Carmine Magazine

Carmine Magazine: What drives you to create? Also, what inspires you and your work?
Sarah Coyne: I find everything in the natural world utterly fascinating. The open ocean and outer space terrify me but all of the things in, around and under both are wonderful. Most of my work features animals, of which I’ve always been a big fan and I love the fact that making a painting or print of an animal let’s you have one and keep it in your home - in a way. I make art because I have no idea what I would do otherwise. How do non-artists fill their free time? It’s a mystery to me. I bet they have lots of time to read books and go to the beach.
And I’m mainly fueled by copious amounts of milky, sugary tea.

CM: Were you formally trained in art or self taught? Do you think it has helped you or hindered you?
SC: I have my BFA in Illustration from Mass. College of Art. The department was tough and my feelings are mixed, but I learned a lot about the business of illustration and art in general. I think it’s helped me a great deal in my endeavors as a working artist and crafter. Like everyone says, I wish I had been as focused and confident then as I have grown to be in the years since graduation.

CM: What mediums do you work in the most? Do you have a particular brand that you love working with? Why do you use them?
SC: My comfort zone is acrylics (any kind will do, honestly, I like the really cheap stuff because it’s super opaque) on wood panels, sometimes with cut-paper. A friend is slowly training me in the fine art of silk screening. I think that my super simple style is conducive to the medium and I like learning new methods. I also love oil painting but don’t have the resources or space to work in oils right now… but just talking about it makes me miss it! Maybe this summer I’ll figure out a way!

CM: At what point did you realize that creating was going to be a large part of your life?
SC: After graduating from college I went into some kind of creative hibernation, I think I was burnt out from school, from all the condensed working and making. I took an inadvertent year off, and even thought that maybe a career in art wasn’t attainable. But in 2004 a friend asked me to be part of a craft fair and I had to figure out a way to carry my illustration work over into something more functional – not just art for the wall or to illustrate an idea or text. I loved it. I realized “I really want to do this!” for the past three years I’ve been making pillows, shirts, stationery and other things with my illustrations on them. To each event I bring a couple of more ‘fine art’ pieces to each show and have gotten some great response. I’ve selling in shops and have been doing a few custom pieces here and there and it’s really satisfying. My ideal situation would be to find a nice balance that would let me make fine art and more functional pieces at the same time and to make a full-time business out of it (I currently have a day job that ‘pays the bills’ as they say - not to mention ‘provides the health insurance’ as they say).

CM: If there was one style of art that you could take up, what would it be?
SC: I would love to do ceramics. Just for fun. Probably just to make some giant tea mugs and planters.

CM: How do you deal with creator’s (or writer’s) block?
SC: I’m a fantastic procrastinator so I have to find inspiration as soon as possible when I get stuck. I have a folder of bookmarks on my computer, sites of other artists, illustrators, decorators whose work I admire - people who seem very productive. I click through those and that usually gets me back on the road. I also find seeing other artists’ studios incredibly inspiring.

CM: How do you prepare for art shows where your work will be shown?
SC: I’m good at the last minute hustle but I do some list-making - ok LOTS of list-making to try and keep myself organized and on-track. It doesn’t ALWAYS work but it’s therapeutic at the very least. And I’ve definitely made a list of my lists before.

CM: How do you define you style? Does it represent an inner you or something completely different?
SC: I’m thankful that I’ve never really had to label myself. I draw, paint and design things that make me feel good, things that I like. For the most part my pieces don’t have any deeply hidden message or motive. I really do enjoy art for art’s sake. Something to be looked and loved. Something that evokes an emotion in the viewer but doesn’t necessarily have to be a biting social commentary on the current state of world affairs or anything like that - those kinds of art are good too, but not for me to make.

CM: What kind of environment do you need to create in?
SC: I wish I was the kind of artist who had the luxury of a clean, sparse, beautifully decorated studio but I just can’t manage that. I have piles and papers and boxes and precariously balanced paintings and a giant cat sprawled out all over the place. That must be the way I need the space to be since it seems to be working.

CM: What does your workspace look like? (Pictures or a description work for this one)

I have two areas of my studio. The computer corner and the painting table. I try to keep the computer area simple, clean and tidy since the painting area is usually chaotic and a terrible mess.

CM: What was your worst experience with art? And the best?
SC: I don’t know if I have a worst experience. Even mistakes and stress and horrible catastrophes are things to learn from. Art is so forgiving, most mistakes can be fixed or re-made. Just recently I went to varnish a gouache piece without spray-fixing it first. Dried gouache will re-activate when it gets wet if not properly fixed, so it smeared and nearly broke my heart - but I repainted it and no one could tell!
And the best is probably each time I get to meet a person who has decided to take a piece of my art home with them, to give it a home in their home. It’s such an honor.

CM: What movies, books, music, etc get your creative juices flowing the most?
SC: Music, always. I like deep soulful voices - Al Green, Leonard Cohen, Otis Redding - when painting and more up-tempo stuff - T.Rex, The Pogues, The Decemberists, Eels- when I’m crafting or framing things.

CM: Do you think the internet, technology, media, etcetera are helping or destroying the art world?
SC: I can’t speak for anyone else but for me it’s been a great help. I’ve met a lot of other artists (local and national) with similar interests, I find out about art and craft shows via the internet and at least half of my sales are based online. The internet has its drawbacks - “borrowing” of images from uncredited sources, overexposure of certain themes and trends - but I’ve found a very supportive, helpful network of people who I enjoy communicating, collaborating and working with. I also really appreciate how easy it is for someone who loves your work to tell others about it.

CM: Aside from art what do you do with your time? Is there anything else that drives you or that you’re passionate about?
SC: I love plants and nature and gardening. My dad has a huge garden back home in New Hampshire and my brother and I have been helping him reclaim the land this spring - it was neglected for a couple of years and things have been growing out of control! My boyfriend writes comics so we attend a lot of comic conventions - we’ll be collaborating on a graphic novel later this year.I’ve got a funny dog and a large, loud cat and they’re a constant source of entertainment. Also I enjoy jumping.

CM: Do you have any upcoming shows, events, releases, etc. you would like our readers to know about?
SC: I currently have work up in the Flora&Fauna show at Space242 gallery in Boston MA.
On June 14th and 15th I’ll be in Brooklyn NY at the Renegade Craft Fair, sharing a booth with my friend Jen of Saint9.com. After Renegade I’m going to restock my online shop and start work on some exciting new releases!

Find Sarah’s work at these places on the web:
MissNewHampshire on Flickr
EggAGoGo on Myspace
EggAGoGo on Livejournal
SarahCoyne on Livejournal
EggAGoGo.com
EggAGoGo on Etsy

Some artwork from Sarah Coyne: