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Janna Watson, No Strict Rhythm, 2016, 48 x 48 inches, acrylic on canvas with resin coating 

1. Where do you draw inspiration for your paintings?

Everyone has a need for escapism. Even if you're someone who doesn't drink or watch movies, or have someone to flirt with or have a religion- I'm sure you dream at night. My abstractions are intentional escapes into non-reality.

2. How do you begin a painting, with colour or composition?  

I begin a painting by choosing a background colour/wash.  From there I move into the composition of colour.  I do this intuitively.  

3. Related to last: which do you feel is most important in painting, colour or composition?  

Both are equally important.  I play with negative space and contrast with both colour and composition to create tension in my pieces. 

4. How much time do you devote to planning the painting versus actually painting it?  

I don't literally take time to plan a specific painting but I feel that being outside of my studio away from my work is just as productive as being in the studio.  Being able to step away from the work and come back with "fresh eyes" is just as important as actually creating.  There are paintings that have taken me 2 months and paintings that have taken me 2 magical hours.  It's all about the moment.  

5. Do you prefer the composition planning stage, or the painting stage?

Working out with the paint is always most satisfying.

6. How does it feel when a completed piece leaves your studio?  

It always feels good because then I have a bit of extra space!  

7. Where do the titles of your paintings come from?  

For abstract work I feel that titling the work is important.  It gives the viewer an extra entrance into an already convoluted image.  I title my pieces after they are finished.  Sometimes the title comes to me instantly and sometimes it takes a few days.  It's cheesy, but I read a lot of poetry and this helps.  Words I've read come back to me in different forms and these become titles.  

8. What would you like people to feel when they look at your work?  

I have a few of my paintings up around my house (mostly because I gave them to my partner).  I don't enjoy looking at my own work as much as I enjoy looking at other people's work.  I feel the mystery is gone with my own art since I know how it was made or it's just always in my face at my studio.  I purchased a drawing recently and it is the first thing I see when I wake up in the morning.  It makes me feel so happy and in awe.  It's really weird and off beat so I guess these are the feelings I would hope people will experience with my work.     

VIEW NEW ARTWORK BY JANNA WATSON HERE 

In anticipation of Bau-Xi Gallery's upcoming exhibition ‘Simple Days’, opening July 9 in Vancouver, Laura Busby of Vitamin Daily interviewed Toronto-based photographer Joshua Jensen-Nagle to learn more about his latest dreamy beach scenes.

How would you describe your visual art practice?

I approach photography with a means to create rather than document. Throughout the years, I have used many different techniques to achieve the final image including the use of expired Polaroid film in my early works, painting on photography and re-photographing the images, to most recently dangling out of helicopters and using the highest-end digital camera available.

A consistent theme in your work is beaches and bathers. Why is this subject such a rich possibility for you?

I reflect on my life experiences when I create, and this particular theme stems from my childhood spent at the beach. Each summer, we would stay at my grandfather’s shore house in Mantoloking, New Jersey. It was a simpler, more carefree time that has remained one of my fondest memories from my youth. Since then, I have spent the last 16 years photographing beaches and each time I am able to capture it in a new way.

How would you describe your new series of images and where did you travel to photograph these scenes?

Most recently, I have travelled to Australia, Rio de Janeiro, Hawaii and Miami to capture images of the beach from a helicopter. An aerial perspective produces an almost abstract view of the beaches and ocean. You recognize the subject but in a very different way, so what you are mostly left with is an overall sense of joy in the moment.

What can the perspective from high above reveal about the beach for the viewer?

It’s interesting that usually people like privacy and would like their own personal space. However you notice that in these scenes people seem to flock together. There is something about it that is unusual and very interesting. It says something about our culture when we are out of our daily routines and we find comfort in crowds.

Your new series shows a distinct divide between water and sand, punctuated with people. What inspired this composition?

That is just the vantage point. Photography is all about finding the right vantage to take the image from and then finding the right visual composition. I have been photographing this subject from the ground for so many years, that it is natural for me to move on. You have to keep yourself excited about a subject or the work will suffer.

You must have the best vacation advice, which location was your favourite? 

I get asked this question often. Each place is such a unique experience with its own challenges. People often say how much fun it must be to travel to these destinations, and while it is exciting, it is also work. So much effort goes into the planning and scheduling of these trips. I am mostly thinking about making images and don’t spend a lot of time relaxing on the beach. With that said, I love Italy! It has so many different dynamic landscapes to work with and the food is great!

Joshua Jensen-Nagle’s exhibition Simple Days is available July 9 to 23, 2016 at Bau-Xi Gallery Vancouver

VIEW ARTWORK FROM THE EXHIBITION HERE

Photo by Nathalia Allen

June 30th, 2016: Q&A with Toronto artist Kathryn MacNaughton, by Bau-Xi Toronto Co-Director Alissa Sexton

1. Where do you draw inspiration for your paintings?

Everyday experiences. I can be inspired by the colour of a brick wall next to a lamp post or the roof of a building next to a blue sky. I find myself getting inspired in the most obvious, yet obscure places.   

2. How do you begin a painting, with colour or composition?

 I like to change it up. It’s nice to start with a colour palette because it’s usually the component that creates a certain feeling/mood, but sometimes I have a compositional idea first so I’ll try to rough out the idea in black and white and then add colour.

3. Which do you feel is most important in your paintings, colour or composition?

Both are just as important, but if I had to choose one, colour. It’s the part that creates the connection between myself and the art. It conjures up feelings, memories, emotions and I think the composition helps support that.

4. How much time do you devote to planning the painting versus actually painting it?

I do like to spend some time experimenting in between producing the work. It always inspires me and gets me motivated to try out some new ideas. Then I’ll mockup something up and try to stick to it, but it’s always a journey that can become a completely different vision then I expected. 

5. Do you prefer the composition planning stage, or the painting stage?

I like both for different reasons. The planning stage is where the initial ideas start to take form. It feels like a puzzle you’re trying to solve. The painting stage is where things become unpredictable and you start discovering new ideas. I love both. Organized thoughts, then unpredictable chaos. 

6. How does it feel when a completed piece leaves your studio?

Really great. I never let anything leave my studio that I’m not happy with.  

7. You’ve recently collaborated with Style Garage to create a chair – how did that experience inform your practice?

 It was amazing. I’ve been wanting to work on different surfaces and this was the perfect opportunity. It was just an experiment that will hopefully lead to me working on more furniture. I’m very inspired by interior design. I think it’s a really important part of my work. I always think about the environment in which my paintings can live in.  

8. What would you like people to feel (experience, visualize, etc) when they look at your work?

I hope something romantic. There is a lot of lust and sexual tension in the paintings.

VIEW KATHRYN MACNAUGHTON'S LATEST PAINTINGS HERE