Celebrating Women in Art! — Part 6  Kim VanDerHoek
by Hanna Zorilla

Kim VanDerHoek

Kim VanDerHoek is a contemporary artist that brings her signature expressive style to every oil painting she creates. Her award winning pieces, and skill as an instructor have made her sought after by collectors and recognized in the community. What’s more? We are so excited to have her as this year’s juror for The heART of Orange County All Media 2022 Juried Exhibition.

How did you discover your love of painting?

My mom and I spent many hours creating different projects sitting together at the kitchen table when I was a kid. That started my love of creating which continued in my high school art classes. After college I took plein air painting classes which started me on this career path.

After receiving a lot of critical acclaim, how has this affected your life and artwork?

It’s helped build name recognition, which has brought new opportunities my way like being invited to participate in national exhibitions. It’s also increased the interest in my work with collectors and galleries

How do you know when an artwork is done, do you ever have to force yourself to stop?

When I’m nearing the end and I’m adding finishing details, if I put in five details and the painting isn’t improving, then it’s time to stop.

How do you determine success? 

In several different ways, being able to travel and paint, having a flexible schedule where I get to spend time with my kids, having friendships with other artists and collectors, and being able to make a living doing what I love.

Your works have become more abstract over the years, what was that progression like?

It was definitely a conscious decision. I’ve always had a passion for artwork that combines realism and abstraction. When I started plein air painting it was to build a foundation of skills in realism but ultimately I wanted to achieve a hybrid look.

In terms of technique, I spent several years seeking out influences that were not in the landscape genre. Finding inspiration in the work of figurative artists who combined realism with abstraction, I experimented with implementing similar methods in my landscapes. It took time to figure out what worked, but it taught me the value of continued experimentation.

What advice would you give to young female artists?

I would say that you’re better than you believe you are and your artwork has more value than you think. You have to be extremely tenacious to make it in this business.

Chemers Gallery has represented Kim VanDerHoek for 9 years. It has been exciting to witness the evolution of her painting style and critical success. To see more of Kim’s work click this link to our website.

In case you missed our interview with Kara Bullock, click here
For our interview with Maria Counts, click here
For our interview with Jonde Nothcutt, click here
For our interview with Lorraine Bubar, click here
For our interview with Amanda Fish, click here

by Hanna Zorilla

Amanda Fish is a traditional artist whose specialty is in painting photorealistic still life. Looking at Amanda’s work, every pristine detail is accounted for and beautifully appointed. Over the phone, Amanda’s liveliness is plentiful and her enthusiasm definitely translates into her paintings. 

When did you start painting and what made you want to be an artist?

“I was always a creative child. My first picture… I actually still have it, my mom kept it… was when I was about five years old and funny enough it was a still life, it was a bowl of fruit sitting on the table. I’m from an artistic and creative family. My mother was a painter, and later a pastel artist. Growing up, she would paint oils at the dining room table. My sister and I spent a lot of time at our grandparents house during our childhood. My grandfather was a writer and photographer. My grandmother taught me to sew, knit, crochet. We were always involved with some kind of creative project, painting or doing crafts. I always wanted to be an artist and was fortunate enough to have encouragement early on from my family. My mother took me and my sister to museums, galleries, and antique shops throughout our childhood and teens. I certainly think that had a strong influence on me as well. Though I got a BFA degree in college and continued to paint after, starting an art career straight out of college wasn’t exactly viable, so I set my sights on working for a museum. I was beyond thrilled, after quite a few applications, I got a job at the Getty Museum.”

You often paint photorealistic still life, why do you choose to paint still life, rather than another genre?

“I was a watercolorist for over twenty years before I switched to oils. (I have been painting Still Life with oils professionally for over 15 years.) When I made that decision I already knew a wonderful group of landscape oil painters. It was through them that I joined Southern California Plein Air Painters, and began painting oil landscapes at first. But I quickly realized that this was not going to be my subject matter. I couldn’t see myself painting landscapes on a daily basis, it didn’t grab me.”

Why do I paint still life? I started to think about classical art. I loved vignettes in homes, items that were gathered in a lovely way on an antique credenza. Since my mother was a collector of beautiful items, it got me thinking about creating still lifes. I became excited to see what I could create using items I had collected for many years, and adding fruits and flowers. It ignited a passion to pursue still life painting. There is such beauty and grace…..a lovely lyrical quality that can be created with the light dancing across objects. I also love the control I have bringing items together, designing my own compositions.”

