Over the next few weeks, you’ll find internationally diverse artist interviews revealing thoughts on their personal creative discoveries, their intimate and memorable “red dot” stories and their exclusive artist guest list.
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Enjoy ~ Paul
Katrin Jurati, Los Angeles, CA
When did you first discover your creative talents? I remember very distinctly, in first grade, the teacher speaking to someone else about me, as I had the revelation, drawing my bird Hansi in his cage (that the rungs of the cage had to be drawn first, with the bird behind so he appeared within it) while hearing “she’s the best artist in the class.” I was shocked. That was the first moment I identified myself as artist.
For an artist, selling their first piece of work is a memorable moment. Tell us about your first piece or a special piece that was sold. I hate to say I forgot which piece I sold first. In Buffalo, I sold out 3 years worth of work, so it’s a bit of a blur. The connection to each collector, of seeing their collection in their home, was amazing. Unfortunately, out of that work, I remember the piece that I didn’t sell most, a heavy metal sculpture. Instead of excepting $3000 I wanted $4000 and ended up putting it in storage and then lugging it to California to collect dust downstairs in the garage. Probably my favorite sale was at the Anderson Gallery. The collectors wanted it delivered to South Carolina, and invited me down for a week at the beach. Precious memory.
Who are your favorite artists? My parents had a Picasso drawing book of nudes you can be sure I studied for years. He’s still my favorite, loved the museum in Paris. As a child Vasarely made a great impact on my first Museum visit, later punk, with all it’s emotive expression. Cave Painting, Indian painting on buckskin, El Greco, Gericault, Van Gogh, Gauguin, Kahlo, Ana Mendieta, Baldessari, Godard, Agnes Varde, Louise Bourgeois, Rothko, Sautin, Goya, William Blake, Henry Darger, Raymond Pettibon, Monet, Eva Hess, Paul Klee, Philip Guston, and Lily Van Der Stokker easily begin the list. Lately, I’ve been into Vera, the designer.
Artist: Katrin Jurati
Title: Grit in the girl/Puts punk in the pearl
Medium: Ink on silk – each piece (4 total) is 56″ x 6″ inches
Website: http://katrinjurati.com
Kristine Harper, Copenhagen, Denmark
When did you first discover your creative talents?
It is hard to say exactly when I first discovered my creative talents – but I seriously started experimenting with and investigating my creativity when I was studying art. I have always been fascinated by color; I love how one, with color, can capture emotions and shape mental or physical landscapes.
For an artist, selling their first piece of work is a memorable moment. Tell us about your first piece or a special piece that was sold. Selling art is kind of strange – my paintings are reflections of my thoughts, and thereby very personal. There are always paintings I am more attached to than others, and they are the hardest ones to let go.
Who are your favorite artists? I am very fond of legends in abstract expressionism like Mark Rothko and Jackson Pollock, but also Gerhard Richter and Danish artist Per Kirkeby inspire me.
Artist: Kristine Harper
Title: New beginnings
Medium: Acrylic paint on canvas, 100 x 100 cm/ 39.4 x 39.4 inches
Website: http://kristineharper.sat0ri.com/
Kara Joslyn, Oakland, CA
When did you first discover your creative talents? I think it was before I can remember. My mom tells me that I was drawing and arranging trinkets/objects ever since she can remember. I think I realized I was an artist in second grade, though. The class drew portraits of a different student every week and then the student acting as muse would pick her or his favorite drawing to put up in class until the next round. One week we drew our teacher, Ms. Nielsen. My drawing wasn’t picked, and I couldn’t fathom why – it was my masterpiece – so I asked her why I hadn’t been selected. She told me it was because the drawing was inappropriate. I was confused. I pressed her – why did she think so? She pointed to the bust area of my rendered portrait – then I realized… I was the only student who had given her breasts (denoted by one W-shaped line). I felt it was completely unfair since I was just being accurate, and tried not to cry – until I got home.
For an artist, selling their first piece of work is a memorable moment. Tell us about your first piece or a special piece that was sold. I was most excited when I sold a piece to my favorite professor, Linda, and when I sold a dyptich to a Rock Star, Tina from The Bobby Teens.
Who are your favorite artists? David Bowie, Nick Blinko, De Chirico, Kay Sage, Judy Chicago, Vija Celmins, Matisse, klee, Justin Olerud, Travis Wyche, Fritz Lang, Johannes Itten, Nagel, Hunx and his Punx, Peter Seville, Ertè, Nellè, Leslie Shows, Laura Owens, kandinsky, arthur dove, the ancient greeks, the makers of the venus(es) of villandorf…the list could just continue on.
Artist: Kara Joslyn
Title: Vista Equinox Sunset
Medium: Graphite and acrylic on paper, 22 x 20 inches
Website: http://karajoslyn.com
Sara Joseph, Bangalore, India
When did you first discover your creative talents? When I was 10, my best friend used to sit in class and draw cartoons from newspapers during free hours and I used to see that and wait for her to finish drawing as I wanted to color it. One day she said, “Look , why don’t you try drawing ?” I said, “No I can’t draw, I can only color “. But finally, through persistent encouragement I drew Winnie the Pooh from the newspaper. The drawing turned out to be really good, which marked the beginning of art in my life.
For an artist, selling their first piece of work is a memorable moment. Tell us about your first piece or a special piece that was sold. I had sold my first work to a friend of mine. But the most memorable experience was when I sold a work during a fair called ‘Chitra Santhe‘ where thousands of artists come together to sell their works here in Bangalore, India every year. It was in 2009 when this man came to my stall and checked a work of mine when I wasn’t there. He came back the 2nd time and asked my friend if the artist was back and I weren’t. Then he came back the third time looking for me to buy my work from me, but again I wasn’t there and he bought the painting when I wasn’t there. I was feeling really bad that this was the first time someone eagerly wanted to meet me and I wasn’t there all the three times he had come. Then finally in the evening while we had to pack up he came with his family to tell me he loved my work and wanted to meet in person to tell me how much he loved it. I was overwhelmed by his gesture.
Who are your favorite artists? My works are a combination of abstraction and realism. I use an abstract background and I keep the portraits as real as possible. This is to show that it’s not the society that am interested in but the people and what the common man in India is like. I love to do portraits, as faces carry the emotions, of a person. And in abstraction I use squares in the background which represent society which I used as I was inspired by Piet Mondrian and his representation of colors and geometric forms. My favorite artist in realism or I would say photorealism is Chuck Close. I love the way he uses faces of people or his self portraits in different styles to portray a skill beyond photorealism. The expressions are very neutral but the massive sizes he works on and his technique is amazing. Others, to name a few, that have inspired me are Salvador Dali, Michelangelo, Monet, Jeff Koons, David Kassan, Amrita Shergill and TV Santosh.
Artist: Sara Joseph
Title: Bounded
Medium: Oil and acrylic on canvas
Website: http://paintedpainter.blogspot.com/
Paul Shampine 