innate inability with the medium. Never one to give up too easily, I picked up a small set of artist quality pastels and a little sampler of sanded paper - what a difference! It only took a couple of test mini paintings and I was hooked. Determined to learn this medium, I gradually expanded my collection of high quality pastels and surfaces, and studied everything I could find on them - books, online tutorials, other artists' websites. Ever since, I've been painting like a woman possessed - at least several times a week consistently. Most of my earlier works were mediocre at best, but I was putting in my time with  painting and getting practice making marks, learning about color, values, temperatures and composition. I studied everything I could find on pastels and painting in general to help me learn. I checked books out from the library, purchased online training courses and joined the local pastel society.

Ever so slowly, things began to happen. I got juried into several shows and even won first place at the State Fair. But I wanted to continue improving and growing as an artist, so I was delighted when, at one of the local pastel society meeting, I met another member who had given an incredible demo earlier in the year and discovered that she taught and, even better, was willing to travel to my home to teach me! After hiring Addren Doss and studying with her this year, I saw noticeable improvement in my painting, which carried over even into my other mediums, and I began to dream bigger. I had heard about the Pastel Society of America - the premier organization of serious pastel artists. Unlike the other art organizations I had joined, membership in PSA are offered only on a juried basis, and I had heard how high their standards are so I knew it was going to require even harder work on my part if I were to have any hopes at all of getting in. So I continued to study and practice and work harder than I ever thought I could at my painting. It was difficult and frustrating at times, and other times things just clicked. I turned out some paintings I felt very good about and some that went directly into the "studies to maybe repaint later" bin. But I never stopped working at it, and I never lost sight of my goal. By the October PSA jurying session, I finally had five paintings I felt good enough about to submit for consideration for membership.

This weekend, roughly 26 months after that first frustrating attempt to draw something with a stick of pastel, I got the letter that validated all my hard work. The letter welcoming me as a juried Associate Member of the Pastel Society of America. But this is not the end - rather the beginning. Now the even harder work begins and I'm intensifying  my efforts with lessons and practice as I pursue that next ever more more challenging step on this artistic journey, the quest for Signature status.