Artist Profile: Colette Copeland

Espadrille: Mixed media, paper, fabric, paint on muslin

Artist: Colette Copeland
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Website & Blog:
Pomegranate Place
A Bird in the Hand blog

Junque Figures: um, junk, but interesting junk!

How do you describe your work, Colette?
Mixed media. Privately I call it eclectic, because I like variety. I love to paint on large canvasses, and I also like smaller work: collage is my bliss, assemblage is fulfilling! I get bored doing the same thing, although I believe I’ve developed my own style no matter what form the art takes.

What is your creative process like?
Now that’s the $64-million question. I’ve lost count of the times I’ve finished something, stepped back, and asked myself: “How did I do that?!” Often it’s some of my best work. I work when the spirit moves me, which, luckily, is pretty much every day. I alternate between the chaotic and the ordered. I usually don’t work anything out, except in my head, and that’s usually sketchy. An image will gel in my mind and suddenly I’ll get up and go to my worktable (yes, even in the middle of watching my favorite TV show). And I’ll keep going until the piece is finished, easy to do because I lose track of time. Said worktable is usually strewn with stuff. I’m one of those people who, if I don’t see it, I forget I have it. So everything is out, despite my efforts to be tidy and have my supplies in bins and drawers and so on. I should point out that my workspace is small, so I don’t have the luxury of shelving and cabinets and whathaveyou.

I work usually in total silence. I don’t need outside stimuli, since for me it comes from within.

Dragonflies: acrylic on stretched canvas

What kind of training did you have which helped you achieve your current level of artistry?
I was and still am (on a freelance basis) a magazine journalist who had to take her own photos. Photography, which involves a good eye, composition and balance, helped me on the way to my artistic endeavors. One day, out of the blue, I decided I wanted to sketch with a brush and watercolors. I didn’t think I could do it, but I didn’t question the impulse; I went out and bought a small box of watercolors and a brush, and to my delight I found I could. Eventually this led to my illustrating a monthly food column that I was writing at the time. Before long I was in the grip of it all, and progressed from small watercolors to bigger ones, which people wanted to buy. Eventually I graduated to acrylics and big canvasses, which sold out of a couple of local galleries. And then – I discovered collage and mixed media. The possibilities there were endless and I’ve been having a grand old time ever since. My goal is to become a full-time artist.

Is there a tool or material that you can’t imagine living without?
I could never pick just one tool; I mean, what good is a brush without the paint, the paint without the paper, the paper without the…I want all of it. But, if you twisted my arm? Paint, probably. I love smooshing paint all over a canvas!

Birdhouse No. 3: collage on mat board

What inspires you to create?
It’s an impulse, call it intuitive. I’m not sure where it comes from. It’s just there inside my head. Other than that, I find other artists inspiring. When I first discovered Lenore Tawney’s postcard collages, I got really fired up, I wanted to do that kind of collage.

What inspires you to keep going when the work gets frustrating or tough?
If something gets frustrating, I don’t fight it, I leave it alone and go on to something else – even if it means not working for a day or so. Kind of like a mental health break. It will usually work out later, and if it doesn’t, then no harm done. This works very well for me, so as a result, I don’t get frustrated much.

What is your best piece of advice for those who would like to rise in their level of artistry?
Practice, practice, practice. Do it for you, do it for the love of it, do it regularly, and don’t censor yourself. And do what you love, not what everyone else is doing. You get better with time and practice. It’s also necessary to develop a critical eye, so you know what’s good and what isn’t, what’s finished and what isn’t.

My Daughter’s Dress: Mixed media on stretched canvas

What takes up the majority of your time besides your art?
I work three half-days a week at a national publication, and the rest of the time I work on my art. I also take a daily walk in a park near my home, to clear my mind and “touch the earth.” And I spend time on the computer managing the business side of my art. Once a week, I go to flamenco dance class, which I’ve been studying for five years now, and I do yoga three times a week.

What are your favorite things besides art?
Comfort food: Crème brûlée.
Books: I read every day, at night before going to bed. I haunt my local library for mystery novels, art books, historical fiction, and more mystery novels.