ArtistsNetwork.com 45to paint directly from life instead
of working from photos regardless
of subject matter—fl owers, people
or landscapes.
“My fl orals are based on a very
simple system, which I’ve modeled
on close-up photography. I try to pull
the viewer completely into the scene,
so I enlarge the subject matter, zoom-
ing in so that the fl owers spill off the
edge of the paper. Th e fl owers crowd
themselves into my fi eld of vision and
onto my paper,” she says.
BUILDING
A PAINTING
“When painting, my thoughts have
free rein,” Memmler says. “Th e subject
matter, composition and color are
processed from heart to head and back
into the hand. What’s on the paper is
the pure expression of my feelings.
Painting has to do with feelings.” Th e
artist’s style comes through in her
stylistic choices in the construction of
her pictures. Th ere’s plenty of careful
planning in building the composition.
“Perspective isn’t limited to architec-
ture,” she says.
To prevent a still life from looking
overly constructed, Memmler doesn’t
sketch or transfer the setup onto her
painting surface; instead, her process
is organic and freehand, which contrib-
utes to the expressive nature. “Because
I don’t draw the scene,” she says, “the
surface, paint and water have the time
and space to develop as one. It often
takes days at the easel before I con-
sider a painting to be ‘born.’ ”
BASKING IN COLOR
Memmler credits her use of explosive
color to her experience at the Haller
Academy of Arts and her previous
work in acrylic. “My motto, ‘Color is
Toolkit
PAINTS- Mijello Mission
- Daniel Smith
PALETTE - Mijello
BRUSHES - Lineo