abroad was also a requirement for my college education, which was a very enlightening experience for me as a young artist who was still learning the world around me, trying to find my own identity when it came to creating, figuring out what inspired me, and why. Throughout my entire college career, I was challenged and encouraged to ask myself these questions as a scape CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW Land Special Edition At Peace Again, Oil on Canvas
creator. Having a solo show during my college career also influenced me and gave me the opportunity to begin thinking about what really moved me, and what I enjoyed. The answer to that was nature. Having the wonderful opportunity to study abroad in Greece also helped to broaden my knowledge more about the world around me, and learn about a new Britnie Walston scape CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW Land
culture. While there, I was also quite intrigued by the beautiful scenery and art that I had the chance to learn about and explore on several islands. College, although challenging, also introduced me to many new techniques and materials and helped me realize what it was that I wanted to focus on as a subject matter. The body of works that we have selected for this special edition of LandEscape and that our readers have already started to get to know in the introductory pages of this article, has at once captured our attention for the way you draw inspiration from the beauty of nature to develop such powerful powerful allegorical artworks that communicate sense of freedom, to shed a whole new light to the connection with our surroundings: when walking our readers through your usual setup and process, would you tell us why did you center an important part of your artistic research on the theme of landscape? Britnie Walston: Although much of my artwork is inspired by the Eastern Shore, studying abroad in Greece also played a part in showing me how truly beautiful nature is, and how important it is to have a connection with it. I often found myself alone since I was a young child, as well as a college student. Most of my time was spent outside alone surrounded by nature. The older I grew, the more I appreciated the peace I felt in nature away from all of the chaos. For example, the dancing trees, the soft sound of the water flowing through ponds, chirping birds, the shining sun, and spring breeze blowing across my face. It's the little things that some people take for granted. Nature offers so many wonderful things; it brings peace, allows you to self-reflect, become inspired, and even helps with alleviating stress. When I paint landscapes, it is my escape scape CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW Land Special Edition
Britnie Walston scape CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW Land Serenity, Oil on Canvas
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Britnie Walston scape CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW Land from reality. I can create a surreal paradise, and even more exciting, having the freedom to create it in any way that I imagine. You are a versatile artist and along with traditional approach you use unconventional techniques, as well as household objects such as strainers, straws, and frosting spatulas: what does direct you to such experimental approach? Are there any experiences that did particularly help you to develop your attitude to experiment with different artistic techniques and materials? Britnie Walston: A few years ago, I was researching some new painting techniques, and came across a few artists online who were doing “pour painting” and “fluid painting”. I wasn’t too familiar with this particular style of art, however I found it fascinating and the creation process also seemed freeing. The designs created were just as interesting as the creation process. They too used a variety of unconventional tools to produce these magnificent works. After I researched a bit more, and began to get inspired by other artists, I decided to give it a try and instantly became obsessed. From then on, I just continued experimenting on my own and found new ways to manipulate designs. Eventually I began also using a variety of different color combinations to symbolically represent nature. In one of my works, “Aquatic”, I chose to use a color combination of green, turquoise, with traces of silver to mimic the idea of a sea. For paintings such as “Spirit Wave”, I portrayed a color scheme consisting of dark blue, turquoise and white, utilized a frosting spatula in a curvelike motion, forming a large wave. I then used a
scape CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW Land Special Edition straw to blow the white paint in different directions to create emphasis and energy. What I admire most about fluid painting is that the process is limitless. There is always so much to learn, as with any form of art. You can mix the colors with oil and water for a special cellular effect, or choose not to. You could use a blow torch to pop air bubbles, bringing out more of Aquatic, Acrylic on canvas
those cellular shapes, or you may choose not to. Either way, the end result is always interesting, and because of the nature of the process you never know what it will look like. That is particularly why I don’t title my fluid abstract paintings until after the work is finished. The work speaks for itself, but you as the creator also had a hand in it, which is such an amazing idea to Britnie Walston scape CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW Land Manokin, MD_Oil on Wood
Ocean Mist, Acrylic on Canvas
