Interview with:Maree Clarkson [mareeclarkson]
ART
 | What do you do? How do you define yourself as an artist? I sketch and paint daily - when I don't, it feels like I haven't brushed my teeth! I mainly use watercolours, but I do use other mediums like acrylics, oils and pastels from time-to-time. But its mostly watercolours that fascinate me - the flow of colour on a good grade watercolour paper and the brilliance of the colours one can achieve is second to none!
I haven't had any formal art training apart from a couple of semesters of art in high school in the ninth grade, but ever since I can remember I've been drawing and sketching and have always carried a sketchbook with me everywhere I go. I would draw the flowers, my dog, my sister, the trees, the birds and every beautiful picture I came across in books.
My parents told me that, from a very young age, I would scribble and doodle anything from hearts and stars to tiny houses and birds (this habit continues to this day, especially while speaking on the telephone) and at the age of 7 my father gave me my first Parker pen and pencil set for my birthday, which started a life-long love affair with writing and journaling. My journals consisted of the normal 'dear diary' type of entries, together with sketches and drawings of whatever was happening in my life at the time. |
| What is your message? My message is, "A daily practice of sketching and painting gives you a chance to exercise the big three P's - practice, practice, practice!"
I didn't do much art after I got married (life happens!) and it wasn't until my daughter was about 10 years old that I resumed my art and decided to go for a couple of art classes as I felt "rusty" after not having done anything for so long. I quickly got bored with that as I wasn't interested in the history of art at all and felt that progress was too slow, that I wasn't learning anything new I couldn't already do.
I soon realised that it's not the teaching or studying of the subject that would help me, but the constant doing of art - the daily practice of drawing or painting, trying new colour mixes, techniques or methods to keep creativity flowing. It's all about choices. If you're not painting, it's because you've chosen to do something else. Like making a living? I know, life gets in the way sometimes. But it's all about adjusting your priorities.
I soon learnt to establish my priorities (I'm a great believer in self-care of the soul), making time for myself and the pursuit of my passion but getting rid of procrastination was a big one for me. |
| Your biography in four lines. I am Maree Clarkson, also known as Hedgie and Maree de Wet (my maiden name) on my Afrikaans Website OORVLOED (http://www.oorvloed.co.za). I am a full-time artist, posting my art on my blog ART & CREATIVITY (http://artandcreativity-maree.blogspot.com) and also offer my original art for sale at my Sales blog (http://artandcreativitysalesblog.blogspot.com), as well as cards and fine prints on Redbubble (http://www.redbubble.com/people/MareeClarkson).
However, I spend most of my time at the counter of our shop, Tarlton Tractors and Spares, (when I'm not painting!) selling new and used Massey Ferguson tractor spares and giving farmers advice on how to repair their tractors, often finding myself elbow-deep in diesel and grease! I serve tea and coffee to customers waiting for a quick on-site repair, having great chats while they wait (my husband does the buying and selling and repairing of second-hand tractors).
I also write most of the articles on the website for CLARKSON'S CLASSIC CARS (http://www.clarksonsclassiccars.co.za), my husband's hobby/passion turned business. I also attend to the books and all the admin relating to the businesses.
My tag line is "There is a fine line between dreams and reality; it's up to you to draw it."
I have been married for 38 years and we are on the point of re-firement, which means carrying on with our lives exactly as before, but now because we WANT to and not because we HAVE to.
My main passion in life is drawing and painting and I haven't had any formal art training apart from a couple of semesters of art in high school in the ninth grade, but ever since I can remember I've been drawing and sketching - it has been the one constant in my life, something I do when I'm happy, when I'm sad, when I'm depressed or when I'm angry. It puts life back into perspective for me. |
| Do you upload your work to the web? If so, where could we see it? |
| How is an idea born? For you, what is inspiration? Mostly I'm inspired by nature and my inspiration is easily stimulated - a certain shape, an interesting line or shadow, a beautiful colour, the curve of a leaf as it gently sways in the wind, a pebble as it lays half covered by sand on the beach ... the beauty of nature far surpasses anything man-made, yet a beautiful architectural design can be equally inspiring. I used to draw endless scenes of city streets, lined with buildings on either side, disappearing into the distance to practice perspective and the play of shadows.
People are also a great inspiration to me - the curve of a neck, a wisp of hair blowing in the breeze - there is great beauty in the human form, just waiting to be expressed in some creative way. |
| What role does technology play in your creative process? The only role technology plays in my creative process is by connecting to the internet and posting my artwork to my various blogs and websites.
I do not consider technology such as Photoshop or Corel Photo-Paint an art form. It is a technological wonder of manipulation and although I do believe it relies heavily on creativity, you do not have to be artistic to work in those programmes, merely a technological wiz. |
| What is art? The essence of drawing is the line exploring space. Art is a technique of communication. The image is the most complete technique of all communication. Art is not what you see, but what you make others see. You are not quite in control of nature; you are part of nature. It doesn't mean that you are helpless, either. It means that the whole question in art is to be wide awake, to be as attentive as possible, for the artist and for the person who looks at it or listens to it. |
| When do you get your best ideas? My ideas seem to come at any time - watching TV, walking in a shopping centre, visiting the Botanical Gardens - and my best time for implementing these ideas is at 5am, watching the sun rise over my garden and sipping that first morning cup of coffee. |
| How do you evaluate whether an idea is good or not? If I can implement an idea and it works, then it's good. |
| Three creative ideas that you would have liked to have created? 1. I would have liked to have created the first ever magazine.
2. I would have liked to have created the first digital magazine on the internet.
3. I would have liked to have coined the phrase "There is a fine line between dreams and reality; it's up to you to draw it." |
| When and how did you begin to see yourself as an artist? When I realised I could paint anything I wanted to. |
| Why do so many artists and creators have such volatile personalities? I don't think artists and creators are any more volatile than people in other types of careers - it's a personality trait. |
| Do you consider yourself postmodern? Postmodernism (or, familiarly, pomo) literally means 'after the modernist movement'. While "modern" itself refers to something "related to the present", the movement of modernism and the following reaction of postmodernism are defined by a set of perspectives. It is used in critical theory to refer to a point of departure for works of literature, drama, architecture, cinema, and design, as well as in marketing and business and in the interpretation of history, law, culture and religion in the late 20th century.
Postmodernism is an aesthetic, literary, political or social philosophy, which was the basis of the attempt to describe a condition, or a state of being, or something concerned with changes to institutions and conditions (as in Giddens, 1990) as postmodernity. In other words, postmodernism is the "cultural and intellectual phenomenon", especially since the 1920s' new movements in the arts, while postmodernity focuses on social and political outworkings and innovations globally, especially since the 1960s in the West.
No, I do not consider myself postmodern. |
| How should a work of art be evaluated? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. |
| Must an artist reinvent him/herself everyday? Yes. Paul Gauguin said, "Go on working, freely and furiously, and you will make progress." |
| Which artists do you admire and how do they influence your work? I admire modern-day artists - David Shepherd, Gabriel De Jong, Martin Koch, Otto Klar, Ethelwynne van Eck.
I haven't really been influenced by any artist in particular, but admire a good brush stroke and perfect application of colour. |
| What do you think about public funding for the arts? I don't see funding as a necessity for established artists. The ones who need it are the scholars and funding should definitely be increased in this area. |
| Is art necessary? Art is not only needed, it is absolutely necessary for the soul, as is good food and clothing for the body. |
| Does it pain you to let go of a piece you have sold? No, I find great pleasure in the fact that anybody would love a piece of artwork enough to pay for it and be prepared to have it hanging on their wall and look at it every day. |
| Is a work of art purchased, or is it better said, that it is the artist who is bought? It should be a work of art that is purchased, for the love of it, for the beauty of it, for how it makes you feel, but many people will buy anything by a certain famous artist, either because they think it will be an investment or that it is the 'right' thing to do. |
| In art, there is no guide. How do you know what the next step is? There is no guide, only vision. And sometimes, most of the time, your vision turns into something completely different and unexpected. The next step is to go with what appears on your canvass. |
| How do you feel about the fact that the pieces exhibited in contemporary art museums are often of artists already deceased? It often happens that art pieces are only sought after once the artist has passed on - it's like a sort of 'rarity' thing, that no more will be produced. There are always things that will be in demand, like a beach house; there are only so many miles of beach-front, no more can be created. |
| What role have the figures of art dealer, gallery owners, representatives, and intermediaries in general played in your career? I would imagine that art dealers and gallery owners can play a tremendous role in the exposure of one's art, but up till now I have only used the internet for exposure. |
| What types of jobs do you usually do? I design and create a unique range of hand-made insect jewelry, as well as earrings, necklaces, brooches and pendants, mostly by special request, and used to do large window and panel stained glass projects for private households and Safari Lodges. Sketching and painting is my first love, and I consider it to be my 'job' of choice. |
| Which of your jobs or tasks do you most enjoy? I enjoy experimenting with different techniques in watercolour, and also enjoy tasks like organising the Artists' Coffee Club meetings and outings for sketching in the field. I love packing and rearranging my art materials and making notes of anything I've run out of. |
| Do you personally collect any items? I collect a wide variety of objects - birds' nest (that have fallen out of the trees), terracotta pots, feathers, pebbles, Parker Pens, Moleskine Note-books. |
| Which websites do you frequently visit? |
| What advice would you give to those just beginning? Creativity is all about coming up with new ideas, interpretations and methods and involves thinking and exploring what goes through your mind. It’s a quality that should be encouraged in all walks of life. Regardless of whether you are naturally imaginative or not, you need to feed your creative side with inspirational material, give it the time and attention it needs and let it run free.
But we all have to start somewhere - when you're a toddler, you learn to walk. Nobody thinks less of you because you can't walk. When you start going to school, you have to learn how to write, and nobody thinks any less of you because you can't write.
The same goes for drawing - it's an art that can be learnt, like wood carving or pottery, and certainly nobody thinks any less of you because you can't do pottery!
Don't be afraid to copy. That's what art is!
It's all copied, even from nature, we just use our own interpretation on how we see things. The trick is to draw what you see, not what you know. And we all see things differently. You can give the same subject to two different students to draw, and the outcome for each will be totally different.
Keep a record of your work and date it so you can see how much improvement you have made over a period of time. The self-satisfaction you get from that is your encouragement to continue. The more you practice, the more progress you'll make and the key is repetition and learning from your mistakes.
The secret is to begin - anywhere. |
| 
499 visits Whohub
Maree Clarkson
Tarlton, Gauteng, South Africa
|
92948 interviews created
![[mareeclarkson] Maree Clarkson](http://www.whohub.com/_pics/14005.jpg?1329081695)
INVITE YOUR FRIENDS