Interview with Artist & Illustrator Brandy Masch

Last week I had the opportunity to hangout with artist and illustrator Brandy Masch at her Vancouver studio. What a treat!

When I first visited Brandy's website and saw her art - especially the Living City paintings - I felt transported back into Horton's World from the Dr. Zeus books - especially the most recent movie and book Horton Hears a Who. It would be so fun to be a little person and climb into her multi dimensional worlds and explore. I mentioned this to Brandy and s he smiled and said she absolutely l loved Dr. Zeus books when she was a kid! Of these world’s she creates, Brandy says that she’s an

intuitive painter. The images build themselves, there is not pre- set image. “I don’t use sketch books so much as just work on the piece and see where it takes me.”

Her work was recently featured in V-rag magazine- the art issue along with an interview write up. She has been approached by Simply Red about doing an

album cover and gets commissions and sales via twitter followers, her facebook fan page, as well as local shows such as The Drift and Artist in Our Midst – both annual art show events in Vancouver.

Brandy earned a BFA from Emily Carr University, specializing in printmaking and drawing – lithography. She fell in love with animation and illustration during the four year degreeprogram. And found her love of being an illustrator through the process of doing her BA. The support, encouragement, and guidance from her teachers continue to help me to this day.

It's always so fun and humbling to visit other artist's studios, this one with no exception. What struck me immediately was how organized Brandy is with her art supplies and overall set up. Everything labeled and in its place, easy to find when she needs it. I was immediately inspired myself to make some organizational changes inspired by Brandy's studio set up.

Brandy is a beautiful woman, passionate artist, and easy to be with. Here are some neat little facts about her….

Rock of support: My husband, Curtis, 100%

Favourite colour: changes regularly, green and blues lately. orange

Favourite paints: holbein gouach and Golden liquid acrylics – Golden , FW and liquitex acrylic inks.

Favourite tool: Windsor and Newton 00 round synthetic brush

Favourite soap: Master’s brush cleaner


Favourite artist: the low brow art and pop surrealists, Sean Tan, Julie Moristate, Travis Lui

Role model & inspiration: My Mom, very supportive.

We also talked about challenges, inspirations and goals. Here are hers, in that order.

Deb: Brandy, what do you think your greatest challenge is?

Brandy: Being shy and asking for what I want. Reaching out to people.

Deb: what inspires and feeds you and your art?

Brandy: Surfing the internet, chilling out, looking at other artist’s work, looking around the city, taking photos of things that inspire me. People watching in crowds.

Going for a walk in the forest.

Deb: What are some of your goals as a professional artist and illustrator?

Brandy: My goals include primarily and foremost to make a living from my artwork, specifically having my work in magazines, illustrations for children’s books, and doing creative things such as teaching art to kids. I want to make a living off what I do, do that I don’t need another job.

Brandy, Thank you for letting us see inside your work space and sharing your passion with us! Wishing your dream comes true.

Tristan, thank you for taking this photo of us!

Homemade Valentines Cards

Make your sweetheart something special this year - simple home made, hand made, valentines cards. With thought care and love your sweetie knows you spent the time on them. No commercial bling bling! Just love, care and your creativity. :)

What you need:

Coloured & textured papers of all types - hand made stained tissue and other papers, pre- purchased scrap booking papers, decorative papers, doily's, sheets of music all work nicely.

Glue - I like golden regular gel, you could use Elmer's glue or YES glue too.

Palette knife or foam brush - to apply the glue.

Sheet of plastic - use it to place over the image when its glued and put a book or something heavy over top

Blank gift cards (you can buy bulk packs at Michaels really cheap) or even a little 5 x 7 Artist Trading Cards work well for something unique! - glue the papers on these in your own way.

Stamps with words such as 'love you' and so on, can also make a nice addition to your card art.

Paint pens - a fun way to write your little love note.

Glitter glue or sparkles - always fun additions to embelish any creation.

Ruthie and I had fun making a big old mess on the floor, cutting pasting and designing our own

little creations. I got super inspired and made a little one for each child in her grade one class.

Works well if you glue your images down and then cover them with that sheet of plastic and put a book or something on top over night.

Have Fun. Happy Valentines Day.

Blending acrylics to create a smooth gradient look

This photo is a section of an in process 36 x 36 x 1 1/2" painting I'm currently working on in the studio. I liked the shot so I thought I'd share it. The Finished piece will be posted on this blog and at www.debchaney.com some unknown date in the future.

(c) Deb Chaney 2010.

I received an Email question from a fellow artist who wrote me wondering about creating smooth gradients using acrylics.

This question is definitely worthy of a short video. It is my hope that before the end of this year I will have the video camera set up on a tripod in the studio and be able to film a short on how to do this so you can see it for yourself. For now, here's her question and my answer....

