May I ask?

I am curious about people. When I find someone interesting, there is a spark, I try to turn that spark into a fire. My greatest pleasure would be to get that one phrase, or hear the one sentence, that reveals a part of someone that even their most intimate confidant had never heard before. Like, "Wow. Did I just say that?"

There is a lot of poetry in truth. And people are so beautiful when they are being open and honest.

Monica Eastin

Friday, August 29, 2008

DreaM Girl: Artist Andrea Ribeiro

Buy my art

“Wow! You are gorgeous. Wow!” This was the first sentence out of my mouth to the Artist Andrea Ribeiro. Shocking really, to see someone so beautiful. I suppose what took me by surprise was that during the days that preceded my interview I had familiarized myself with her work but not her face. I had no idea how stunning this Brazilian beauty was until I logged onto my computer (we conversed via Skype) and saw her for the first time. “Wow!” I kept repeating myself like some awe struck teenager suddenly confronted by an A-list celebrity. “You are just gorgeous!”

She wore a tulip pink pashmina that fell loosely around her shoulders. Only an artist could know how perfect the pink complimented the natural bronze of her skin. Large circle earrings hung down to her jaw, and as they swung in rhythm with her laugh, I thought to myself, here is a woman with style.

After the initial shock of her appearance had passed, and I stopped repeating my rather star struck mantra, Andrea replied laughing, “Nossa! Nossa! No, No.” Her laugh turned in my ear like a sweet peach corkscrew. I had forgotten how delicious the Portuguese accent is, and her Diane Keatoneasque self-consciousness only made her beauty that much more alluring. There is something refreshing and innocent about a woman who is still made shy by compliments. My telling her that she was, “Oh. My. God. Gorgeous,” caused her to give me a look like a child that had just discovered the surprise of Christmas morning. “Nossa!” She kept repeating, the blushing apples of her cheeks now warm in color like wine.

“First of all let me ask you Andrea, Why are you an artist?”

“Well, like you said, I am. It’s not something you choose to be, you just are, you think arts, and the first movements are artistic ones. I have drawn since I was very young, since I could manage the paper and the pencil. I use to draw people, and people living in houses, well, they were probably more like caves then.” She laughs with surprise at her own joke. Suddenly I feel like I’m directing the Brazilian version of Annie Hall. Andrea interrupts herself, “Please stop me if I talk too much, I tend to do that when I am anxious.” Her long brown hair slightly sun kissed in the front drapes her shoulders, a waterfall of hair and smiles.

“No, you go right ahead Andrea.” I could listen to you all day I think to myself. For her art, Andrea uses a combination of digital photography and sketching, although she admits without hesitation that her favorite pieces are the ones that come from sketches first. “Like Thanees Dream?” I ask her. A piece that I found to be very special, a portrait of young woman that looks to be dreaming.

“Well as you may know, Thanee is my daughter. And I made that piece while she was in a coma. So I drew her, and even though I may have drawn people before, it was not personal. I never drew anyone that I loved. She was the first piece of personal work that I sketched and more importantly, that I kept.”

“So would you say this was the most transformitive part of your career, as an artist, during the time Thanee was in Coma?”

“Yes, well, it just happened, everything with me is very intuitive. Sometimes I feel like I am not totally incarnated, and I am not prepared to deal with the realistic side of life. I think I am half dreaming and half present.” As Andrea speaks I quickly learn that her hands move in perfect correlation with her words. She moves them about in circles in front of her face. “But after Thanee’s Dream I gave myself over to art.” This time she makes a motion as though she were plucking ripe fruit from a tree.

“I know that there have been other influences on your art, primarily your boyfriend, Gallo, who is also an artist. Tell me about how he influences you today.”

A laugh and a then a silent head nod from her leaves me wondering if I have gotten too personal.

“He has been a great influence, the first work I posted was Trapped, and that was during a time when I was mad at him.” She laughs like he is in the room, there to reminisce with her, but of course he is not, the couple have lived apart for seven years now. “Usually when I get mad I do some kind of work and I express some kind of anger, or irritation through the work. You know, it is so funny, it works so beautifully.
I get so mad and then I just can’t talk to him and then I start to draw and before I am done with the work I begin to understand how he feels, and then I can see his side.”