Do you paint from photos or do you create physical environments from which you paint, and how do you get inspiration for the subjects of your paintings?

“When I started painting still lifes I would paint small paintings live. As I was learning, it was important to see the items in their clarity, to capture and understand the color, the light, the nuances. That is still important, it always will be, but one becomes accustomed to objects, and your artistic style develops, etc… As I grew as a painter, my still life compositions grew larger. Photographing my compositions became a much better way to work. I also have space limitations in my studio. I now take high resolution photographs and work from those. My photo shoots take about 2-3 day, with many different compositions created. I tend to do them seasonally, as certain fruits become plentiful and certain flowers are in season. I’ll have an idea of what items I want to bring together and then develop my compositions from there.”

How do you determine success?

“Success to me is having a passion and desire to create and wanting to share it with others. There is certainly truth in saying, having motivation is a success some days! The feedback I receive from visitors or collectors means a great deal to me. Looking at and reacting to my paintings becomes personal to them. If someone feels something about your work enough to purchase it, that’s success in itself. I also see being accepted into a gallery as success. They see the value in your work and yourself, and they want to share it with their visitors. It is an honor to be included in a community of artists.”

Do you paint symbols within your artwork, and if you do, do they ever represent aspects of yourself and your life?

“No symbols. I’ll use objects which are meaningful to me, whether I collected them, or they were once my mothers’, or gifts from loved ones and friends. But it doesn’t symbolize anything. I don’t paint a lily because it symbolizes love or fertility, or paint apples because it represents Adam and Eve, it’s just the beauty of an apple or a flower.”

How do you know when an artwork is done, do you ever force yourself to stop?

“The larger the painting is the more questions I might have, is it done? The smaller paintings I pretty much know. There’s so much more happening in a larger painting, there’s more to consider, more contemplation and studying. I ask myself if there is something jumping out at me, is something “off.” I think intuitively, you just know when a painting is done.”

What advice would you give to young female artists?

“Once you find the passion of whatever art it is you want to pursue, work within a consistent style and build a cohesive collection of what you want to express. Success can come from an identifiable style and I think when you find an identifiable style within yourself, it can give you confidence to know you have gotten to a level of accomplishment to go out with your body of work. I was talking to a gal from the LA area, and she had no idea what to do with or where to go with her art. I told her to narrow it down to two different mediums if she couldn’t decide what direction to go into and create two different collections to focus on development and style. I told her to look into local Art Groups to join in L.A. There are also websites that list art shows, outdoor fairs or small outdoor art markets which is a good start. It’s an important way to get feedback, feedback that you especially need when you are starting out.”

Still-life master, Amanda Fish has been part of Chemers Gallery’s stable of artists for 6 years. Her translucent layer of oil paint combine in harmony with her classical painting style.. To see more of Amanda’s work click this link to our website.

In case you missed our interview with Kara Bullock, click here
For our interview with Maria Counts, click here
For our interview with Jonde Nothcutt, click here
For our interview with Lorraine Bubar, click here

by Hanna Zorilla

Lorraine Bubar is an immensely detail oriented artist who uses paper as her medium. Lorraine’s papercut works are incredibly intricate and often advocate for the environment and social justice. Talking to Lorraine, you can hear her drive and the hard work it takes to create her amazing artwork. 

Your art is incredibly detailed and complex, what made you choose to do papercut artwork rather than another medium?

“Papercut artwork is very labor intensive, but I seem to gravitate towards labor intensive ways of working. My first career was in animation which was also very labor intensive, but I like getting into “the flow” and seeing where it takes me. I used to paint with watercolor, so I consider myself a painter, and I would use an x-acto knife to meticulously cut stencils to airbrush in the backgrounds. I already was cutting with an x-acto knife for my watercolors , so I made the switch from cutting the stencils to cutting the paper. I love to travel and in many cultures around the world artisans create papercuttings, including in own my Eastern European Judaic ancestry. Papercutting also allows me to be in the fine art realm and craft realm at the same time, which opens up a lot of avenues for exhibiting my work. I think of my papercutting as more like painting because I add layers and layers of colored papers, as if I’m painting with dabs of paper instead of paint.”

