Art Space Talk: Resa Blatman (Part 3)

This is Part 3 of my interview with Resa Blatman. To return to Part 2 click, HERE

They Gather in Such Profusion by Resa Blatman

Brian Sherwin: What are your thoughts concerning the internet and utilizing the World Wide Web in order to gain exposure for your art? In your opinion, why is it important for artists to embrace the internet?

Resa Blatman: I think that it’s essential to have a web presence today. But my opinion about this may not be fully objective, as I make part of my living designing websites. However, I do believe that it’s important for anyone who wants their work to be easily and quickly accessible to have a website of some sort. It allows the audience to view anartist’s work privately, at their own pace, and without traveling -- I think this is what most people embrace about the web.

While there’s no replacement for seeing artwork in the flesh, the web can offer a personal connection with the artist and their work. Without my web presence I would not be having this interview with MyArtSpace.

BS: Will you be involved with any upcoming exhibits?

RB: Yes. I participate annually in my city’s open studios, which is one of the largest in the States. Somerville Open Studios in Massachusetts is the first weekend in May. Going on now is a small solo exhibit, “Luscious Bird Paintings,” at the Christopher Brodigan Gallery in Groton, Massachusetts until May 10th. After that, my three cut-edge triptych paintings will be on view at two juried shows in Massachusetts: Danforth Museum from June 1-August 1, 2009; and Tufts University Art Gallery, June 3-August 2, 2009.

Red Hot Peevish Birds by Resa Blatman

BS: Do you have any concerns about the art world at this time?

RB: As much as I am concerned about my work and it’s place within society, I try not to dwell too much on the art world. I find that getting too caught up in it only gets in the way of my work. That being said, I do think the recession is not as bad for the art world as many might think. These shifts within the economy have a way of clearing out the brush and leaving the art world to the dedicated artists who continue to make good work with serious intentions.

BS: There have been several stories involving copyright infringement in the mainstream press as of late. What is your stance on copyright? Do you see strong copyright as a reflection of artist rights in general? Or do you feel that copyright restricts creativity? Do you have a stance on this issue?

RB: My thoughts about this go back and forth. I do think it’s important for an artist to have ownership rights over their work, but I also think that we should allow others to borrow from our creations, with credit and limitations. I use photos and books for some of my source materials and without them I would have a difficult time finding the perfect ostrich, bat, or bird to paint.

Lavish Heronry by Resa Blatman

BS: As you know, the economy has been hard. Have you had to change-- or should I say adapt-- your practice due to the economy?

RB: I’ve been lucky. My design business has been busier than usual lately and we have several websites that we’re currently working on, which means I have a little less time to be in the studio at the moment -- one has to work when the work is there. At the same time, I was awarded a few artist grants in the last year and sold several paintings, which has allowed me to continue working as a full-time painter.

BS: Finally, is there anything else you would like to say about your art?

RB: The ideas keep coming and I am very grateful for that.

This concludes my interview with Resa Blatman. To return to Part 1 click, HERE

Take care, Stay true,

Brian Sherwin
Senior Editor
myartspace.com
www.myartspace.com
Myartspace Blog on Twitter
www.twitter.com/myartspace_blog

Art Space Talk: Resa Blatman (Part 2)

This is Part 2 of my interview with Resa Blatman. To return to Part 1 click, HERE

Mild Rapture #2 by Resa Blatman

Brian Sherwin: Can you discuss your process in general? Are there any specific techniques that you utilize?

Resa Blatman: My process is quite simple. I think about my work constantly -- while I’m exercising, when I’m driving, and before I go to sleep, it’s always on my mind. For me, this is like sketching. I have a very vivid imagination; I can see what it is I want to paint before I do it. That doesn’t mean that the paintings turn out how I originally imagined them, but this process allows me to dive into a new painting without fear or hesitation. In fact, I’m often thinking about the next painting while I’m working on the current one, and that fuels me to move forward and complete the current work so that I can continue my “visual story.”

