We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Molly Engen a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Molly, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear about the things you feel your parents did right and how those things have impacted your career and life.
My parents have been very supportive of my career as an artist ever since I was drawing stick figures as a young girl! I have always been certain that I wanted a life in art, and my parents have been incredible in contributing to this dream through supplying me with all that I need for the journey. From guidance through gifted art teachers, to gifting me with supplies such as sketch pads, paints, drawing utensils, canvases, cameras, and so much more, to supporting me through my college years in earning my BFA, my parents haven’t missed a beat in helping me become the artist I am today. They have attended almost every art show and event I’ve been part of-big or small. Even now in my adulthood, they still show up in support. My mother and father are huge on equipping myself and my sisters with everything we need to be able to do what we love most, and I can confidently say that very much so shines through in their parenting. I wouldn’t be standing here today as an artist without them!
Molly, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
Ever since I could properly hold a pencil as a young girl, I have always loved to create. I spent most of my youth drawing and dabbling in photography. In my high school years, I was blessed to have been given a solid foundation in art through my gifted art teacher: Michelle Olinde. I attended Louisiana Tech University in the fall of 2014, and took my first painting class with Nick Bustamante. It was then that I fell in love with painting, and have been painting ever since!
After graduating with my BFA in 2018, I began to pursue my career as an artist. I would best describe my work as abstract, large scale, vibrant portraiture.
There is something about portraits that captures my attention. I paint a variety of subjects–abstract landscapes, figures, pets–but I always come back to portraits. The eye contact, the large scale, the saturated color palettes are all what captivate me most.
I was educated in oils and still dabble in them, but mostly I work in acrylics due to the rapid nature in which I paint! I think the speed I paint at is what sets me apart than most. I find I work best in intense creative situations in which time is against me. Meaning, I need to make quick, intuitive decisions during my process of creating a portrait in order for the vibrant color palette, large and textured brush strokes, and overall large proportions of my paintings to come together as one.
…that, and also my 3 and 4 year old daughters and foster that require my attention mean I need to use the little time I have to create both wisely and efficiently!
In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?
There are plenty of ways to support the arts right where you are! Find out if your community has an arts council and sign up to be a member. Attend an art walk/art crawl, enjoy a night out to a play at your local theater, shop from local makers for thoughtful gift giving ideas, or sign up for news letters from your favorite artists to hear about upcoming shows, pops ups, and events.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
The simple act of painting is what’s most rewarding for me. There is no option in painting/creating for distractions. You’re either wholly present and immersed in creating, or you’re not. We live in a busy and distracted world, especially with social media readily available at our fingertips. To sit with intentionality in front of a blank canvas is enthralling to me. My process requires every new color choice to be dependent on the previous one-same with every new brush stroke. Intuition and full attention guide my process-and the process is what I enjoy most!
Also, one of my favorite things about being an artist is live painting. There’s something about physically witnessing an artist in the zone turning a white surface into something entirely new. To watch their process, their messy palettes, their mistakes and happy accidents-it’s all such an intriguing and immersive experience. God gifts us all in His own way, and I take joy in knowing others find delight and awe in watching me live out my gift.
Contact Info:
- Website: mollyengen.com
- Instagram: @molly.art_
- Facebook: Molly Engen: Artist