me. After years of painting in a more traditional style, I wanted to also explore a style that was less controlled, and where I could play around with many vibrant colors at once. Your current body of work is created with acrylics through a method that never gives the same results twice: how do you consider the creative roles of randomness playing within your artistic practice? Britnie Walston: To be honest, the wide range of color variations one can use, the idea of not knowing, having the freedom to make decisions throughout the process, although the painting will always speak for itself in the end. The end result is simply determined by the nature of the fluid painting process itself, and the colors flow freely. For myself, I only have complete control up to a certain point. I can mix the acrylic colors with silicone oil and water, or choose simply water. I also have the choice of how much water or how less to add to my paint, which both create a varying degree of results. The number of colors I choose to add, and even the types of combinations. Different results can even be created simply based on how much or how little the paint is mixed. There is no right or wrong way to the fluid painting technique; it just requires some knowledge of the craft and knowing what mixtures, techniques, and tools create certain results. The possibilities are endless. With their unique sense of abstract geometry, your artworks portray the personality of nature through sapiently structured combination of intense, bright and at the same time thoughtful nuances of tones: how does your own psychological make-up determine the nuances of tones that you decide to include in your works? in particular, how do you develop your textures in order to achieve such brilliant results? Britnie Walston: The tones depicted in my works depend on how I may be feeling in particular at the time of production. For example, if I am experiencing a serene mood then my paintings may include a cool color scape CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW Land Special Edition Dancing Waves, Oil on Canvas
scheme with a variety of blue hues and tints of white. If I am feeling euphoric, I may depict an ocean shore with crashing waves on the rocks, followed by an abstract sunset consisting of a warm range of pink, orange, and yellow with exaggerated brushstrokes. Sometimes, if I am feeling a bit stressed and want to let go, I may even create a fluid painting which is a bit less controlled. In the end, I am still portraying the same subject matter but in a more symbolic abstract form. When I am painting, I paint a world that is the opposite of what I experience on a daily basis. With their unique surreal and almost dreamlike ambience, Evening on The Beach and Serenity seem to unveil the bridge between the real and scape CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW Britnie Walston Land
the imagined, inviting the viewers to appreciate all the beauty that surrounds us. Scottish painter Peter Doig once remarked that even the most realistic paintings are derived more from within the head than from what's out there in front of us, how do you consider the relationship between reality and imagination, playing within your artistic production? Britnie Walston: When painting landscapes, I usually have a reference of some sort, and sometimes I even combine a variety of images to form a surreal environment. A lot of the times, especially when painting sunsets, I combine a variety of colors from my imagination. When it comes to reality, I use references to capture realistic elements such as the rocks, how the scape CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW Land Special Edition Spirit Wave, Acrylic on canvas
water crashes on the shore, and how the waves gradually form to foam as they brush against the sand. Although I am creating a surreal experience, I still aim to incorporate a realistic setting at the same time to make it believable and feel like you are truly there. To me, it’s almost like a dream. When you are asleep, sometimes you have dreams in which your mind makes up realistic elements, people, and environments. However, because you are still in an uncontrollable state of mind, there are still some abstract qualities in the dream that you wouldn’t necessarily experience or see in real life while completely conscious. Landscape painters such as Albert Bierstadt during the period of Romanticism, is also a great example of this. His landscapes were realistic and beautiful. However, the depiction of light and detail created a surreal world at the same time. He also believed that it was important for one to connect with nature, and display it in a way to which others could also connect and appreciate all that nature has to offer. The theme of freedom plays a central role in your artistic production: would you tell us something about this aspect of your work? Britnie Walston: I have always been a relatively shy and quiet person, so painting is sort of my way of communicating, and letting it all out onto canvas. The sense of freedom is communicated through the bold vibrant colors and inclusion of water in most of my works. I’ve always loved the water in particular, and feels as though it washes all of my worries and problems away. The reflection of objects on the water also captivates me, and I’ve found that every body of water has its’ own personality while maintaining a calmness at the same time. Freedom is also depicted through crashing waves against the rocks, with a wide-open sky welcoming the viewer in. The absence of human presence that marks out your paintings takes on allegorical meanings. In this sense, your artworks have more than a story to tell and trigger the viewers' imagination, addressing them to elaborate personal Britnie Walston scape CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW Land
interpretations: how open would you like your works to be understood? Is important to you to invite the viewers to extract particular meanings from the images that you create? Britnie Walston: I’m open to the idea and love when viewers are able to form different interpretations of my work, as many people will have their own analysis and experience. Although, it is still important to me that the viewer can experience a similar feeling that I have while creating. My overall objective is to create a work of art in which the viewer can escape and feel a sense of peace and positive energy. I want to be able to create a surreal paradise in which they can escape as well, and maybe even reflect. As you have remarked in your artist's statement, you spent a lot of time by the ocean and in nature, in general: how does your everyday life's experience and your memories fuel your creative process? Moreover, is important for you to paint en plein air? Britnie Walston: My everyday life is sometimes filled with chaos, life distractions, and many being those that are out of my control. Sometimes it feels as though everything around me is busy and fast, so I paint to escape and also to recreate a surreal world that is in my mind, and that I wish to experience in real life. It is my perception of how I wish the world could be; calm, peaceful, and full of positive energy. In addition, I also recall memories as a child and spending time outside. Those were carefree days, and I sometimes experience nostalgia and begin to paint landscapes depicting places where I spent a lot of my time growing up. My scape CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW Land Special Edition
