X YPP Book

Interview
54
• Why painting? (How did you discover this medium and why have you chosen it?)
I first became attracted to painting in the art school, while still in my
adolescence. I felt strongly about choosing the artist’s career and had no doubts
about doing something else. I was ten when my mother brought me to the
Marinaitis Art School, and I remained faithful to it ever since. My teachers were
the painters I trusted and admired. They also encouraged me to take up painting.
• What inspires you? (Individuals, contexts, etc.)
My inspiration does not depend on particular individuals that much. I always
follow and analyse the events both in the sphere of painting, and in the art world
in general. I am trying to approach classical themes in a contemporary light. For
example, currently I am very interested in religious art, and I am trying to
personalise popular Biblical scenes and even turn them into something prosaic.
My objects of admiration vary with each stage of life. As a schoolboy, I admired
my art teachers (L. Drazdauskaitė, A Vilpišauskas), while during my high school
years my favourites were A. Šaltenis and J. Gasiūnas.
• What can you tell us about your creative process? Where does your artwork start
and where does it end?
My creative process starts in my mind with a daily practice of playing around
with the mental images. After settling on the mental imagery, I start looking for
the matching visual forms by sketching, taking pictures, drawing. I always have
this preparatory and very personal dance around the canvas before committing
to the painting process itself. Apart from witnessing the emergence of an image, I
am always searching for the new creative possibilities that arise during the
process of painting. Sometimes I’m annoyed when my mind forms images
quicker than they are shaped by my brush. The real images sometimes fall short
of their mental originals. Sometimes the result might be very far from what I was
expecting. I finish painting only when I feel satisfied with the result. When the
work is done, I invite a photographer to take a picture of the painting — to me,
this signifies the completion of the process.
• Have you ever seriously doubted your choice to become an artist? (If so, what
stopped/reassured you?)
I never had any doubts regarding the path I chose. Even during the hard times I
knew that painting was my way of thinking and living.
• Creative motifs. (What drives your creative practice? What are the topics you are
working on?)
My main topic is the creation of a painting as such, starting with the main
element — a brush stroke — and all the way to the complex figurative
compositions. I was always interested in the viewer’s role in painting —
the viewer is an ever-present witness of both the artwork and a painter herself.
My whole creative path is marked by the presence of this trinity.
By the time I received a Young Painter Prize award in 2009, I was still searching
for my own unique style. My brushstrokes were wider and thinner, stretching
across an around the perimeter of a canvas.
Today I am bringing painting along with me as I go down the path of Christ’s
Church. I am now interested in the classical Biblical motives. I am trying to see
them through the contexts of everydayness, thus expressing them as almost
mundane. My aim is to create a unique spatial experience by assembling
characters that come from various spaces and are lit differently.
• Do you find the Baltic art scene interesting? (What is your opinion about
Lithuanian, Latvian and Estonian art? How would you describe their differences?)
I am interested in everything that is happening in the Baltic region. I am
keeping in touch with both Latvian and Estonian artists, however I personally
prefer Estonian art better. I admire artists such as Kaido Ole, Marko Maetam, and
Merike Estna. However I avoid making judgements about art based on the
criterion of regionality, I rather use my personal aesthetic preferences.
• How did the Young Painter Award influence your artist’s career?
I was awarded in 2009, when I was still a student in the Vilnius Academy of Arts.
To me it felt like a tremendously important recognition of what I do. It served
as a great impetus to keep up with the work of painting. I think these kinds of
acknowledgements are very important to artists, especially at the beginning of
their careers. I am sure young painters are appreciating the growing importance
of this Award. I think it has greatly contributed to my self-confidence as an artist.