Schaidt: The Artist’s Studio

Natasha Schaidt (2016)  created an exhibit entitled “The Artist’s Studio” as part of her senior thesis in ARTS 499 taught by Gary Bolding. Schaidt explains the meaning behind her works in her artist’s statement:

“This exhibition reflects my experimentation with color and the ways that paint can be used.  I begin by arranging objects that I have collected into still lifes. My method is “give and take,” starting on a clean white canvas, I sketch with charcoal; drawing the shapes and figures that I find important. The work becomes quite improvisational after the sketching phase.  With acrylic, I begin to load the canvas with color, giving the white canvas life. Keeping what works and taking away what doesn’t, I work on multiple canvases at a time, giving me more breathing room to explore and tie all of my works together as a series.  Sometimes the paint is thinned down to create translucent washes, while other parts seem stacked upon one another with many layers.  I have left some parts of the canvas exposed with the charcoal and/or gesso as a symbolic gesture to imply that my works are here as an example of my unfinished journey into the world of painting and color. Going back and forth and exploring the possibilities, there are moments of vulnerability and hesitation; where at any moment my painting may not work out.  Expecting the unexpected, my paintings go through many phases until they reach completion.  Using cancellation as a vital force and not a negative, I approach my canvas knowing that what I have initially put down may not work.  Knowing and coming to terms with the fact that what I start might not end the way I intended forces me to approach the canvas openly.  I unapologetically wipe away what I don’t like.  I even start over if need be.  Increasingly fearless when I paint, these works reflect my insatiable appetite for color.”