Britnie Walston scape CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW Land Crisfield, Oil on Canvas
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landscape paintings “At Peace Again”, “Manokin, MD”, and “Crisfield, MD” are some examples of these places. When I have the opportunity, I believe that it is important to paint en plein air. It allows an artist to connect with nature, and creates the ability to capture more accurate detail and natural light sources. You are an established artist and over the years your artworks have been showcased in a number of exhibitions, including your participation to the collaborative art show TAC Members Holiday Show, focused around the theme of the holiday/winter season: how do you consider the nature of your relationship with your audience? By the way, as the move of Art from traditional gallery spaces, to street and especially to online platforms — as Instagram https://www.instagram.com/bnwart_leaway — increases, how would in your opinion change the relationship with a globalized audience? Britnie Walston: I like to create work that my audience can personally connect with, feel a sense of peace, and brings them energy. I also enjoy teaching and sharing my techniques and process to others who are interested. I believe personally that the shift from the traditional gallery to online platforms is an innovative and progressive way of allowing the opportunity to meet people from a variety of backgrounds and cultures, and also to connect, learn, and be inspired by one another. With online platforms, it makes it so much easier for more people to connect and create communities of art enthusiasts. It creates the opportunity to reach a wider audience range which could include art lovers, other artists, curators, collectors and much more, rather than being limited to local scape CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW Britnie Walston Land
and even statewide audiences. Although there are many pros to gravitating to online platforms, there is still something organic, personal, and beautiful about getting the full experience of a painting in person. We have really appreciated the multifaceted scape CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW Land Special Edition Blue Sea, Acrylic on canvas
nature of your artistic research and before leaving this stimulating conversation we would like to thank you for chatting with us and for sharing your thoughts, Britnie. What projects are you currently working on, and what are some of the ideas that you hope to explore in the future? Britnie Walston: It’s been a pleasure discussing my work with LandEscape, and having the opportunity to also share with the LandEscape readers. I’m currently working on a series of oceanscapes, and hope to also begin working on a larger scale of fluid paintings with analogous color schemes. Britnie Walston scape CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW Land Sunset, Acrylic on Canvas
Hello Alexandra and welcome to LandEscape. Before starting to elaborate about your artistic production and we would like to invite our readers to visit artchive.ru/artists/71476~Aleksandra_Efimova in order to get a wide idea about your mulifaceted artistic production, and we would start this interview with a couple of questions about your background. Are there any experiences that did particularly influence your evolution as a painter? In particular, do your studies at the Academy of Arts influence your approach to painting? Alexandra Efimova: Yes, studying at the Academy of Fine Arts influenced me. It was a protest and a fight against the conservative rules that are laid down in the educational institution. I have never had anything against the traditions of the classical school, but modern art is not taught in Russia and I searched for information in the European art residencies that I visited. I really needed this information. In the third year of the institute, I started looking for myself, trying to translate my vision onto the canvas, and now I continue to do this. The body of works that we have selected for this special edition of LandEscape has at once captured our attention for the way its Man is the Creator, and man is the destroyer-a topic that has been bothering me for the past three years. Over the past century, we have made strides in technology, medicine,and science, but we have turned a blind eye to many things... How has our home (planet Earth) changed during this time? Man has been competing with nature all his adult life, but the events of recent years, and 2020 in particular, have clearly shown us our powerlessness. Everyone wants to be special, unique, embellishing themselves in photos in social networks, and if you dig deeper-everyone is the same, like plastic mannequins in the shop Windows that we love so much. The society of consumption, degradation or the pause before a significant leap forward? This is a question I asked myself when I was working on this project. An interview by Josh Ryder, curator and Melissa C. Hilborn, curator [email protected] Land scape CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW LandEscape meets Alexandra Efimova
distinctive style provides the viewers with such intense visual experience: when walking our readers through your usual setup and process, would you tell us something about your main sources of inspiration? Alexandra Efimova: I am inspired by everything that moves, changes, transforms. Alexandra Efimova scape CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW Land
