Artist Profile: Margo Spellman
December 10, 2008 by Cyndi Lavin
Filed under Home & Living
Tools of the Reinvention Trade 1
Artist: Margo Spellman
Location: Seattle, Washington
Website:
Margo Spellman
Margo, how do you describe your work?
Abstract mixed media paintings. Crazy. Often dark. Sometimes ugly. Truthful.
Menopausal Midwife
What is your creative process like?
Every year I write down a list of topics or events that are on my mind.
I don’t have a visual image in mind before I paint.
I might have a color that I want to use.
I prefer listening to music with no lyrics or with voices in a foreign language.
I try not to use brushes, but rather any tools/ instruments that make marks.
I prefer painting large so I am not in my head.
I have plastic bins containing lots of bottles/jars of paint.
I use a lot of paper towel.
I am very messy.
I like painting outdoors. Whatever blows into my work stays there.
I like to squirt and throw things. Sometimes I slip because I tend to work with the canvas on the ground.
I use a spray bottle of water to break things up.
I build up layers of stuff and then wipe or scratch them away. Over and over….
What kind of training did you have which helped you achieve your current level of artistry?
No formal training. I take an annual painting class in another city. I’ve been doing this for over 10 years. I’ve also taken a variety of adult education type classes in pottery, oil portrait painting, watercolors, collage etc.
Incubator Chick 1
Is there a tool or material that you can’t imagine living without?
Paper towels
What inspires you to create?
Life. Death. Birth. Nature. Travel. Personal issues I am grappling with. The search for truth, authenticity, and meaning.
What inspires you to keep going when the work gets frustrating or tough?
My work is always tough, frustrating and painful. I rarely like what I’ve done until many moons later, if ever. What inspires me is knowing that I’m learning something along the way. And that sometimes my work speaks to others who get it, understand it, and value it. However ugly it may be.
Let’s Start at the Very Beginning
What is your best piece of advice for those who would like to rise in their level of artistry?
This is so hard. Find your voice. Tell the truth. Avoid pretty.
What takes up the majority of your time besides your art?
I run a small marketing and public relations company with my youngest sister (The Spellman Company).
Incubator Chick 2
What are some of your other favorite things?
Food: A big bowl of Penn Cove mussels.
Beverage: A big red wine, with luck the resveratrol in it will keep me young and flexible.
Book: Too many to choose from. Current fav: Bridge of Sighs by Richard Russo. Anything by Annie Dillard.
Wow! Not only do I love Margo’s art. I love her ‘attitude’ or her philosophy. This bit here: Find your voice. Tell the truth. Avoid pretty
Oooh that just speaks to me. Not to mention these paintings are beautiful to me. One question I have for Margo is what medium is she using. Are these pieces oil or acrylic? Or a combination? I’m wondering as I love using a combination of mediums myself and am always curious if other artists do this.
Christy,
Wow; thanks for the kind words! I primarily use acrylics, but also use crayons, pastels, pencils, and maybe a dash or two of metallic watercolor powders (which tend to blow away if you’re working outside I might add). What do you use?
Warmly,
Margo
Not just kind words, honest words too! And your very welcome. Hmm let’s see, I use and in no particular order: acrylics, airbrush mediums, oil pastels, caulk, wood filler, spackle, watercolor (haven’t tried the powders they sound fun – inside LOL), shiva metallic paint sticks and more but those are my favorites. I’ve been about this now for about a year and I’m sure there are many many more mediums I will try. Again, love your work! And huge thanks to Cyndi for this website. I’ve been an avid reader here for a year now and I still love visiting daily.