We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Rebecca Lansdowne-Collins a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Rebecca, appreciate you joining us today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

I create in a variety of different media and most began as playful experimentation. My digital art skills are all self taught while my mosaic knowledge was gained through taking classes. I am not sure that there are any roads I could have taken to speed up the learning process. As it is I am a pretty fast learner and I often create at the speed of light, if anything I need to learn to slow down. The most essential skill for learning is an ability to play and allowing yourself to fail. The only obstacle I face is time and occasional health battles. I think lack of time and time management are issues all artists have to tackle at some point.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am a full-time artist and I split my time between commercial pet portraiture work at artpaw.com and fine art glass mosaic work. I do on occasion go off in totally non related explorations such as embroidery and paper collage. Mixed media would be the very best label to throw at me if you want to attach a label. My playful approach to materials and unique ability to layer different materials together to create a whole, sets me apart from more traditional artists. I sometimes will take a photo of a completed mosaic work and throw it into photoshop to create a brand new piece on canvas. I go back and forth combining traditional techniques with modern technology and my best works explore man’s relationship with nature and our impact on nature. I am a constant maker of things and my hands have to be busy, but I am most proud of my works that delve a bit deeper into our place on this planet.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

Now that we are slowly working our way back to normal life it is my hope that the public will get back to visiting galleries, going to live performances and art fairs. Society as a whole needs to place a higher value on the arts and I dream of a day where we place as much energy and money into visual arts programs in schools as we do with sports. That day will likely never arrive as the perceived competition in the arts is not as bloody and primal as with sports, although many academics may disagree with that statement. The immersive art exhibits have created a “Wally-world” approach to art as experience and that is bringing more folks into our world.It is my hope that the popularity of those events will be a wake up call to the money people that public art is worth investing in and art is not a game just for the elites.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

Currently my goals are to balance my own art making with a passion for teaching. My latest mantra is “always be original, always be kind”. I think if artists can focus on those two things they will stop creating derivative works that borrow too heavily from others and they will take time to acknowledge those that do influence them, raising others up as they strive to create works in their own unique voices. Nobody works in a vacuum and we can not help but be influenced by our peers, but it is so important to find our own way and to create works that reflect who we are as individuals. Currently in my teaching I am focused on helping my students discover their style, and discover what it is that motivates them to create. For too long I have been thinking it is my job to teach skills, that is just the starting point really.

Contact Info:

• Website: rebeccacollins.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/artpawpetportraits/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/RebeccaCollinsartpaw