I look at this world like a child, I learn something new every day. I like to observe natural phenomena-when the wind blows or it rains. This has its own philosophy. Every moment is unique, and so I want to capture it. We really appreciate the thoughtful nuances scape CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW Land Special Edition
Alexandra Efimova scape CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW Land
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Alexandra Efimova scape CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW Land that marks our your artistic production, and that provides your landscapes with such meditative quality: would you tell us something about your choice of tones? Do you choose your colors intuitively or do you carefully plan each brushstroke? Alexandra Efimova: My work is completely experimental. I don't do compositional searches and sketches, but I have a lot of sketches and photos as material. My work on the picture is based on a certain scheme. First, I spray and spill the paint, making something like a "tinted" canvas. Then I can look at the resulting spots and silhouettes for several days. And then there is the addition. I draw objects and shapes to create an interesting compositional rhythm. I completely remove unsuccessful spots of color, and I use what is interesting and beautiful further in my work. As you have remarked in your artist's statement, over the past century we have turned a blind eye to many issues that affect the Earth. Many contemporary artists, such as Thomas Hirschhorn and Michael Light, use to include socio-political criticism and sometimes even convey explicit messages in their artworks: do you think that artists can raise awareness to an evergrowing audience on topical issues that affect our everchanging society? Alexandra Efimova: Sure. The artist reflects the time in which he lives. If all artists draw exclusively funny pictures, with the aim that someone will buy it from him and decorate his interior, everything will become meaningless. Now art is not just a decoration - it is also a message. The artist works with the audience and he must provide them with information, ground for reflection. I can say about myself that I often talk in my paintings about the problems of society, the brutal attitude of man to the environment. This is my point of view and the viewer chooses whether he will agree with me. I use a lot of symbols and signs, but for me it is very important to interact with the audience and our dialogue about various global problems. You often work with large canvass, that provide the viewers with such immersive visual experience: how do the dimensions of your canvass affect your workflow? Alexandra Efimova: I really like a large canvas. I myself become the first viewer of my picture, and it is important for me to feel it. My task is to create a "presence effect", I often use perspectives, mazes, strange spaces that do not really exist. Art is my life, the world that I create. We all read fairy tales about magical cities as children and wanted to visit them, right? I am no exception. For me, a wall or a large surface is an opportunity to create the maximum depth of space, and then it is a matter of technique. Jackson Pollock once remarked that painting is self-discovery, and that every good artist paints what he is. As an artist constantly looking for inner discoveries in the world around yourself: are you likely interested in triggering free inspirations in the viewers? And how important is for you to invite the viewers to elaborate personal interpretations? Alexandra Efimova: As I have already said, the dialogue with the audience is very
scape CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW Land Special Edition important for me. And in this regard, I am an egoist. Perhaps it's all the fault of the time in which I was born. Art is my language, my "Morse code", a way to convey information. I have been working on solo projects for a very long time and carefully think about what to say. I am currently working on a project that will consist mainly of objects, small sculptures and graphic sheets. I like to study new materials, use textures. The texture is not just a pictorial technique - it is an opportunity for my viewer to touch and feel my works. I did an exhibition for visually impaired people and they touched my work. They were interested. That's great! How important is for you to deploy elements of ambiguity that make the border between reality and imagination more fluid? Alexandra Efimova: The topic of time occupies a central place for me. Moments of life, its transience. There is no plot in my works. At first glance, they seem absurd, complete chaos. But you can live a day in one picture.. Everyone has their own day, you can think about it, dream about it, but this day consists of 24 hours. After all, a lot can happen in that time, right? When we sleep, our dreams also have no plot. So much of my work can be perceived as a dream. You are a prolific artist: how do you consider the nature of your relationship with your audience? By the way, as the move of Art from traditional gallery spaces, to street and especially to online platforms — as Instagram — increases, how would in your opinion change the relationship with a globalised audience? Alexandra Efimova: I share with the audience a kind of diary of my thoughts through my works, but I avoid obsessive self-promotion. I like that
Alexandra Efimova scape CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW Land