Is there something that you know today that you wish you knew when you first started your career as an artist?

“One thing is that you have to enjoy the process and do it for yourself.  When I am working, I am continually surprised and delighted with the unfolding process before me in creating the composition and seeing how the colors work together.  I think that is a feeling to work towards.  Let your instincts take you and trust what’s inside instead of being guided by exterior forces.  Give yourself the license to do what is authentically you. ”

I know a lot of your work surrounds environmental issues and social justice, why have you chosen to speak out about these issues through your art and why does this inspire you to create art?

“In the era that we’re in, I question what the purpose of art is and what responsibility does an artist have in communicating to the larger population. I want my art to communicate about the fragility of nature and even the fragility of our urban environments being transformed by overdevelopment and homelessness.  I love to travel and I’m lucky I can use my direct experiences to create art about fragile ecosystems around the world, including the land, the air, the water, and the species that are threatened.”

Is there an artwork that stands out to you, because you had so much passion and drive while creating it?

“There’s not one that stands out, but I really like my pieces that capture peak experiences of my life. I’ve been given the opportunity to be the artist in residence in several national parks. Most recently, in Lassen Volcanic National Park, where the Dixie fire is and nearly half of it has burned.  I recently created a piece where I was sitting by a lake in Lassen, observing the mountains, baby toads, wildflowers, and insects. It’s sad to know that the trails I hiked to beautiful destinations are being destroyed.  It shows how fragile this planet is.”

How do you determine success as an artist?

“It’s really important for me to exhibit. I have the feeling of success most when I have work in exhibits and talk to people about how my imagery resonates with them.”

How do you know when an artwork is done, do you ever force yourself to stop?

“My work looks so done when it’s done, not one space is not intricately looked at. I do stand back to see how the colors work together and if I need to change anything, but every quarter of an inch is so examined during the process of creating.”

What advice would you give to young female artists? 

“Try to find your authentic voice, try to say something important whether it’s political or emotional. Work hard, and don’t worry about what other artists are doing around you.”

Lorraine Bubar has shown her evocative papercuts at Chemers Gallery for 9 years. Layer upon layer of hand-cut paper build the intricate images she creates . To see more of Lorraine’s work click this link to our website. 

In case you missed our interview with Kara Bullock, click here
For our interview with Maria Counts, click here
For our interview with Jonde Nothcutt, click here

by Hanna Zorilla

My next interview was with Jonde Northcutt, a master printmaker. Our conversation was rich with stories about her life as a skilled artist and teacher. As I tried to quickly write down details of our interview, I learned about the creativity and playfulness that goes into creating her wonderful works of art. 

When did you decide you wanted to be an artist, was there an eye opening moment where it  was like whoa I love this? 

“My mother was a great art mentor for me. Her name was Tookie and she was a wonderful  ceramic artist. I watched her work in her studio and create fanciful objects; so a light bulb was  already starting to glow. I was pursuing a B.A. in Sociology at Chapman University and during  that time I added studio art classes. During my sophomore year, I decided to ‘double major’. I  added one more year of art studies (studio classes and art history) to my curriculum. Upon  graduation, I knew sociology was not my passion and I veered toward art. I wasn’t sure what art niche I was interested in, so I enrolled for my M.A. in Illustration and Graphic Design at Cal State Fullerton. During this time, I met my husband, Nick Capaci, and we teamed to create Bluestone Editions, a fine art printmaking atelier.”

How do you determine success?

“Success, for me, is being content with creating something unique that taps into a different reality.  It is not monetary, even though a monetary cushion allows a safety net from which to work.”

You practice some very old mediums. What made you interested in encaustic, intaglio, and monotype? How were you introduced to these mediums?

“I’m going to credit my husband, Nick Capaci. I was already introduced to intaglio and  lithography from classes at Chapman. Nick was a ‘master printmaker’. He had graduated from  California College of the Arts and further pursued printmaking at Cal State Fullerton. He was  well versed in all the fine art print mediums. We printed limited editions for artists worldwide  (intaglio, photogravure, lithography, serigraphy, monotype) in addition to offering hand-tinting  services to hand-painted editions. Nick and I taught printing and book arts workshops both at our  studio and Idyllwild Arts (summer adult programs). We further were contract artists for UCLA’s  ArtsReach program (teaching in many of the men’s and women’s prisons throughout California).”