I use a lot of source materials for my paintings -- photos, books, animal, fruit, and flower models, and the internet. First, I design the surface edges on the computer and then I send the files to the company that cuts the panels. Once I have the panels back in my studio, I gather all of my source materials and I start drawing out the composition directly onto them -- there is no preliminary sketching beforehand. The painting starts off with one composition, but I frequently change the subject, placement, and color, while I’m working on it. I let myself erase, paint over, and change my mind so that the painting remains fluid despite the careful, tight rendering.

Ravishing The Night by Resa Blatman

BS: What about other influences? For example, are you influenced by any specific artists?

RB: Yes. I’m a huge fan of and influenced by many artists, particularly John Currin, Tara Donovan, Walton Ford, Julie Heffernan, Martin Johnson Heade, Ernst Haeckel, the Baroque, Hieronymus Bosch, Lucas Cranach, the Elder, early Flemish painting, Pre-Renaissance painting, the Baroque, and Victorian Decorative Art.

BS: So what is the specific message you strive to convey to viewers? Do you adhere to a specific philosophy as far as your work is concerned?

RB: As I mentioned previously, my work is specifically about fertility. This is an issue I have personal epxerience with, and one that has offered me a great deal of creative ideas and energy. I suppose my philosophy is to be honest with myself and with my audience. I can’t escape who I am, what I believe, or what I’ve experienced in my life, which means it’s impossible to divorce myself from my work. This allows me to be personal with my work and subject matter, which drives my concept. However, I do my best to keep irony within my work, and to not take myself too seriously.

Three Flamingos by Resa Blatman

BS: What are you working on at this time? Can you give our readers some insight into your current work?

RB: If you look at my “gallery” on MyArtSpace or check out my website at http://www.resablatman.com/ you can see the cut-edge panel paintings. This is my newest work and the direction I plan to pursue for now. I’ve completed two triptych cut-edge panels (the third, “Lemon Spray,” is nearly complete), and I’m in the process of starting a fourth in this series, which will be approximately 20-30 feet wide and include six or eight panels.

My plan is to keep the cut edges elaborate and have each of the panels integrate more often with one another. As for what I plan to paint, well, that’s my secret for now. Only my husband knows what I’m thinking about putting on the surface, and that may change.

To read Part 3 of my interview with Resa Blatman click, HERE

Take care, Stay true,

Brian Sherwin
Senior Editor
myartspace.com
www.myartspace.com
Myartspace Blog on Twitter
www.twitter.com/myartspace_blog

Art Space Talk: Resa Blatman (Part 1)

Through her art Resa Blatman attempts to show nature at odds with itself by playing with the contradictions of emptiness versus fullness, lush versus barren, and rapture versus displeasure. In her paintings, the berries, linear loops, and tiny dots represent an abundance of embryos, eggs, and seeds. Heaps are an important element: these berries, loops, tiny dots, and sometimes creatures accumulate in piles and mounds and represent the bounty of femininity and ripeness.

Beauty and the Beasties by Resa Blatman

Brian Sherwin: Resa, what can you tell us about your academic background concerning art? Did you study art formally? Tell us about your art studies in general-- any influential instructors?

Resa Blatman: I have a lot of art school experience under my belt. After high school, I went to the Ringling School of Art and Design in Sarasota, Florida, where I majored in “fine arts.” That meant I had a well-rounded art education doing everything from etching to stone sculpture. After Ringling, I moved to New York for a couple of years, where I had several jobs and painted during my free time. Then I left for Florence, Italy, where I studied at the Studio Art Centers International (SACI) for one year and lived in Florence for another two years, with a side excursion to London for seven months.

At SACI I spent my time painting, primarily portraits. I had a memorable learning experience, particularly with portrait painter and teacher Manfredi, who taught me to see a person’s character and exaggerate it in order to make the portrait look like the model. The director of SACI, Jules Maidoff, was instrumental in helping me move paint around
more freely and with more confidence.

After my year at SACI, I worked for a mask-maker named Agostino Dessi, who owns a little mask shop called “Alice” in the center of Florence. This job let me stay in Italy for two more years. Agostino taught me the craft of mask-making, and skills related to selling artwork, which were very useful to me later on.

