Name: Ketra Oberlander
Website: aopstudios.com
Website: aopstudios.com
What do you do?
As a fine artist I paint in acrylics; as founder of Art of Possibility® Studios, I run the only art licensing business exclusively representing artists with physical disabilities in the world.
As a fine artist I paint in acrylics; as founder of Art of Possibility® Studios, I run the only art licensing business exclusively representing artists with physical disabilities in the world.
Where can we find your work?
The most interesting place to see my work is in the film “Broken City” (coming in 2013, Russell Crowe, Mark Wahlberg, Catherine Zeta Jones). I’ll have 3 paintings in two different sets. To see originals, by appointment.
The most interesting place to see my work is in the film “Broken City” (coming in 2013, Russell Crowe, Mark Wahlberg, Catherine Zeta Jones). I’ll have 3 paintings in two different sets. To see originals, by appointment.
What inspires you to create and how
do you keep motivated when things get tough?
Asking what inspires me is like asking a fish to describe water. As for maintaining my spirits through adversity, my work is part of a larger message to help others, and that commitment to service carries me through the challenging times. If I saw my work only as The Me Show, so what? It’s got to be bigger than me; it’s got to elevate humanity.
Asking what inspires me is like asking a fish to describe water. As for maintaining my spirits through adversity, my work is part of a larger message to help others, and that commitment to service carries me through the challenging times. If I saw my work only as The Me Show, so what? It’s got to be bigger than me; it’s got to elevate humanity.
What do you think is more important
content/finished product or technique/process?
I don’t see these as opposite ends of a continuum at all. I think if a piece matches my intention, then that’s successful. I’d note, though, that my most popular work isn’t necessarily my most successful (by my definition). There’s a point at which I have to trust the audience response to my work and move on.
I don’t see these as opposite ends of a continuum at all. I think if a piece matches my intention, then that’s successful. I’d note, though, that my most popular work isn’t necessarily my most successful (by my definition). There’s a point at which I have to trust the audience response to my work and move on.
Who are some people who influence
and/or inspire you?
Gov. Ann Richards; she was a great lady. My husband. And although he’s not “people,” the cat has a tremendous influence on my daily life. He’s a laid back dude, the Jeff Bridges of cats, and he reminds me to enjoy the journey.
Gov. Ann Richards; she was a great lady. My husband. And although he’s not “people,” the cat has a tremendous influence on my daily life. He’s a laid back dude, the Jeff Bridges of cats, and he reminds me to enjoy the journey.
If you could be any fictional
character who would you be?
Friends would probably vote “Beaker,” the startled lab assistant to Dr. Bunsen Honeydew, but I’d like to be any fictional character with a red cape. Superpowers optional. I just want the cape.
Friends would probably vote “Beaker,” the startled lab assistant to Dr. Bunsen Honeydew, but I’d like to be any fictional character with a red cape. Superpowers optional. I just want the cape.
When do you get your best ideas?
At precisely the most inconvenient moment.
At precisely the most inconvenient moment.
What materials/tools do you use most
to create your work?
The usual suspects: canvas, brushes, slow-dry acrylics.
The usual suspects: canvas, brushes, slow-dry acrylics.
Are you self taught or formally
educated? How do you think that has influenced or affected your work?
I began painting at 40 in a local adult ed. art class and thought it was totally fun. Although I had guidance, the class was more like shared studio time. I still paint with friends and think that I would have been far less realistic about the business of fine art had I gone to art school right out of high school. Lucky for my I studied literature because that has such tremendous earning potential. Would you like fries with that?
I began painting at 40 in a local adult ed. art class and thought it was totally fun. Although I had guidance, the class was more like shared studio time. I still paint with friends and think that I would have been far less realistic about the business of fine art had I gone to art school right out of high school. Lucky for my I studied literature because that has such tremendous earning potential. Would you like fries with that?
What would your creative work taste
like?
I have utterly no idea. This is the first “gotcha” question I’ve had in a long time!
I have utterly no idea. This is the first “gotcha” question I’ve had in a long time!
When you are not creating what do you
like to do?
Rabble rouse, iPad games, garden, loaf, pontificate.
Rabble rouse, iPad games, garden, loaf, pontificate.
How did you learn to access your
creative talents and gain the confidence to put it out there for everyone to experience?
How can one NOT create and share?
What advice would you give others
just beginning their creative adventures?
Decide what YOU want from your work, then pursue that goal. Revisit that goal every two years because we grow and change. What matters to you now may not matter later and if you’re just in a habit and not paying attention, you’ll digress and waste time that could be more full in your life.
Decide what YOU want from your work, then pursue that goal. Revisit that goal every two years because we grow and change. What matters to you now may not matter later and if you’re just in a habit and not paying attention, you’ll digress and waste time that could be more full in your life.
