By: Carrie wang and Charlena Gu |
interview with aparna pateria |
What are some sources of inspiration you draw from when creating art?
Other art, both from peers and professionals, are the biggest inspiration. Other people’s work combined with my work creates this new, dynamic conglomeration of ideas and styles. Sometimes an idea will hit me when I’m doing something completely unrelated, showing that my subconscious has been chewing at some of those ideas I was pondering earlier. Nature is also a huge inspiration, especially for organic forms and colors.
How did you start creating art and why?
My mom put a paintbrush in my hands when I was two years old so I would be occupied. She made huge shapes on pieces of paper and made me fill them in, and I guess I haven’t really stopped since. I would never consider myself a “born artist” - I love too many other things to pigeonhole myself into just one thing, and there are people way more driven than me. However, I’ve always had an artistic inclination, and it just feels natural. Even when I’m working on other things, I usually draw or doodle on a scrap piece of paper nearby. It’s a little selfish too, since it feels so good to have completed a piece. I don’t know! I just want to capture all of the beautiful and wonderful things in this world (even if they’re in my head sometimes) and share them with people.
What is the hardest part about art for you? The easiest?
The hardest part is getting through that phase of a piece where it’s just not there yet, but I have to keep going because this shitty part of the work is a necessary step towards the finished piece.
The easiest part is finishing details and/or conception of the piece. Details are just gilding the lily, and conception is just a wide expanse of pure possibility. The end and the beginning are so great; the middle part sucks.
The easiest part is finishing details and/or conception of the piece. Details are just gilding the lily, and conception is just a wide expanse of pure possibility. The end and the beginning are so great; the middle part sucks.
How do you know when an art piece is “finished”?
This is really funny, because I never feel like a piece of mine is finished. The reason I want to keep adding details is because it’s fun and easy and tempting, so I never want to stop. Realistically, though, I stop when I can look at the piece and nothing nags me for too long. There’s always something or the other, but if I can overlook it, then the piece is usually finished.
You write a lot too. How have your art and writing inspired each other both ways?
My writing is heavily dependent on visual imagery. Any written pieces almost always begin with a visual idea. However, my penchant for narrative writing often influences more narrative artwork, in that I love ingraining ideas and easter eggs in my work, like metaphors. I’m working on a piece in AP called a “metaphorical self portrait”, where we had to write and then illustrate metaphors for each part of our personality, and my writing came in handy there.
What is your favorite art piece you've ever created? Why?
I just did one for AP that was super super super super super super detailed! It’s a radial piece showing the life cycle of flowers, and I spent probably over 60 hours on it. It took so long, but it was so satisfying in the end to see it fully conceived. It has so much detail, and it’s pen and ink, so a lot of precision work that could have ended up disastrously. It was a piece where I worked really hard, and it totally paid off.
What are some of your favorite mediums to use when creating art?
ACRYLIC IS MY BABY!!! I love acrylic so much, mostly because it’s so versatile yet so forgiving. I can get a modern, flat, clean look from it as well as a classical, realistic one, not to mention all of the juicy, delicious layers I can build with it! I love graphite and watercolor and have an old fondness of ink pen. I want to do more fiber-based art in the future (screen-printing, weaving, embroidering, etc.).
How do you make time for art and balance it with all of your other activities?
(laughs nervously…) Well, I try as much as I can to divide each piece into sub-tasks. Background, foreground, details, flats, shading, textures, etc. To be honest, it’s really hard, especially when I dislike the place where my piece is at, and I know I just have to persevere. It takes a lot of discipline, which, quite frankly, I don’t have yet.
Anything else you would like to add?
Art’s cool, punks. Everybody should do it.