GAIL DOWNEY at the BECKET ARTS CENTER

Interview by Harryet Candee

“I’ve always tried to communicate profound emotions in my work. I create a visual of what is elusive and hard to express verbally. That has always been my constant. Over the years, I have changed mediums and marking systems in an attempt to evolve as an artist and to express the unattainable.” –Gail Downey

Harryet Candee: Communicating emotion is the backdrop for many artists and fuels, inspires, and motivates them to be artmakers. Looking at your most recent body of work, can you describe how it has evolved and what were, if any, challenges you have confronted enabling you to move forward with your vision?

Gail Downey: My adventures, usually in nature, fuel my latest pieces. I’ve always liked to hike and explore. After all these years of hiking, bicycling, and exploring, I finally recognize that it should be an integral part of my work. The latest works are about the awe I feel when on these journeys.

The challenges come as I paint. I do not want to replicate beautiful natural images. I want to remember the adrenaline, the surprise, and the mystery I experienced. I come from a formal background steeped in non-objective painting, so every element, from the painting support, format, materials, plasticity of the paint, and my gestures, are all my decisions. Since I want to evolve constantly, every decision I make comes into question. That involves not repeating what I became successful at.

We often combine auditory and visual sensory perceptions, allowing us a fuller, richer creative experience when a canvas is ready for us to work on. Out of our six senses, which of those do you find yourself working with the most? Please explain.

GD: At first thought, I would say my vision. Another sense is at play which is touch. The adrenaline I feel after I have climbed a rocky mountain and feel the mist surrounding the view is just as powerful and memorable as what I see. Another example is when my husband, Steven, and I biked to this hidden waterfall where the headwaters rushed over these smooth pot-holed rocks. I waded through the cold, cold water, mesmerized by these rocks curved by time and water pressure, the sun piercing my eyes and fall colors reflected in the water. Many of my latest works are about that visceral experience.

Color combinations often trigger our mind to recall experiences from our past—some good, some not so good. What color combinations work for you, and what do you avoid putting together?

GD: I am drawn to greens and turquoises. The only things I try to avoid these days are using colors straight from the tube. I mix what I use.

The energy you put into your work is contagious and inspirational! Especially those paintings found under Unnatural Nature on your website. What techniques and processes do you incorporate into your work?

GD: I use sweeping gestures and the gravitational flow of paint to create visual energy. I also can incorporate other materials like charcoal and gold leaf to change the sense of space and make a jarring “pop.” (Using gold leaf and other metallics is reminiscent of religious icons, thus conveying a reverence for my subject matter.) I will refer to my photographs if I want an image to be somewhat scientifically accurate. I also have a number of scientific books with amazing images of various sea creatures.

Please give us a little preview and introduce us to a few pieces of art you are showing at the Becket Art Center this summer.

GD: Most of the pieces at the Becket Arts Center are recent projects. They are all memory and adventure based. One is based on a magical kayaking trip. The light was so bright and the sky so blue; the sensations were electrifying as I was surrounded by rippling water.

Another piece is from a hike in the rain on Mount Greylock. I wanted to depict these old and unused campsites that looked so forgotten in the mist. They reminded me of picnics in obscure places with my family, with old picnic tables and rusty grates over fireplaces.

I also have a few pieces from my waterfall-curvey rocks adventure.

What is your Bullying Project body of work about?

GD: These pieces are older and are about my heavy emotional response to the repeated bullying of my child years ago. It was so bad we got the police involved. I was rendered mute with grief. And so I painted the crumpled-up police report, a brand new bathing suit covered with mud, and train tracks where perverse torture occurred. To this day, it is hard to speak about it.

When is it time to move from working in 2-D to 3D? What puts you in either direction?

GD: Sometimes you just need to leave the canvas. Sometimes the work continues beyond, either above with wire or flows via canvas to another neighboring canvas.

Tell us about your small sculptural work. An indepth explanation would be great.

