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Rachel Maguire
www.RayArray.com
When did you really get into art?
My story starts when I was three years old. My mother sent me to art class with
my older brother to keep him company. As it turned out, he didn't show much
interest in the class, but I drew this picture of a bunny and it was obvious
that I loved to draw. I have been drawing and painting ever since! Sometime
around high school I was debating whether to pursue bio-chemistry or fine art.
By senior year I had dropped out of math, stayed in the art building all day,
went to the local art association on the weekends for figure drawing and worked
on my portfolio every night. As I look back, it was a natural progression into
art school.
How did you come to the realization that
you should try your luck at art on a more serious
level?
There was a fortune cookie that really set me straight. I am serious, one of the
little wonton things. It read, "every race you do not run, you lose". At the
time, fear of failure, kept me from applying myself. That was a frightening
thought. I had visions of all the art contests, art scholarship, art grants, art
colleges and art submissions I had passed up. I was losing all over the place.
That was the realized that I had nothing to lose by pursuing art.
How did you discover the particular
style that you have?
Chew up video games, mythology, acrylic paint and this is what you get.
How would you describe your style?
Whimsical, spontaneous, and fun.
Who or what influences your art?
A bunch of artists whom I hope to meet some day : Jon Foster, Phil Hale, Michael
Whelan, Ashley Wood, Brom, Steve Niles, Yoshitaka Amano, Mike Kunkle, Michel
Gagne, Joe Sorren, Hiroaki Samura, James Jean, Hayao Miyazaki, Dave McKean, Lane
Smith, the Flight Crew, Adam McCauley, Gary Baseman, Brian Ralph, Jon Jud
Palencar to name a few. Wait, I did meet Michael Whelan and James Jean did
draw me something awesome!
How often do you create a new piece?
My life is broken into 4 hour blocks of time. If I find two extra four hour
blocks, I will create one new painting over the normal one painting completed
per week. Depending on time spend at my part time job, I make roughly 1.8
pieces, 2 sketchbook pages and 30 doodles on scraps of paper per week. It varies
greatly on where I am, how many lines I wait in, and if I am commuting. When
commuting, doodles on scrapes of paper goes up by 10, and finished pieces drops
by .4.
What kind of success have you had with
your art?
Animations of mine have shown in New York, Massachusetts, North Carolina and in
the near future Florida and California. My illustrations have been plastered on
the cover of the Weekly Dig and in Parents and Kids Magazine. I have been
featured in Art Revolutionaries Journal, the Caladan Gallery, and right now I
have a large showing of my work at the Daily Grind in Bridgewater MA. One girl
told me I was "like famous," and vegan boys tend to like me, which is wicked
cool.
What would be the ultimate goal for you
and your art?
The main problem with my ultimate goal is that it is plural and ever changing.
It expands. Once, I thought going to art school would satisfy me for a lifetime,
then it was getting a job in print, then getting into a gallery Right now it
could be any other the following = Society of Illustrators award, to be featured
in Spectrum Magazine, accepted in the Ottawa film festival, job as a cover
artist for Dark Horse, to receive a Caldacott award or to have a message on my
answering machine from Cartoon Network asking me to design characters for a
living. A summer house in Tuscany wouldn't hurt, either. :)
What do you see as an accomplishment in
the way of art?
Achieving a high enough level of success that my mentors become my peers.
What kind of message, if any, do you try
to convey through your art?
My way of painting is to scribble on 'canvas' and developed a message
as I go. This style of free and experimental painting helps churn up fresh and
lively ideas. The adventure of painting is more important to me than the
finished product. The adventures I take painting speak of fearlessness, freedom,
risk taking and most importantly, excitement for life. These are the messages I
want viewers to walk away with. As a painter, I know that a painting will always
differ from the image in my mind's eye. Mozart as a musician has said similar
words about music. As human beings, our paths in life differ from what we
envisioned. Life is full of these divergences. If I could do anything, I would
bestow everyone with the strength to adjust and rise to the challenges they
face.
Sum up your art in one word.
Full-of-beans (hyphenated to make one word)
Any additional comments?
Sure, my process:
i. take out paints
ii. start painting
iii. get frustrated and obligate
iv. continue until done or run out of time
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