Erica Atreya

Name: Erica Atreya
Website: http://Atreyart.see.me
You can purchase my work at http://www.saatchionline.com/atreyart
You can keep in contact and up to date with current work and shows at www.facebook.com/atreyart

What do you do?
Mostly I work with art pens and acrylic paint on art and canvas paper also starting to delve into digital art. I most of all love working with metallic pens and paint.

Where can we find your work?
Every second Saturday in downtown Campbell. On the corner music. Two upcoming shows in June at Kaleid gallery and DDEF gallery.

What inspires you to create and how do you keep motivated when things get to tough?
Mother Nature and beautiful woman inspire me. Ahh how do I keep on through tough times? Hmm….Zoloft!! And knowing “The sun will come up tomorrow”

What do you think is more important content/finished product or technique/process?
All of these are of importance. But when I’m looking to buy art I look for the spirit/soul to the piece I’m buying.
  

Who are some people who influence and/or inspire you?
Frida Kahlo, Gustav Klimt.

If you could be any fictional character who would you be?
Betty Boop. Why? Cause she’s just so darn HAPPY and CUTE! Things that I still strive to be B-)

When do you get your best ideas?
Late at night and other inopportune times.

What materials/tools do you use most to create your work?
Art pad, metallic art pens and paint on canvas. Also just started using Samsung note for digital work.

Are you self taught or formally educated? How do you think that has influenced or affected your work?
Self taught. Lack of formal art education has made me doubt myself at times, but then I see so many talented and well recognized artist without formal art education and I realize there are so many types of art rather educated or not.

What would your creative work taste like?
Coffee, cigarettes and sweet honey.

When you are not creating what do you like to do?
I’m a big time movie buff! Horror movies are my favorite! Also love music big time. I have a rose-note tattoo on my left arm. People always think I’m a musician, I say nope I just really appreciate music ;-) I don’t think I could create my art without music.

How did you learn to access your creative talents and gain the confidence to put it out there for everyone to experience?

Firstly my mother always encouraged me. But now it would be my husband. I can not work because of my disability (Fibromyalgia) my husband gives me the support and courage to pursue my art.

What advice would you give others just beginning their creative adventures?
 Just got to try!  If you don’t Succeed, try again. Make art for your own enjoyment and in turn hope that others will find enjoyment in it as well.

Rajiv Khilnani

Name: Rajiv Khilnani

Website: www.rajivkhilnaniart.com

What do you do?
I am a water media artist who paints abstract works on canvas and paper.

Where can we find your work?
The best places would be my website www.rajivkhilnaniart.com or my studio in Sunnyvale. I am in the process of finalizing multiple exhibitions for 2013, details of which will be posted on my website soon.

What inspires you to create and how do you keep motivated when things get tough?
My desire to share my creativity and people’s appreciation of what I do are two of the reasons that inspire me to create. As for motivation during tough times, I always remind myself that life is a cycle of ups and downs. Like happiness, struggles are a part of life and you have to learn to accept them, learn from them, and not get discouraged. You need to have the right mindset to deal with those obstacles when you encounter them. Nothing in life is easy so be prepared to work hard without worrying about the consequences.

What do you think is more important content/finished product or technique/process?  
For me technique is the most important thing in all creative pursuits. A sound technique will lend itself to a superior finished product. Learning proper technique is a process in itself. This process will push one to make better choices with respect to content, display, etc.

Who are some people who influence and/or inspire you?
I get asked this question quite often. I wish I had a simple answer because inspiration for me has never come from one person or thing. My parents have been the biggest inspiration because they have sacrificed a lot in life to see me and my siblings succeed. I am also influenced and inspired by my other family members and friends who maintain their individuality and as a result teach me something new all the time. As for art, I am inspired by any and all artists/art works I can relate to irrespective of the subject matter. 

If you could be any fictional character who would you be?
Time traveler-so I could meet the old masters and see them paint.

When do you get your best ideas?
When I am least expecting them. Most times I will see something by chance that might light the creativity bulb in my brain.

What materials/tools do you use most to create your work?
I use wooden blocks and plastic sheets quite often to create interesting textures and designs in my works. Lately I have also been using bits and pieces of some of my old mixed media paintings on paper to create interesting textures on my canvas. I also use palette knives, scrapers and pointy tools to create embossed effects in my works.

