Culver Class Collaboration
Noted art historian, watercolorist and my teacher Leigh Culver proposed an interesting project to keep the members of her watercolor class painting last summer. She suggested a collaboration in which one person started a painting, passed it along to someone else who added to it, then passed it along to another artist and so forth. There was no specific theme. There were no particular rules. Each artist was free to alter the work as they wished using whatever materials they wished. It was so much fun to see the image grow and develop. We think the work is finished now. Probably. Maybe. Next summer will be here before you know it. We may keep going.
The experience got me thinking about the role of collaboration in an artist’s life. I stand by what I said in the Artist’s Statement for my Glimpses show at Touchstone Gallery, November 2019, that watercolor comes straight from the artist’s heart and mind. But in many respects, my work is also a collaboration. Nobody tells me what to paint or how to paint it. But the interaction with Touchstone artists, my teachers and other students greatly affects the way I think about art and what I choose to paint.
Aren’t I Too Old to Be in School?
God Save the Queen, watercolor, 12” x 9”
When, as an over-forty adult, I first started taking art classes, I was quite surprised to find that my teacher took art classes, too. Why? I wondered. She already knows how to paint. Now here I am, many years later, still in class. Why? There are at least three reasons.
First, it is scheduled time to paint. Art is an important part of my life, but, as is the case for many artists, it is not the only part of my life. Going to class ensures that I have several hours a week to devote to my work.
More importantly, it gives me the opportunity to participate in critique with people whose opinion I value. The great thing I learned from art that I did not learn in the business world is the value of criticism from people who want to help you be better. My classmates often see things in my work that I have missed, witness the Queen in one of the Glimpses paintings or the foot in another. I did not intend for either to be there and indeed did not see them until someone else pointed them out. In these cases I liked the new interpretations and titled the paintings to challenge the viewer to see the Queen and the foot. But, in other cases, I have revised or even trashed paintings that had, shall we say, unintended consequences. Critique makes me a better artist.
Is That a Foot?, watercolor,
16” x 20”
We Are All in This Art Thing Together
Perhaps most important, art class provides inspiration. Most of my friends from what I still think of as my “real life” are not painters. Spending time with people who are engaged in the same creative process nurtures me as an artist. I learn about new materials and new approaches. My art jock buddies, as my husband calls them, challenge me to be better, they comfort me when I’m not better, they give me ideas when my idea-well runs dry, and they support me when I am ready to share my work. They help me improve my work, and they let me know when it’s time to declare a learning experience and move on.
While I didn’t realize it at the time, finding my place in the art community was one of the most important things that happened in my development as an artist. For me, it started with classes at The Art League in Alexandria and expanded to include my colleagues at Touchstone and the Firnew Farm Artists Circle in Madison, Virginia. Others find their tribe in other ways. However you get there, being part of a group of artists that learn together, explore together and provide mutual support is like being in a family. It is like being at home.
Glimpses was born of that experience. It is totally mine, and it is totally a collaboration with all the artists I know and all those before me.
--Patricia Williams
Note: While we are on this subject, I would like to thank Deborah Ellis, who taught me how to paint; Marsha Staiger, who gave me the language to express what I want to say; Steve Fleming, without whom I would still be putting my paintings under the bed in the guest room; and Leigh Culver, who gave me inspiration when I had none. Thanks also to my colleagues in Touchstone, Firnew and my classes for their honesty and encouragement. Special thanks to my husband Andy, framer in chief, toter in chief and supporter in chief. Y’all are truly the best.
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Like Me, Still Here, watercolor, 22” x 30”