Ruth Ava Lyons is an artist living in Charlotte, North Carolina. The botanical images she creates are not like those found in botanical art, yet they make the same connections between plants, people and nature that botanical artists hope to establish with their audience.
Ruth’s images are vibrant, emotional and pull you into Nature’s landscape. She has completed several artist residencies. Most recently in the Everglades National Park Artist in Residence Program in Florida. This year she will travel to the Great Barrier Reef in Australia to complete an artist residency at the Heron Island Research Station, supported with a Regional Artist Project Grant. This project was made possible through the support of the North Carolina Arts Council, a state agency, the Blumenthal Endowment, and the arts councils in Cabarrus, Cleveland, Gaston, Iredell, Mecklenburg, Rowan, Rutherford, Union, and York (South Carolina) counties. Ruth is represented by Hidell Brooks Gallery in Charlotte, NC.
Ruth has graciously agreed to spend time with us this month to discuss her art and her experiences as an artist in residence.
Please welcome Ruth Ava Lyons as this month’s special guest!
Ruth, thank you so much for spending time with us this month. I know that you are very busy creating in your studio and managing your art consulting business.
I enjoy your paintings very much. What draws me to your paintings are their many layers, their organic forms, their textures and their color.
I wanted to begin by asking you about the many layers in each piece. You work in oil and I have read that your process is one of adding and removing layers. I realize each piece is brought to life differently, but do you have an idea of how many layers of color, texture, and organic forms are added, removed and added again over the course of a painting?
I joke about my work having layers of glazing that basically create a painting in each layer….so if a layer is accidentally removed through a cleaning process years from now or my work is x-rayed, there will be several paintings visible underneath and the owner collector will see that they are getting more for their money!
Seriously, the work sometimes takes the direction of discovery through the process of making. For me, just as in most of life’s experiences, the satisfaction lies in the journey as we stumble and wander along. Sometimes I am not 100% sure what the effect of layering different colors can produce, so its risky but adventurous. Its worth the struggle when you know you will eventually get positive results. This attempt to go beyond what one knows and venture into the unknown (conceptually and technically) is a never-ending conversation that an artist has with themselves and their work during the creation of an artwork. It is a powerful dialogue and the object product takes on a life of its own in the process. It can also be like wrestling, with a push and pull of forces between the artist and art. I start each painting with a subject/idea I would like to express through particular shapes and composition, but some of my work is developed instinctually and I do not follow a prescribed technical or visual formula. Working instinctually is a way that allows the unconscious to take recycled aspects of the world, from mangrove trees to tractors, throw them together and watch them grow. Several applications of layers of thin paint are alternated with more solid area of images and generally reveal subtle forms underneath and give the painting an inner light that reflects back up through the layers. This approach gives me a lot of freedom to keep developing certain areas or leave them alone and work around the painting like a choreographed dance…moving around the composition to keep balance and harmony. I look at the “building” up of the painting as something that evolves day to day, and grows, so to speak, like a living thing.
Readers,
During the month of February, Ruth will be working with at-risk teens through a new program called Sound Decisions. She will also be showing her art at
Gallery Seventeen, a brand new gallery in South Carolina.
Thanks so much to the people who have already contacted me through my http://www.ruthavalyons.com website.I greatly appreciate your flattering response to my work!
You work in oil, metal leaf, metal flake, gold leaf, and silver leaf. What is it about oil that captures your attention? Have you ever created your layered landscapes in acrylic?
Oil is a very seductive medium. It has a richness of palette that is hard to simulate in acrylic which sometimes sends a visual clue that it is man-made/plastic/synthetic. In my youth, I studied the old masters and became very fond of their techniques with oil. For me, an advantage is that it dries slowly, so you can mix the colors on the canvas to get different effects. You can also add driers to speed it up, so you are in total control. Oil also lends itself to the execution of the thin layers of paint I use, called glazes.
I like to use metal, gold, and silver leaf because leaf has been an artist material in many cultures for centuries and ties me to the history of painting. From Japanese screen paintings to Persian miniatures to Orthodox Christian Byzantine Icons, it is used as a beautiful counterpoint, and I try to incorporate it to have a complimentary effect as well as make a statement. I like to think of it as a symbol.
Metals are mined from the earth, so it serves to represent man’s active thirst for, and exploitation of, a precious resource. For this reason, I use it sparingly! The “Metal flake” I use is basically good old fashioned glitter. It is an interesting modern material composed of aluminum and oxides which reference abundant natural elements. The ancients used hematite, glass and mica. I like the contrast of surface it gives the paintings.
Plants have a presence in each of your paintings. Why do you use plants to connect your viewers to nature?
