Q: I like to start at the beginning, so can you tell us where you're from, where you grew up, when/how you discovered art and when you decided you wanted to pursue art as a career (if that was a conscious decision :) ?

I grew up all over the East Coast, from New York to North Carolina, Georgia and then Massachusetts. When I was 7 years old, I saw a portrait by Rembrandt in a book which made a lasting impression on me. It wasn’t until after I graduated from a liberal arts college, however, that I decided to pursue a career as a painter. Although I had been given a really solid education in Art History as an undergraduate, I had to learn the fundamentals of painting on my own. I subsequently earned my M.F.A. in Painting & Drawing from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and made my life in Chicago for several years after that.

Q: How did you specifically become interested in painting still-lifes and in representing our consumer culture?

I’ve always been interested depicting light as it falls on form. Painting still life provides a way for me to explore that without the constraints of hiring a model or working from photographs. Also, painting objects enables me to have more control over what I’m looking at than for example, if I were painting landscape. Painting comestibles, like fruit and things from the domestic realm made me acutely aware of how we consume in our contemporary world. Meals arrive at the table quite differently than they did fifty years ago and the design of take-out packaging is so visually alluring. More recently, other kinds of packages have been creeping into my works. I associate painting with desire and physicality. Similar to the way I feel when I’m looking at things to eat on a tabletop, a neatly wrapped unopened package holds the promise of something desirable inside. Because I want my work to reflect the world in which I currently live, representing this aspect our consumer culture captivates me.

Q: You are known for painting in a geometric, flat style that makes your subjects appear abstract and almost monumental - is this intentional and how did you come into your current painting style? Did you experiment with other styles/mediums in the past?

I began my career painting large Neo-Expressionist figurative works but found them frustrating to resolve. I started painting still life as a way to simplify the process and to learn more about color. Finding an interesting arrangement of shapes is the first thing I think about when starting a new painting and composition is a key organizing principle. After I discover compelling positive and negative color areas, I know I’m on to something. Since those positive and negative shapes are so important in my practice, one could say that all my paintings are abstract. But because I like to depict things in the world, you could also say that my work exists in between abstraction and figuration.

Q: Can you talk a little about your passion for color, pattern and shape and your use of a limited color palette?

When I began painting still life, I used only 5 colors: black, white, yellow ochre, ultramarine blue and alizarin crimson. I used this very limited palette for the next five years at least. Over time, I’ve expanded the number of colors I paint with but not by much. For some extended periods, I have removed black altogether. I do all of this in an effort to continue to learn how color works. I often use pattern as a way to make a comment about our consumer culture and/or to create a dialogue between the items I’m trying to depict.

Q: What have been some of the greatest accomplishments, and biggest challenges, in your career so far? What do you think is most challenging, and most rewarding, about being an artist?

I was thrilled when I had my first museum show and I’ve been awarded some wonderful scholarships/residencies at various places like Skowhegan, Yaddo and The American Academy in Rome, Italy. Also, I was given an Individual Artist Grant from the Ohio Arts Council which greatly supported my work. Probably one of my biggest challenges as a painter was at a time when I was maintaining a painting career while simultaneously teaching at the college level and raising a family. Continuing to find new solutions to the questions I pose to myself about color is the most rewarding aspect of my painting practice. There’s a rush of excitement when I discover something completely unexpected and that keeps me coming back for more.

Q: Who or what most inspires you and influences your work? (artists or otherwise)

I’m inspired by the small visual moments in my daily life. If I notice something new about an object that I’ve seen hundreds of times or if I see a color relationship that I’ve never appreciated before, I get a thrill and an urge to translate that relationship into paint. There are so many artists that have inspired me over time like Sienese painters from the 14th century, Philip Guston, Ad Reinhardt and more recently, Amy Sillman and Nicole Eisenman.

Q: Do you feel you have a mission or vision as an artist - are there any particular messages you hope to communicate through your work?

My hope is that the viewer will respond to my work and find some visual pleasure and/or intellectual challenge in the process. As a consequence, there is the possibility that my paintings may inspire and result in some shared awareness of how we currently live in the world with all of its highs and lows.

Tell us more about any projects you're currently working on, or upcoming shows (either online or eventually in person)?

I am constantly making new paintings and working on new projects. You can currently see my work in an online exhibition on my gallery’s website, Kathryn Markel Fine Arts called “Spring Break”. And I’m always posting new works on Instagram @sydneylichtstudio

View more of her work here!