GD: Most of the smaller pieces are studies or practices for grander future ideas. When working small, I can be adventurous and take risks. The sculptural works are more about extending off the painted plane and continuing imagery with wire or canvas.

I like Small Flags; tell us about this work of art. GD: This was just play. I intended it to be a throwaway piece. (Those are often the art pieces that move me in new directions). I really was just goofing around, responding to these little masonite panels with oil paint. I hammered nails into it because it was a “throwaway” piece of junk. The nails became little flags with little canvas attachments. This started me on some new pieces, the “Hairy Ass” series…. Masonite with wire, nails, and fiber, all representing, well, you know.

“Visualization is a technique that allows you to set the parameters to make your future vision a reality. In creative visualization, you direct your brain to focus on what matters most. And to engage in a process called selective attention.” Many artists create their art for this purpose. Continued on next page...

Have you ever used visualization techniques in your art? How would that be the case?

GD: I sort of use visualization because I certainly want to paint emotions. And I sort of have a basic idea of what they may look like, i.e., shapes, color, and size. But from there, it ends as I let the process, including accidents, dictate what a painting will look like. I decide something is done when I am exhausted with the idea.

What are your five most valued principles in art?

Why are they essential to you as an artist?

GD: 1. Above all, it is about evolution. Not repeating, not resting on your successes.

2. Nothing will ever be perfect but always strive.

3. Extreme emotional responses are gifts that can be used to create and heal.

4. Failed projects are learning tools.

5. Reinvent! Be like Madonna or Picasso. Always learn new ways to depict what fascinates you.

What are you presently working on?

GD: I’m still playing with water reflections, using metallics and light. I have a number of large wooden panels waiting.

What are you entertained by outside of being an artist these days?

GD: Physical strenuous adventure. Going to new places and photographing. I love long-distance biking and hiking the higher peaks around New England.

How do you envision your summer in the Berkshires to be like?

GD: It is the great unknown. I want to find a balance of adventure and art, but on a smaller scale, staying closer to home, as my husband has terminal cancer. My personal life, artwork, and adventures are less of a concern. Right now, his personal care is my main priority. However, we live in a beautiful area in the hilltowns surrounded by woods, gardens, family, and caring for him, and I can gain strength through love and my immediate surroundings.

Do you have any suggestions for visitors to the area where they can see art that you love? Any off the beaten track locations for galleries or open studios? Anything, in particular, would be great to know about.

GD: I am pleasantly inspired whenever there are open studios, especially in remote areas like the hilltowns. Mass MOCA has an open studios option for the artists in residence. Just outside of Chatham is a place called the “Circle Museum.”

It is large-scale sculpture and paintings by one artist.

Have you been lately to any artists’ showcases that will remain on your mind for a long time?

GD: I really like larger museums. (Smith College and Mt. Holyoke have magnificent shows). Years ago, El Anatsui exhibited large-scale pieces at Mt. Holyoke. His use of detritus and shiny found objects was reverent in so many ways for me.

“Beauty comes from the balance between two and three dimensions, between abstraction and representation - I seek the equilibrium behind changing appearances.” Can you guess who said this? How would you put this thought into perspective?

GD: Matisse, I think. I think of his and my work and compare how we abstract what we see (and feel).

Can you find a quote that would answer to Henri Matisse, Gail?

GD: There is no equilibrium; just change from one dimension to the other.

And, yes, Gail... “Equilibrium is the state of an object in which all the forces acting upon it are balanced. In such cases, the net force is 0 Newton.”

GD: Why yes, you are correct in one regard. Newtonian equilibrium exists in a physical sense, but in art making, there is only movement. Emotional and intellectual change represent the disequilibrium that is part of the creative process.

What are the ways we can see your art?

GD: Right now, a studio visit by appointment or Becket Arts Center, Becket, MA. The show runs July 13 -31. Opening July 15, 2-4pm.

Website( older works) www.gaildowney.com

Gail Downey Art (on Facebook current works and works in progress)

(Instagram) gaildowneysparklepony

Thank you Gail!