Interview with Ursula O’Farrell
Neoteric Art: Your work has been described as Third Generation Bay Area Figurative Painting. Do you agree with this assessment?
Ursula O’Farrell: To answer your question, I first want to provide the context to my answer. In June 2008, I was blessed with the abundant joy of receiving invaluable insights from Dr. Peter Selz who placed this description upon my work, namely “third generation Bay Area Figurative painting.” And later in January of 2009, I had the privilege of a studio visit with Dr. Susan Landauer who subsequently wrote a 13-pages assessment of my work that offered up a challenge to Selz’s labeling of my work.
I personally see my work as coming from a tradition of painters, both regionally and globally. I view my paintings as being created upon the deep layers of “strata” of artists as diverse as Max Beckmann, Willem de Kooning, the Austrian and German Expressionists, Emil Nolde, Oskar Kokoshka, Henri Matisse and others. The connecting threads between my work and the paintings I love include a love for “soulful” paintings where emotion reigns within the mode of figurative abstractions.
NA: You have focused your painting almost entirely on the depiction of woman. Please discuss.
UO: I am just now beginning to expand my visual vocabulary and work with “relationship paintings” that include both the female and the male form. I adore the figurative work of Elmer Bischoff and Henri Matisse when both male and female figures enter the dialogue of paint.
NA: In late 2007 you made a decision to dispense with the figure and paint entirely from imagination. Please elaborate.
UO: I was quite fortunate to have had a lunch discussion followed by a “critique” in 2007 of my solo show at the Los Gatos Museum of Art with the phenomenal painter, Charlie Strong. During our conversation, I asked him many questions about Richard Diebenkorn and in particular Elmer Bischoff. How was it that Elmer came up with such large-scale paintings of women? and did he work from models. The answer came back and stunned me. Charlie shared that Elmer painted many, if not most of, his large paintings from imagination. This insight helped me to jump out of my “safety boat” and start to swim in the dark waters of one’s own imagination. The dance between myself and the paint began after this sharing from Charlie Strong.
NA: While still an undergraduate you studied in Italy and upon graduation you received the prestigious Eugene Escalier Foreign Study Scholarship for independent study focused on German and Austrian Expressionism. Please discuss these experiences.
UO: I grew up in San Diego, California and very little awareness of global issues or concerns. During my junior year in college at Loyola Marymount, I was fortunate to study abroad in Florence, Italy through the Gonzaga-University-in-Florence program. This was a seminal year in my development as a painter and a human being. When I returned to Los Angeles for my senior year it was quite difficult to reassimilate into the life I had once known and was only overjoyed to receive the travel-study scholarship to return to Germany and Austria to trace the works of artists such as Egon Schiele, Gustav Klimt, the German Expressionists, and others. Immersing oneself in another culture is such a gift! and I would highly recommend travel-abroad programs to American college students.
NA: Discuss the difference for you between working on a large canvas as opposed to a smaller sized canvas.
Small-scaled paintings are fun, fast and can be wonderful “testing grounds” for my large-scale works. I typically like to work in a series of smaller scaled works (10 or 15 at a time) —and view them as “drawings” — before diving into the full commitment and delicious dance of the larger-scaled paintings. In the larger scale, you can actually paint yourself into the work. There is an entire full-body experience that can only happen with paint that envelopes you on a larger scale. I love the photograph of Henri Matisse where he is painting from a ladder on a large painting. This is the type of bravura that I have replicated withmy own work and now delight in. Look carefully at Claude Monet—in his pond series—and you will see how the scale invites you into the water and into his space.
NA: Concerning your work, what are some of your future goals?
UO: The primary goal I carry with me each day is to focus on the “next painting.” As easy as this sounds, the constant challenge is truly in the development of the next painting and trying to be open and true to wherever it may take me. I do not try to paint myself into a style. the only thing I can do is to remain true to the dance of Self with Paint. Once you can see clearly who you are and what is coming through the paint, this gift of awareness demands Truth, Time and complete commitment to authenticity.
Category: Interviews 10 comments »
May 6th, 2009 at 10:13 am
There is a strength and power in this work that I love. The paint is handled with brute force, yet very skilled, with meaning. The raw emotion is contagious.
May 6th, 2009 at 5:49 pm
Ursula’s unwavering loyalty to the concept of “beauty” thunders through her paintings. Painting from the imagination is the ultimate act of courage in creating a work of art, and the bravery of her brushstrokes resounds in her latest work. When she says she remains faithful to the dance of Self with Paint, I believe her.
May 6th, 2009 at 5:52 pm
Ursula works are a breath of fresh air in a dark art world today, the paintings are full of life and in the moment with great brush movement.
Olé
May 6th, 2009 at 8:49 pm
I love the way Ursula’s paintings hover between representation and abstraction and between flat surface and illusions of space. It’s very involving for the viewer
May 7th, 2009 at 11:00 am
Good interview. Ursula is one of my favorite contemporary painters. I like her use of color and abstracted figures and the progression of content, the growing complexity of each series. It is very exciting that she is named a “third generation By Area painter” and rightly so. there is nothing better than standing in a room full of her paintings.
May 7th, 2009 at 11:01 am
Good interview. Ursula is one of my favorite contemporary painters. I like her use of color and abstracted figures and the progression of content, the growing complexity of each series. It is very exciting that she is named a “third generation By Area painter” and rightly so, there is nothing better than standing in a room full of her paintings.
May 7th, 2009 at 8:29 pm
I love seeing Ursula’s work. Her use of color and form is amazing. This is a great article that I will share with others.
May 9th, 2009 at 5:54 pm
Ursula’s art is derived from her soul of life. The first time I was privleged to experience her work I knew it was exquisite. I have seen her in action, and quitely viewing her paintings surrounding me in awe of the complexity and love of the magnitude of the brushstroke, the paint, and her ability to capture movement. She is truly an inspiration and kind heart.
May 11th, 2009 at 9:48 am
Great interview! Ursula’s art reflects years of
experience in painting the human figure. Her ability to capture the moment with colors and active brushstrokes is truly beautiful! What she brings to the painting is uniquely Ursula!
May 22nd, 2009 at 6:45 pm
Ready to dismiss the work as ordinary stylized semi-abstraction upon seeing the example in the email, gradually the power of O’Farrell’s emotion and Form became apparent as I looked at other images of her work on Google.
The interview added reinforcement to the foundation of her art, although the “please discuss” and “please elaborate” techniques reminded me too much of boring grad school instructors. Still, the interview worked. So…..