Jasper is delighted when we see treasured artists in the Greater Columbia Arts Community take their talent in different directions, so we were thrilled when figurative artist Bonnie Goldberg agreed to share some of her work with us.
Jasper asked visual artist Bonnie Goldberg to take an assessment of her life as an artist as we all find our ways through what is, hopefully, some of the final months of Covid concerns. This is what Bonnie had to say:
In the beginning of the pandemic, I did stay home and paint a lot. I created a space upstairs in my house and spent a lot of time working on drawings and paintings. Because I had already decided to work in a more abstract manner and use my own paintings and photographs as reference material, I had no need of a model, so it was not a problem not being able to hire someone to model for me. I find that working this way allows me freedom to create new iterations of former work and also work pure abstraction focusing on color and line and shape. Because I had no social life, I was able to throw all of my attention into my work and focus on innovative ideas and new directions. I love the new work that I am doing...I often paint without using a brush...applying the paint with various tools and edges, making marks, and finding new ways to draw and create line without a brush or pencil. There is a lot of layering and "lost and found" color and edges and I find it both challenging and exciting.
I am back to painting in my studio in the Arcade on Main...I have a small space upstairs and it allows me to paint and allow limited access to the studio from people who visit the building. I am still careful, but fully vaccinated and able to focus on my art in a very intense and personal way. Creating art is always an inner experience for the artist and for me, with music playing and light from the beautiful skylights in the hallway, I am doing my best work ever. I have taken more chances, done more experimenting, and painted more abstractly. And I love it. I do still incorporate the figure into a lot of my work, but sometimes it is only a line or a gesture or a suggestion of a figure, leaving the interpretation to the viewer.
I am still represented by galleries and interior designers, but I retain the right to sell my own work and I show a lot of my work on social media...Facebook and Instagram reach thousands of people and allow me to show images of my work to many people who in turn often reach out and purchase work. This is a boon to artists to be able to show and sell work in this manner. Instagram has allowed me to not only show and sell work but connect and share ideas with artists around the world. The art world has changed, and I sell more work and see more art from other artists than ever before.
I love the small studio space that allows me to see everything that I need and work on. You can see from the images that I am creating and layering and abstracting in many sizes and shapes and this is inspiring me to do more in this direction. Art and artists are always evolving, and I look forward to seeing where I can take my work next....just open that door, walk through it, and see what happens....
