Julie Houck Answers "4 Questions"
1. Your stories/memories are personal. What do you think about viewers
bringing their own interpretation to your paintings?
Art is not a finite or exact process, and neither is how a work of art may affect someone. Everyone has their own preferences of what they like, dislike and it is the same with art. Art is about providing the viewer a place to dive into visually. Art can calm the soul, challenge the eye, provide a platform for debate and discussion, express controversy transport to new perspectives. It is not always about creating just a “pretty picture.”
2. How do you overcome creative blocks?
I usually have 2-3 works going in the studio at the same time, so I can keep a fresh eye. My work also vacillates between contemporary landscape, ethereal coastal scenes and some abstract. I find the varied visual challenges allow me to stay engaged in creating art. However, when I get to a place in an individual work where there is something missing of “off” in a work in progress, I stand back. I leave the work alone and just look at at each day until the solution comes. I tell my students that the painting will always tell you what it needs if you allow the process to happen and trust what your gut is telling you. All of a sudden one hears add orange!”
3. What is your biggest inspiration?
The three masters who have inspired me in my work are Turner, Rothko and Vermeer. They are the ones I pull upon in terms of my method and handling of light. Turner for his dynamism and use of light in the landscape, Rothko for his subtle transparent layers and use of color and form and Vermeer for his handling of light and value. I am inspired by the landscape and have been drain to coastal scenes in both representational and contemporary compositions. My focus is the interplay of light and form. Even in my most abstract works, you can see the use of value and light.
4. How does your art affect other aspects of your life?
Being a professional artist provides an autonomy in my life that carries over into the other aspects of my life. Art is not merely a job or a career for me, but a lifelong pursuit and process. One never “gets there” in art as one is always evolving. One work leads to the next, which builds on the one that came before. I feel being an artist keeps me evolving and moving forward, and gives me purpose in my life.
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