Artist Spotlight: Veronica Carr

1: How would you describe yourself, as a person and as an artist?

Intense. Curious. Intensely curious. Eccentric. Half left-brained, half right-brained. 

2: What got you started creating? 

Man, I can't even remember. Watching my creative parents making art probably helped me learn to see possibilities for creating all around me. Would I have been an artist without that influence? Very possibly. It feels like it's an inseparable, driving part of my nature to always be making new things. 

3: Who inspires you?

Literally anyone who creates. If I feel a lack of passion or ideas, I can always count on enjoying other people's work as a way to wake myself back up again. It doesn't have to be any particular kind. I do have a special fondness for masters of natural landscapes and light, such as Bierdstadt, as well as surrealist geniuses like Escher and Dali. God is my greatest inspiration, being the original creator, with Earth as His masterpiece.

4: What's the funniest thing that's happened to you as an artist?

I made this piece called "42 Mushrooms". It's literally 42 mushrooms in colored pencil. If you ask me, "why 42?", I could say I had some artistic vision calling for this number.  But  actually, it was originally 100 mushrooms. I spilled my coffee while working on it, and all that was salvageable of all that work was one section containing 42 mushrooms, and one other with 6. Frustrating at the time, but now I just find it funny.

5: What does your creative process look like?

I get an idea, usually at 3 AM or while I'm in the shower or while I'm doing dishes. I get excited, wanting to work on it right away, but usually I gotta wait. I have to start on it pretty soon though or I lose enthusiasm. Depending on what the piece is about, I make a folder with photo references. Then I start sketching.  I make multiple draft sketches before starting on the actual piece. For the final draft, I use whatever medium seems best suited tell the story within this particular piece. I've used everything from crayons to watercolor to wood ash. It takes a lot of short sessions to finish a picture, adding up to many hours. At the point it is close enough to what I saw in my mind, or if I get to the point where if I keep obsessing over it I will mess it up, I call it "done". I get frames from thrift stores and restore them, then frame the art or seal it with uv protectant if it's a painting. 

 5: what's your biggest dream? Where would you love to see your work take you?

Practically, it would be great to help pay off our mortgage by selling art or appear in a nice gallery somewhere. But I'm also hoping to inspire people to take a second look at things in life they might have dismissed. There is wonder and mystery everywhere if you'll keep an eye out for it. 

 6: what's your favorite tool (app, pen, brush, whatever)?

That changes often. Lately, it's oil pastel. An art world underdog, it's versatile, vibrant, smooth like paint and easy to apply like a crayon. Finished work could be soft and undefined, sharp and bright, or almost identical to an oil painting. I highly recommend trying it. 

 7: if you could give advice to young artists who are inspired by your work, what would you say?

What your work looks like, how "good" it is compared to someone else's, that doesn't matter if you're making it because making art makes you happy. Every artist starts not knowing what they're doing. No one is born with skill, skill is learned and you can learn too. Enjoy other people's art whenever possible. Prioritize getting high-quality materials to create with. Keep creating, don't let anything or anyone stop you.

 8: What's your favorite Nicolas Cage movie?

The Knowing. Such beautiful utter destruction.