"Hi Deb!

How are you? Hope you are having a great week.

I am currently working on an acrylic painting with a warm orange background. Starting with warm red from the top, fading down to a warm orange on the bottom, I am wanting to create a smooth gradient look.

I'm having a lot of trouble achieving this with acrylics. I'm getting many streaks and lines. The colours are not blending perfectly to a solid gradient look.

Would you be willing to offer any suggestions or any tips or tricks to achieve this look and combat the streaks? Perhaps the paint didn't stay wet enough for long to blend properly. I've painted many coats and nearly used up my entire orange tube ! LOL"

Hi Lisa,

Thanks for writing.

My first question for you would be - Are you using heavy body or liquid acryics?

You mentioned using a tube, so I'm guessing you're using the full body acrylics (toothpaste consistency).

If so, my recommendation is that you use a gel medium - like Golden soft or regular gel - in that area where the two colours merge. The medium could help to blend the two colours together seemlessly, like you desire, and could be used in lieu of water.

The next question I would ask you is what kind of brush you are using for blending the colours?

I have a lot of success using a very soft bristle flat head brush to blend colours. Back and forth, back and forth lots of times, more than would be intuitive, to blend the two colours with the medium and create that gradient you want without streaks or lines.

Lastly, I am wondering if your're working flat or if the substrate you're painting on is up on an easle? It's so much easier to blend gradients when you're working flat on a table. Then if you want to add water it's not going to drip down and disturb the layers below.

If I made the incorrect assumption

about the paint consistency you're using and you are using liquid acrylics (I love the Golden liquid acrylics myself), they blend beautifully and you can also uses a fluid medium in between two colours, same technique as described above.

Hope this helps. Comments are welcome.

Have another question? info@debchaney.com

Fantastic Artist Date: Granville Island Market Vancouver

Fantastic Artist Date: Granville Island Market Vancouver

As artists we must take time to re-energize, nurture ourselves, go on artists dates – by ourselves - and fill that inner well. Iff you live here in Vancouver or are visiting because of the 2010 winter olympics, I highly recommend an afternoon on Granville Island.

See new things, smell new smells, hear new music, enjoy the beauty in every day things…Granville Island Public Market is the perfect place to do this. A culmination of international food, crafts, art, music, ice cream, chocolate, entertainment….An artists delight.

Here are some photos from my recent visit there….

(PS Lyza Loo...when you come to visit I will drop you off here! This is right by where I work!)

Getting into the creative groove

For my Own Amusement

Emerging Series

30 x 40 x 1 1/2" Acrylics, Mixed Media,& Sand

on canvas

Original and Prints Available (c) Deb Chaney 2008

inquiries: info@debchaney.com

Feng Shui Recommendation: This painting support your career and lifepath.

To further enhance the journey of your life and work, place this painting near the entrance of your home or office.

Recently, I was speaking with one of my studio mates about getting back into our creative groove when we’ve been away from our work for a while.

Rodja was saying that she’d been out of the studio for three weeks plus, taking a natural break after having just shipped a bunch of paintings to her gallery in Toronto. As well, she also has a graphic design business and works as a culinary chef so her mind and being are not always focused on painting. She has to switch. That means when she gets to her studio, getting her mind into painting mode and sometimes that takes some time.

Similarly, for me, as we all do, I balance a full life with my art. Being a mom to my six year old, having a part time job, and all other details life entails. So even though I dedicate a full day to paint, each week, every Tuesday, there is still a process I go through to get into the work, into that groove

Here are a few things that work for me, specifically on days when the little voice in my head doesn’t want to be at the studio, doesn’t feel like painting, it literally wants to tell me to give up, go home and why life sucks and why I should not bother, on and on the little voice goes…

Lately, I start out in my beach chair, heater pumping next to me and I read and look at inspirational books such as 1,000 Artist Trading Cards or Sabrina Ward Harrison books.

I make a lot of tea – lately my favourite is orange roibois from the Granville Island tea company, (although the green blueberry is awesome too and I would really recommend the African Roibois Cream). Some days I will have a little nap. Last Tuesday I think I had about six cups before I got into painting. Serious tea drinking may get the creative juices flowing.

A few weeks prior I went for a walk and strolled through the artist studios at 1000 Parker Way ( they are part of the east end culture crawl every year). The walk was great – walking is linked to stimulating the brain waves in your brain that enduce creativity, but checking out other artist’s studios topped off the walk ten fold. Its then that the little voice realizes she was wrong. A new voice begins to pipe up...If they can do it , so Can I. Wow, look at what he’s working on. Look she got painting this morning, maybe I could put a glaze on that painting I've been so stuck on for a while....and so the insp iration kicks in.

