Carmine Magazine: What drives you to create? Also, what inspires you and your work?
Arabella Proffer-Vendetta: I’ve never been sure, but it is a combination of information overload and mild hyperactivity. I’ve been doing art or film or music since I was a wee little thing and I can’t turn it off. If I go too long without creating something I feel useless, that I could go crazy and die. That, and I’m not good at anything else. Well, except real estate speculation, and hitting a fast moving target with a bb gun.
I grew up around a lot of 1920s and 30s art and I’ve always loved mannerist portraits I would see in museums, so I’m sure that had an influence that has stayed with me in my work. I have sort of lived my life as a combination of high culture and low culture – I always draw on the two. I had a big white Mohawk and was always at punk shows in someone’s dirty basement, but I would also stay at 5 star hotels and watch classic b&w movies. I love tattoos and Adrian ball gowns; muscle cars and Dior perfume. So my inspiration comes from varied interests in décor, fashion and the lifestyles of aristocrats and socialites. Everything I do comes from some loose narrative in my head and it always turns to things related to counter-culture and the eccentricity of the wealthy.

CM: Were you formally trained in art or self-taught? Do you think it has helped you or hindered you?
APV: I attended Art Center College Of Design for a bit and then graduated from CalArts. I think I went to art school at the wrong time for what I was doing. Everything was about concept and installation art; figurative or any kind of art like that was frowned upon. I think I learned the most taking animation courses because you actually did the art instead of just talking about the concept. I made the best of it by mostly concentrating on animation and film to get my money’s worth. Sadly I think my painting and technique got better after I graduated, so in many ways I am self-taught.

Augustus, Earl of Vernon (1592 – 1662) Brought up in the highest court after the death of his parents, he rose in the ranks of the army and was sent on many important diplomatic missions. Despite being an insufferable know-it-all, he became a chief minister. Accomplishing much at an early age, he married Christabelle, a woman twenty years his senior. He took strong pleasure in her always calling him ‘young man’ in both public and private moments.

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?
APV: I used to work in acrylics because I’m impatient, but oil ages so much better; my favorite artists all used oil so I figured it was time for a change in 2000. I also like drawing with Sharpie pens, and those I either leave just as line art or color them in digitally.

CM: At what point did you realize that creating was going to be a large part of your life?
APV: My parents decided I was going to be an artist of some sort when I was 2 years old, and I never thought otherwise. I knew I was going to go to art school in Southern California already at age 13. My mom said her and my dad’s worst fear was that I would grow up to be an accountant. You’d think most parents would have said a stripper or crack whore.

Lady Alexis of Vernon (1556 – unknown) Married at age 15 to Lord Arman, second son of the Duke and Duchess of Bruenza. She was the daughter of an architect with a gambling problem, a problem great enough that she was handed over to Armand to settle a debt. Though she was spoiled and doted on, treated more as a daughter than a wife, the years of her fundamental discontent ended with a decision to run away with a harpsichord player she had hired as dinner party entertainment.

CM: If there was one style of art that you could take up, what would it be?
APV: I’ve never done screen printing, and have been meaning to for years. It looks like a mild pain in the ass and very monotonous, so maybe that’s what is off-putting to me.

CM: How do you deal with creator’s block?
APV: I don’t really get blocked. I have notebooks full of stuff I want to do eventually. I’d say my biggest problem is that I get bored real easily, when that happens I just shelve stuff and go drinking with my friends, or read, or go on a cleaning frenzy. I love deadlines, because it is the only thing to kick my ass in gear and keep me from going on a break too long. I’m a lazy person by nature, so I’m shocked I finish the amount of artwork that I do at all.

Lady Christina of Albramere, Countess of Vienwray (1730 – 1778) The daughter of an eminent Lord, she was described as a high priestess of social arts. A formidable woman with a desire for perfection in every facet of her life, she ran her establishment with precision and luxury. Her clothes, her home, her friends and her children were all perfect, as she could expect no less. Despite having achieved perfection, her husband strayed not only to women such as servents in their own home, but to Christina’s own sister, Lady Marcella.

CM: How do you prepare for art shows where your work will be shown?
RPV: I am maniacal when it comes to planning ahead for solo shows. Galleries either find this totally awesome or totally irritating. I am also such a control freak I write my own press releases most of the time, and either have to hang the show myself or at least lay it out. This comes from people hanging my work in a really messed up way or breaking stuff in the past, so I go by the rule: if you want it done right, do it yourself.

CM: How do you define your style? Does it represent an inner you or
something completely different?
APV: My style is just how my eyes and hands communicate with one another, I suppose. Nothing ever looks like how I originally drew it in the end; I’m constantly molding and changes faces and backgrounds. I’ve had my work called everything from Pop Surrealism, to Mannerist, to Neo Realism and Magic Realism. I’d say it is somewhere in all 4. A friend described it as “Tamara de Lempicka and Christian Schad go to a Sex Pistols themed Elizabethan ball thrown by Manga comic characters.” I rather liked that since it covers all my interests.

Laszlo, Duke of Slovelica (1510 – 1580) The largest private landowner in Kessa and a cousin to the King. Though he was the subject of much envy, her was known to be shy and socialized rarely, preferring to put important decisions in the hands of the chancellor. His child bride would inspire him to pursue writing prose and philosophy as occupations.

CM: What kind of environment do you need to create in?
APV: Ideally one where my crazy cat isn’t biting my feet, or walking through oil paint, or knocking brushes onto the floor, or being destructive and loud while rubbing his white furry butt on everything. It happens way too often.

