What does a day in your art practice look like?
Every day is different for me, which is why I love being an artist. Some days I dedicate myself to pure creation in my studio - and these are my favorite days! This means that from the moment I wake up, I begin my art practice until I am too exhausted to do anymore.
The creating days are interspersed with admin/ drop-off/ supply run days. These days are often combined with a physical activity outside of the studio that aids my artistic vision, whether it's going to a gallery or spending time in nature. An admin session might last for a few hours, and most of the time I am on the computer answering emails, applying to art calls and writing/researching about my artwork. Being an artist means you are your own manager, your own PR, your own advertising agency, photographer and video editor, as well as many other jobs. It took a lot of admin sessions for me to learn how to utilize these skills, and I am forever learning and trying to improve them.
Of course, I make time for social events and adventures. Making time for self-care, friends and family is so important as a creative; I believe that artwork is made from experiences, from living. If I am stuck in my studio day in, day out - where is the inspiration for the work?
What is the hardest part of creating your art?
The hardest part of creating my art is the act of collecting supplies and preparing my space. Material costs are hefty, and my paintings are often very large. When I make work, I make bodies of work in one go, as that's how I am able to experiment and transform a concept. It's never going to be just one painting I'm prepping for, I'll need to prepare myself with many canvases and materials to remain in a flow/work state without running out of supplies. When I have a concept and the space is prepped, the canvases are ready and the paint is present, the process of creation comes with ease and passion.
If you had the chance to live during a different artistic movement other than now, which one would you choose? and why?
I would choose to live in the New York School Abstract Expressionism era around the 1950s. As a female artist, no other time period could really take a woman seriously, perhaps only after she has already passed away. I'd try to befriend prominent women artists in the field such as Helen Frankenthaler and Joan Mitchell - two artists who inspire me greatly. I adore creating gestural artwork, especially large-scale, using color tone and composition to create abstraction with movement and feeling. I truly resonate with this form of abstraction and I appreciate the immersive nature of work from that time period.
Who would you most like to collaborate with? Why?
I'd most like to collaborate with Marina Abramović.
I've always loved art performance and I would consider myself a very theatrical artist, and yet her art practice is so different to mine. I have always studied music, literature and dance in depth, and although my artwork reflects these passions, I have never physically combined them outside of the materiality of 2 dimensional representation.
I have yet to dive into the art performance realm and I love the concepts behind Marina's performances. I can't even imagine what sort of odd collaboration we would perform together - but I love the idea of using my body to create a public performance piece that audiences can experience.
Marina would push my boundaries of being an artist in all the right ways. Even if performance art isn't a crowd favorite, I think I'd learn a lot from collaborating with such a powerful, poignant female artist.
If you could change anything about the art world, what would it be?
I would make all galleries and art showcases free to the public. Not enough people go and see art - and to charge for entrance to art museums feels outrageous to me! I would also implement more free adult art workshopping classes for museum spaces and larger galleries. There's not enough public programming that allows for adult members of the public to come and create in a workshop manner. This would also bring more people to go see art! The very few workshops I have been to were swamped with people - and many were turned away as capacity was full. Meanwhile, there's certainly some children's workshops being offered, yet hardly anything for adults aside from lectures. If more workshopping for adults to create art were offered in galleries and museums, life would be a little more positive.
How do you make the leap from an idea in your head to the action you produce?
Firstly, I write. I have dozens of notebooks lying all over my home and studio - as I need easy access to jot down ideas and concepts as they come to me. I'll constantly pull out the notes app on my phone if I am out and about. I often write an artist statement before the body of work is complete - and I later make necessary adjustments when the work is ready to be presented. I pretend that I am proposing a project for an artist residency or something similar of the sort. That way, I can map out and plan a rough vision for the project and it helps me complete the project and stay focused on my creations.
I am the type of painter that will then create small drawings to prepare myself for the paintings I will create. The drawings don't necessarily have to be smaller versions or studies of the exact pieces I'll make. They are more research-based studies and perhaps different styles representing the same concept. Imagine a pinterest mood board - this is how I begin my preliminary drawings for the painting series. Additionally, I will gather photos and paintings from artists whose work I am inspired by to accompany my beginning sketches. I often stick these all over my studio wall so I have the inspiration surrounding me as I paint.
When I feel like I have written enough and collected/ drawn enough research material to begin the painting process - I will experiment with color swatching to decide on the palette for the paintings. These initial color choices may change throughout my creating process, as I am very open to experimentation when it comes to the painting process.
What do you wish to accomplish with your art?
Two things I wish to accomplish with my art:
1. For my audiences to feel something from my work. It doesn't matter what. Just something.
2. To inspire others to create. I believe that as an artist, it is my duty to aid and inspire others to create, whether it's running therapeutic adult painting classes or going to underprivileged schools to teach children about art. Being artistic is a gift, and it's a gift that I am grateful enough to be able to share with the world.
@rachelberkowitzart https://www.rachelberkowitzart.com/
Trashion Show Photo Credit Kristine Schomaker