“How do you keep your inspiration after the storm of your passion subsides?”

“External things inspire me, I react to the things around me, and there is no shortage of that. I cannot go after inspiration it comes to me, it is a natural thing. The last one I made of this series is Swimming on her night and it's Gallo's favorite of them... it depicts the passion... it depicts the woman's blood embracing her man... the fusion of masculine and feminine... the one. that's us... Gallo and I. One. Another series inspired in our love is the Soul Mate series:

“You mentioned that you have friends, one who is an anthropologist?’ Were they in some way the inspiration for your next piece Serene Warrior?"

"Yes."

"I have read that some think the piece gives a sense that there is a loss of innocence for the subject, in this case a little warrior girl. What do you think?”

“It has nothing to do with a loss of innocence. They are just different. Indians they are different than us. And since the tribes are passive, you never hear about wars with them. But, the ones that do engage in war are really doing so to defend their territory. And when I did that girl, she had that serene look while wearing war paint. Yet she was a child! And indeed, she is indeed a warrior; just being able to survive makes you a warrior.

Andrea continues after pause, “Mostly they (the Indians) are just peaceful and serene even though they are warriors. The Indians have a lot of wisdom. They are in touch with the earth, they have earth wisdom, and there is a real peace that comes with that.”

“I have never heard that before... “‘Earth Wisdom’”

As I started to look into the background of Andreas home, it was like a mosaic of her life, pieces of everything all tightly together to reflect her ‘earth wisdom’. When I asked her about her home she, par for the course, had a generous laugh and story for me.

“Well in Chinese horoscope I am the rat! And they make a nest of everything and they collect it. But a lot of things here belong to Gallo. So it is a mix of his things, mine things, our things, it is home. I suppose now, it looks like a pit bull, you know when you visit someone and they say ‘oh this pit bull is so nice’ and then the owner goes away, well that is the feeling my home will give you, it can be haunting.” Andrea, now laughing at her pack-rat-like ways makes me giggle in return. This is not a woman who takes herself too seriously, she is acutely aware of her shortcomings.

On the one hand it is evident that she has a deep and reflective side to her, like when she mentions certain people having ‘earth wisdom’, how the Indians flow with nature not against it. And yet she doesn’t take herself too seriously, her wisdom doesn’t seem to trump her humor, and as I learn, her laugh is very easy to provoke. When I ask her about this contrast she explains that this is something she gets asked about a lot.

“We are all multifaceted.” She explains. “Everybody is. If you talk to your husband, you deal with him in some passion, in some way, and then you are with your best girlfriend, and you are different to her, then you talk to an old woman, and you are different there too. For me, I can transit between the layers so easily. I guess some would say I am bipolar, I would say to them, “Fine! I am multipolar!” Andrea laughing now, “No really, it is not that I go from extreme happiness to extreme sadness, it is just that I am able to be sad and come out of it just like that.” She snaps her tan fingers. “We are reaction that is what we are. I never know what my work will be in the end, but it keeps changing, it is a mood, like me, that’s art.”


Let me ask you Andrea, “Have you always been a night owl, and work late into the night?”

“Yes, I always, since I was a child tried to stay as late as I could. When I was an adult and working with the movies, I use to have to stay up for days at a time. But, now I know that we need to refuel our soul with sleep.”

“How does your dream life affect your work?”

“I would say that I am a daydreamer. It is not (for me) what happens when I am sleeping it is what happens when I am not.” She hesitates. Then adds, “I dream of Gallo sometimes.”

Well it is no secret that many of Andrea’s work is influenced by her lover Gallo, like Til’ You Arrive and Loneliness. So I had to ask her, “How does the distance between the two of you affect your art?”

“Well most people think I am crazy for having this relationship, being so in love. And now I am in a situation like this, and it just goes beyond words, we are so intimate, and so close, I have never felt this way, so connected to anyone before.” Andrea hesitates and looks into the camera like someone who spots a distant ship in the horizon.

“Let’s talk a little more about your art, what has been a reoccurring theme in your work?”

