Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Emily Passman. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Emily, we’re so excited for our community to get to know you and learn from your journey and the wisdom you’ve acquired over time. Let’s kick things off with a discussion on self-confidence and self-esteem. How did you develop yours?
I grew up in a family with 4 siblings. Hearing music played, talking loudly – sometimes over each other, drawing, smelling food, hearing duets played on piano and violin, and always on a Saturday my father had the opera on the radio. Running in and out of the house informally, heading off to a friends on my bike. This was the scene. Perhaps a half-finished science or art project was on the kitchen table, with boxes of crayons around.
Art was not specifically encouraged but was integrated naturally into the weave of my family life. I do not remember critical commentary nor big “oohs and ahhs”…just acceptance. I knew my mother liked my paintings as I got older and heard her telling her friends about how I decorated my own apartment. My style of home decor is generally that I collect, make or buy what I like, and compose a wall so that its not just about the stuff, but how it is arranged. And color everywhere. (Nothing to “match”). I painted a design on my floor in my kitchen with stains on the wood. Otherwise that area looked plain.
On the walls and on shelves were paintings and sculptures by family members. My aunt, my grandfather, friends of my parents work was always there and we always knew who made what. It was not a fancy house, but one that included a lot of homemade things.
My mother was a high school teacher and my father was an engineer. He had a wood shop downstairs where projects ranged from attaching a wooden clunky undercarriage axel-thing onto my red wagon, for stabilization, to a wooden shelf for his records.
Art was integrated and still feels at the center of my core. It was a basis for my self-esteem, confidence and creativity. To create, to make things is natural for me and means I can never be bored. My son is 25 and we still can be found doing a fun simple drawing game together. The one where you make a squiggle and the other makes a picture from it.
My siblings also have integrated forms of creativity in their lives and work and have brought up really creative kids. Still, as adults we have “art parties” often. As I write this, I become aware it is not a regular thing in all families. One birthday party I had in my twenties the activity was that I had my friends each paint one drawer front of a cool 16 square-drawered cabinet. that I had probably trash-picked. I am married to a trash picker too. Many pieces of furniture in our home came from someone’s trash or a yard sale. Life is one big empty canvas!
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I am a painter and a teacher of oil and acrylic painting. My studio in a barn behind my home is where I do most of my collage and painting work. I teach there and at various venues and museums near Boston. I began my career as a graphic designer and still have some of the photoshop skills which help in the creating advertising for shows, and obtaining visibility for my work.
The pandemic had a silver-lining for me when I started teaching online. The merge of my own work and that of my teaching is a natural marriage of skills. I like to do demos, as I find the verbal narration of my inspiration can feed other painters, and hones my process and assists me to see forward and notice changes in my style. Many students have become my friends. The venues where I teach have become communities of artists with whom I feel close and connected artistically.
Travel is so important and feeds me in all kinds of creative ways. Often I paint from photos, and I can find images of a trip to Italy where I taught in Tuscany, and on Skopelos, an island in Greece. (I will go back to teach in Venice in Oct. 2026). My favorite location close by that brings joy as well as great light and shadow is in Cape Ann, Massachusetts. Rockport and Gloucester. I have worked using the inspiration of the clusters of homes, shapes of rooftops, and the light one can only find there! I also teach at the Rockport Art Association and museum.
My practice includes a habit of ink sketching. This not only creates beautiful sketchbooks, but heightens my ability to see. I teach this process to others. It is not generally a step toward a finished painting, but a practice on its own. I rarely paint the same scene from which I do an ink sketch. It’s a perfect pairing to my love of travel.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
1. Keep making stuff, and do it with others.
2. Stay connected with the world. With limits. Listen to news that excites, not scares. Follow artist news. Get inspired by the greats.
3. Sketch often! Keep a sketchbook and do not rip out the pages! This captures your journey in life, development as a painter and heightens the seeing necessary to being a better painter. The sketches can be doodles, scenes from life,
How can folks who want to work with you connect?
I belong to a small group of creative women and we organize the Town-wide Open Studios in our town each year. It’s hard work, and uses a different part of the brain. It’s a lot about organization, outreach, writing articles, working with vendors, making maps. I meet loads of artists doing this.
Mostly I adore when my studio is bustling with painters and I can assist in their process. I can set up still lifes, pull down art books from my shelf that inspire, and hold what I imagine the French art salons used to be. I have a schedule of “Fridays in the Studio” throughout the summer. Check it out on my website!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.emilypassman.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emilypassman/
- Facebook: Emily Passman
- Other: emilypassman5856@gmail.com
Image Credits
All photos property of Emily Passman
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