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there is an opportunity to show my work in online galleries and I have offers from such galleries, but I carefully study each site. There is a lot of garbage, it's sad. My work is quite specific, I understand this, and I try to show solo projects in the space. So that the viewer can see, feel. As you have noticed, I do large textured works, and the Internet slightly distorts and simplifies perception. But at the same time, I am a modern person and of course I share my works on instagram and on Facebook. We have really appreciated the multifaceted nature of your artistic research and before leaving this stimulating conversation we would like to thank you for chatting with us and for sharing your thoughts, Alexandra. What projects are you currently working on, and what are some of the ideas that you hope to explore in the future? Alexandra Efimova: Now I am working on a project that is dedicated to emigration, the interaction between people from different countries and continents. The world is changing, people are looking for a place where they will be more comfortable to live, and of course, this is my personal story. I travel a lot. And although I have an apartment in St. Petersburg, I do not have a house as such. I don't like being in one place. This topic is very close to me, I have been collecting material for a long time and planning several objects and canvases. I really want to try to do my work in a new material for me. It is very important for me to develop, experiment, learn new things. Alexandra Efimova scape CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW Land An interview by Josh Ryder, curator and Melissa C. Hilborn, curator [email protected]
Hello Maria and welcome to LandEscape. Before starting to elaborate about your artistic production we would like to invite our readers to visit https://www.solitairy.art in order to get a wide idea about your multifaceted artistic production, and we would start this interview with a couple of questions about your background. As a basically self-trained artist, are there any experiences that did particularly influence your evolution as a creative? Moreover, how does your cultural substratum direct the trajectory of your current artistic research? Maria Solitaire: Born into a family with parents from two different cultures made my childhood diverse. Not only in shape of food and traditions, but also in regards to look, behaviours and norms. What was normal in Sweden was looked at as weird in Croatia and the other way around. I was not blond or blue eyed. I was blackhaired with hazel eyes and taller then everyone in class. I was set up for bullying from day one. This was very confusing for a developing child and already feeling different at my core it created a shutdown of my authenticity so to minimize the pain. I was very creative as a child but what I created was not like everyone else´s art. So I shut it down as I became a teenager. I tried really hard to fit into a life in Sweden, but escaped to London and other countries over and over again. It was like Maria is a self-taught creator of photo art, paintings, and photography. Leaving a successful international career at the board level within sales, marketing, and administration she found her strength and courage to follow her soul´s calling when nothing else worked to bring her to health. It was then her unique voice developed. Maria´s paintings show a world beyond, of magic and natural forces. They are intuitive, visionary, and multi-layered stories unique to each piece. Her photo art is layered with structures. She plays with the photos until elements telling a story is enhanced. All of Maria´s artwork encourages imagination, providing the viewer with an emotional and intangible experience. An interview by Josh Ryder, curator and Melissa C. Hilborn, curator [email protected] Land scape CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW LandEscape meets Maria Solitaire
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breathing fresh air for my soul. Until an accident on a bus where I did not receive any proper treatment nor a MRI for over a year. I was unable to sit for three years. Illnesses blossomed out of the intense pain and lack of proper treatment. I spent years fighting the Swedish healthcare system for care it does not have the knowledge of and no interest expanding into. Until one day when I needed an outlet for my feelings and picked up a brush and started to Maria Solitaire scape CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW Land
paint. My studies at university involved ancient studies and social anthropology. My research is not being satisfied with what is served before me, but asking questions and following trails often forgotten. This is seen in the many layers of my art. The body of works that we have selected for this special edition of LandEscape — and that our readers have already started to get to know in the introductory pages of this article — has at once captured our attention for the your sapient use of landscape as a means of exploring the complexity scape CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW Land Special Edition
Maria Solitaire scape CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW Land Fairy village in Argyll
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Maria Solitaire scape CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW Land of personal emotions: would you tell us something about your usual setup and process? In particular, do you create your works gesturally, instinctively? How important is intuition for you? Maria Solitaire: Nature is my greatest inspiration and teacher. Its cycles throughout the year, how it builds itself up after destruction. Every time I walk in nature I am in awe of all the nuances and flows. It is a foreign concept for me how anyone wants to destroy it or believe it is greater then it. Nature is a perfect mirror how creation works, all its layers are there for us to see and learn from. And no, I am not speaking of Darwin´s or Descartes beliefs. Each artwork I create is a lesson, and a challenge, in patience. To allow the layers to evolve into what wants to be expressed. To allow the painting to rest when needed. To not let frustration rule, but instead wait for that moment when I know what needs to be done or follow my inner knowing to lift the brush and let my hand work on its own without influences from the mind. It is in the end a matter of trusting what the painting needs and not force onto it what it has not asked of me. This process can last months, and sometimes years. My work is created instinctively. There is no flow if I try to control the process