Christine Swann, PSA, IAPS-MC ~ Feature Artist June 2016
Christine Swann will be workshop instructor for PSST September 28-30 and Judge of Awards for Art of the Pastel 2016.
Christine Swann
We artists, at heart, are decision-makers, and once we take control of our decisions, then our visions can be made real.
Color is emotion made visual. |
PSST: Everyone loves a great place studio. Tell us about your painting and pastel setup.
Christine Swann: I don’t need much space to paint. I think a large studio would just give me more to clean! A few years ago we moved, and the only thing I was looking for was a room with a north-light window. I even took a compass to the house before looking at anything else! Once I found that, then I said, “yes, I can live here!” So my main studio is basically a home office with a large 12-foot window. Just room enough for my easel and a couch on the opposite wall where I can sit and study the painting and drink tea and contemplate my next move. That is basically all that is in that room. I like to paint with very little clutter around to distract me. I have another larger “work” room in the basement (it is actually nicer than it sounds and has lots of windows) and that is where all my “junk” goes- framing stuff, supplies, paintings, and my drafting table where I start to design images. My easel is a counter-balanced Sorg and that has made my life much easier for working on large paintings. As for my taboret set-up, I took the winnings from the “Prix de Pastel” award at the convention last year, and bought the Edgmon workstation. It has been the best investment ever. Ten shallow, flat drawers which are very large and deep, which I have set up in ascending “powers” – not by value or by hue. (I am not an artist who can keep sticks in a neat, orderly fashion!) The best part is that since it looks like a piece of furniture, it quickly folds up and moves out of the way when I am working with clients or models. |
How Christine directs the eye
PSST: Composition and value studies are very important in your work. Without giving away workshop secrets, would you briefly describe the way in which you create artwork?
Christine Swann: Yes, composition is King. I can spend a long time just figuring out “where everything goes.” The first day of the workshop is spent on attendees doing extensive planning and asking themselves tough questions to find their own path.
It is so tempting to jump right into all those lovely colors, but I have learned the hard way that careful planning of color, composition and intention make the entire process so much more enjoyable. Not easier, because this painting thing is tough, but definitely more enjoyable. Getting to the halfway point in a painting and not knowing what to do with a background? Yuk! I can’t imagine anything more stressful.
We artists, at heart, are decision-makers, and once we take control of our decisions, then our visions can be made real. So, my paintings are built in five layers, and I have important questions set up for myself at every stage. In the workshop we go over and answer those questions- each artist finding their own solutions.
Christine Swann: Yes, composition is King. I can spend a long time just figuring out “where everything goes.” The first day of the workshop is spent on attendees doing extensive planning and asking themselves tough questions to find their own path.
It is so tempting to jump right into all those lovely colors, but I have learned the hard way that careful planning of color, composition and intention make the entire process so much more enjoyable. Not easier, because this painting thing is tough, but definitely more enjoyable. Getting to the halfway point in a painting and not knowing what to do with a background? Yuk! I can’t imagine anything more stressful.
We artists, at heart, are decision-makers, and once we take control of our decisions, then our visions can be made real. So, my paintings are built in five layers, and I have important questions set up for myself at every stage. In the workshop we go over and answer those questions- each artist finding their own solutions.
Threads, Painting by Christine Swann
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PSST: How do you describe your painting style and color choices? Christine Swann: I consider my paintings to be “heightened realism” because they are never just a copy of what I see. They are an interpretation of what I see, combined with how I feel about someone and what I am trying to say. All three elements need to be there. So, I rarely just copy a photo or even a model. I push and exaggerate colors and composition to tell a story. My color harmonies are very important to me now and are planned out very early before I even start a painting. Just like musical chords on a piano, certain color combinations go well together to create a pleasing “visual chord”. Color is emotion made visual. |
Award Winning Painting by Christine Swann
PSST: Marketing is a big issue for artists. What do you consider the most important marketing tool we should learn? Do you have any tips you would like to share on marketing, exhibiting, or social media?
Christine Swann: You know that old adage, “Do what you love and the rest will follow?” I am not an artist that feels comfortable trying to wave my artwork in front of everyone. Other artists tell me I need to start a blog, or write a book, but the work comes first right now. And lets’ face it -we only have so much time here.
Five years ago I started focusing on ideas and images that I am passionate about and stopped worrying about who would see it and if it would sell. It sounds small, but it was a large change.
Then I started entering my “babies” in a few large shows hoping people would see them and be positive about them and a funny thing happened. Many people saw them and they sold! I was even lucky enough to have won some large awards. It was really surprising to me, but let me know that I was on the right path. It was like writing a book and finding that others could follow the story and could relate to it. So, I just keep on trying to follow my path.
Right now, I have to be happy with what I am creating first. Then I will write a book.
Christine Swann: You know that old adage, “Do what you love and the rest will follow?” I am not an artist that feels comfortable trying to wave my artwork in front of everyone. Other artists tell me I need to start a blog, or write a book, but the work comes first right now. And lets’ face it -we only have so much time here.
Five years ago I started focusing on ideas and images that I am passionate about and stopped worrying about who would see it and if it would sell. It sounds small, but it was a large change.
Then I started entering my “babies” in a few large shows hoping people would see them and be positive about them and a funny thing happened. Many people saw them and they sold! I was even lucky enough to have won some large awards. It was really surprising to me, but let me know that I was on the right path. It was like writing a book and finding that others could follow the story and could relate to it. So, I just keep on trying to follow my path.
Right now, I have to be happy with what I am creating first. Then I will write a book.
Light and Shadow masses by Christine Swann
PSST: What do you look for when you jury a competition for entries or awards?
Christine Swann: I say in my workshop that the #1 rule for creating a work of art is to first and foremost find your intention behind the piece.
It becomes so easy to paint pretty things and/or copy a photo, and forget to ask yourself “Why am I doing this?” Finding a purpose to an image will direct everything you do and all the decisions that have to be made in building a painting.
Technique and style don’t matter to me as much as seeing the “artist” behind the image. This doesn’t mean that the painting has to have a clear “story”, it just means that the image is a representation of what the artist is passionate about.
If I can clearly see that, then I am engaged, and that communication is what raises a painting to the next level.
Christine Swann: I say in my workshop that the #1 rule for creating a work of art is to first and foremost find your intention behind the piece.
It becomes so easy to paint pretty things and/or copy a photo, and forget to ask yourself “Why am I doing this?” Finding a purpose to an image will direct everything you do and all the decisions that have to be made in building a painting.
Technique and style don’t matter to me as much as seeing the “artist” behind the image. This doesn’t mean that the painting has to have a clear “story”, it just means that the image is a representation of what the artist is passionate about.
If I can clearly see that, then I am engaged, and that communication is what raises a painting to the next level.
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PSST: Tell us what events or workshops you have coming up.
Christine Swann: I was invited to show my work in France this year at the International Salon of Pastels in Saint-Aulaye in Dordogne from July 23rd till August 21st. The selection committee was made up of amazing artists and I was truly honored that they asked me to participate. My paintings are also traveling to China this fall for the Second China Suzhou Biennial Pastel Art Exhibition which will travel around the country for 18 months. 20 Masters from IAPS were selected, and since I received that distinction only last year, I was so tickled to be chosen. I am hoping to go and see the exhibition. Why not, right? |
Bound, Pastel Painting by Christine Swann
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