Soul meets canvas: An interview with Light. See. Art. Studio

Blessing Path

Daily, we see pretty images and interesting projects out in the blogosphere but we rarely get to see deeper into these works and learn about the creative process by which they comes to exist. Annie Lightsey of Light. See. Art. Studio was gracious enough to give me some insight into her creative process, which turned out to be so much more than paint and canvas.

Annie's abstract art is a visual delight that warms your senses but when paired with the knowledge and inspiration of what drives her artistic nature, her pieces become an actual experience for the soul. Below is the Q&A with Annie that I hope awakens your creative spirit because as she says, "the pursuit of a creative life is a worthy endeavor".

What music do you use as a soundtrack to paint to?

I listen to many types of music while in the studio. Gypsy Swing, relaxing Kirtan mantras, contemporary folk rock; but, my favorite music to listen to is my husband playing guitar for me while I paint. Lately he has been playing both classical and Celtic folk tunes. It inspires me to be creative when my partner is in the studio making music for me.

What artists most influence your work?

This could be a long list, but I will limit it to just a few: Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, Helen Frankenthaler, Hiro Yokose, and nobody does a moody sky better than JMW Turner.

When I Woke

From where do you draw your inspiration?

I draw my inspiration from within me and all around me - Mother Nature, other cultures (particularly what they find beautiful or holy ), the Divine Feminine, motherhood, my relationships, my experiences, Celtic wisdom, ancient thought, the list goes on and on.

Is there a certain color or color combination that you are just mad about at the present moment?

Hmmm. I tend to paint with very bright colors, but they end up getting toned down as I apply wash over wash and layer over layer. I also tend to work within a pretty tight color palette. That being said, lately I have been dreaming of a combination of rusty pink, muddy grey brown, and silver or copper leaf.

Exile

What is the story behind your piece, Exile?

Exile looks at the myths of various cultures that center around the exiled or banished bride, and asks the question as to whether or not life in the great unknown might not be more interesting than life in a castle, or cage for that matter. Perhaps Vashti or Snow White find the confinements of the Kingdom pale in comparison with the adventures of the wilderness. Perhaps Eve finds paradise at the expense of eternal ignorance not as lovely as one might imagine. Maybe Hades and the Underworld are a little sexier than life in the everyday world to Persephone. Maybe it is not Exile at all if She is the one who decides to go.

In your mission statement you highlight not just the created artwork but the process in which artwork is created- what feelings are evoked during your creative process? How is the process different for every piece? How is the process similar for every piece?

When I am actively creating, I feel like I am engaging in a meditative experience. Everything else falls away, and I am completely in the moment of laying down something on the canvas. Differences arise based upon how I approach each individual piece; but, what remains the same is that the actual painting, the process I engage in on the way to a finished piece, always feeds me as an artist. The finished product is not the goal for me, but instead it is the sacred, creative, ecstatic journey of creating that I find brings me fulfillment.

Design Searching

We are hopefully closing on our new house (EEK!YAY!WHAT?!) within the next two weeks and naturally my mind has been in a design dreamworld. While B is focused on number crunching I can't help but think about paint swatches and furniture arranging. This, my friends, is why I would be lost without him.

It seems like there is slightly less wall space than we have now so I'm trying to figure out how to showcase all our artwork. When I saw this on Design*Sponge I thought, "Now this could work." So we'll see what ends up happening but this is a definite possibility. I love the clean background with all the pops of color and texture. It's a little eclectic, but it's us. Exactly what I'm looking for. Next, the ongoing conundrum of paint colors.