and what comes is flat. My art teaches me again and again the importance of intuition. It evolves around it and becomes a result of it. One of the hardest lessons for me has been not to compare myself with other creatives and their processes nor norms or guide lines, but to trust the process. And my process is guided by intuition. Intuition is not all good all the time. It leads us to something we can learn from and so I have “messed up” several times following it, but it has given me a piece of knowledge I was able to use elsewhere or to discover that a method was not for me. Some of your artworks feature natural spaces, that seem to be captured directly from life, engaging in such intimate way: how does your everyday life's experience fuel your artistic research? In particular, how do you consider the role of memory playing within your artistic process? Maria Solitaire: I often feel I am painting out of memory, from where those memories herald from is uncertain. I tend not to dig too deep into origin of what is being created, but allow each layer of the painting to reveal itself. The end result often looks very different from the first layers. I believe it is almost impossible for everyday experiences not to fuel artistic research and its expression. The way each and every one of us sees the world is coloured by what we have experienced in life. I have spent a lot of time taking off masks not my own, which is why I am able to create the way I am. We have been fascinated by the balanced combination between delicate and at the same time intense nuances of tones that marks out Autumn Light, a stimulating work that shows that vivacious tones are not strictly indespensable to create tension and dynamics. How do you structure your process in order to achieve such brilliant results? In particular, how does your own psychological make-up determine the nuances of tones that you decide to include in your artworks? Maria Solitaire: For me to have structure in art my life needs to be balanced with other things. It is most often while I do other things, like cooking, taking a walk or cleaning my cat´s litter box that I gain structure to not rush but allow the layers to grow one by one. If I spend too much time in one go before a painting I get lost and stuck. I have learnt to not paint for
scape CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW Land Special Edition hours every day, but to have space for other things in life. That space and balance makes me a better creator for I see things I otherwise would not. With Autumn Light I allowed each layer to dry for days. I did not start on the next layer until I saw the result of the previous. I did know which colours I wanted for the background when I started. Living and doing things outside the box is part of who I am and reclaiming this part of me is a substantial part of my art. Each painting I create is part of who I was in that moment, and combining delicate and intense shows the workings of my own inner tapestry. I have grown to love knowing the depth of my own darkness to the sparkles of my own light. It is what is required for me to create what I do. With its unique dreamlike ambience and a bit enigmatic visual quality, The Call as well as Homecoming, unveil the bridge between the real and the imagined: how do you consider the relationship between reality and imagination, playing within your artistic production? Maria Solitaire: Albert Einstein wrote Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited, whereas imagination embraces the entire world, stimulating progress, giving birth to evolution. Many search for their calling and imagination is key to finding it. When you set your imagination free you connect to something bigger than you. Some call it Higher Self, Soul, God, Spirit, Creator, All that is and so on. When you suppress your imagination, and your intuition, you suppress what you were born to do. Imagination is infinite and the reality before us has limits put upon it. To create from authenticity you need, just like electricity, polarity. To know your light you have to
Maria Solitaire scape CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW Land
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know your darkness. There is infinite possibilities creating within the bridge between reality and imagination. As an artist I constantly walk the bridge between reality and other worlds. If I was only to create from what is known or seen in our reality I would not be able to create the way I do, and my art would be quite boring, I believe. Call of the Butterfly is set within nature, a place where all senses can receive what is not visible to the human eye. The butterfly is an ancient symbol for transformation. Meaning transforming your traumas, pain, guilt and shame into your authentic self. Walking the path of transformation is the hardest path a human can walk. It is also the most freeing, though I did not come to that conclusion until a decade of hard work revealed the light at the end. All is connected is to show that we are never isolated or separate from any other living being in the entire Universe. We daresay that your artistic production seems to aim to look inside of what appear to be seen, rather than its surface, providing the spectatorship with freedom to realize their own perception. Austrian Art historian Ernst Gombrich once remarked the importance of providing a space for the viewers to project onto, so that they can actively participate in the creation of the illusion: how important is for you to trigger the viewers' imagination in order to address them to elaborate personal interpretations? In particular, how open would you like your works to be understood? Maria Solitaire: My art is here to show there is much more to the world than meets the eye. As children we are free and then the world places limits onto us from various outlets. It is inevitable for them to shape us. In a way, I want to trigger those lost abilities within the viewer. It is not something I am concious of when I create but looking at my art it is an inevitable message. Maria Solitaire scape CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW Land
I have wings