The following interview with local artist McKenzie Ditter was conducted via email in September 2009. She's an illustrator with an interesting energy. I like anyone who creates characters, so of course I am particularly entertained by this exchange. AND I can learn from her line work and coloring and so can you. If you have time, take a look at her blog for even more characters.

I've had to re-size her images to fit them into this blog. I hope the quality of her lines is not lost by this process, but that is always a risk when taking a drawing that lives on paper and transfering it to the internet.

The artist is pictured on the right with some sort of chicken on her head.

---

MCKENZIE: Any need for another interview? My name is McKenzie. Take a look at my drawings at http://mckenzieelizabeth.blogspot.com

TOM: My, my, my! you are full of the creative juices.

MCKENZIE: Thank you :)

TOM: Well, I guess that concludes this interview. Haha. Just kidding. Please describe your art work lately. Also please tell me a little bit about what you think might motivate your creativity.

MCKENZIE: Well that sure was easy! (also kidding) Hmm...Lately, I've been shifting away from just Micron pens on white paper. I've been playing around with watercolors and these awesome bright markers I got at a thrift shop. There are probably fifty different colors, so it's a lot of fun to experiment. When I started drawing, I never used color often, and now that I have, it's great to compare the black and white version with the multi-hued one! It just takes some gut to go ahead and color something...I'm always afraid it won't be the way I imagined it.

I've also been drawing these little Swedish girls with lots of mushrooms and carrots and morning glories and little chickens. We have a big garden and recently welcomed four hens to our home, so I'm constantly drawing inspiration from the "farmer's" lifestyle we've embraced. It's simple and true.

TOM: I've never seen markers at a thrift shop. I bet you are quite pleased with that acquisition. You know what...it can be risky to add color to a line drawing. Why is that? I think it is because you've already finished the drawing and you are satisfied and you don't want to do anything to mess it up! Well, do you mind if you go outside of the lines every once in a while? Are you aiming for some sort of perfect precision? What is your approach to applying the color?

Personally, I'd love to be able to apply color like an inkjet printer, but there's always at least one spot where my hand jumps or my eyes wander and oops!...I've made a slight imperfection.

Who is Malvina?

MCKENZIE: Malvina is Louie's pal, didn't you hear? I want to make both of them into dolls. My mom also draws and is an incredible seamstress. This is where I got my initial inspiration, by the way. I grew up sewing with her and staying home from school to paint.

Yes, very pleased. And the funny thing is, I didn't even use them for a few YEARS! You're completely correct in your analysis of coloring things in. And it's very tricky with my drawings because the lines are precise to begin with. I like my drawings to look really clean. Not that everything is anatomically correct, just that my lines are not usually sketchy. Micron pens really bring out the obsessive compulsive disorder lingering in my genes... in a good way I think. If I won some Micron pen lifetime-supply jackpot, I'd be SO happy. (I sound like I work for them, don't I?)

As for going outside of the lines, if it happens it happens. I've been able to embrace my "mistakes" so far. Here's a good example:

In this case, my hand was not as savvy as an inkjet printer and the yellow went outside of the lines. But it makes her look all glowy, which suits her I think. Usually the printer-method is what I also strive for, except when I'm using watercolors, like here:

TOM: So, where do you buy these Micron pens [in Baltimore]? Utrecht?

Let's talk a minute about the xmas tree one. I don't mind too much if I color outside the lines by mistake because I think that kind of adds to a piece, but tsk tsk I am afraid I spot one of my least favorite errors where her legs meet her skirt. AND that is the error of running a colored marker into a section of black marker and then you get this bleeding and it looks a bit smudgey. I hate it when I do that! But maybe in this case it was intentional to add a shadow effect?

Now, on to the boat-headed gals. This one says two things to me mainly. You've got three female relatives and they not only pass genetics on to each other, but they also pass along their moods and ideas through some sort of connection.

I like your style. The lines of the characters are not overly serious, but they do indicate some kind of mood. The characters are dealing with something. In this case mushrooms or other veggies. Let me ask: have you ever made your characters go thru a short story with a beginning, middle and end that involved some sort of conflict resolution based on the kinds of problems they would have because of their specific personality traits?

MCKENZIE: You can get Micron pens at any art store really. I'm sure there are other good pens out there, but Micron is waterproof which is nice if I decide to use watercolors in the end. I usually hate when a dark color unintentionally streaks into a light one. Really annoying if it ruins the whole thing, you know? In this case, I wasn't too bothered because of the shadowy look, like you said.

As for the boat girls, I really didn't have a plan when I drew them. They were done in about twenty minutes and I'm still so drawn to them. You seemed to pick up on a deeper connection before I did! My grandfather was a photographer and constantly did photoshoots with my mom and her two sisters.

