Frequently Asked Questions
One thing I feel that is particularly special about traveling and doing art shows is that I get to talk to so many people from so many places who have a genuine interest in my art, my process, and just in me to some extent. Conversations range and often take unexpected turns, which I love (most of the time LOL). But, I think there are so common topics/questions that come up regardless of what part of the country I’m in or what kind of event I am doing.
So Toby and I had the idea of creating this page where some of those more frequent exchanges could be accessible to people who maybe haven’t been able to see me at a show, or perhaps were there but I was busy with someone else and so they could find a moment to talk with me. And if you have a question that is not on here feel free to contact me and I’ll get back to you. Who knows maybe I’ll even add it to this list!
How do i come up with My ideas?
This is one of the more common ones. Often people follow up with a bit of humor, like they would love to be in my head, or they ask about dreams, or sometimes drugs or alcohol. But not always. Sometimes I think people see the work and are intrigued and really just want to know, “Where did you get this idea?”
For me, ideas do not come to me in my sleep in the form of a dream. If anything I work out my fears and anxieties in my dreams. So nothing creative is happening there! In a similar way, I tend to feel less creative when drugs or alcohol are involved. Maybe it’s just not how I’m wired.
Truthfully for me, it’s more like work. I have to schedule time to brainstorm ideas. On occasion Toby (or one of my 3 kids when they’re home) will join in and we build off of each other's suggestions. And I follow the traditional brainstorming rules - don’t be too quick to rule anything out, stay open minded, and write things down as you go.
Totally seperarte from that, I’m also trying to pay attention to what’s going on in my life. Or sometimes what’s going on in the lives of those closest to me. What are we celebrating? What are we struggling with?
why the Animals as subjects?
This question is one that I couldn’t have fully answered even three or four years ago. Because I didn’t know. I had ideas about it, but it was all very hard to put into words.
So I had to think, go back and think some more. Because in truth, the animals just started showing up. They were jumping into my thoughts, and into my mind, into my sketches, and then onto my canvases.
And I just ran with it. I literally didn’t want to overthink it. At the time, at the beginning of this work, my most honest answer to a question like this would have been, “I have no idea. I just do it.”
And actually I think that’s fine in a way. Maybe because I personally have trouble finding the words, I feel that an artist - any artist - shouldn’t always be required to explain everything. The painting is there and it’s what they created. And the viewer can work out what they get from it. This is fair I think.
But, it’s also fair for an artist to explain what they did and why. If they choose. And I guess I’m ready to explain why the animals.
How are your reproductions made? / What do you mean by limited Edtion?
I make my art by hand using a collage technique and then painting with acrylic paint. For the larger pieces it takes me months. After a piece in complete, I take it to get professionally photographed by a company called Raven Image in my hometown of Jacksonville, FL. For context, Raven Image is a company made up of two people, and I’ve worked with them so long they’ve seen my kids grow up, leave home for college, graduate, come back home, and leave again. It’s been a while!
Once they have my original, they photograph it. Keep in mind these are professionals with decades of experience and they’ve got the right equipment. After they photograph the piece they keep for a bit as they work to color-match They do test prints for both paper and canvas reproductions. They send mail me proofs for me to approve, or offer feedback.