I then moved back to the United States and settled in Boston, where I’ve been ever since. My art education might have ended there, but after a few years of making and selling masks, paper jewelry, and portraits, making a very meager living, I decided to go back to school for a BFA in graphic design. I enrolled at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design, and with my previous credits, I was able to get through the design program in two years and receive my degree. During this time and the following years to come, I had essentially given up on painting.

My work got stuck and stodgy -- I couldn’t think of what to paint next and it seemed that my desire to paint had come to an end -- it was no longer a productive or fulfilling relationship. Studying graphic design was a welcome change for me, and on reflection, I believe it was one of the best career choices I’ve ever made. It taught me new skills (especially computer skills) and gave me confidence to start my own business. I made a good living while still doing work that was creative and enjoyable.

My small design business flourished and won awards, and I had many steady clients. But after 9/11 the economy was in trouble -- the work dried up and I sat around wondering what to do next. I had been teaching graphic design part-time at MassArt since 1997 and really enjoyed it, so I thought I’d go back to school for my MFA (but this time I’d get the degree in painting), so that I could teach full-time and revive my old love for painting. But, because I hadn’t been painting for nearly 10 years, my portfolio was weak and I was rejected from the few local grad schools that I applied to (my husband was working full-time, which meant we couldn’t move and I had to apply to schools in, or near to, Boston).

Then I learned about the one-year post-baccalaureate program at Brandeis University, which I was accepted to, and my relationship to painting renewed itself. I learned so much, mostly from my peers, and also from the terrific visiting artist and instructor from New York, Charles Spurrier, who opened my mind and eyes to contemporary, conceptual art. My previous art education had rarely examined the contemporary art world; instead it highlighted Michelangelo to Picasso with the impressionists sprinkled in between.

The following year I applied to the same local grad programs as I had previously, was accepted by three of them, and chose Boston University. My experience there was mixed; being the oldest student made me stand out, but not always in the way I intended. Nevertheless, I worked diligently in the mostly studio-based program, which was one of the toughest educational experiences of my life. Despite the difficult crits and the personal and artistic challenges, I’m extremely grateful for my graduate school experience -- my work continually evolved and my painting skills and conceptual abilities
improved enormously.

I was in a class with highly talented peers and the painter and instructor John Walker, and they taught me more about painting than I could ever have imagined. By the time I was near the end of the grad program I realized that I no longer wanted to teach full-time; rather, I wanted to paint full-time again. I decided then that I would supplement my painting career with graphic design, allowing me to pursue both fields and take advantage of my design skills to enhance my paintings. I graduated from BU in 2006.

Coitus by Resa Blatman

BS: Tell us more about yourself. At what point did you gain an interest in creating visual art in the first place?

RB: This may sound a bit clichéd, but when I was a small child the grownups around me would ask, “What do you want to be when you grown up?” And I would consistently say “I want to be a artist.” Eventually, I learned to say it correctly but my desire never changed. No matter what other things I tried, or waters I tested, I always knew I would be an artist.

Aphrodite's Garden by Resa Blatman

BS: Can you tell us about your art? Give us some insight into the thoughts behind your art.

RB: As you might imagine with so many different art school experiences, and a lot of years in between, my work was initially quite different from the way it is now. That said, I notice some things in my current work that harken back to my childhood drawings and paintings, and the tight painting I did in my 20s. While we can’t help but be influenced
by our peers and historical and contemporary artists, and the time in which we live, I believe some things about us never change. Our work and our lives move in circles that we continually begin and end. The ideas I have, and use now, in my work are often ideas that I thought about years ago -- these ideas never really leave, but crop up here and there when they become useful to me.

My current work is about fertility, abundance, sensuality, and an over-the-top beauty. The paintings combine decorative patterns with flora and fauna. The cut-edge surfaces are an extension of the painting itself, allowing the work to feel as if it is growing out of control.

To read Part 2 of my interview with Resa Blatman click, HERE

Take care, Stay true,

Brian Sherwin
Senior Editor
myartspace.com
www.myartspace.com
Myartspace Blog on Twitter
www.twitter.com/myartspace_blog