We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Skyler Lovelace a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Skyler, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.
One of my most meaningful paintings is one of the first acrylic paintings I made. I knew little of the techniques of using brushes and mixing paint. I applied paints directly from the tubes, and used plastic credit cards to move them and blend them onto canvapaper.
At the time, I was going through a period of professional upheaval, changing from one profession to another. I wanted to capture the feeling of my past identity being burned away, while a new one had not yet emerged. My limited, raw skill set effectively conveyed my raw emotional state.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I’m a poet and painter who put her painting aspirations on hold for many years while I worked as a digital media professor.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
After deferring my painting dreams for years while I earned a living, the time came when I could no longer remain in an unsupportive work environment. I had to face it: My job took more out of me than I was willing to give, and that my creative spirit was suffering.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
In one of the first acrylic painting classes I took during a period of professional upheaval, I created a painting that has come to symbolize creativity and growth. This early painting, titled Prairie Fire, captures the dynamic effects of a “controlled burn” in the Kansas Flint Hills.
Like the ranchers using fire to change the prairie, I made changes in my professional life that were not always under my control. Prairie Fire captures and honors an important time in my life.
BACKGROUND of the Prairie Fire painting:
In March and April, ranchers set fire to the prairie. This time-honored tradition encourages new growth and keeps out encroaching species such as the eastern red cedar. The practice, while effective, can be dangerous due to the unpredictable power of fire.
Native Americans routinely burned prairie to entice bison, who were attracted to the fresh grass sprouting up from scorched hills. Mother Nature also set fires through lightning strikes and wildfires. The tallgrass prairies depend on fire to sustain a treeless ecosystem.
In this painting, the change from the greens of old growth prairie to the jet-black burn is delineated by a sinuous line of fire that seems alive, as it moves down the center of the page. The fire burns red, yellow, and white-hot. Even the sky reflects the dynamic change brought by fire, with smoke obscuring the sun.
Most of my landscape paintings feature the “big sky” prevalent in this region’s lore, with a low horizon line. For this painting, I moved the horizon line up on the page, because the emotional focus is on the fire and the changes it brings.
Like the ranchers using fire to change the prairie, I made changes in my professional life that were not always under my control. Prairie Fire captures and honors an important time in my life.
HAIKU related to Prairie Fire painting:
red-wing blackbird dives
across prairie’s tall grasses
kindles fire with flight
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.skylerlovelace.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SkylerLovelaceArts/
Image Credits
all images taken by artist Skyler Lovelace