Dawn Meson

Why are you an artist?

I'm an artist because I feel compelled to express myself visually.  If I do not call into being the images and concepts that fill my mind, they haunt me. I cannot remember a time when I wasn't keenly aware of my visual surroundings, often to the point of being distracted from what I was supposed to be paying attention to. Sometime around the age of 11 or so, this aesthetic awareness combined with a deep sense of pre-adolescent isolation and forged a need to draw and paint. My earliest work vascillated between pure cathartic pieces and studies of the natural world such as landscape paintings and anatomical drawings. As I got older and realized that art was not a very practical career, I learned to express myself in other ways such as writing, research/analysis, and design.  I always found, however, that I needed to be working on art in order to feel balanced and happy.

Could you tell us some more about your paintings?

 

My paintings, regardless of subject matter, have always been musings on color, form, texture, mood and composition.  I combine very loose and painterly techniques with meticulous glazing. I have a very visceral approach to painting, sometimes scratching, spraying, and working with everyday objects as well as brushes and palette knives.

Is the subject important to you, or do you simply paint to express yourself?

 

Subject matter has always been an important choice in my work and has varied widely through my time as an artist.  I would not ever explore a subject at the expense of expressing myself, though.  If I had to identify recurring themes, they would be exploration of nature (especially using nature to express emotions) and a preoccupation with the real-but-unseeable. As I've moved towards being a professional artist, I've become more and more interested in fusing some of my analytical passions with my art.  This has led me to explore non-objective painting.

Could you talk about your latest series of paintings and what you are trying to achieve with them?

 

My latest body of work is a series of abstractions based on quantum theories and interactions. The surreal nature of subatomic physics has interested me since college, so when I decided that I wanted to push myself intellectually as well as creatively in the studio, I decided to make a further study of it through my art.  As a painter, I find it very compelling that there is a rigorously thought out, meticulously researched, yet entirely invisible layer of reality that the most sophisticated instruments cannot see. It seems to me that there is a real role for imagination in science as well as in art, and that artists can speak to it. There is also something appeallingly quixotic about trying to capture complexities like multiple probabilities on a simple piece of canvas. For many pieces, I use a time-based approach (captured using stop-action digital video) to explore these concepts in another dimension.

Though there is a strong conceptual nature to this work, it's important to me that it can stand on its own aesthetically without explanation.

What artists have influenced you, and how?

 

My very first inspiration was observation of nature. Over the course of my artistic development, I've been influenced by a wide range of artists. Some of my earliest influences were from classical Renaissance painters such as Leonardo da Vinci , the Fauves, nonobjective painters such as Kandinsky, and landscape artists such as William Turner.

Regardless, I look to my own impulses when actually painting.  I'm influenced by many kinds of ideas, not just by artistic approaches.  In creating my current body of work, I'm particularly drawn to physicists and writers such as Richard Feynman, Stephen Hawking, Brian Greene, and cosmologist Stephon Alexander. I'm also interested in time based studies such as those by Muybridge.

What inspires you to paint and how do you keep motivated when things get tough in the studio?

 

Seeing what other artists create always inspires me.  Interesting ideas and conversations inspire me, as does being in nature.

As far as getting to the studio is concerned, I don't have any real difficulty!  I find that some of my best studio days start out as times that I would rather not come in. Some of my strongest and most interesting pieces are formed from difficulties in working, so at this point I believe that it is important to maintain a regular studio practice and paint (or sketch) whether I'm in the mood or not.  I treat my studio work with the same level of seriousness that I used to treat my design business, if not more.  When things really get tough on a particular piece, I will switch to working on another for a while or take a break and find a fresh perspective.

How have you handled the business side of being an artist?

 

Being a freelance designer and consultant prior to becoming a full-time artist has definitely helped. With the exception of selling myself (not my strongest point), I find the rest of the business side is not so different from any other business I've been engaged in. I look for opportunities, return phone calls and e-mails as promptly as possible, be friendly, and act as I would like to be treated.

What advice would you give to an artist just starting out?

 

I feel strongly that anyone who wants to create art should. Beginning artists should try to discover why they're doing what they're doing, and not be afraid to explore. regardless of whether or not their art looks "right".  On the other hand, unless you feel you absolutely must do your art more than anything else, I wouldn't recommend going into it as a career.

What do you do for fun (besides painting)?

 

Draw, photograph, and explore a variety of other visual media. I read constantly, on many subjects. I also really love cooking, gardening, SCUBA, and tai chi.