We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Roni Feldman. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Roni below.

Roni, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

Airbrushing has been key to my artwork for a very long time. I keep trying to move away from it because of the uncomfortable protective gear I have to wear, but it just offers the perfect way to create ephemeral transparency. Airbrush had its heyday decades ago. Not many artists use it anymore. It’s fairly expensive to start, hard to learn, has finicky little mechanical bits, and requires good ventilation. I probably never would have gotten into it if it wasn’t for my mom and her friend giving me one as a birthday present when I was in high school. I found some great books and taught myself how to use it.

I have experimented with making white-on-white paintings for over twenty years. For my latest iteration, I wanted the paintings to vacillate between minimal abstraction and baroquely complex representation. I knew airbrush would be important, but figuring out the materials was very challenging. I tried out different combinations until I got a great clue in early 2020. I happened upon a beer can at an art opening. It had matte white printing against a chrome background. It led me to figure out the right type of paint and surface. I’ve never seen that brand of beer again, and if it wasn’t for that serendipity, I’d probably still be hunting.

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

I create paintings that deal with exploration. Through my choices of colors, iridescent materials, or obscured imagery, I prompt viewers to move about, look closely, and engage with contemplative discovery. My recent Quicksilver paintings are made entirely with white paint airbrushed on a silvery background. They can be very subtle from some angles, but come alive with light as it refracts over the varying matte and iridescent surfaces. As one moves in front of them, or sunlight changes the lighting in the room, the paintings vacillate between abstraction and representation, revealing ephemerally billowing clouds.

The effect cannot be fully captured by a camera. You have to see them in person and give them time. Day or night, these paintings always have something new to be noticed. In raking sunlight they can feel bright and shimmering and at night they may take on a warm glow from incandescent lights. Their mood is always changing, inviting reinvestigation and discovery.

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

There is plenty that society can improve in terms of public education or affordable access to the arts. It’s expensive to study, risky to pursue a career in, and sometimes just hard to go see depending upon where you live and the resources you have. Those are big societal things to change. And since my art is more about personal or interior transformation these days, I instead ask, what can artists do to improve access?

I’ve made a lot of different types of art in my life and exhibited in a wide range of venues all over the world from big cities to tiny towns. I’ve found that people generally love art and are excited to see it, so long as it isn’t too hard or expensive to get to. Also, it needs to feel like a generous experience. People want to feel energized and inspired after looking at it.

There’s a lot of art worlds and more modes of distribution than ever before. Consider who your audience is and where your art fits. If you want a lot of people to see your stuff, or want to make it really affordable, some art worlds will work better than others. If a show is a bust and people don’t show up or no one buys anything, sometimes it’s just bad luck. Other times it’s just the wrong art for the wrong place. I’ve had both of those things happen to me. One I could write off as an act of nature, but the other required honesty with myself, work, reinvention, and support from friends. You have to know what’s important to hold on to, but also when it’s time to let go of certain things.

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

I began my Quicksilver series in early 2020, about the time lockdown began. The title refers to mercury- a beautiful, but hazardous liquid metal symbolic of change. At the time, the world was going through dramatic upheaval. Although I can be outgoing and politically engaged, I was appreciating a chance to turn inward and reassess the immediate space around me- something I can more effectively control.

The paintings that came from this are full of energy, but their overall mood is calming. On one hand, I believe that making positive, progressive change in the world is very important. I applaud anyone willing to do that work. On the other hand, I believe the most important step towards more peaceful and harmonious living is to first establish those qualities within yourself. I hope that when people bring these Quicksilver paintings into their lives, that they serve as an upliftment to their environment, inspiring interior peace despite outward challenges.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.RoniFeldmanFineArt.com
• Instagram: @rfeldmanartist