I know you have started to create digital art, what made you move from acrylics and mixed media type artworks, encaustic, intaglio, and monotype to digital art? 

“I actually have not moved away from any of the mediums you mentioned, but I added the digital  tool into my art satchel. My digital images are Mixed Media Photographs that use elements from  my paintings, monotypes and photographs.Years ago, I took a wonderful series of workshops by  Walter Nottingham. He was an American Craft Council Fellowship recipient and professor emeritus at University of Wisconsin (River Falls). His week-long workshops were entitled  “Mystical Symbols”. In this Mystical Symbols class we were instructed to bring whatever  supplies we wanted to use. I thought … the class does not have a printing press available, which I  had been accustomed to using to create my monotypes … so I thought I would focus on collage. I  thought about Joseph Cornell’s work and the work of another one of my favorites, Nathan  Olivera. I brought scissors, glue stick, cutting board, x-acto knives and volumes of printed material (vintage paper, photographs, magazine pages, stamps, prints). I was laboriously cutting  and pasting my collages.  

Someone came up to me during this workshop and asked why I was doing this “all by hand and not using Photoshop?” I had taken a class on how to use Photoshop, the software was on my computer; but, I was an extreme novice at using this software.  

This person was right … I was enamored with the work of Joseph Cornell. I had seen his collage  work in books and finally viewed a few in person. When I saw the work up close, his gluing and  cutting techniques diminished my appreciation of the work as a whole. Fast forward > I started  using digital mediums in the creation of my collages. The true beauty of using digital mediums is  that objects can be seamlessly merged so that the process does not interfere with the artist’s  vision. I can think and create much faster; however, the gamut of available tools and options can  be both distracting and alluring. One of my recent mixed media photographs is centered around  an iron rabbit that I still have from my childhood.”

In your “About the Artist” on your website, it seems that traveling and collecting items (which you mentioned you learned from your mother)might represent a facet of yourself or your life, in which your art can stem from is often how you gain inspiration. Due to this, how connected are you with your art, do you have a hard time letting it go, and do you take inspiration from anything else?

“My inspiration can come from almost anything … My dog’s ball that is sitting in the sun could be  a springboard. I’m sitting with my two labradoodles and the geometric shapes of their ball are  casting an interesting shadow. Almost anything can be a stepping stone… ordinary and mundane  objects taking on mystical qualities. When you allow your vision to see other realities, the  playfulness can give you inspiration. You asked if I have a “hard time letting it go”? No, since I  hold back a few pieces for my own collection; and I have the documentation of my work to look  back at and remember.”

You create abstract works of art that often represent metaphors. Is there a particular metaphor that you have gone back to from time to time that resonates in your work?

“A house shape… Because even though it can be as simple as a foundation of twigs, it is a safe  arena to tell and assemble a visual story. Also I love Orbs … circles, vintage balls, marbles,  planets. Nick and I play golf and there are these wiffle golf balls that you can practice your swing  with so you don’t break your neighbors window. I took a picture of the light perforated wiffle  balls and changed their color. Nick and I bounce ideas off of each other in our art and I showed  him the photo. He remarked that there was nothing mysterious about them, ‘just’ a wiffle ball. I re-thought the image and used photographs I had taken of Nick’s fused glass. I manipulated the photographs into glass spheres, spectrums, and crystal balls.”

How do you know when an artwork is done, do you ever have to force yourself to stop?

“I know when it’s NOT done. Sometimes an artwork will take minutes or days or years to revisit  and to complete. I can’t describe the “when” moment, but I know once I reach that finish line.”

What advice would you give to young female artists?

“I think for any artist, it is important to search out a variety of mentors, some being outside of  one’s own art niche. Be inspired by their creations and submerge yourself into their techniques  and imagery. Once you understand their techniques, reinsert your own magic and tell your own  stories.”

One of our longest exhibiting artist’s, Jonde Northcutt has shown her work at Chemers Gallery for more than 30 years. The stories she weaves through her art explore both her personal & work life experiences.  To see more of Jonde’s work click this link to our website. 

In case you missed our interview with Kara Bullock, click here
For our interview with Maria Counts, click here