What does this painting put you in mind of?
For me it's as its title claims: Joyeous. I think it is the white and yellows that dance along the horizontal through the heat of the verticle reds. It just feels happy to me and, in my life, happy equates to joy.
"Joyeous" is a work done by contemporary west coast artist Sandy Kay. Creative expression seems to always have been a part of Sandy's life as, in her website biography she has: "...worked as a graphic designer, then as a theatre set and costume designer, before
Painting and drawing...the what this artist does. However, to know the whys and wherefores, I asked Sandy Kay if she would share her thoughts with me and she agreed! Please welcome to Mosaic Mandalas artist Sandy Kay of Vancouver, British Columbia...
Q: Tell me about the direction your ‘new works’ are taking…on your website under new works I see character studies, still life with fruit, trees, landscapes, skies…what do you see as a unifying theme? Is there a unifying theme?
Sandy: The unifying theme to these works is my personal exploration. I am excited about learning new skills and have taken workshops with painters whose work I admire. Then I "practice" what I have learned, resulting in a variety of mediums, styles and subjects. While having great fun, I am also focusing in on what I want to say and how I will say it. My focus in the immediate future is on an abstract acrylic series, and a photo-realistic watercolor series that is figurative.
Q: You work in a variety of media [watercolor/pastel/oil/acrylics], which one truly grabs your heart? Asked another way, if you could only take one artistic medium with you to the moon, which would you take and why?
Sandy: This is a very difficult question. In watercolor, I find myself working more realistically, with very detailed drawings. For years I drew- and started working with hue later in my artistic life. My goal is to "draw tight and paint loose." Saying that, these paintings, which I consider my studio paintings, are very time consuming. When working on them, hours pass unnoticed, in concentrated attention. I feel it is a process of closing in, working from the broad to the finite, finished with smaller brushes in smaller areas.
I absolutely love doing this work and am in awe of the transparent nature of this medium.
The large abstract acrylics are both similar and entirely different. I literally throw paint for the joy of it, often starting with no design or object in mind, letting the colors and shapes unfold. These canvasses are quite large, the brushes are large and my application is done in a large manner. The similarity has to do with transparency. Working with acrylics I use 80% medium and 20% pigment, which requires multiple layers to create the finished colours. While working on these, I become emotionally connected with the painting and when the result is exciting to me, it will lead to a series. I have a series called, ‘The Awakening,’ after a workshop I took about awakening to one's true light through the noise and darkness around us. These paintings all have a strong vertical design element (evoking a feeling of calmness in the viewer) as well as a strong horizontal (evoking a feeling of strength and groundedness). The predominant color in each canvas was chosen intuitively to represent the feeling I had during the painting process: serenity, mystery, joy. etc.
Q: I like to ask this question of artists who sometimes work in abstract…do you think your previous training/practice in drawing and detailed rendering has helped you work in abstract?
Sandy: Absolutely. Knowledge of proportion, design, value, line, edge....all contributes to the basis for my artwork. Without this knowledge, I would just be placing pretty colors in random ways. My intuitive decisions mentioned in the last question are all based on strong knowledge of both design and the medium. Without that knowledge I personally would struggle with how to create what is in my heart and head.
Q: Since you’ve been both a student and a teacher of art, I’d like to ask this: what is the foremost reason someone should take an art class or workshop?
Sandy: Most obviously, acquiring skills and knowledge are the basic reason. I am mostly self-taught and have made use of literally hundreds of books early on and later, DVD’s. The internet is a wonderful source of information for artists as well. What is gained from workshops is more than knowledge however. That satisfies the left brain part of it....the right brain, and the heart, can learn much from master painters who are willing to share their motivation, their beliefs, their journey as well as their knowledge. I have taken many workshops that don't do this, and a few that have. I will be thankful to these artists forever.
Q: Someone who enrolls in a workshop that you teach, what do you hope they take away from it?
Sandy: I give all I have...technical skills, information on products and how they work, personal attention, support, and my philosophy on being an artist. I am always exhausted after teaching. I currently am in a life transition and have not taught for a couple of years. I am certain I will return to it. I know it is my way of giving back.
Q: I note in the biography on your website that you spent a great deal of time in your life on the east coast of the U.S. and since 1999 live on the west coast – Vancouver. It says also that your work often reflects “West Coast themes.” Here’s the question: what, in your description, is a west coast theme?
Sandy: Well, since my subject material is all over the map, that's a tough question. I do paint
Q: Your bio also says that you believe ‘strongly in every person’s creative ability….' Here’s my question: can you give a good definition of “creativity?” What is it within us as people that make us ‘creative?’
Sandy: Creativity for me is what happens when I access my heart and joy while making art. The "creating" is what marks the difference between being in the "right side of the brain" (which can happen while gardening, meditating, cooking, singing...more of a place to rest than an action), and being in a process.
Creativity becomes an "activity" that takes me to a place where my art emerges.
I believe every person has this creative place within them, and accessing this place connects us energetically to everyone and everything in our universe.
Q: You work in an ‘open studio’ environment [me, I require solitude]; what is it about that environment that works for you?
Sandy: I have actually moved on from my studio/gallery on Granville Island and am now working in solitude as well. What I gained from my four years in the open environment was an amazing direct connection with people, collectors, other artists, followers, and seekers...I shared knowledge, techniques, encouragement and enthusiasm. I also sold everything I painted, for appropriate prices, which was tremendously validating. I painted there prolifically and honed my skills...I consider those four years to be my higher level education. I am thankful for that time and what I learned and was able to give back. Being in that place was a lifelong ambition of mine that is completed. Now I am closer to knowing what it is I want to say, and I am preparing for the next path on my painting journey.
Q: What is your artistic muse? What inspires you?
Sandy: I have always been a drawer and sketcher. Later in my life, I worked with colour. In the first 45 years of my life, I worked long hours and struggled financially and emotionally, with few of my resources available for art. Now I am in a situation where I can paint purely for the joy of it, and am free to explore my creativity. Muses surround me; the joy of life itself, the beauty of nature, the complexity of human emotion...in one word, love is my muse. Love will heal us and the world we share.
Q: Are there artistic frontiers you have yet to explore?
Sandy: Always.
Thank you so much Sandy for taking your time for this interview! I love Sandy's last answer, don't you? I totally agree that there are 'always' artistic frontiers yet to explore. Take a moment and enjoy this work of hers titled "Mosaic."
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