Very often I write in my journal, as I see my other studio room mate Heather Craig do. In this way she quietly inspires me. Yup good old morning pages to work through all that mind gunk. I like to write lists. Wish lists. Things I’m happy about. Things I am not happy about. Last week it was everything I hate. Everything that was annoying, irritating, and pissing me off. Yuck lists. Feels good to get it out . That works too. After that I finally started painting!

Music can be good too and dancing but lately I’ve been riding my bike to the studio and the beach chair calls and I plop down and get into my creative groove in comfort!

The other day I was so exhausted from, well life, that I just sat comatozed in my good old beach chair and ate Miss. Vicky’s salt and vinegar chips. That and drank tea, of course! Those chips seem to have magical powers. Try it next time, let me know if they work for you. Definitly recommend the salt and vinegar flavour. Yum.

Other quick ideas to get started...

• Deep breaths, let it be if you’re not feeling the creative “love”
• Go for a walk
• Look at what you’ve already done
• Put aside work that is too intimadating to start - this worked wonders a few weeks ago when I felt overwhelmed with a commission piece I’m working on
• Do some small practice doodles and pieces, let yourself make some crap art.
• Go to a free demonstration (If you're in Vancouver, OPUS has them on a regular basis)
• Look at other artists work - magazines, galleries, internet

It takes a risk to show up and do your art work. I like this quote “ And the trouble is, if you don’t risk anything, you risk everything “ Eric Jong.

There is some quote out here about 90% of success is showing up. So kudus to us for showing up. Let's give ourselves gold stars for showing up ( even if we sit by the heater and eat potato chips!)

First day at my new studio!

Some shots I took today after unloading and setting up the tables and artwork in my new studio in Old Foundry Building in Vancouver. I love the space and spent most of the day nesting in and then got inspired and started painting. Enjoy the pictures.

Goals for 2010

2010 Goals. I have been setting goals now for over 10 years and often, although it is a little scary putting out 'there' posting as personal as this to the world, it motivates me to keep my commitments. So, that said, here it is, what is important for me to create, enjoy, do, and become in this new year - 2010. Deb.

Art Career

Have the www.debchaney.com website up and running -- Jan 25, 2010, it's up!

Have a studio and go there on a regular basis – create a working studio schedule --- YES!

Finish the commission painting I was asked to do and present 3 options to the client

Teach an art class – VSB or Vancouver Community Centers --- curriculum submitted...

Get my artwork out on exhibit in Vancouver -- am applying to the East end Culture Crawl for 2010. yesssss!!!

Illuminate the Artist Within™ (ITAW)

• Product development- Complete and publish Creativity Cards, ideas, tricks and secrets to ignite and support creativity. ---- 3 rounds of editing done, now in design phase Jan 30, 2010. Mock up cards, round one, complete (Feb 2010)
• Create vision board on foam core for the ultimate concept of ITAW– teaching, speaking, retreats, products

Give a public information talk about the benefits of creativity and being in creative process at a local library or other public venue.

Look over what I've completed and the requirements for my Kaizen Muse Creativity Coaching Certification and talk to Jill Badonsky about finishing this up.

Try something new in art making – silkscreening? guitar playing? --- went to a block printing demo.

Fitness/Health

Do a yoga class at least once a week and research a yoga instructor class.

Hike, beach walk, swim, regularly. -- been riding my bike to work

Stretch and do basic yoga and muscle toning daily in the morning! Yes!

Personal Growth/spirit

Do the FORUM landmark weekend seminar - copmleted Jan 2010. Just signed up for Advanced Course, with my Dad!

Look into Vancouver Toastmasters groups to begin to practice speaking in public with the vision of becoming comfortable public speaking.

Do the 7 laws of spiritual success for children with Ruthie (for kids) Deepak Chopra’s book, lay out a daily plan

Friendships

Grow and meet more friends and have a circle here in Vancouver

Deep gratitude for friends I have now, both new and old

Love myself more and more, no matter what, every day.

Have the confidence to be myself completely with no concern as to what others may think or judge, act as if I’ve already died, life fully

Family

Find peace in my relationship with my parents.

Be firm and loving with Ruthie.

Recreation

Be active and meditative in nature on a regular basis both alone and with friends….

Snowshoeing

Hiking

Swimming

Yoga

Art openings

Plays and movies

Make jewelry

Try something new – dodge ball?

Finances

Meet with Leyla’s husband, make a budget, and look at it vs my spending monthly - Met with Leyla and Joe Last Saturday and talked about setting up an auto savings account, now I gotto go and set it up ! (Feb 2010)

Save $ on every pay check, - set up auto transfer to savings

Save regularly for retirement

Continue learning about money and investing

If you made it this far and are inspired to do your own goals (yes!) Here is a wonderful tool many life coaches use with their clients to check you are hitting all areas of your life. Often called the wheel of life: