Seattle might be notorious for niche coffee shops and scenic waterways, but locals know it's also home to an array of people who love to create. This city is chock-full of artists who we love to feature weekly on Seattle Refined! If you have a local artist in mind that you would like to see featured, let us know at hello@seattlerefined.com. And if you're wondering just what constitutes art, that's the beauty of it; it's up to you! See all of our past Artists of the Week in our dedicated section.
Seattle Refined: How long have you been creating? What mediums do you work with?
Lynn Colwell: I started painting in 2014 after a friend told me about an online, year-long art class she was taking. It was taught by a variety of teachers, approximately one a week for a year. This fits perfectly with my approach to learning which has never been linear. I loved the idea that I could jump in and out, do the classes I liked, and skipped the ones that didn’t appeal to me. I also liked the concept of online learning since I have never enjoyed in-person classes. I’m a mixed media artist, which means I use pretty much every available medium except oils. Before I started painting, I had no idea of the variety of materials available. I primarily play (never use the word “work”) on mixed media paper and wood. I employ collage, pencils, charcoal, watercolor paints and pencils, pastels, inks and a variety of brands and types of acrylics, inked stamps, stencils, credit cards and various painting implements in addition to brushes, etc.
Can you tell us about your artistic process and how the different stages work into it?
I am pretty much an intuitive painter. I almost never start out with an idea. The word “try” is an anathema to me. I get up in the morning and head to my art table, pick up a brush or whatever tool I see out of the corner of my eye, and start in, choosing whatever paint color and type appeals to me in the moment. Sometimes I’ll do nothing but backgrounds, playing around with different tools and adding collage or dripping or wiping with a credit card. I’ll add random lines with a pencil. Sometimes out of that disorder, I see a facial feature and I’m off and running. Other times I’ll start right in with a face (for the most part, I paint women’s faces, occasionally bodies too), beginning with big smudges for eyes. I rarely sketch, but sometimes I do it just to establish position and values. Other times I’ll draw with my non-dominant hand while looking at a photo. Also, enjoy doing continuous line drawings as starts.
Once I’ve begun, the process is simply to add more layers. Some of my pieces have ten or twelve layers of different paints or papers. After I’m finished the painting, I spend whatever time necessary coming up with words. I never paint from the words. Sometimes it takes as long to come up with the words as it did to do the painting. I give away one 9x12” painting almost every day, and I develop three at a time and finish all of them within five to seven hours. So I’m rather quick and prolific. If I’m painting a larger piece, I will generally finish that in no more than a day and a half as I have a very short attention span.
Tell us about where your inspiration for your art comes from.
I am inspired by people, especially women. And I’m inspired by the process. For me, the best part is the process. I am never thinking of the outcome. I love being immersed in the moment and, most of all, in the mystery of what I’m doing and watching the evolution, almost as a bystander would. I’m actually often in awe of how paintings to fruition. Since I never have a planned outcome, it is so exciting to see what develops. Sometimes I’m happier than others with the outcome, but I never second guess myself. Good enough is my watchword. I am always thrilled to move on and see what will happen next.
Do you have a specific "beat" you like best – nature, food, profiles, etc.?
Yes, as mentioned above, women’s faces.
Do you have one piece of art that means more to you or is extremely special to you?
Not really. I have given away more than 1,000 paintings since starting, and I don’t become attached to them. If you visited, you would find only three of my originals. For me, the fun is in the doing, not the final product.
What experiences in your life have affected your art the most?
Being an intuitive artist, everything I’ve done in my life affects me, but not in the way a specific experience does. For me, it’s as though everything goes in through a funnel which I can’t, in the moment, acknowledge or understand. It passes through the funnel and comes out through the implements and colors, and evolution of the subjects. It’s something over which I have no control. It is as if the paintings paint themselves. And the words as well. Coming up with them is also an organic process, not forced. It’s evolutionary. I look at the painting and choose a variety of words from a box I’ve made containing thousands of words. Seeing a particular word will spark a sentence or a thought that I clarify into the phrase that appears on the finished painting. It’s strange because sometimes I don’t really understand what the words mean. But always, they connect with someone and the painting flies.
If we want to see more of your work, where should we go to find it?
I post paintings almost every day on my Facebook page. If someone reading this wants to have an opportunity for a painting, they need to send me a message, and I will friend them. I also have an online shop which I don’t really advertise, but it’s available for people to request a print or other item if they see a painting they like but don’t get the original.
What is next for you? Anything you're working on right now that you're really excited about?
I am excited every morning when I wake up because I have no idea of the adventure that lies ahead. I don’t plan but allow everything to evolve (my life as well as my art), so never sure about what is to come. I have talked to at least one fellow artist about collaboration and looking forward to seeing how that goes.
Lastly, how do you take your coffee? (We ask everyone!)
Towards the end of the afternoon, I make a cold coffee drink: Mount Hagan fairtrade, organic coffee with almost milk and honey, lots of ice to thicken.
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Artist of the Week: Lynn Colwell - seattlerefined.com
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