There's one series I love of them as little girls with random ballet tutus and feather boas and fancy floral hair pins. Nothing is coordinated or matching. They are each so strikingly different. Blonde, brunette, and the youngest, a redhead with no shirt on. It's such an innocent picture and so overexposed that it's almost like a watercolor painting. These three women really do have a strikingly connected life. I've never seen sisters who call each other so frequently or have such similar artistic talent. Maybe the boat girls resemble them. Thank you for suggesting this.

Thank you also for the compliment on my style. These mushroom girls are really linked to nature. I've been reading this incredible book called Secrets of the Soil. There's also Intelligence in Nature. Before reading these books, I didn't fully appreciate nature the way I should. There's truly something magical about plants. They're tricky little things, using us for their own evolution. We don't realize how linked we are in this consciousness.

Aristotle and Plato took these and they didn't turn out so bad, eh?

I have a few ideas roaming around for stories. The one that's nearly complete is called Gustov of Suburbia. I'm going to leave its contents a mystery for now... but I hope to complete it by next spring.

TOM: Lovely, lovely. I thank you for taking part in this exchange of ideas. We are getting near the attention span limit here ;-) , so any other thoughts or comments to add? Is it ok to use the pictures we've discussed for the blog post where I will display this interview? Also did you want me to include a picture of you? If so, send it to me.

MCKENZIE: Thank you for this lovely interview. You're good at it :) Oh, and would you include links to both of my blogs if possible? I'll definitely be posting about yours in the near future. As for a picture, the one I attached is just silly. Use it only if you want. Thanks again, and good luck with future interviews!

---

If you are interested in finding out more about McKenzie, you can also take a look at her other blog Oliver and Abraham's  OK, time to go. Thank you for reading.

 I had put out a call on www.craigslist.org looking for local artists to interview. This particular interview with local artist Rebecca Waring was conducted via email in late August 2009. I was horrible in this one because I just couldn’t get my brain working, but Rebecca made up for that.

Hopefully we did not include too many external links, but that’s how internet discussions go these days. People bring outside links into the conversation / discussion. (The artist is pictured at right.)

REBECCA: I would be happy to be interviewed if you are still looking for willing subjects. I'm a local Baltimore artist who shows work around the city and in Maryland and DC areas. You can see my work at: www.rebecca-waring.com

TOM: I will be finishing up one interview this evening, but I am happy to start a new interview with you. I checked out your site briefly. I like how you are working with not only paintings and drawings, but batik as well. With previous interviews, I usually ask the artist to tell me about one of their pieces to get the ball rolling. OR we could just about start anywhere.

REBECCA: Cool. I can do whatever you prefer. If it makes it easier I'm happy to start by telling you about one piece.

TOM: I am having a terrible time picking! Of the works on your website, which one is your current favorite?

REBECCA: I think the one on the home page titled Remember would provide interesting talking points and does represent the kind of art I'm most drawn to.

How should we start? Do you want me to just tell you about the painting and how I came to paint it?

TOM: Please tell me about the painting and how you came to paint it.

REBECCA: I work part-time as a software developer for a company in Arlington Virginia - mostly from home but I go in for meetings. I was driving home across Key Bridge one day and I saw this sign on a house up on the hillside in Georgetown. It said "Remember". I couldn't tell what I was supposed to remember. The jet trails made me think of 9/11, or perhaps it had something to do with the Catholic Church since the spires of Georgetown University were adjacent? The scene so struck me, that I came back the next day with a camera and took a picture. I painted this picture which ended up winning first prize for painting in a juried show at Glenview Mansion in Rockville. This type of symbolism is what draws me to painting. I want to paint these types of archetypal symbols that resonate at a deep level and make people think. I'm not really interested in interpreting symbols for the viewer, but rather letting them have their own experience of them.

A footnote to this - I drove the same route sometime after completing the painting and the sign was bigger and said 'Remember the Valdez'. It was hanging right over the Key Bridge Exxon [gas station]. It had been sort of bunched up the first time I saw it and only the word 'Remember' was visible. I liked it much better when I had to interpret the meaning myself, which is how I want the viewer to experience the painting.

TOM: First let me say that I like the painting. Looks like it has a lot of detail and I wish I could zoom in and take a closer look. I enjoy looking at photographs and paintings of cityscapes and skylines, but I can't remember too many other paintings where a modern city is the subject matter. I am trying to get my brain working this morning to ask you a question or two.

How about a question on details and process? While you were painting this, what thoughts were going through your head in regards to details? I can see all of these structural elements to the buildings and I wonder, "How does one manage all of that?" I imagine you sketched it out first?

REBECCA: The small details actually felt pretty easy to capture. The perspective was a bit tricky because the houses sloped down to the left and away from the viewer. I did do a rough sketch but most of the process was painting. I don't normally do architectural subjects so this was a real challenge. My thought process was pretty subjective and intuitive. With each building I kept looking at the style and wondering when it was built, who lived there, etc. That one Bauhaus building really stood out and at the time I wondered if the person next door with the 'Remember' banner was really telling us to remember the Bauhaus movement and never forget how dreadful it was!

I normally have more figures in the painting and a narrative story. This one is a good example:

Grenada, 1965, oil on canvas, 30" x 40"

It is part of the current series I'm working on that is based on an old box of slides from the 1960's that my grandparents took while sailing in the Caribbean.

TOM: The style you have achieved in Remember reminds me so much of a book I had when I was growing up. I wish I could remember it. It was a book full of paintings that documented the changing of an imaginary city over the years. I was amazed that people could create such images with paint.

Also, your piece Remember reminds me of a style of photography that is new to me. Using some technique called tilt-shift, the photographer takes a picture of a real life sized city and makes it look like a scale model town. Here is an example of such photography from Kevin B. Moore's , Flicker set.

Not to be too fixated on random details, but in Grenada, 1965, the shadows on the back of the figure to the left and the piles of bananas caught my eyes the most. That's great that you are incorporating images from your parent's travels into your latest series. Life is so full of experiences.

Well what next? What do you think about life in general?

REBECCA: Wow - those photos of Baltimore are incredible! I have a friend who bought a bunch of photos off eBay of old Baltimore in the 1960's - Fells Point, the harbor, etc. I was thinking that might be the inspiration for my next series. I love the juxtaposition of the brewery with the boarded up row houses. It says so much about our city.

Speaking of which - I am completely besotted with Baltimore, which is a source of great amusement to my pals who grew up here and seem rather cynical about the city. I moved here three years ago from Rockville, sold a bigger house there and moved to a smaller house here in the Tuxedo Park area, so I could go down to part-time work and have more time for art. I just think this place rocks. Can't quite explain it. The people, the architecture, the feeling of history, that indefinable charm. My forebears are all from here but I didn't grow up here because my Dad's job took us to Delaware. Even if I win that Mega Millions tonight, I'd still stay right here. I feel like I'm already in my own funky version of paradise.

And the art scene here is really great too. Much more accessible than the DC area. I study at a fabulous place - ever heard of the Schuler School of Fine Arts? Their approach is totally Old Masters and those ancient techniques really work. I've seen my skill level increase dramatically from studying there. Even if you are more drawn to abstract or modern art, I think that classical education will still give you the best foundation. So you can probably tell from all this that I find life in general is a joy-ride. Not without its bumps, but I'm grateful for all of it. Art really brought me to that state of mind.

TOM: I was happy when I found that Kevin B. Moore’s profile on Flickr. His photos seem to really capture something about Baltimore (and surrounding areas). Baltimore photos from the 1960's? That's a catch. Recently I found a website with photos from old Baltimore (taken by Robert Pence). If you check it out, scroll down about halfway down for the pics I am talking about. It is fun to see what's changed and what's stayed the same 30 years later.

It is interesting to read how much you connect with Baltimore. I've lived here my whole life and I can't say I am charmed by it, but I do have my life here and can't imagine living anywhere else. I have wished to live in New York City from time to time, but that's not happening any time soon. For now, I will stay here and do what I can to make it a better city.

I've never heard of Schuler School of Fine Arts, but what do I know? I only really got into the Arts back in 2004 or so, but I've always had the interest. I saw that you did a few still-life paintings and they are impressive to me. Tomatoes and Cruet for example.

I can't imagine being able to paint like that. When I do paint, it is more experimental paint-pushery. Ha!

REBECCA: Pence's [1979] stuff is good but that other guy [Kevin B. Moore, aka “crabsandbeer”] was amazing. I do paint still life quite a bit, but it's basically for the practice. The Schuler School advocates painting still life on a regular basis as a learning tool - sort of like playing scales for a musician. So I crank one out every couple of weeks. And it seems to be working - I can see improvement. Why don't you think about studying at the school? Believe me, you don't have to be experienced. I wish I had some early work to show you - I was terrible! They have an evening school on Tuesday and Wednesday nights that starts in October. You can sign up for the whole year - Oct through April - or the drop-in rate is $40. They do portraits on Wednesday, but Tuesdays is still life, drawing, etc.

TOM: I will think about it, but I don’t know if that’s for me. Well, it looks like we’ve come to a good stopping point. Let us conclude this interview here and get back to our busy lives. Thank you for sharing.