I like a field-based approach to my subject matter. I wander in various environments and study and synthesize and translate and interpret my impressions of the natural world. Artists like me vacillate between our direct experiences in nature and the solitary studio setting. We follow the work of biologists, botanists, ecologists, and naturalists to inform and strengthen our visions with their findings, so there is a lot of cross-cultural personal research that takes place as well. It is always challenging for me to attempt to capture the essence of plant imagery while exploring and intersecting contemporary concepts at the same time. I am very interested in all aspects of man’s impact on the environment and my titles give a hint of that if a viewer does not pick up on my subject matter. For example, a painting that is called “Seeds of Change” is inspired by research findings about seeds that scientists and tourists have carried unknowingly into Antarctica, consequently threatening the ecosystem with invasive species. Another painting “Tsunami” is my response to the tragic natural event in Japan 2011, which many attribute to the issue of global warming. Another painting “Peru” honors that country for its 10-year ban on GMO’s. The depiction of plant forms serves to help me speak about larger issues resulting from man’s increasing disruption of the natural world.
I see wondrous complexity in a small patch of wildflowers, in a field of sawgrass, and in my own backyard. The endless wealth of visual source material from all the ecosystems I experience inspires and informs my work.
You have completed artist residencies in different regions of the US. How do you get involved in residency programs? Do you actively search for residency programs using tools like res artis or directories like the one for North American residencies at Cranbook Academy of Art Library?
There are several ways artists approach residencies. There are online resources like CAFE (http://www.callforentry.org) that announce residencies for all levels of artists. Artist Communities (http://www.artistcommunities.org) is wonderful for looking at programs in specific countries as well as res artis. Sometimes its simply interacting with artists who share unique experiences at residencies and garner your interest with their firsthand experience. At this point in my life, I am thinking about places that I am specifically interested in, however there are a lot of things to consider. For instance, there is an arctic circle residency that I would love to participate in, but it requires a significant monetary contribution. Some residencies are for long periods of time that would be hard on my family. Some residencies require active interaction with the public through a lecture or workshop. I am very protective of my studio and I am not willing to open it while work is in progress, so if a residency involves allowing studio visits, that will be very difficult for me to accommodate.
Good Day Ruth Ava Lyons.
Your approach to botanical art is intriguing and your use of oils in this genre unique and inspiring. Thank you for making yourself available on Art Plantae Today. I was interested in some of the materials you use to accomplish such thin layers of paint. There seems to be a lot of recipes for thinning oils. Lately I have just been using liquin and had some concern about its archival qualities. So I was wondering what (if it is not a secret mix!) what you used for thinning and if you usually let the paint dry between layers? Thank again for sharing your time and experience. It is great to see modern botanical art done in oils, especially so well done.
Hello Peggy..Thanks for your interest! For many years I used the standard linseed oil/turps/w/ a few drops of cobalt drier mixture. To get a way from the fumes, I switched to Liquin. It produces a suitable non yellowing flexible film conducive to glazing. For the past two years, I have used Galkyd cut with odorless mineral spirits. I like the fact that you can increase the sheen with it and use it as viscous as you like if you choose to make more painterly applications, or you can thin it to do more glazing. It can also be used thinned to the right consistency as a final varnish to “set” the color. Yes, I wait until the layer is dry before applying another. Paint away!!
Do residency programs accept up-and-coming artists or do they only want to deal with artists with extensive portfolios?
The cost of being an artist is very high, with competition being a fact of the lifestyle. It isn’t enough to be productive and talented…you have to stay on top of a self-marketing plan 24/7. There is a great deal of rejection that accompanies the struggle, so you have to be very persistent and keep letting programs/institutions know of your existence. This approach applies to residency programs as well.
Some programs like mature established artists who have a track record, but I think a lot of panelists for residencies are looking for exciting work that they respond to and feel the public can benefit from, since they tend to have a public component. Like job seeking, you have to apply to several residencies before there might be interest. Some residency programs require an application fee and that discourages a lot of artists, so you probably have less competition for those residencies. An artist should look at the pedigree of past recipients of residency programs and see if they stack up. Sometimes you just have to work your way up that ladder and start with programs that are less competitive.
What is typically expected of artists both during and after a residency?
Artists generally have to pay for their round-trip transportation to a residency. Housing and studio space is covered as well as meals. Sometimes there is a small stipend for materials. A residency can range from 2 weeks to one year, so you have to be contractually bound to a time frame. This is why it is good to do residencies when you are young and do not have to deal with the interruption in family life with children or occupation. The artist is expected to spend their residency producing work, but it is understood that it might be a time for experimentation and exploration, so the artist might undertake a whole new approach to a body of work or work in an entirely different media. The emphasis is for the artist to have uninterrupted time to explore their work in any way they see fit. They may be offered a gallery-type space to exhibit their work at the completion of the residency, so this could be a big plus for getting more exposure. A donation of artwork is very common and it’s a good thing because you can list it on your resume under your public collections, so it can be a plus.
