Mary Iselin is a New Hampshire artist with a focus on landscapes of the farm she resides, paintings of the animals she cares for, all done in oils. In this interview we explore her background, influences, day-to-day, and philosophies on art.
A: I’ve read that you studied creative writing in college. Had those classes and creative writing in general informed your paintings/drawings at that time?
M: Yes, my studies in creative writing inform my work tremendously, especially the "fantasy" series. Both writing and visual art strive to express what one is experiencing in one's soul. Therefore, the study of archetypes, symbols, myths, arrangements (books have "composition", too), etc, cross over both genres completely. And both art forms strive to express the beauty of the world and personal truth. I have never had much interest in "plot" as such--I usually read the end of a book first. It is the expression of character, insight, love, the beauty that is the world, which interests me.
A: You have been raising your animals for over 40 years now with your husband and feel a great connection to your agricultural endeavors. Did you grow up with those interests in the same way you grew up knowing you’re an artist?
M: Well, I was always interested in animals and farming. I thought about majoring in agriculture in school, but always knew I couldn't break down a tractor, and wouldn't enjoy trying. I was too much into my head, wanting to make art of one kind or another. But my grandparents and many neighbors had animals, and my father had a wonderful garden. Also, my grandfather, whose job it was in the "old country", was to herd the horses, recognized my interest in horses and paid for me to have riding lessons, then my Dad "rented" a horse for me in the summers, when I was a child. So I've always been involved with animals and growing plants. In high school and college, I used to gather bouquets of wildflowers from the neighbors' cow pasture to arrange for still lifes.
M: And all my sister and I ever really wanted for Christmas and birthdays was a new box of crayons and a new pad of paper. There would be towers of notebooks full of horse drawings if someone had saved them!
M: So when I moved to the farm, it was as if someone had released me into my element. It gave me first hand experience and ready access to the subjects I liked to paint. And it gave me intimacy with the subjects and lifestyle, so that I wasn't just painting their outsides
A: What do you enjoy most about working outside?
M: When I am working outside, I enjoy the immediacy. The light is going to change, so there is no time to think. You have to put down what you see, paint fast, and just trust.
A: You’ve spoken about the need for painters to never put down their paint brushes because then who knows when they’ll pick it back up. What are some daily rituals or routines you keep in place to continue painting?
M: At this point in my life, I know it is my job to paint, so I paint. It is what I do. I try to paint every day. That said, I did like my studio better before there was a computer in it, because the computer is so distracting--There is so much beautiful art work in there, for one thing! I often play books on tape while I work, because it seems to quiet the monkey side of my brain, and keep me focused on my work. I can't listen to music while I paint--it is WAY too distracting.
A: Something many artists and non-artists alike struggle with is the concept of self compassion. How did you learn self compassion as an artist or is that something you still strive towards?
M: Self Compassion: Wow, there is a biggie! That is a big part of life in general! I used to go to big art festivals, where there would be hundreds of artists all trying to sell their work, and wonder why everyone in the world seems to be trying now to be an artist. And I decided that much of this is because we are ALL trying to learn to love and accept ourselves. If we paint something, the natural inclination is to say, Oh, it's no good, I'm no good. But in order to put ourselves out there, we need to accept that yes, it IS good, I AM good. This is the way God made me (or however you want to explain your individual, unique identity), and I am doing the best that I can, and I am good. So are other people. To paraphrase Julia Cameron in "The Artist's Way", "God doesn't make sh...t." Is that enough of an answer?
A: A collection that stands out when looking at your many bodies of work is your Fantasy series. What excites you about your Fantasy work series and makes you keep going back to it?
M: I absolutely LOVE doing the fantasy series. I mean, who doesn't like working with their fantasies? In this series, I get to just PLAY. I have always loved folklore and fairy tales, and I've always been fascinated by Jungian psychology. In this series, I can just let my imagination out to play in the woods. But I also have, by calling it "fantasy", given myself to explore different art ideas, like the color harmonies expressed in the colors worn by the riders under the stars, or what it would be like to put Russian or Middle Eastern harness onto my husband's draft team, while I also completely change the colors of his horses, and, oh yeah, perhaps hitch a reindeer along with them. I also get to play with spiritual concepts in visual terms, like the colors of light one "feels" in the woods at night. The only real problem with this fantasy series is that it is so hard to stop. It really is like a return to childhood, just drawing with a new box of crayons.
A: The way you use light in your paintings has been said to be in a way that explores a spiritual atmosphere. Where does spirituality come into your paintings for you?
M: When an artist paints an honest painting, I feel it is always, to some extent, "spiritual." By expressing truth, we are expressing Spirit, we are attempting to express that inexpressible beauty that is the essence of what the Creator created. That is why Rembrandt and Da Vinci are so universally loved: their genius has allowed them to get closer to that inexpressible divine beauty. That said, I also feel that there are certain motifs--sunset, for instance, times with lights in the dark--that make it easier to express the kind of spirituality I'm speaking about. Light in general has always been a metaphor for the divine. Subject matter can help, but a shallow "religious" painting can be much less spiritual than a painting of a cabbage. The subject is just a vehicle for spirituality. And of course, to me, it is the honest use of the artist's gifts that lead to this expression. A monochromatic line drawing can be just as "spiritual" as a Turner, if it brings the viewer closer to that Love and Light that is the Divine. To me, a good painting should make the viewer feel closer to that Love and beauty and Light. It should stir something within us, make us feel that the line in the bible where it says, "And God saw that it (Creation) was Good" is true.
M: And how does all of that come into it for me, personally? I suppose that I am just trying to do the best job that I can. Painting is all that I really want to do, all that I'm really any good at anymore. Even on the days when I feel that "I just can't paint anymore" (all artists go through this, I think) I feel that I need to just trust and paint anyway. I can use all the head-stuff from the previous paragraph to plan a painting, but really, but all I can do in the real world is to start painting and TRUST. My intent is to help the viewer feel joy, to feel that Creation is good.
A: One thing that visually sets your pieces apart for in person viewers of your work is your signature golden frames. What made you decide on this stylistic choice?
M: I do like those signature golden frames! But not all my work does well in gold. Certain paintings need a silver frame, or a dark frame. Framing is an art in itself! But, in general, I feel that the wide golden frames compliment my work. I usually work with a raw sienna (gold) underpainting. The gold in the frames picks up on this. Also, color harmonies are very important to me, and frequently gold compliments the colors I use. In most of my paintings, the light is very warm, so it makes sense to use a warm frame. Even my silver frames are usually technically "champaign", and my dark frames have a gold liner and/or undertone.
M: When I first began framing my work for sale, I used a lot of barn board frames, and they looked good. But the galleries kept calling and saying, "They want the painting, but they want you to put it in a gold frame." And at outdoor shows, it is nice to pull one's body of work together by using a similar frame on most of the pieces.