“The only thing I was interested in drawing was people. And especially couples. Mainly, women. I have always loved to draw women. Because women are so beautiful, and they are the whole universe. They show in their body forms and in their eyes, they show everything. All those deep emotions and difficult emotions that we go through, it’s because we have so much life inside. You know? We are capable of bringing the kids, and raising them. And especially, I love to draw them naked.”

My ears now perking up, not so much at the thought of nudity or erotic art but at the idea that women, portrayed naked, are truly beautiful. I find this thought both obvious and deeply profound. Women, in all their shapes and sizes (not just the commercial beauties) are truly lovely.

Andrea adds, “And you know.” Her voice slightly trailing off, quieter now. “ I use to have my drawings destroyed.”

“What? Why?”

“I could not express who I was, so I kept it all inside, and I the only way I could express was to draw. And I would keep a notebook from my stepmother, full of my drawings. In my case, I use to keep a lot of emotions inside, because all of my life happens inside, and though I am expressive with my gestures and words, I keep my inner feelings hidden, few know. And when my stepmother would find my drawings of naked women, she would rip them all up. I got use to hiding everything.”

“I can’t help but wonder Andrea, if in some way the sense of rebellion, continuing to draw as a child even though you knew if you were caught it would be mean big trouble, has been a big motivator for you?”

“Certainly, yes. I learned to hide, which is not always so good. But, I couldn’t stop what I wanted to do, which was to draw, so in that sense, it helped me to know who I was.”

“And how have you managed to go from such a private state of self expression, especially in your case where you were forced to hide your art, to a more public place, where you are able to share it with the world?”

“Gallo.”

My voice erupts in nervous laughter. “So he is the reason you are coming out of your shell?”

“Absolutely. Yes. If it weren’t for him, I would have never shown my art. I never thought I could. But, he is so open, and so brazen with his own work; he gets me to a place where I am not so shy. I learned that it doesn’t matter if my work is better or worse, it is my opinion. Gallo is so strongly masculine, I say that his feminine side is his communion with the earth, the real true life. But overall his attitude is completely masculine, the total Mars. In my latest series when Mars meets Venus I am showing not only my encounter with Gallo, but the feminine in men. It's a virile figure with wavy feminine forms around him... flowers, colors... the masculine meets the feminine... Mars meets Venus....”

“Well thank you Andrea for choosing to share, I am very grateful for your work.”

“Nossa. Nossa. I am so happy to know…thank you.”



More of Andrea Ribeiro's art can be seen at: DreaM / Art Thou / andreacreations / 23eggs
/ kitty23 / tropogirl / redfrog / personalrender


Thursday, August 21, 2008

Louise Donahue: Spot On with the Scales

Buy my art

Louise Donahue is known for her sense of humor, as well as her fine artistry. When I sat down to interview Louise I knew I’d come away with two things, a good laugh, and an elucidating perspective on life.

“As you know I've been following your work for a long time now, and when I saw that you were starting to venture off into t-shirt design I couldn't help but wonder, why tee's?”

Louises’ signature smile appeared instantly and with the strength of her trademark square jaw she pointed her chin toward me, which over the years, I’ve come to know as the indicator of good conversation to come. After a pause she began, “That's an interesting question, I got the idea from seeing how commercial advertisers use our bodies to bring recognition to their products. They've even worked it so we pay! Pretty crafty.”

Her jaw less pointed now, begins to relax into her story as her process unfolds, “Well, my product is art. And humanity is the ultimate gallery. T-shirts are a dynamic canvas.”

Finding it difficult to argue with her premise. I immediately began wondering to myself what I was trying to express with my wardrobe/gallery. I have come to know it to be typical of Louise to draw meaning from otherwise overlooked mediums and subjects, but t-shirts? My interest was piqued. “Sounds like you've switched canvases. The body is now your canvas. Do you find it more challenging to create knowing that your work will be worn as opposed to hung on say, a gallery wall?”

For years Louise’s work has been premiered and placed on gallery walls, I couldn’t help but question how and why she chose to change her canvas.

But, as she explained, the body is more intimate and empowering, “Certainly, it makes it a more personal venue. The individual would be in a position to choose the art based on their desire to express what they want to say. Image T-shirts are a way of communicating graphically.”

