OH MY DARLIN’
CLEMENTINE?

When the $2 Art Contest began, I did not intend to exclude any group of  artists or media. But as it turns out, I find myself drawn to emerging and mid-career artists whose work has a visual brand.

Most of the artists that submit to the $2 Art Contest produce phenomenal work, and some of it has really spoken to me.  But the final ingredient seems to be… is it this work a beautiful flat of clemintines or is this the artist’s fruit of the month?  I enjoy looking at a piece and seeing an artist’s stamp on it, not just proof that the artist can tackle every media well.

As an emerging artist, I received a great piece of advice… find your voice.  But it is rare that an artist opens themselves up to the judgement and scrutiny that comes with revealing both the struggles and successes of finding that voice. This month’s work reminds me to appreciate the work EVERY artist struggles with to produce with a clear voice and signature.

This month’s artist has
given us a window
into an artist’s pace:
learning charted.

The Featured Artist chosen from the April entries is Meridith Martens.  Martens’ work is at times simple and straightfoward, but as the process continues I find work that makes me say, “How did she do that?” instead of “I can do THAT” — the latter being all time crushing statement of dismissal frequently heard in galleries around the globe.

FEATURED ARTIST:
Meridith Martens

As the daughter of a nomadic military family, Meridith Martens eventually settled in Annapolis where she combined her love of horses with her artistic talent and a gifted painter of horses emerged.  Her career started as a portrait painter of horses on a local level as a teenager and then expanded to race horses from Saratoga to Hialeah.  She attended Corcoran School of Art, The San Francisco Art Institute, The Maryland Institute of Art and worked as an illustrator for a commercial art studio.

After a year in Paris, she moved to New York City and married an actor.  Her daughter was born 3 years later. Two years after, a divorce found Martens and her daughter moving to North Carolina.  The move offered the opportunity to make a living painting portraits of horses, dogs and their owners.

A workshop given by Wolf Kahn and his sponsored fellowship to the Vermont Studio Center gave her the opportunity to experiment with abstract forms.  As she painted, her work evolved.  She is equally comfortable with realism and abstract and the infinite range of expression between them.  Now residing in NC for 25 years, with her husband of 10 years, Meridith continues to create, experiment, explore and strives to excel in whatever medium she chooses.

But I wanted Martens to weigh in on the “Spin Art” she submitted to ArtAndArtDeadlines.com:  “Using the term ‘spin art’ initially seems to put people off until they get an opportunity to see what I’ve done.  Then I can explain the process and the work and layering that’s involved.  The basic process is spin art, but it’s more refined and deliberate.  There is a great deal of thought process involved regarding style and color, but the final product has to have a feeling of spontaneity without looking contrived…”

“It’s approved by the American Dental Association for not being too sugery sweet…”

“4 out of 5 academic artists were intrigued by the process and actually like it and can appreciate the process.”

What do you say to the academics out there that believe spin art is just random aesthetics? “Shut up . . . what’s in your wallet?  Many contemporary artists have been criticized for being too commercial, but honestly what better endorsement does an artist have than creating art that appeals to the masses.”

Talk to me about how you work… your process: “It’s not a secret, maybe the details of the equipment will be vague and the process details will stay with me, but I started with the spin art toy and then modified a box fan. As I developed the work and the process, I looked for larger options to accommodate larger canvases and more paint. My latest “machine” is a very large fan that was modified by my engineer husband and fabricated in a machine shop.  My equipment still needs some tweaking and of course I need to find a larger space to work in.”

Do you have special terminology that you have developed for how you work?  “No, I need a name . . . got any ideas?  Something snappy and commercial?”  Indeed I do:

Centrifugal painting: Controlled experiments in Viscosity.

You know “we have to talk about food” is usually how this interview continues, but to my horror, I received the following response: “Sorry to disappoint, but I’m not really a foodie, but when I’m hungry, I love lobster, artichokes, chocolate souffle.”  I am going to choose to believe she IS a foodie and is just not fully versed in its definition.  After all, she didn’t say “cheese burger and fries.”  She SAID, “lobster, artichokes and chocolate souflee.”  She is forgiven, for now.