Oct 12 2009
On September 27 2009, I went to one of the much awaited art festivals of Ames, conducted and organized by Octagon centre for the arts. The arts festival for me was the first hands-on experience to interact with the local Iowan artists and see their wares. There were lots to see and experience, true to its promise. I was more interested in the Painting booths which I had shortlisted and started from each taking my own sweet time. The first thing that struck me was the openness of the artists to the people who visited their booths and more excited about someone getting to know about their creations.Also, it was quite surprising to see that this festival being held for the past 35 years even during the economy slowdown. I have already made up my mind to visit this festival next year. Since I had prepared my mind for writing a travelogue on this festival, I had framed three questions which I intended to ask to 10 painters and they were:
Why do you like this particular medium?
What is the theme or motif you express in your paintings?
What do you look in a painting first?
Artist Nancy Morgan (Watercolor and Acrylic) (www.nancyfmorgan.zoomshare.com)
Nancy is from west Des Monies in Iowa and frequents Florida as well during the winter.
Q. Why do you like this particluar medium?
A. Watercolor because it has the freedom and is lucid.
Q. What is the theme or motif you express in your paintings?
A. Brighter color and designs are my main themes.
Q. What do you look in a painting first?
A. Colors and design attracts me first.
Karen Cooper (Acrylic) (www.karencooperpaintings.com)
Karen is from Jefferson, Iowa. I liked one of the paintings where the feel good factor was very visible. A woman had read a book on an idyllic summer day and is smiling with the happy ending of the plot and is relaxed after her reading.
Q. Why do you like this particular medium?
A. Immediacy and strong colors.
Q. What is the theme or motif you express in your paintings?
A.I am a people watcher so I reflect mostly the good times in my paintings.
Q. What do you look in a painting first?
A.People and good times.
Nanci Griffin (Acrylic) (nancigriffin@hotmail.com)
Nanci is from Ankeny, Iowa. It was interesting to see the juxtaposition of colors without giving a jarring note to the theme or the painting.
Q.Why do you like this particular medium?
A.I can layer it and it dries quickly than oil.
Q.What is the theme or motif you express in your paintings?
A.I have a strong faith and that what I represent in my paintings.
Q.What do you look in a painting first?
A.Colors strike me first
Robert Sunderman (mixed media, Oil) (www.robertsunderman.com)
Robert is based at Boone, Iowa close by to Ames. Robert’s wife also had her display in the same stall. She had a collection of Jewellery which she had hand-made it. It was nice to see a couple display their art under the same roof.
Q.Why do you like this particular medium?
A.I can build from layers to surface, I like to take it slow there is no rushing and oil suits me best.
Q.What is the theme or motif you express in your paintings?
A.I depict Nature, Earth, Energy, People and composition is important.
Q.What do you look in a painting first?
A.First thing that strikes me is the technique and style and not the color. I try to look into the soul of the artist, the emotion with which he created the painting.
Randal Spangler (Watercolor with color pencils) (www.randalspangler.com)
Randal is from Blue Springs, in neighbouring state of Missouri. The feel-good factor was also very visible in his stall. I liked one painting where the dragon is perplexed to see bugs in his computer and is trying hard to solve them. The bugs were given form as microprocessor chips with wings. I found this interesting as I could relate to this painting.
Q.Why do you like this particular medium?
A.Easy to work with especially during my travel.
Q.What is the theme or motif you express in your paintings?
A.I have created this Dragon world, where it is the central character and the world surrounding them. There is storytelling, computers, chocolate chip cookies.
Q.What do you look in a painting first?
A.I look at everything. Colors would be the first thing also the subject matter of the painting is more important.
Timothy Kobs (Watercolor and acrylic) (www.tkobs.com)
Timothy is from Trempealeau in Wisconsin. One of his paintings had an ogre having a rugby match with other mythical creatures. I asked Timothy if that was Shrek (from the movie). His recent work had lot of symbolism like Peace, Life and Death, which was a tree with a part of it dying on a slope of a hill with the setting sun as a backdrop.
Q.Why do you like this particular medium?
A. Watercolor is easy to dry than oil. I am working with Acrylic as a replacement to watercolor, where I find adding layers is easier.
Q.What is the theme or motif you express in your paintings?
A. Imaginative landscapes and symbolism.
Q.What do you look in a painting first?
A. Dynamic is what I expect from the painting and also the composition.
Richard Leet (Watercolor) (dkleet@willowtree.com)
Richard is from Mason City, Iowa. His paintings were very interesting since there was the 3rd dimension introduced by making small cuts in the paper that stops the flow of the color. Also the border had jutting edges which in the artists words depict the tectonic plate movements.
Q. Why do you like this particular medium?
A. Being trained in Oil, I did watercolor paintings that would eventually is converted paintings. However, I got interested in Watercolor and created paintings in .My major influence was by John Marin and Charles Burchfield. Both worked on the same theme, which was natural phenomenon. But, the technique was different and Charles did large scale watercolors which influenced me as well. Water color is spontaneous, fluid and expressive. Either you make it or break it in this medium. My emotion changes every week so I cannot keep working on one painting for long.
Q.What is the theme or motif you express in your paintings?
A. Climate, Tectonics, Life is a miracle. Understanding the enormity of the Universe is what I try to express in my paintings.
Q.What do you look in a painting first?
A. I look for Forms and Colors
At the end, it was a fun filled and fruitful day for me meeting all the artists and getting to know more about Iowa and its culture. Please feel free to visit each of artist’s website or mail them.
About The Author: Ragothaman M. Yennamalli is a research scholar, completed his Ph.D in Computational Biology and Bioinformatics from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. Apart from Scientific interests, he is a student of bharatanatyam in kalakshetra bani. He also paints occasionally in his free time. He is currently working at Iowa State University, Iowa.
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Tom Christopher (Pastel)
Olga is from Ukraine, settled in St. Paul, Minnesota. There was an old world charm in her work, the European architecture with cobbled stone streets.
Q.Why do you like this particular medium?
A.I have had previous experience in many mediums like paintings on silk fabric. My medium is a mix of the decorative silk painting with traditional oil painting.
Jacqueline Roate (Acrylic)
(www.paintpushers.com)
Jacqueline is from Des Moines, Iowa. Her stall had many work ranging from 4’ x 4’ to larger ones. The floral patterns with little bit of mixed media was interesting to look at. As she says below, Beauty and confidence of a girl was prominent in her work.
Q.Why do you like this particular medium?
A.Acrylic since it dries faster than oil.
Q.What is the theme or motif you express in your paintings?
A.My themes are beauty and confidence, floral patterns. I emphasize on form rather than the background in my paintings.
Q.What do you look in a painting first?
A.I look for contrast and emotions.
