Interview with a Painting
July 2026
This month I interviewed one of my paintings entitled “Placid Skies on the Mountain Belts”, 2025. Enjoy this interesting exchange!
MBW: Thank you for taking time for this interview. We look forward to hearing from you. Please, tell us about your artistic experiences.
Painting: Glad to be here. My name is Placid Skies on the Mountain Belts. Placid Skies for short. I’m part of a series called Mountain Belts. The artist, you, took a long time to paint me. What was it, like 6-7 months? I think you looked at me longer than you took to paint me. I’m patient so it’s cool. It was interesting to watch though. I’m a larger canvas than you normally paint on, so I think you were getting comfortable with the size (40“ x 30”) and the larger movements you were making. I could see that you enjoyed the wide strokes and patterns made after each painting session. I noticed your confidence grew as you painted.
MBW: Do you know if you’re a specific mountain or mountains? Do you even like mountains?
Placid Skies: Sure, I’m up for whatever you want to paint, truly. And yes, four of the bands are different views of the Sandia Mountains here in Albuquerque, NM. One section is a view from the Sandias on the east side overlooking La Madera Canyon and beyond. I saw you looking at images on your phone when you were drawing the outlines. You don’t typically paint specific mountains. Why?
MBW: Uh, who’s interviewing who?? Well, I prefer mountains to be universal for the viewer to bring their own experiences to the painting. Like, a mountain or ridgeline might remind a viewer of “that time I was in…” or “that looks like…”. If I do paint a specific mountain I am expressing my time and experience, not just to represent Mount so-and-so. Typically, I’ll include the name somehow in the title. Sorry I didn’t with you though. Oops.
MBW: Do you know how or where an idea comes from?
Placid Skies: I believe sparks of energy within your inner galaxy combined with curiosity, human feelings, and your life experiences come out of you into your present moment in the form of, in your case, mountains. You really like the metaphor of mountains, their form, and their make up- rocks and geology.
MBW: Haha, yes I do! I collect too many rocks and fascinated with earth’s geological processes. What else can you add to the painter/painting experience?
Placid Skies: Just as you are watching your painting come to life on me (the canvas), I am watching you. Painters are not as alone as you may think. There is so much energy swarming around us. There are solar systems within solar systems revolving around each other at the same time. There are parallel realities occurring. But, I digress.
MBW: Whoa. What other insights do you have for viewers when they are looking at a painting?
Placid Skies: Things happen while painters are in their process of painting…accidents, decisions, weather, life stuff. Some of those experiences may find their way into the painting or not. Realize there is more than what meets the eye mixed in the media and subject matter. Artists push and pull themselves through their work consciously and subconsciously. Look for the little things. See the obvious then peer closer to see what else may be mixed into the surface.
MBW: What are your plans for the future?
Placid Skies: I hoping for other exhibition opportunities and someday rotate in a collection. For now, I am in your living room. I like when you open the front door because the soft light filters in and I can see outside.
MBW: What is the most challenging part of being a painting?
Placid Skies: For me, once complete the surface remains stationary, especially if one is varnished. Thankfully you don’t varnish. I liked the swooshes and feeling the colors dragged across the surface. Also, once you decide when something is done, you stop.
MBW: Any last comments to conclude this interview?
Placid Skies: Thank you for enjoying the process and seeing it through. Thank you for looking at me well after you’ve completed with the painting process. Glad I’m not stacked somewhere in your studio. It feels good to be up and observed regularly. Your marks are worth continually exploring.