I would think that being in a new environment can be both exciting and overwhelming at the same time. On the first day of a residency, what thoughts race through your mind? What do you do?
I wander around and get my bearings. I do not dive into my work because I like to get comfortable with and tune-in to the environment. I get my head in another space where I am determined to be open and not have qualitative expectations. That way, the pressure to create great work does not get in the way of what I am absorbing. I am planning on doing a residency program in the Brazilian rain forest in 2015 and I have decided to just do a sketchbook journal and gather imagery for future works. Making art is like having a daily journal of your life as a human being anyways, so I decided that I would go back to basics in a fairly remote and primitive environment.
It’s always good to have a goal in mind for what kind of work you might do and how much you can get accomplished within the time frame.
Who knows…maybe I will try to make a Plant Press Journal (although I would need to figure that out ahead and find out if I could bring it back into the U.S.)
Ruth. thank you for your insights and your lovely work. I was fascinated to see this post as I am just about to take up an Artist in Residence post in the UK. For me it means above all things a focus and the opportunity to do some themed work, in depth research ( which I love) but also to reveal aspects of the area which are maybe hidden or lesser known to the local people who use the park and the reservoir. I will have to be self funding ..but that´s not too bad as live close by and I just regard it as a great opportunity in so many ways. It will be for a year and who knows what wonderful things I will discover in that time. I do have a starting point but also am very open to unexpected paths that will inevitably open up.
It will be a fascinating experience. I will be recording progress and developments in a weekly blog and hope for an exhibition of the work at the end.
After a local residency I might look at something further afield.. who knows!
Your blog makes me want to go to Leu Gardens!! I really like the depth of your approach to the environment. You have some wonderful sketching going on that shows a serious commitment and love of nature. I have a feeling you will continue to thrive in your new location/residency and if I were you, I would contact the closest natural science museum and try to get something lined up for 2014. Good Luck!!!
When you say “sketch book journal” … what exactly does that mean to you? Is it a day-by-day spontaneous writing and drawing or sketching or is there a protocol that you follow so that each daily experience is complete unto itself. I am new to the world of painting but have been a photographer for many years so I use photo images as a resource. I would like to start a sketchbook journal for my time in Maine so that it reflects as much of each adventure as possible. How do I start? Thanks much and I look forward to seeing your work on your web page as well as Art Plantae.
Hi Carole! For me, the sketchbook experience is very quick and simple. I will either work in situ to capture the details of a plant form, or I will take a specimen to the studio to sketch. It’s a wonderful reference for a vocabulary of images for future use. It can be a quick jotting down or a detailed tight rendering. I might take it a step further and research the plant online to find more information for notations about its habitat. I might also add water-based media to the drawing, as most botanical artists probably do to get a more complete rendering. Try not to think of the sketch as a finished product. That mentality will give you a fresher approach and readiness for any moment where you might find subject matter. It can be a weed growing in the cracks of concrete, as well as a full immersion on a nature walk. Get a purse big enough to be able to carry your journal everywhere. My purse looks more like a shoulder attache case.
Thank you so much for that very helpful response. I know exactly what I will do now! I wish you much success in your future travels and adventures.
Anytime!
Your process is very spontaneous. Are the paintings you create during a residency similar to the paintings you create in your studio? When you are working on-site, do you feel restricted by the need to tell the story of a particular place?
When I had a residency at the Bemis Project in Omaha, Nebraska, I was given a studio with 15-foot high walls. I purchased huge rolls of canvas and stretched them across the walls. Before that, my paintings were much smaller. This opportunity to work on another scale showed me a whole new way to see my work. I proceeded to adjust my imagery to the scale. Sometimes these changes in working style call for a new approach and you find the work looking like something you have never done.
Artists are like plants! They take in what they need, absorb, and release back into the world. I never feel a pressure to mirror my surroundings, but I am always open enough to be fueled or influenced by the whispers of the muse, in whatever form that might be.
When I lived in Arizona, I loved my time in the Saguaro Desert. Looking back, it is apparent to me that my palette reflected the tones of the landscape. I was drawn to working with dry oxides to simulate sandy clay-like surfaces and I literally beat the materials into paper and left them in the sun to bake, so I could get the feel and look of parched earth. The unconscious connection to the environment plays a big role in the content of the artist’s work just as it does for the lives of many who just need to be aware and pay more attention to what nature has to offer.