Interview With an Artist -- Barbara Benedetti Newton

I've invited local Black Diamond artist and author, Barbara Benedetti Newton to be my very first guest blogger. She has agreed to answer a set of interview questions taken from the Artwork Archive site's article, 50 Terrific Topics to Write About for Your Art Blog. These are her words...

I’ve been making art for more than 70 years. My professional art career began as a Fashion Illustrator. I took a twenty-year sabbatical from art to raise my children and when I re-entered the world of art it was through the humble colored pencil. I worked exclusively in that medium for a dozen years, served as President of Colored Pencil Society of America, taught extensively, and co-authored Colored Pencil Solution Book.

I had long been interested in pastel and through trial and error taught myself how to use the medium. For the next decade, I worked in pastel, creating art and teaching others and wrote Pastel Drawing: Expert Answers to Questions Every Artist Asks.

I’ve retired from teaching art a couple times and this year, with social distancing in place, I have been more retired than ever before. I have revised my personal and art goals and look forward to continuing to make art.

Feeding Time, Colley Whisson

It’s the end of summer and also nearly the end of my year-long study with Australian painter, Colley Whisson. 

COVID-19 has imposed hardships and blessings and I am grateful for the months of being able to focus on my goal of becoming a better painter. The time I used to devote to volunteering with various organizations has been used instead to re-invest in and re-energize my art life.

The Interview

1. What are you currently working on? 

I just shipped the last painting of my Annual Summer Super Sale on my online gallery at DailyPaintworks and am working on the last few oil paintings for my mentor. I look forward to returning to pastel work.

2. Why do you work in the medium that you do? 

It is about the process, not about the finished product. Regardless of the medium, I paint for the challenge of handling physical objects like paint and paper to create emotion for my viewer. The question is really, why do I move from one medium to another and the answer is that I become bored when a medium is no longer challenging. I know new challenges will await me when I return to any medium.  

3. What is your process like? 

My process varies depending upon the medium and whether I am painting in the Studio or Plein air. I sometimes work from photos, other times I work from actual subjects in front of me and at other times I work from memory. 

4. What are your steps for creating art? 

My Art Journal Blog is filled with step x step examples.

Click on How to Pastel or How to Oil Paint in the Labels section of the sidebar.

5. What would you do differently or the same in your art career looking back? 

I have no regrets about my art journey. It would have been helpful to realize sooner that when a painting doesn’t sell immediately, it is needed for a future step in your career.

 

 6. What strategy tips do you have for an art career?

Paint. Don’t let your ego or lack of confidence get in the way of the creative process.

 

7. What is your philosophy as an artist? 

The same as my philosophy of life: working to be an honest and ethical human/artist.

Example: Any painting that I have adjusted based on my mentor’s advice is no longer totally my work and is not eligible for competition. 

8. What is your favorite piece you’ve created? 

My signature piece in colored pencil is “Sweetness and Light” (peaches)

And one of my signature pieces in pastel is “Heartbreak Morning.”

Portrait (2018), Ingrid Christensen

9. What is your favorite piece by another artist? 

I love the work of Ingrid Christensen and Tibor Nagy

Place of Growth (2019), Tibor Nagy

10. How do you find inspiration?

Sometimes by a scene, sometimes by viewing the work of other artists, sometimes by trying something new with a medium or trying a new medium.