Visual Language Magazine Contemporary Fine ARt Vol 4 No 3 March 2015

VL Barbara Rudolph
Interview
When did you realize you loved art and wanted to be an artist
I have loved art for as long as I can remember. Even when I was a little girl I loved to draw. I didn’t
make the full time jump into becoming an artist until I was in my mid 20’s.
Who has been your mentor, or greatest influence to date
I had a couple of college professors that were very encouraging to me. They were also very honest
about communicating the difficulties I would face when pursuing art as a full time career which made
me work even harder. My late father was always encouraging of my artistic ventures. He was also
“accidentally” the reason I made a major change in my painting theme. It was unfortunately not until
after his passing that I pursued painting “birds in art” full time and gained success at it.
Who is another living artist you admire and why
I don’t have a specific mentor today but I know of a few well known wildlife artists that I like to follow that
paint in a realistic style. I also have a few friends that are phenomenal artists that I can occasionally
ask to critique my work. Here are a few artists that I truly admire but have never met: Carl Brenders,
Nancy Howe, James Offeman, Grace Kim and Julia Hargreaves. They all do outstanding work. There
are many others too.
What is your favorite surface to create work on or to work with Describe it if you make it yourself.
When I paint on canvas I prefer to have it custom stretched. The canvas quality is better and tighter. I
sand it lightly to remove most of the texture if I can. I then almost always do 2-3 coats of black gesso.
I let it dry a few days and then do an oil ground. I stock pile the primed and ready to go canvas in my
studio so that when the ideas are flowing...I can begin to paint on them right away. I also sometimes use
Ampersand panels, however I still find I have to prime them first. The reason is because they tend to
absorb the paint up way to quickly if you don’t. They do not work well on large scale paintings because
they warp. I do like to use them for 11x14” size and under. They are a time saver because I don’t have
to sand them. I purchase the “smooth” surfaces, which usually have to be ordered online. The local
art stores usually only carry the medium tooth surface, which would be great for people who paint with
thick paint.
What are your favorite materials to use
My absolute favorite paints are the “Lukas 1862 Finest Artists Oil Paints” from Germany. They are rich
and buttery.
http://www.barbararudolphfineart.com/
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