Are you self-taught or formally educated? How do you think that has influenced or affected your work?
I am pretty much a self-taught artist. I say “pretty much” because I never went to an art school but I did spend about four years being mentored by a local artist while I finished my business degrees. By not going to an art school I was able to develop my own style fairly quickly, something most artists aspire for in their artistic journey. The disadvantage of not being formally trained has been my minimum knowledge of art history and the many hours I lost not being involved in some form of creative process.

What would your creative work taste like?
Like SPICY Indian Curry as I use Reds and Greens in a lot of my works.

When you are not creating what do you like to do?
I work full time as an events/marketing person. Apart from work I play league tennis, hike from time to time and occasionally act in films and commercials.

How did you learn to access your creative talents and gain the confidence to put it out there for everyone to experience?
I was drawn to art from childhood. Every week I looked forward to my art class in school. Having and interest in art is one thing but being able to reach a point where I can call myself an artist is another. After high school I was fortunate to find a mentor who inspired me to draw and paint. My relationship with my mentor not only improved my ability to create but also helped me to develop a sense of belief in what I was creating. This translated into confidence for me to share my works with others.

What advice would you give others just beginning their creative adventures? 
Enjoy the arts and don’t stress over it. Be open to learning from others and practice, practice and practice, that is the only way you get better at what you do.

Kori Thompson

Name: Kori Thompson
Website: www.korithompson.net

What do you do?
Paint on things mostly on wood and canvas.

Where can we find your work?
You can find my work at Psycho Donuts and always at Kaleid Gallery, where I am currently in a group show called "Exquisite Corpse" and just wrapped up my solo show there last month. I also have group shows at The Usuals in San Jose on July 27th, The Uptown in Oakland on August 3rd and Modern Eden Gallery in San Francisco on August 11th. For more details and to see more of my work you can check out  www.korithompson.net

What inspires you to create and how do you keep motivated when things get tough?
I try to do something everyday. If I'm not painting, I'm doing some kind of research, sketch, or outline. I'm always thinking about the next thing or project. I feel like I can punch, or work my way out of any situation with my art. Hopefully that work ethic resonates and comes through in my paintings. 

What do you think is more important content/finished product or technique/process?  
I feel they go hand in hand. The process is all mine. It's why I do what I do. I feel like I'm almost addicted to it. The finished product is exactly that, what everyone see. 

Who are some people who influence and/or inspire you?
I'm inspired by my kids Francesca and Logan. My Grandfather, Grandmother, myMom, my Great Grandparents, and my wife Andrea who is always pushing me to get out in the garage and finish painting while she is wrangling the kids up. 

I'm influenced or really enjoy the work of Hunter S. Thompson, Carmine Infantino, Stan Lee, Steve Ditko, Jim and Jimbo Phillips, Akira Kurosawa, George Lucas, Quentin Tarantino, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Vincent vanGogh, Lucian Freud, Erik Larsen and James Robinson.

If you could be any fictional character who would you be?
I love this question! Such a hard decision. I could go with Indiana Jones, Snake Plissken, Green Lantern, Han Solo or Spider-Man. Maybe a mix of them all! Ha! I think I'd lean more towards Spidey because of my love comicbooks and the character.

When do you get your best ideas?
When I least suspect it. So I always sketch or write them down. 

What materials/tools do you use most to create your work?
Ticonderoga #2's, canvas or wood, acrylic paint and brushes. 

Are you self taught or formally educated? How do you think that has influenced or affected your work?
I took some classes from Henry Asencio and Sagi Erez which really helped me out and showed me a lot and set me in the right direction.

What would your creative work taste like?
Sushi washed down with the best beer you've ever had.

When you are not creating what do you like to do?
Spend time with my family, read comicbooks, watch movies and listen to music. Maybe a round of golf if I can fit it in!? 

How did you learn to access your creative talents and gain the confidence to put it out there for everyone to experience?
Always doing something drawing, painting. Staying productive and positive.

What advice would you give others just beginning their creative adventures? 
Don't stop! Don't make excuses that you're too tired or don't have the time. If you want to truly do something, you will no matter what. 

Ketra Oberlander

Name: Ketra Oberlander
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.

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.

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.
     

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.
  

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.
 

 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.

When do you get your best ideas?
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.

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?

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!

When you are not creating what do you like to do?
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.