CM: What does your workspace look like?
I work in my dining room, nothing fancy here. I work in such small scale that I don’t really need a big studio. Cleveland is so cheap I could get a great one for $150 a month or less, but I’m like, why bother? I’m not really messy or covered in paint, so it isn’t a problem, I have a little cart with drawers for my supplies and my baby easel on the dining table with glass palettes, that is it. Artists who come and look are shocked at how little space I take up. If I have a party it takes me 5 minutes to clear everything and put it in a closet somewhere.

CM: What was your worst experience with art? And the best?
RPV: The worst has been independent curators who try to steal my money or hold artwork hostage. I’ve come across bigger hucksters in art than I ever did in the music industry. You wouldn’t believe some of the excuses and it is just insulting that these are supposed, “art lovers”. It is so sad and time consuming though, and that I’ve had to get so nasty about it in a very “don’t make me cut you!” sort of way. Let’s just say I’m glad I have lawyer friends and private investigator friends, I get paid eventually.
One of the best was when I had my last student show at CalArts and I sold quite a few pieces to instructors who I always admired, as well as staff members. I was told that selling work at a student show, let alone to faculty, almost never happened there. But really the best is on-going; people write me how much they like what I’m doing, ask for commissions, come to the shows, or people who buy work and send photos of where they hung it. I had a collector recently buy a piece and he even made up a fake bio for it in the same vein that I’ve written for so many other portraits, and that was so cool.

CM: What movies, books, music, etc get your creative juices flowing the most?
RPV: I read a lot of stuff about old crusty aristocratic clans or socialites that spent a ton of money and dies horrible deaths. I also have a sick obsession with all things Joan Crawford, Letitia Baldrige, and Cecil Beaton. My husband and I started a record label several years ago, so music has been an important thing of course. I go anywhere between The Church, Billy Nichols, or Glam Rock compilations. I recently got the whole Depeche Mode catalog on CD and junked my cassettes, so I’ve been feeling like I’m 12 years old fan girl all over again.

Friederica of Vienwray (1804 – 1874) Born into an old aristocratic family with a predisposition for smallpox, she spent her youth being passed from one distant relative to another (each dying within a year of the next) until age 16 when she was hired by the royal court theater as an actress. She gained the Queen’s favor as an amusing and attractive socail weapon; when the Queen’s friendship with a lady in her circle had cooled, Friederica was invited to salons and galas as a replacement, a resounding snub against anyone who had fallen out of favor. Described by men who came to pay her tribute as ‘the highest creature’, it is not clear if they flocked to her for her charm, her acting, or her influence with the Queen. Setting her sights on those of the most eminent condition, she retired from the stage and married the Duke of Lernigo.

CM: Do you think the internet, technology, media, etcetera are helping or destroying the art world?
APV: Helping indeed. I wouldn’t have discovered half the artists I have if it wasn’t for the net, and they wouldn’t have found out about me. And now galleries aren’t the only ones in control, which is rather nice in many respects. People will still want to see art in person, and they’ll still want to buy art magazines and books, so I don’t think it’ll get ruined. It has been better for art than music, that’s for sure.

CM: Aside from art what do you do with your time? Is there anything else that drives you or that you’re passionate about?
APV: Well, I think I’m lucky in that what I am passionate about, I actually do for a living, so anything else I would classify as vices. Beer, sex, shoes, ordering an expensive cheese plate, baking a batch of cookies and then eating half of them right away. That kind of stuff.

Valentina

CM: Do you have any upcoming shows, events, releases, etc. you would like our readers to know about?
RPV: I’ll be in 3 group shows throughout California this winter and spring. And right now I’m preparing for a dual solo show in Cleveland w/ Andrea Heimer in May, a dual solo show in D.C. with Brandi Read in August, and then a solo show in Pittsburgh in October. Like I said, I love deadlines.

For more information on Arabella Proffer-Vendetta check out these links:
Arabella Proffer.com (website)
Bella Vendetta (store)
Arty Farty (blog)
AProffer (photos)

Lydia

Beatrice, Duchess of Bruenza (1527 – 1589) First daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Slovelica, she was known for her lavish finery as the powerful ancestors she came from. Where her parents had been reluctant about their duties, Beatrice was haughty, imperious, and had political aspirations. Marrying the Duke of Bruenza in 1550, motherhood softened political hopes into that of becoming a playwright. When her first play resulted in oceans of angry spitting from the audience, she settles for being a curtain puller.

Cordeleia of Kronin (1440 – 1504) A carnival performer since childhood, she was raised in a nomadic tribe known as Brothers of the Serpent — infamous for gambling, grave robbing, and juggling. It was during her acrobatic horse riding at a festival that she caught the eye of a wealthy architect and was sold to him by her uncles. She had a small career as a courtesan to wealthy, but politically unimportant men. While drunk on ginger ale at a ball, she began to strip her clothes, and perform her acrobatic routine for the guests. She ws an overnight success; invited to perform in most affluent homes of the day. She was no longer dependant on wealthy partners, but became trapped into supporting relatives who squandered her fortune. When her youth faded, she went back to her horse routine performing for carnivals.

Varuca, Duchess of Scovelica (1512 – 1579) First daughter to the 2nd Marquess of Terra. Married at the age of 14 to the Duke of Slovelica, her exotic looks and passion for horses made rumors of her supposed Mongolian heredity popular within many social circles. Self-conscience about her height, she began wearing her hair up in spikes as a means to appear taller. This began a trend that would move in and out of fashion, for centuries.