The following interview with artist Katia Baskina was conducted via email in August 2009.

KATIA: Hi, I'm a local Baltimore Artist and I would love to be interviewed for your blog. You can view my work at www.wix.com/FlipAndFly/Katia If you're interested let me know where and when you want to do it.

TOM: I took a look at your website. I like your style. How would you describe your style?

KATIA: Hm, I guess Modern Impressionism. My main influences are Gustav Klimt, Van Gogh and Matisse. I've also been doing a lot of pinup stuff like the self-portrait painting.

TOM: Would you like to pick one of your works and maybe discuss that with me? Let me know what you feel like for this interview.

KATIA: Hm, well I would rather focus on a body of works than one, but I guess if I had to choose a specific one, I would choose either my new one that I just did and would have to send you a pic of or the one on my website called "Dreaming".

TOM: I took a look at your new work called "Dreaming" on your website. That's the one with the nude female and the barstool? I guess there are two ways to look at it. Is she laying on the floor and her legs tangled up in the barstool? or is she floating in mid air with a barstool at her feet? It does set up a certain type of dream like place. How do you think this work fits in with the rest of your body of work?

KATIA: She's laying down with her feet up. I guess it’s the best representation of that period of art that I was doing. I was working on painting nudes from life and developing my figure painting skills, but at the same time I wanted to create a fantasy like feel to all of them, make them Surreal in a way. Most of my nudes, especially the latest ones are all like that. I paint the body realistically, and than paint a scenery around them that is based on whatever mood I'm in at the moment and whatever comes to mind. When I was painting "Dreaming", I was thinking of a recurring dream I have of me swimming under water and seeing wondrous things, so that's what I painted and that's why it's called dreaming.

TOM: I see. I see. I like your dream of finding wondrous things under the water. Would you just clarify what kind of paints you are working with? I could not tell exactly from the website or maybe I did not look in the right places.

Also, your work shows realistic human figures existing in these emotional environments, sometimes dreamy as in the painting "Dreaming", but sometimes emotionally charged or vibrant. So with that in mind, does your art make any statements about the human form or human beings in general? What do you think about people in general?

KATIA: The medium is Acrylic on Canvas.

As far as how I see people, hm that's a good question. My overall idea of humanity is not very pleasant. Most people go through life worrying about themselves and screwing everybody over and everything up in the process. However I try and see the beauty in everything and everyone, even if I have to create it and imagine it. I guess that reflects in my artwork, I paint from real people, but give them a personality and a surrounding [that comes from] out of my mind, not really knowing who they really are.

I guess I try and make them beautiful and wondrous even though they might not be in real life. I know I can't change people and the world, but I can make it more beautiful and inspire people to do great and beautiful things, and to see beauty in this life, through my creativity and my good deeds. One can't ever give up on what they believe in, no matter how that might contradict reality, and everything people say around you. We are the masters of our own failure and success; we can do anything as long as we believe in it and put our mind to it.

TOM: That's a positive message. I guess it's a matter of perception interacting with reality. Sometimes our perceptions can be off, but other times our perceptions can be right on target. Tell me a little bit about your background before we wrap this up.

KATIA: I'm originally from Russia, have also lived in South Africa. Been in the states for about 12 years, graduated from MICA and am currently working as a Special Education Art Teacher and am a freelance artist and am starting my own business making hand-painted household and fashion accessories out of recycled and vintage materials. I'm also going to be having a show at the Ottobar in October or November [2009].

TOM: Thank you for sharing.