We were lucky to catch up with Barbara Mulleneaux recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Barbara, thanks for sharing your insights with our community today. Part of your success, no doubt, is due to your work ethic and so we’d love if you could open up about where you got your work ethic from?
To be a working artist requires a lot of self discipline and a strong work ethic, I have to have a plan for my day, prioritize and remind myself, “this is your job”. I show up. I make an effort to maintain business hours, shut off personal time for after hours and have a dedicated space in which I work.. I have developed this work ethic as a result of failed attempts at success! Deadlines get missed, work goes unfinished and artwork isn’t ready for shows or galleries. Class materials don’t get prepared. There will be no income if I don’t produce! It’s about taking one’s self seriously. Collectors recognize the difference and reward professionalism. Galleries want to see organization and value a cohesive body of work. The rewards for hard work are many. I don’t get to have a “Mañana” attitude!
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?
“I can’t even draw a stick figure!” How many times have I heard this? Countless times. As a painter who often paints “en plein air” (outdoors in real-time”) people stop by and marvel at someone standing in front of a subject and painting it. “It just takes practice. A LOT of practice,” I tell them. We don’t come out of the womb with a paint brush in-hand! As with any skill set, visual skills must be developed. Chances are I can’t do what that spectator does either. Surely they spent a long time learning how to become good at what they do.
The big difference for the artist (let’s include all the arts) is that we aren’t simply drawing a line or writing words- we are feeling them. I think that is what sets us apart from other developed skills. The artist is someone who has an internal, emotional experience they share through the language of their craft. The painter’s language is line, forms, value and color and it is expressed on a 2-dimensional plane. .I have no idea what it means to be a tree. By using my visual language I can make an effort to describe what I see. But it isn’t about simply copying any more than an actor simply copies the behavior of another person. The best actors will always bring a little of themselves in to character they portray. I cannot be a tree, but I can use my tools to interpret what I see and know about a tree.. My tree may not even look like the tree you see!
After years of painting representational artwork, I recently started painting abstract designs. This journey is leading me in a direction that is completely new and exciting- the language is the same- lines, forms, values and colors but the methodology and processes are quite different. Admittedly, I have much to learn! What I can share right now, is that a new approach to painting is emerging in my representational work, and it is refreshing and stimulating for me as a creative.
Going into the next painting season, you will see some new and different paintings. It is a risk on my part that I hope is met favorably by collectors.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
As I consider my growth over the years, I think the most significant qualities that have contributed to a measure of success for me are tenacity, courage and curiosity. I have never stood idol in my journey. It has always been one of seeking, asking, studying, practicing and failing. Repeat. I can’t be afraid to learn, to ask for help., to fail, to succeed or take risks. I have to be fearless. The times I have fallen short are those when I became complacent, paralyzed by fear or wasn’t learning something new..
Alright so to wrap up, who deserves credit for helping you overcome challenges or build some of the essential skills you’ve needed?
To say I walk this journey alone without guidance would be a great disservice to those who have been there to witness the emotional and financial rollercoaster that is this business. At the end of the day, the artist needs to earn a living. It is a hard business, Before anyone else sees our work we have already been our worst critic. There is lot of rejection. When there is success, we share it with the entire art community, our family and friends. It is important to acknowledge my support system. My family has been a constant. My friends have shown up for shows at which they have no interest. Artists have instructed me, mentored me (continue to) along the way. Without their positive feedback and kind but not always what I want to hear, critiques, I have matured as a painter.
Now I get to give back and that is so very rewarding! Whenever I can, I encourage emerging artists to seek out their favorite artists. “Don’t think they don’t have the time or interest to answer your questions. They do. They will be honored and all too happy to help”.
Contact Info:
- Website: Art@barbaramulleneaux.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bmulleneaux/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/barbara.mulleneaux/
- Other: -Sedona Arts Center Gallery -TucsonDesert Art Messum and Four Corners Gallery -Toscana Studio and Gallery -Tubac Center for the Arts
Image Credits
Barbara Mulleneaux