September Spotlight Artist: Ruth Palmer Part 2

Hello readers!! I am proud to announce that Ruth Palmer had a chance to sit down and participate in the Q&A session I spoke of in part one of this feature.
ENJOY!!!!

PLP Q & A session with Ruth Palmer:

PLP: What is your full name or artist’s alias?
RP: Just Ruth Palmer. My parents didn't even give me a middle name. LOL!


PLP: Where were you born and raised?
RP:I was born and raised in Edinburgh, Scotland.

PLP: At what age did you realize you had creative passion/talent?
RP:It came out musically when I was a child. I sang in the choir and was able to play instruments by ear. I always doodled...getting in trouble with my mother for writing and drawing pictures on all the books in our home.

PLP: Who were your influences coming up as a child?
RP:There was a boy in my class in primary school who had an amazing artistic talent that was years ahead of his physical age. I was mesmerized by his work. He was so good that they would let him paint murals on the school hallways. I often wonder what he is doing now and where he is today.

PLP: Who are some of your creative influences now?
RP: It's mostly spiritual. My belief in Jesus Christ is my main inspiration.There is so much artistic talent in the world today though and I'd have to say that all art and just the pure diversity of it inspires me. I do have a few favourite artists. Edouard Manet and Wassily Kandinsky (I know, two completely different ends of the spectrum) but I love them both. Manet for the richness of his work and Kandinsky for his brilliant sense of play and balance.

PLP:As an artist, what legacy would you like to leave in the history books?
RP: Well, so many traditional artists have written to me to tell me that my abstract work has completely changed their opinion about abstract. I've been told that I've inspired realism artists to try abstract for the first time and it is such an honor to have that kind of influence on other artists. I'm also told that my artwork speaks to people, particularly my Christian artwork...it always seems to speak to the person, exactly what God wants to say to them at the time. I guess I'd like to be known as "the artist who made true converts out of other artists". If I have planted any seeds of faith through my work at all, then my purpose here has been served.

PLP:What is your perception of today’s Arts Community?
Do you feel there is a great deal of support FROM the community? WITHIN the
community? What would you change or like to see evolve in the industry as a
whole?
RP: Yes, I think there is a lot of support, however, I also think that ithe networking and socializing takes valuable time away from the creation process. It's excellent that we can promote and market ourselves with the technology that we have now but at the same time, you can't do all things at the same time and do them well. My advice is to try to prioritize and concentrate on what is important. I'd actually like to see the artist make a well-deserved living from their talent as much as others do from our talents. Publishers, framers, designers, shipping companies...I'd like to see higher commissions for artists and some POD companies are now going in that direction. I think it encourages the artist to create better work for the marketplace.

PLP: Do you feel that digital media is changing the face of the Art Industry? If so, how and how has it hindered or aided your evolution as an artist?
RP: It has its pros and cons. I love digital art and I do very well with it as I know many others do too. At the same time though, it opens the artworld up to the mentality that "everybody" is an artist and that simply isn't true. We have to remember that digital art is done mostly with a computer program. There are many highly skilled and talented digital artists (don't get me wrong) but the market is also over-saturated with a lot of "junk".

PLP: Why are you an artist? What does being an artist mean to you? How does art serve you…is it your voice…your escape? Explain.
RP: Being an artist is not what I do, it's who I am. It was given to me late in life and I consider it a true gift. It is my responsibility to share and to use that gift for the common good. My art is my passion. It's something that I am driven to do. A week without it is like withdrawal from an addiction. It's what I know God wants me to do and He has made that clear to me on many occasions.

PLP: Could you talk about your latest series of paintings and what you are trying to achieve with them? How have you handled the business side of being an artist? Describe some of your endeavors.
RP:I was trained in business so the business side of art hasn't been too difficult for me. I'm also tenacious by nature so I never give up when rejected. I follow up with publishers and customers regularly and try to keep my work fresh and current. God does the rest!

PLP: What inspires you to paint and how do you keep motivated when things get tough in the studio? Describe the influences or topics your works are centered around
RP: Stand back and take a break and refresh spiritually.

PLP: What formal art education have you had, and what role did it play in your artistic development?
RP: Absolutely none. When I started to paint, I did pick up a lot of art books at the library, however, it's the strangest thing...most of the techniques that I was reading about - I had already done them instinctively so I stopped doing that and just continued to do my own thing.

PLP: What is your favorite medium?
RP: Acrylic.

PLP: At what point did you decide to become a professional artist?
RP: In 2001.

PLP: Are you involved in any recent shows and exhibits? Where?
RP: I have an online solo exhibition coming up on September 28th on Red Bubble. I recently had my work installed in a hotel in Pennsylvania and last December my artwork was used to decorate the reception deck of a British cruise ship. One of my paintings was just published in the "Spirituality of Sex" by Woodlake publishing and another of my images "Comfort Zone" will be used on the cover of an AOTA Press publication with a run of 15,000 copies in March 2010.

PLP: Was it difficult for you to develop your own style? Have you struggled with that?
Rp: At times. Outside influences tend to send us in all different directions. It's hard not to take in what you see and it does mess your head up a little. I went through a period of that and after experimeting with many different things finally decided to be true to myself. Noone can do your own style like you can. It comes out naturally and flows freely. I encourage every artist not to be overly influenced by what others do. You are who you are.

Thanks so much. Hopefully you read part one of this blog.