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Name: Char Hall
Place of birth: Sacramento, California, United States of America
Black Cat: Something about you....What you want from life….
Char Hall: I am not a rock star. I am not covered head to toe in tattoos. I don’t wear my underwear outside my clothes or dye my hair crazy colors in an attempt to challenge authority. I am your average run of the mill nerd. I don’t see what I do as special. It’s just what I do, what I have always done.
I go unnoticed at my own gallery openings. At my solo show I actually had someone ask what I thought of the artist’s work. Another show I was standing next to a couple that was discussing my art, oblivious of my identity. One of them commented that they thought “he had some more work in the back of the gallery”
What I want from life is simple. I want to be able to keep doing what I am doing. I want to get better at it. I want to be able to support my family by doing art. In this economy I guess that isn’t quite so simple.
Name : Carrie Ann Baade
Place of birth: New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
Black Cat: Hi Carrie, can you tell us about yourself? What are your passions other than art? What makes you happy? What makes you sad?
Carrie Ann Baade: Art is what makes the world go round for me, but as you suggest another passion…I mine is humanity. As an educator, I am connected to guiding my students through their work and their understanding of their greater role in the world. I see artists as ambassadors of culture, prodders of consciousness, and conduits for the furthest reaches of the human experience. I have many students, who are at once many young teachers. Happiness and sadness have been vertical leaps and surrendering plummets that would be difficult for me to put into words. I reserve these lessons and answers for my what I express in my paintings.
Name: Camilla d’Errico
Place of birth: Ottawa, Canada
Black Cat: Hi Camilla, tell me something about your artistic background…
Camilla d’Errico: I started to become interested in art as a younger child, before I went to high school. I appreciated cartoons and fantasy stories for their creativity and interesting characters, and started trying to draw some of my own. In high school I took art classes to help me learn more about foundational skills, even though as a young student it didn’t always feel interesting or useful – I just wanted to draw fantasy characters! As I grew up and connected with my Italian cultural heritage though, I started becoming more interested in traditional painting, sculpture and architecture. Appreciating the incredible master works of art helped inspire me to learn to paint beautifully using traditional techniques. I continued my arts education and training in Capilano University’s Illustration and Design program, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. This was an important step in preparing me with skills and abilities to render my creative ideas.
Name: Steven Kenny
Place of birth: Peekskill, New York
Black Cat: I know that you studied in Rome, I’m from Rome and I can easily imagine how this ancient city can influence an artist… but how important do you think it is for artists to know about art history, and why?
Steven Kenny: I was very sheltered as a young artist. My artistic awareness expanded exponentially when I got to Rome. Suddenly I was surrounded by thousands of years worth of the greatest art that has ever been created. This had an enormous effect on my development. I always tell young artists never to stop studying art history. There is so much inspiration to draw from and learn about that will always enrich an artist’s growth.
B.C.: Do you visualize your art before creating? Do you know what it will look like before you begin? What's your process?
S.K.: Before becoming a full-time painter I was a commercial illustrator. I would create very detailed sketches for my clients. This was necessary in order for them to know what my intentions were and exactly how the finished illustration would appear. When I began working as a fine artist I would also begin with very detailed sketches and not deviate during the painting process. However, this has changed because working that way tends to take all spontenaity out of the image and gives it a frozen quality. Now I begin with only a rough idea of what the painting will look like and allow myself to make changes during the painting process. I allow my original idea to move in a new direction if that is what it wants to do.