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| FKAPLAN A Curious Place Oil On Canvas 2011 32x48 |
Hi everyone, thank you for coming to my blog to read my interview with Fred Kaplan, artist and teacher. I'm so excited to have Fred talk about art and creativity.
When I was thinking about doing this interview I tried to focus on questions that 'you the reader' would like to ask Fred, if you had the chance to. I wanted to know things about Fred as a painter, as well as a teacher, and I thought you would, too. Follow along as Fred takes us through the journey he has been on to arrive at the place he is today, as an artist and teacher. I've decided to post most of the interview since I liked Fred's answers, so I will split it into two parts. Check back for the second part next week.
Let me mention that I met Fred 3 1/2 years ago when I signed up for my first painting class at Fleisher Art Memorial in Philadelphia. I develop an interest in painting after I was "clunked" on the head with a ceramic vase that fell off of a shelf (read the story here). Fred walked me through the process of painting as I struggled with my issues of using color, as well as using very thick paint. I have taken Fred's class often because I am still learning from him every week. I really love his class because I have seriously seen growth in my work and it has been enhanced from learning painting techniques from Fred.
Fred does have some funny antics and he might be thought of as a little eccentric by some, however, he is an effective teacher and and awesome painter. Fred has a very cool website which features his work.
It also is chockful of information about art and art materials for students and artists. Check it out..... www.kaplanpicturemaker.com
So let’s talk with Fred...
* I always find this question
interesting even though it is always asked. When did you first recognize that you had the gift of
artistic skill and creativity? How
did it reveal itself to you? I
mean, did you start drawing, painting or coloring outside the lines?
Drawing was just something that I’ve always done and
enjoyed. One day, my fifth grade teacher talked about this guy named Rembrandt
who was The Master of Light and Shadow and I decided at that moment that I also
wanted to be a master of light and shadow.
* Were your artistic skills encouraged when you were a
child?
My parents boasted of my skills and showed off my pictures
to impress others. Other than that, though, thoughts of an art career were
discouraged. As with many parents, mine believed that it was impossible to earn
a decent living as an artist. They were not wholly incorrect, for it is
exceedingly difficult. Instead they urged me to pursue medicine or law or some
other high-paid and socially prestigious profession; the dream of every Jewish
mother is, I guess, to have a doctor for a son.
* Where did you get you college education and what was
your major?
While still in high school I participated in a Saturday
program run by the Philadelphia school district and attended evening open
figure drawing sessions at Fleisher’s. Unfortunately, the Saturday program is
no more, although the school district now has its High School for the Visual
and Performing Arts, which I very much wish existed when I was a public school
student. After high school I went on to study at the Pennsylvania Academy of
The Fine Arts while I continued to take occasional classes at Fleisher’s. At
that time all evening classes were free, which was just the right price for an
extremely poor student. Eventually I earned a certificate and MFA in painting
from the Academy.
* What kind of student were you?
I am told that college transcripts are confidential, and I
don’t want to violate any laws, so I think I’ll have to withhold that
information.
* What field of art did you pursue after college?
My first art-related job actually came while still in high
school. I worked on the advertising staff for a now defunct supermarket chain.
Although I didn’t get to do much in the way of actual artwork (mostly I was a
go-fer), I did learn a lot. After college I got a position as an embroidery
designer, which was pretty interesting, and later as a trade show exhibit
designer. Through the years I’ve driven taxis, sold shoes, did telemarketing,
worked at a couple of art supply stores, and had a variety of sales jobs as I
struggled to build a clientele for a illustration and graphic design business.
Eventually I was able to go off on my own and earn a decent living as an
independent artist.
* I know you were an illustrator for some time. Tell me about what that profession was
like and if you were you passionate about it?
Commercial art is a feast-or-famine type of business for the
independent artist. There are times you have so many assignments that you get
little or no rest, although you earn plenty of money, and other times when you
have next to nothing to do at all and little income. While I enjoyed doing
illustration, I resented the creative restraints, which ultimately led me to
give it up and make a go at being a fine artist.
* What medium did you work in?
As an illustrator a range of media were used: acrylic paint,
gouache paint, watercolor, pen and ink, and scratchboard, along with a variety
of dry drawing media.
* What were some of your clients?
Most of my clients were medical, manufacturing, and
publishing concerns. Medical clients included the American Red Cross, Hospital
of the University of Pennsylvania, Merck & Company, and American Academy of
Periodontology. Some publishers I’ve done work for are DAW Books, McCrae-Smith,
and Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine. In addition, I’ve created designs and
illustrations for QVC Shopping Network, Eagle Air, and Lawrence Factor.
* I have noticed that you also have the gift of
creativity, which is evident in your website, handouts in class etc. and also
there is the give away that you worked in the advertising world. I believe that
artistic skill and creativity are very different and a person can possess one
without the other. What are your
thoughts about the two?
This is an interesting question to me, and one that confuses
many. In my opinion there is a huge difference between artistry and skill. It
is possible, for instance, to teach a person how to be a skillful drawer,
painter, sculptor, or writer, but it is not possible to transform a person
skilled in one of these areas into an artist. That is something that comes from
within the individual. For instance, I’m sure you have had the experience of
admiring a painting for how skillfully it was done, and yet remained unmoved by
the picture. On the other hand you have probably come across a picture executed
with marginal facility but one which is nonetheless exciting to look upon. In
the first case the “artist” possesses mere technical facility, while in the
second the artist has impregnated the picture with an individual creative
vision. Naturally, those pictures that we most admire are ones done with superb
technical skill and a profound creative spark.
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| FKAPLAN Rider In The Dawn Oil On Canvas 2011 24x36 |
* When and why did you leave the corporate world doing
illustration to pursue painting as your profession? What was your thought process if you can remember it? Have you always wanted to paint?
Yes, I have always wanted to paint and that is one of the
main reasons I turned away from doing illustration. It simply wasn’t satisfying
enough, plus the industry was being increasingly dominated by digital art,
something I found alien and off-putting.
* What are the differences between illustration and
painting? Do they sometimes cross
over with a small amount of difference?
I mean, sometimes a painting can look like an illustration and visa
versa? What is your
opinion about the differences and similarities between the two?
The main differences between illustration and fine art is
that illustrations are made to be reproduced, something that is not of great
concern to a painter, and fine artists can make any kind of pictures they want
while illustrators must meet the client’s requirements.
There is certainly some cross-over. It is not unusual, for
instance, for a publisher or company to use a fine art painting as an
illustration. In fact, many fine artists have created paintings on commission
that were intended for use as illustrations. Pierre Roy is one such, as are
Rene Magritte, Georgia O’Keeffe, and Philadelphian Robert Riggs. Nor is it odd
for an illustrator to market his original illustrations through galleries as
fine art. Frederic Remington did this, as did Norman Rockwell and Maxfield
Parrish.
As to whether a painting can look like an illustration and visa
versa, that is another issue. Because of
the process involved in reproducing illustrations, certain factors must be
taken into consideration. For example, purples and browns are generally avoided
or minimized since they are difficult to reproduce accurately. Illustrations
need to be more hard-edged and have stronger contrasts than is seen in many
paintings. Color in illustrations needs to be strong and vibrant because of
limitations of the reproduction process, so much so that illustrators have been
known to use to use day-glo fluorescent-type colors on occasion.
* Most people have this notion that to be a great artist,
your need to have angst and neurosis which makes creativity possible. What do you think about this and what
is your angst if you have one, or maybe two, three or four?
My angst and neurosis is that people think I need to have
angst and neuroses in order to make art.
* Some creative people are driven by something internal
that they can’t seem to describe, which enables them to create and to be
prolific. What would you say
drives you if you were to put it into words?
The need to eat. Salvador Dali said that art should be
edible, and I agree. So I make my own food.
* This is a thoughtful question that I feel compelled to
ask? How are you inspired creatively?
I mean, what does it look like or how does it take you to a creative place? How
does an inspiration enter into your consciousness? Is it by thoughts, dreams,
daydreams, etc? Is it an obsession
or rumination over an idea or concept? Is it that “light bulb experience? Is it
by feelings? What else brings inspiration in your life in general, that
transfers over to your artistic skills and your ideas?
There is no “light bulb” of inspiration, just – the words of
Thomas Edison – 90% perspiration. If I sat around waiting for ideas to strike I
would do nothing but sit around. I go looking for them in books, along the
street, by doodling, and sometimes just by starting to paint.
* Is there anything that you would like to pursue
artistically besides painting and why?
I’d like to learn to work with wood. My father was a
skillful carpenter, as is my brother. Me, I just make a mess.
* Do you have any other passions that rival the drive and
desire you have to paint?
Yes. Not painting; just loafing.
* How do you over come obstacles painting when you are
alone in your studio, with no one to bounce an idea off of?
But there is somebody to bounce ideas off of: me.
* Do you find it difficult or how do you deal with the
motivation and isolation of being in your studio all day painting? Do you ever go “bonkers”?
Being alone makes me hungry, which motivates me to make
food.
* Would you recommend painting to some one as a
profession, knowing that it can be a real rollercoaster ride and success is no
where near a sure bet?
Unless a person has an enormous appetite, I wouldn’t
recommend art as a profession. One certainly doesn’t do it for money, since few
artists ever earn enough to feed themselves decently. As to fame or celebrity:
if that’s what you want, learn to sing and try out for American Idol.
* What does a successful artistic career look like to
you?
It depends on what you consider success to be. To me it means
making ever better pictures, some of them hopefully being compelling enough to
attract the attention of at least a small public. The height of success, I
suppose, is to be picked up by a premier gallery or see one’s work displayed in
a major museum.
* I have found that a lot of painters and artists have a
nagging sense of insecurity or doubt in their skills, do you think this is true
and why? Also, do you think one needs to be eccentric to be a successful
artist? Do you think of yourself
as eccentric?
This is really two questions.
All artists have doubts about their work. If they didn’t there would be no reason to strive to improve it, and that spells death for an artist, death for progress. To endure those insecurities I think that one has to, indeed, be eccentric.
FKAPLAN Dark Energy Oil On Canvas 2011 20x24
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That wraps it up for this PART ONE of this interview. I hope you found Fred's perspective on art and creativity interesting and enjoyable? Check back next week to follow along with PART TWO where Fred talks about teaching, saving his studio and most important, his work as a painter.
Please leave a comment if you would like to and pass along this blog interview to friends. Also, don't forget to take a peek at Fred's recent work on his website www.kaplanpicturemaker.com. It is also full of information for artists on materials and advice.
Thanks a whole bunch for coming to my blog.
Cheers,
