Stewart Macfarlane
Since he was 16 years old Stewart Macfarlane has been making Art, he is a mature contemporary artist with many career credits to his name, numerous solo shows, residencies overseas, some teaching and a lot of painting. Currently in Hobart Tasmania, Stewart is represented by Charles Nodrum, Michael Reid, Philip Bacon, United Galleries (Perth).
You can find out more about Stewart from his website here.
Interests you have other than art? Music (check out the website for Stew Lane and you will see JUST how important!)
What are the main medium/s you work in… Painting, Drawing, Lino prints
How do you describe your work? Narrative realism
What are you currently working on? I have 2 exhibitions coming up in the next few months, Brisbane and Sydney.
What fascinates you? People, their vulnerabilities, their beauty and their ugliness.
One word or statement to describe your current works? Urban.
Now give us a more descriptive outline on your current works? My Sydney show will be night paintings. This is one of the few times I have themed an exhibition.
Why are you an artist? I was encouraged as a young teen by my art teacher, (a real artist) who I still see. I imagined that after a struggle, fame and fortune would await.
How did you get into art? I went straight to art school at 16. I then went to NYC to persue my art.
How important is art for you? It is all I seem to be capable of doing with any success.
Your art education was…? Four years in Adelaide at the S.A. School of Art. 2 years in NYC at the School of Visual Arts and 1 year in Melbourne at the Victorian College of the Arts, post graduate.
Have you always been interested in art? Ever since I was about 12 years old.
What did you do before or during becoming an artist? I was a child.
Is there any one thing that has given you a big buzz in your art career so far? My residencies at the Roswell Artist in Residence Program (New Mexico, 1987-1991-2007) would be the most significant buzzes of my career.
What is your earliest memory of art? Seeing the Van Gogh paintings in a book my Mother had.
Do you remember your first painting or art work? I remember the first one that got good reaction from my art teacher. It was a baby with a ball. I was 12, perhaps 13.
Was art encouraged in your family? Not really.
Did the place where you grew up have an influence? Yes, because of the galleries I went to.
What or who inspires your art? Capturing heightened images from the everyday.
Was there a big turning point in your art journey that caused you to think that “it’s all worthwhile”, or “oh yeah I get it…”? I am not sure if it is all worthwhile.
What caused you to work in oils? My teacher got me using them when I was 12/13. Later, I tried acrylics. They seemed plastic and cold.
Has your work changed much since your early efforts? I hope all the years and experience has changed the work for the better. I began by working from photos. From the early 1980’s, I worked from life.
Have your artistic influences altered over time (e.g. artists)? I have moved away from influences. I had several influences when I was young: Nolan, Van Gogh, Drysdale, Hockney, Alex Katz, Edward Hopper
You know you are successful in Visual Arts when… You have enough sales on a regular basis to take an annual holiday overseas, for several weeks and have no worries about the bills.
What can you tell us about your planning and making process for making art, and has that altered over the years? It has remained fairly constant. I see something that jumps out at me. I go back and do a drawing or painting of it. I take this to the studio and develop a large work.
Does creativity flow for you? It is not usually easy.
Do you have a personal description of “Art”? Art has been so debased in the past 40 years. Art for me needs to excite me visually, be beautiful and show skills.
Have you had any commissions? Yes, not a lot but several.
How important do you think craftsmanship is to artistic creation? Very important to me, not important to the art world.
Does the sale of your work support you? Yes, I live on my sales.
Creative streaks do they come in waves for you? I work, whether I am inspired or not.
Working towards an exhibition, is it a daunting task? It piles on the pressure, but that is what it takes to keep afloat.
Some say the lifespan of an “artist” post educationally is about five years, any thoughts on that? That seems about right. It is very tough.
Tell us about your connection to your subject matter, way of working, concepts etc? I look a lot at life at people’s relationships and their images.
What has been a turning point in your career thus far and why? I do not know about turning points. It seems to be a straight ahead slug.
If you could have any piece of artwork in your personal collection, what would it be and why? An Edward Hopper, ,”Western Motel”, 1957. It describes the contemporary life so well. It achieves so much of what I strive for in a painting., simplicity, story, description, light.
Have you had any “big breaks” in your career? I have several breaks in my career: having a book published on my work: having a survey exhibition at the Brisbane City Gallery: being collected by State Galleries: having great residencies.
All artists seem to have struggles, tell us about any you have had? Being an artist is a long struggle. The art world is not a loyal one. It is ruled by fashion and favouritism. There is no real security. The struggles are on going with occasional periods of reward.
Do you keep an Art Journal or Visual Diary of some kind? Yes.
What happens to works that “don’t work out”? I used to cut them up. These days, I work them into submission.
One thing you wish you had listened to from an art teacher or lecturer? “Don’t be an artist” from David Dridan, my first art teacher.
Do you have a personal philosophy that underpins your work? Do the best I can and keep it singing.
Do you aim to break the rules of basic composition, layout etc or do you ignore the “rules” and just create? I hope I have been instilled with a strong set of rules that come out in my work without effort.