Still pondering my choice of wardrobe for the day (a faded, bleach stained t-shirt that reads Italian Stallion), I couldn’t help but want to understand more of her philosophy. “How does designing T-shirts change the creative process for you?”

“The creative process probably isn't all that different in essence, regardless of the scope or format. At least for me, the subject is something I find fascinating, funny or meaningful and the art expresses my desire to share it with those who are sympathetic.”

One thing I have always enjoyed about Louise’s work is her ability to remain playful and sexy. “Certainly your designs will give a person the opportunity to express a sexual side of themselves?”

Louise’s classic grin returns at the mere mention of sex. I was hoping I was on to something, at worst, I had overshot the metaphor.

“If you watch lizards, you'll find they are really sexy and not bashful at all about being "voyeured!" They aren't all that different from us, they mirror us in a herpetological mini-cosmos."

Point taken. "One thing that remains a common thread in your designs is your affinity toward reptiles. What’s the reason for this particular pattern?”

“Oh my! Hmmmm, I've always lived in an environment where lizards flourish and I've enjoyed observing their behavior and often envied their simple existence. I tend to personify all animals and from an artist's perspective their simple physical form is an easy shape to draw (basically a tube, the same abstraction artist's use to layout the human figure) into anthro-postures. That allows me to dress them up for my little cartoon dramas and to humanize them. Frogs work the same way with a little balloon feature added around the middle.”

At this point I am relieved to know I’m not the only one who sees frogs as sexy, so I decided to pursure her process a bit further, "How do reptiles fit in with what we, humans, desire to express about our playful, sexual, characteristics?"

“Perhaps reptile behavior reminds us on some primordial level that basic instincts come before the thought process chronologically and we might benefit from suspension of the continual and cumbersome moral analysis of our motives. Just once and a while it might be a refreshing escape from reason. I guess, in a way, it's like returning to evolutionary infancy.”

As I’m listening to Louise explain, the lure of reptilian styled clothing becomes obvious, “So you could say your tees are a tease?”

Louise laughs. The poignancy of her square jaw appears again, this time accompanied by dimples, “I suppose so.”

“I've seen the bunny personified and turned into a global icon for sex. But a reptile or an amphibian? Never.”

“Yes, I guess they'd serve better as the before of a skin softener ad if you pictured your human self interacting with them sexually, "ouch" for sure. But if you were a lady lizard you might be appreciative of your lover's glorious display of unique jewelry.
If you look closely at a bluebelly each scale is an intricate mosaic of various interlocking colors. Stunning! Attractive.”

Wondering at this point if her new venture will allow for both sexes to enjoy the visual party I ask, “They (reptiles and amphibians) are also hunters and not merely prey. I think by choosing them as the subject of your tees you make them appealing to both sexes. As both men and women can identify with being hunted and being the hunter.”

“Yeah, the gender appeal must be in the eyes of the beholder but I personally tend to attribute masculine characteristics to lizards. To me they are all guys.”


“You mentioned evolution and looking at our reptilian brothers as sort of an analogy for our own sexual primordial infancy. Interesting. Do you think that people will use your lizards to project their own "animal" instincts?”

“Sure! Lounge Lizards…licensed for lascivious leering and licentious liberties!”
Bluebelly lizards Lounge lizards lizard art Louise
Redgirl brings characters to life. Animation by Andrea Ribeiro.

My low belly laugh punctuates her last sentence, Louise as much the wordsmith as the artist. I take a deep breath to maintain composure, “Well, all sexual puns aside is it fair to say that Science inspires your t-shirt art? What particular theories of Science most inspire your work?”

“Well, scientific inquiry certainly informs my curiosity and ups the ante on visual analogy. We can only understand what empirical data measures reliably and science speculates as to it's meaning; yet we can't see phenomenon directly. It sparks the imagination. Many artists explore science for just that reason. As far as favoring any particular science field, all are fascinating (except statistics) but epistemology always poses "the big question" that can never be answered. Now that's inspiring!”

See more of Louise Donahue's Reptile Art at: Partyclothesbrand.com

Party Clothes Brand

Go shopping for Party Clothes!


Buy my art


create custom t-shirts at Zazzle