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Spraygraphic Interview with Artist Cathy Nichols
By Spraygraphic | December 24, 2009
Spraygraphic Interview with Cathy Nichols
SG: Please tell us about yourself?
CN: Hi, I’m Cathy Nichols. I am a painter — currently working in encaustics but with a long history in acrylic and collage work — and, I’m also a mother of two toddlers.
SG: Where do you currently live and work? I live and work on the north shore of Long Island.
SG: What mediums do you work with?
CN: Right now I am very in love with encaustic painting. I just love the way melted wax creates an air of mystery within a composition.
SG: Describe your working process when creating a new work.
CN: When creating a new piece, I first spend a bit of time meditating on an idea that intrigues me. I brainstorm different titles, and when I find one that I like, I start to get an image in my mind of a painting that works with it. Then I sketch it out and work on the color scheme. Then I lay down pieces of cut paper to create blocks of color and pattern beneath my encaustic wax. And, finally, I start the ‘real’ painting with my molten encaustic colors and heat gun.
SG: What kind of things do you do when you get blocked or find it hard to create something?
CN: I like to drive in the car and listen to music. I live in a very windy, wooded area, and the scenery combined with music is very beautiful and romantic. If I get stuck, a short musical drive usually unfolds my imagination.
SG: Where are you currently finding your inspiration?
CN: Definitely music and my own emotional landscape. I really should write a letter to our local indie station, 107.1, to thank them for inspiring countless paintings! I’m currently very fond of the tracks on the New Moon CD, too.
SG: Where has your work been seen?
CN: For many years, my work was on display 7 days a week at the Ten Women Gallery on Abbot Kinney Blvd in Venice, CA. Now that I live in NY, I’ve had a show in Woodstock and Northport, NY. I’ve also been in The Enormous Tiny Art Show several times at Nahcotta Gallery in Portsmouth, NH.
SG: Where will it be seen next?
CN: I will have a painting — “MADLY” — in the Verbatim show at Nahcotta in January.
SG: What is your dream art assignment?
CN: I would just love an entire year to paint nonstop. It’s challenging to find uninterrupted time at the moment with two children under 3 running around. They are so cute, though, and love to see Mommy’s paintings!
SG: What is your favorite color?
CN: Definitely red. I look forward to the red parts of all of my paintings.
SG: Who is your favorite artist? And Why?
CN: Hmmmm… so many. I think I like Paul Klee best. His work was so whimsical, colorful, imaginative and just plain amazing. I fell in love with him when I saw an exhbition a few years ago in California. I like the way his work creates its own landscape loosely based on reality but with an architecture unique to Klee’s mind. The result is magical.
SG: What book/magazine are you reading this week?
CN: Right now I’m reading Outlander by Diana Gabaldon.
SG: Where is your favorite place to hang out?
CN: My studio. It’s pretty and fun things happen there. A close runner up is Caumsett Park in Lloyd Harbor, NY. This park is one of long island’s treasures — endless expanses of green winding wooded paths that lead to a windswept stretch of beach.
SG: Any final words of advice?
CN: Be patient with yourself. I find the imagination likes to visit in a relaxed atmosphere.
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Topics: Artist Interviews, Paintings |
January 1st, 2010 at 11:57 am
Thank you for the great interview! I so enjoying sharing my thoughts with your readers.