Musical influences? Music is very important to me. I listen to crooners, to rock, to country, to R&B, to jazz, to classical.
What sort of depth or meaning is there behind the work you do? I hope depth and meaning come through in my work. I am not the one to say. I do not purposely put symbols into my work.
How important is it to you that your work communicates something to the viewer? I just want the viewer to connect to the work. The meaning is something that can be individual.
What can you say about your work that might not be evident to the viewer? It is from live subjects and actual places I have lived in or been to.
Has being involved in the arts proven to be a millstone or a point of elation? A millstone in many ways and a point of elation occasionally.
Art is about entertainment, experiment, inventiveness or shock for you? Inventiveness and skill.
If you stopped doing art right now would you miss it? Yes.
What discourages you from doing art? Lack of discretion in the art world.
Is motivation to work an issue for you and how do you overcome it? Yes, I should really be working now, instead of answering this, really! I just cut off a lot of stuff. I don’t have a mobile.
Do you have a challenge knowing when a work is finished? Not really. It seems obvious.
You know you have “made it as an artist” when… You have a retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art in NYC.
The value of Visual Arts to you is… I am not sure.
Your first “decent” gallery representation, how did it come about? I was asked.
Your first show at a “gallery” you thought was of value, how was the whole thing for you? Disappointing. My first show was in NYC in 1979. Sales were nil and press nil too.
The business or marketing side of Art can be a challenge to some, what are your thoughts? It needs to be done but it is a time drain.
What is the most unexpected response you’ve received from a viewer of your work? A brick through the gallery window as protest.
Have you had much connection post sale with purchasers of your works? Yes, not a great deal though.
Tell us about getting caught in a creative “slump” and how you got out of it? Just go to the studio as if it were your job and do something.
Is your art, “art for art sake…” or a matter of “art for commercial viability?” It has to be a mix of both.
If you have been working as an artist for a while, how do you feel about earlier works that are in people’s collections / ownership? I always enjoy seeing them after a few years.
Name a book or books, which may have inspired your work as an artist? The Short Stories of John Cheever and the Bible.
If someone says to you “Oh your work is decorative and lacks any meaning…” your response would be…? That’s fine. It is hard to be decorative.
Tell us about your studio environment? It has grown too small and plans are now to double it. It is at home.
Otto Dix the German artist said (in part)… “All art is exorcism…” Is that the case for you? If so how… No, it is sometimes celebration and sometimes many other things.
Do the seasons affect your work or work habits? Yes, I like perfect weather to paint. Mild, sunny and no wind.
People around you (family friends etc.) what would they say about the way you work, the moods you have, your life as an artist etc? I get moody before a show and when I am not working.
Some artists are more “at home” isolated in their creative process, while others revel in being part of a group to bounce “ideas off” how about you? Isolated, mostly.
When you get the urge to create art because something has “pushed your button/s” how compelling is it for you? Very.
What is one thing you need to have in your studio before you work? Materials.
Do you prefer a perfect smooth technique or a more energetic expressive technique and why? More energetic, I like to see the surface as a part of the enjoyment of a painting.
How important is society, culture and or history to your work? Culture and society are important. I want some reflection of these in my work.
From your early beginnings at art school to now, how have things altered for you? I have grown up.
Is the making of art all it was “cracked up to be”? No.
How do you think art can change people or their perceptions? I don’t think it can.
Have you won any awards? Yes, a few.
Do you go into any contemporary art prizes, if so why? Not often but sometimes. It is not easy to stop other projects and focus on a subject for a prize. The chances of winning are slim and the time and cost are great.
Are you the sort of artist that seeks out promotional opportunities or one that shuns the limelight? To survive, one needs to seek out a certain amount of limelight, whether one likes it or not.
Technology (websites and social networking sites to name a few) seems to be an important marketing too,l is that the same for you? They seem to be necessary now, but they consume a lot of creative time, so they are a bit of a curse.
Do you aim to make “masterpieces”? No, I just slog on.
What is your working routine? I do not work late at night. I work from 10 am till 6.00 pm.
What do you love/hate about being an artist? I hate the art world and the people in it generally.
What advice would you give to an artist just starting out? Choose another career, or if you are callous enough, go right ahead.
Have you ever made an artistic pilgrimage? Yes, to Washington to see the Edward Hopper retrospective in 2007.
What do you think sets you apart from other artists in your approach to work etc… My sense of light and my consistency.
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4 Responses to “Stewart Macfarlane”
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[...] more about Stewarts work here… December 2, 2008 | Filed Under [...]
Good style very strong and I can see the Edward Hopper influence, great stuff! Is the Art world really that hard?
Very sincere, moving interview. I would have never imagined your work to attract bricks through the gallery window, but it’s a free world.
Can I quote you in the future?
Wow, your frank interview was most enlightening. Thank you for your honesty. I am just starting out in the art world and it is extremely important to be aware of the future complexities that lie ahead. It is all rather daunting. Your work reflects your openness and your keen eye expresses the culture and society we live in. Your powerful,skilful work, is a mirror of our times.
Cheers