We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Deidre Husak a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Deidre, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

About a year ago my sister (an actual Sister) had asked me to paint a religious watercolor depicting the Virgin Mary and her cousin Elizabeth famously labeled “The Visitation”. Me, not being particularly religious and completely unfamiliar with the subject, I started to feel a sense of dread come over me. I thereby put off this project to produce easier, more familiar ones before finally succumbing to my sister’s continual prodding. One day I sat myself down and forced myself to start the research required to achieve a successful outcome that I could present to the convent where this rather large painting would be installed. After hours of research, playing with the colors and especially light knowing it would be a focal point, I took out my paper and started. Watercolor is a spoiled brat. You don’t have a lot of chances for correction and if you are a control freak like me, you need to practice extreme focus and self-control. Knowing that the pigment and water will fight, someone will win, you are just a bystander who will have to work with the end result. Most of watercolor involves thinking of a strategy and then taking a deep breath, going in with practiced skill developed by countless mistakes, and knowing when to pick up your brush and stop at that exact time. It’s tricky to say the least, but so much more rewarding to me over acrylic and oil. There is a luminosity and depth to watercolor that does not shine through in other mediums. As I am about halfway through the project, something unexplainable begins to take over me that only intensifies as I continue to work. If I can describe it at all it would be emotional and completely involuntary as I don’t experience this kind of heightened intensity on a normal basis. All I can say is this project went from what was a dreaded endeavor to one of my best and most enjoyable paintings to date. Due to its complexity, I had to stop many times to figure out or be guided towards my next step to create a cohesive whole. A successful watercolorist knows that they will have to manage an intricate process with a required understanding of how pigment reacts to aqueous application. So many things can and do go wrong but that’s life and how you deal with undesired outcomes can define your character. Weeks later I would stumble across one of my favorite authors, Elizabeth Gilbert, in a TED Talk who experienced this very thing while writing “Eat, Pray, Love. In ‘An elusive Creative Genius’ she describes various artists who have been touched by an outer-force, identified as an external creative genius that becomes internalized- but only momentarily. A glimpse of God or Allah, an unimaginable external force or maybe Dobby from Harry Potter? Whatever it was, I know to be open to encourage this feeling to take over, and as often as possible. When it does, I am ready to allow my creative genius to convey a story that can truly connect with my audience.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

School drawing to painting in Acrylic at a Community College in Seattle after getting a degree (non-art related) from Michigan State University. After successful art classes I tried drawing again but with colored pencils over watercolor, I was hooked! I continued to take classes from a local artist who held them weekly where we could learn, bounce ideas off one another and just have fun. This led to a thirst for more knowledge from some of the best watercolor masters in the world- I often traveled and took multi-day workshops gaining the necessary skills I could never achieve at a university or art school. This led me to have a better understanding of watercolor and how you can manipulate a medium that does not wish to be manipulated. I mostly focus on people, especially candid opportunities where they are doing something they have a passion for- musicians, bartenders, cooks and other such artists… Occasionally I will paint flowers, animals or landscapes to change things up, but my focus is on capturing someone “in the moment” honing in on what is special in that reference photo and then taking it up a notch. I’ve been commissioned to paint family members, pets, homes but can paint just about any subject and in sizes up to 30″ x 42”. I tend to paint in the style of realism but love to add a whimsical flair. I think what sets me apart is my ability to notice the details and can then execute what needs to be done to create something profound and extraordinary.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

I think there is always potential for a community to support local artists In various ways. With the development of technology, adding in social media and then Covid, it has created a world where we have forgotten how to communicate effectively. Ghosting when you don’t want to deal with people or the dreaded “No” has become the norm and with artists and creatives it can be hard on the ego. I’ve had countless “ghostings” from local businesses in my area and then a few that have sought me out. I think the first step to having a good relationship between artists and local businesses is responding to them, especially when those cities are known for being supportive in the arts. The other thing I’ve noticed is that during special events where artists show up late or not at all or are unprepared, etc. It influences the perception of the art-scene.

Can you share your view on NFTs? (Note: this is for education/entertainment purposes only, readers should not construe this as advice)

I stay away from NFTs only because there are so many scammers out there and these people are becoming craftier and harder to identify. Although some are legit, I steer clear.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://deidrehusak.com
• Instagram: @deidrehusakart
• Other: Website is currently in development but close to going live.

Image Credits

Pelican reference photo graciously provided by Tamara Berman Ishee, Elaine Drabik @elainedrabikphotog for my branding photos, Garrett Lee for the marlin photo reference.