Robert Saueressig - Other interests

What else do you do besides your art?

Living in Madison, IN where the entire downtown (122 blocks!) is a National Historic Landmark District, inspired me to get involved in historic preservation projects. I also served on the city’s Historic District Board of Review.

Picture credit: "Two Angus Heifers", acrylic on burlap

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Robert Saueressig - How do you decide what to paint?

How do you decide what to paint?

Like most artists, I paint what I know, or am familiar with, although I enjoy experimenting with subject matter and and techniques outside of my comfort zone.

Picture credit: "Black Angus Grazing", acrylic on burlap

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Artist Paula Jones - Painting advice

What advice to you have for aspiring artists?

Always believe in yourself. Always. Practice - miles and miles of canvas. Believe in yourself. Have I said that? Believe ....and know.

Picture credit: "Sweet Caroline"

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Artist Paula Jones - future plans

What would you like to do more of in the future?

Creating.....and selling! LOL!! Actually, I love everything that I do., I am fortunate that I also have started doing abstract work, and the variety keeps me very content.

Picture credit: "Road Warrior II"

Click here to learn more about this Hereford cattle oil painting

Painter Paula Jones - Where did you learn your technique?

Where did you learn your technique?

My friend urged me to study with people whose art I respected - hmmm.... I knew so little about art, that I didn’t even know who I respected. So, I started devouring books. Turns out I loved Russian Impressionism. And that was where I started.

One artist in particular - Sergei Bongart - caught my eye. I loved his boldness, his color, his brushwork. And so I sought out his students - Louise Demore, Don Sahli and Guido Frick. I would drive from the middle of Kansas to Evergreen, Colorado to study with Don Sahli once a week in the middle of the winter. My thirst for knowledge about art and the process was unquenchable. I found Guido Frick, probably the most influential teachers I had. He had a freedom about his work that I couldn’t get enough of. Over the next two years I studied with him for a total of about 3 months, both in workshops and in private lessons.

Picture credit: "Kansas Rushmore", oil on canvas

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Painter Paula Jones - What is your technique?

What is your technique?

I start with a sketch where my former, interior design sense turns the canvass into a room I’m composing. I take time to mentally choose the colors, knowing when I start it’s going to be physically intense as I cover even a large canvass in fifteen minutes, take a short break, then start scooping thick chunks paint–oil or acrylic-onto my brush, pushing, pulling, sculpting to give shape and dimension as I create something out of nothing, as I breath the life force into being.

Picture credit: "Generations", oil on canvas

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Paula Jones - How did you get started painting?

How did you get started?

I started painting when I turned 45 - at the urging of a very good friend who was also an artist. I was remodeling homes at the time, and a rotten plaster ceiling had fallen on my head, to which my friend said to me - “do something creative, and less physical. You are going to get hurt!!!” At the time, I couldn’t disagree with her. And so, off I went for my “first” art lesson ever - in my whole life!

Picture credit: "Autumn Moon," oil on canvas

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March's featured artist, painter Paula Jones

Join us for the month of March as we introduce you to New Mexico oil painter, Paula Jones. I tried so hard not to be an artist. "I spent the first part of adulthood as that stereotypical, Midwestern mother and housewife assisting her husband’s career and raising children. Once my passion for creating works of art was ignited by a close friend, my entire life, as I knew it, completely changed." Paula's love for painting Hereford cattle reverts back her childhood and being around them on her grandparent's ranch. Enjoy a series of questions and answer sessions this month on the Cow Art and More blog as a way to get to know Paula and her work. View her portfolio of work in the Cow Art and More specials section. Purchase any of Paula's paintings this month and receive free shipping.

Photo credit: Paula Jones at the easel in her New Mexico art studio.

Jo Lynch - How did you get interested in painting cows?

How did you get interested in creating art of farm animals?

Actually I've always loved the shapes of cows and horses... cows have many funny angles, strong shapes, sort of a linear feeling to me, and horses are smooth and streamlined in my eyes... I love to see a horse in motion. There is a flow to a horse in motion. When I started creating my Whimzicals, I thought a cow would be perfect with it's angular shapes, so a cow was one of my earliest whimzicals. If anyone wants to share photos of horses or cows with me, I'd be delighted as I do not have a lot of horse photos to work from. I have taken many cow photos in my art life... most of them from farms in Western Maryland or Virginia while traveling.

Picture credit: "Southwest Cow and Calf", watercolor on paper

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Interview with Kevin Webster - Other interests

What else do you do besides your art?

I work full time as a police dispatcher and I love to travel.

Picture credit: "The Look", oil on masonite panel

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Interview with Kevin Webster - Advice to artists

What advice to you have for aspiring artists?

Practice everyday. Paint something everyday, even if it is a small painting, to hone your skills.

Photo credit: "Red Ears", oil on masonite panel

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Interview with Kevin Webster - How did you get started?

How did you get started?

My grandfather. He was an artist and he is the one who taught me the basics of painting. I could not have asked for a better teacher. After all, he learned to paint from one of America's greatest artists, Charles M. Russell.

Picture credit:  "Blue on a Sunny Day", oil on canvas

Click here to learn more about this beef cow painting