Meet Maureen Haldeman

We were lucky to catch up with Maureen Haldeman recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Maureen, we’re so appreciative of you taking the time to share your nuggets of wisdom with our community. One of the topics we think is most important for folks looking to level up their lives is building up their self-confidence and self-esteem. Can you share how you developed your confidence?

Developing confidence and self-esteem as an artist is a process. Like many artists, I often question whether my work is good enough or if I truly have what it takes to succeed. It wasn’t until I understood what ‘succeeding’ meant to me personally, that I began to accept my inner voice of self-doubt, no longer as a negative, but as intuition to be trusted.

Confidence doesn’t come from having all the answers or being free from self-doubt. It’s about embracing uncertainty as an integral part of the creative process, listening to that inner voice that guides you, and trusting your instincts.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

My name is Maureen Haldeman, and I’m a visual artist living in Malibu, California. Born in The Netherlands and raised in Montreal, Canada, my passion for photography was sparked early on by my father, an accomplished amateur photographer. I was twelve when he gifted me a camera during our first visit to New York City. My fondest memory of that trip was reliving the moments captured in my first black-and-white prints. During those early years, my father and I spent happy times together – me with my Kodak Brownie, and him with his Agfa; I still have his original camera, now a cherished keepsake. To this day my father’s unique observation and interpretation of the world profoundly shape how I approach making images – especially his keen eye for detail.

My love of photography blossomed when I moved to the United States to work for an international airline, which gave me the chance to travel extensively.
These experiences fostered a deep appreciation for the diverse cultures and landscapes I visited, fueling an enthusiasm to record the world through my lens.

After living in New York and San Francisco, I eventually settled in Los Angeles, California where I attended fine art and photography classes at UCLA, studying under influential artists such as Robert Heinecken, the founder of UCLA’s photography program. He rarely used a camera, instead drawing on imagery from magazines and newspapers, and employing techniques like lithography, etching and camera-less photograms. His teachings have had a lasting impact on my understanding of photography as an art form.

Over the past several years, my artistic journey has included teaching, freelance work, and exhibition. I have taught photography and darkroom skills at the college level, freelanced for various publications including The Los Angeles Times and worked on commissioned projects within the entertainment industry. My photographs have been featured in numerous publications, including Black and White Magazine, Artillery Magazine, Shadow and Light Magazine, Silvershots, L’Oeil de la Photographie, and Lenscratch, and are frequently used for film and television set design and several have been featured on Duncan Miller Gallery’s platform, YourDailyPhotograph, offering fine art photographs for international sales.

My work has been showcased in over 50 group and solo exhibitions both locally and internationally, including shows earlier this year at The LA Art Show in Los Angeles, and MIA Photo Fair in Milan, Italy and most recently in London, where I premiered The Terroni Flowers, my latest monochromatic floral series. I am now focused on bringing this series to Los Angeles before the end of the year.

I’m also delighted to announce that starting September 1st, a selection of my photographs will be showcased by The Collective Gallery by Renegade Studios on Artsy, offering my work online to a truly global audience! Among the featured works are images from LA Palms, in which I have reimagined Los Angeles’s ubiquitous palm trees as symbols of the city’s vibrant spirit and creative energy. These bold colored palms, offered individually or featured in a Warhol-inspired grid, represent the unique blend of dreams and reality that defines the spirit of Los Angeles.

My work is represented by Fabrik Projects in Los Angeles and ECAD Gallery in London, with a curated selection available through The Collective Gallery by Renegade Studios on Artsy.

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?

Looking back on my journey as a photographic artist, the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that stand out as most important for me are, technical skill, artistic principles and inspiration.

Mastering technical aspects of photography, such as exposure, composition, and post-processing, is essential as it provides the freedom to experiment and push boundaries without being constrained by the mechanics of the craft. Equally important is a solid foundation in artistic principles – understanding essential concepts like design, balance, contrast, and color theory. However, knowing when to let go of these rules is vital for developing a unique style and personal vision.

I believe the third point, inspiration, to be the most important one; it is the cornerstone of the creative process. While inspiration can often be elusive – we all experience occasional dry spells – the effort to stay inspired is critical. By continuously seeking inspiration in all its forms, including questioning what inspires others and embracing new ideas and fresh perspectives we foster our own creativity and artistic growth.

As we end our chat, is there a book you can leave people with that’s been meaningful to you and your development?

Books have always been a significant source of inspiration in all aspects of my life. I absolutely love them! I’ve read and collected countless books over the years and highly recommend diving into as many as you can across a wide range of topics.

Regarding specific books for artists – though difficult to narrow down a recommendation from so many excellent ones – my top pick is The Creative Act: A Way of Being by Rick Rubin. Rubin’s approach to art and creativity is incredibly simple yet profoundly wise – he views creativity not merely as an action but as a state of being that exists within all of us. He emphasizes the importance of staying open, curious, and receptive to the world around us, allowing ideas to come naturally rather than chasing after them. The main points being the importance of being present and trusting ourselves to recognize and embrace these moments of inspiration. Inspiration is all around us!

Another key insight that resonates with me is Rubin’s perspective on embracing imperfection. He suggests that art doesn’t need to be flawless; in fact, it’s the quirks and mistakes that make it authentic and give it soul. Taking this ‘permission’ to heart has been liberating to help me overcome that paralyzing fear of perfection- a struggle I believe many artists face.

My takeaway from this book? Follow your intuition and let it guide you in creating work that is authentic and reflective of who you are. Most important, trust yourself!

I am including three favorite quotes from The Creative Act: A Way of Being by Rick Rubin that I found both empowering and inspiring:

“Broadening our practice of awareness is a choice we can make at any moment. It is not a search, though it is stoked by a curiosity or hunger. A hunger to see beautiful things, hear beautiful sounds, feel deeper sensations. To learn, and to be fascinated and surprised on a continual basis.”

“If you start from the position that there is no right or wrong, no good or bad, and creativity is just free play with no rules, it’s easier to submerge yourself joyfully in the process of making things. We’re not playing to win; we’re playing to play. And ultimately, playing is fun. Perfectionism gets in the way of fun. A more skillful goal might be to find comfort in the process.”

“The reason we’re alive is to express ourselves in the world. And creating art may be the most effective and beautiful method of doing so.”

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Image Credits

Maureen J Haldeman

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