March 4, 2022 • 41 mins
Welcome Back!
This week we are joined by Painter Vicki Wood out of Charleston, MS.
Vicki gives us lots of tips and tricks, but one of her most passionate shares is about the power of self-education.
Find Vicki:
https://www.instagram.com/vickiwoodart/
https://vickiwood.com/
https://www.dailypaintworks.com/Artists/vicki-wood-2432
Thank you to the Friends of TLYB! Your membership helps fund the transcription of the podcast for the hearing impaired.
If you would like to become a member, visit https://www.thelittleyellowbuilding.com/store/c15/Membership_for_2022.html
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Derek Smith (00:10):
Hello everyone and welcome back to the Mississippi
artists to artists podcastbrought to you by the little
yellow building in Brookhaven,Mississippi. I'm your host Derek
Covington Smith. And before weget to the interview, I'd like
to tell you about some thingsthat we've got going on. We
currently have an open call outfor our next exhibition that
will be in April, the title ofit is 'Body', and it's an
(00:32):
exploration of figurative workby Mississippi artists. So feel
free to check outthelittleyellowbuilding.com
under calls for art. All entriesare free, and you can submit as
many as you'd like. We also havean ongoing call for art for
southern exposure. Southernexposure is our program that
(00:52):
features Mississippi artistsfrom all over the state each
week on our social media. Andthen we also have a section in
the magazine that's dedicated tosome of the art submitted from
the southern exposure. So it'ssomething that we can constantly
keep New Work circulating byMississippi artists so everybody
can see and enjoy it. coming upMarch 22 is the launch of the
(01:15):
tlyb art mag. And that's ourvisual arts magazine from
Mississippi. I'm super excitedabout it. This has been a lot of
fun to work on. Our cover artistis Ellen Langford. Not only will
the magazine feature Mississippiartists, but it will also have
layouts of where to find art andMississippi, whether it's art
(01:35):
organization, Open Studios,galleries, you can go on and get
yourself listed. And it's meantto hopefully be a guide to
exploring contemporary art inour state. Some other exciting
news, thanks to our membershipprogram, friends at the little
yellow building, we're going tobe able to have 100 of our first
(01:58):
edition magazines printed andyou know, everybody who's
signing up online is going to beable to get the free digital
edition of the magazine directlyto your inbox. But these are
physical collectable copies, andI'm so excited about it, not
only did it fund the printing ofthe magazines, but also we're
now able to have our episodestranscribed for the hearing
(02:20):
impaired. And that is opening upanother level of inclusion that
is exciting to be able toprovide and thanks to our
members for for believing in usand and helping fund what we're
doing here. We have alsolaunched the MSA2A hotline where
you can call in and leavemessages for artists who are
(02:42):
coming up, you can leavemessages of encouragement for
anyone listening, you canpromote yourself, you can
promote events coming up, wejust want to hear from you. So
call in leave us a message andthen check back at the end of
the episodes to hear yoursplayed back. Alright, I think
that's enough for now on to theinterview.
(03:13):
Hey, everyone, and welcome back.
Thank you for joining us again.
This week, we're joined withVicki Wood, Vicki Wood art.
Vicki, thank you for so much forjoining us and sharing all this
about you.
Vicki Wood (03:25):
Oh yes. Thank you so much. I appreciate the
invitation.
Derek Smith (03:29):
Well, why don't we start out? Why don't you tell us
a little bit about growing upand your history with art.
Vicki Wood (03:35):
Um, well growing up.
Um, I didn't get a ton ofsupport with the art. So really,
I did not get started until verylate. Um, and my dad was a
chemical engineer. So weactually moved around a lot. He
ran chemical plants. So yeah,with him being an engineer, I
(03:56):
was expected to do math andscience, which is opposite of
what that you know, I was soyoung at it now, but I'm not one
of those people that started outdrawing and art you know, I'm
just, I'm just not one of thosepeople. Um, and then I think
that maybe the chronologicallythe best way to then go through
(04:16):
it as an adult. Um, when I wentto college, I went to LSU in
Baton Rouge, we were livingthere at the time. And, um, I
did get a degree, I got a BFA,um, which really didn't make
anybody reel happy. You know,parents just want to know you're
gonna make a living, you know
Derek Smith (04:37):
they want the best for you.
Vicki Wood (04:40):
They want the best and it it can be such a struggle
in the arts. So, but I did get aBFA, I went, but it was not a
painting or drawing, whichprobably would have been a
better choice. It wasadvertising design. That was the
curriculum that they labeled itnow It really wasn't, there
(05:00):
wasn't a lot there. Um, but alsoI wasn't old enough to learn. I
wasn't in the mood to learnanything. So I was just there to
enjoy myself, which is what Idid. But then after that I
worked a few years, I had areally good job in New Orleans,
I went to New Orleans. And forMcDermott Incorporated. And in
(05:22):
advertising, what I did was puttogether their public relations
pieces. And I did that for abouta year and wasn't really
thrilled New Orleans is a littlebit bigger than I like, I'm on
the back of Baton Rouge workthere. And I actually did not
too far from LSU at the time,and I decided to go to law
(05:46):
school. So I went to law school,and then just practice law for
many, many, many years. I movedfrom Baton Rouge up here to
where I am now NorthMississippi, and didn't really
start painting until my son wasin high school. When he got his
(06:08):
driver's license, and he wasout, then I would wake up and I
couldn't sleep, because I waswaiting on him. I started just
messing around with somewatercolors so that I would be
awake when he came in and knowthat he was home safe. But, and
I went, then I went to work.
When he went to college, I wentto work in Memphis for a very
large law firm, because he wentto Colorado, and I needed more
(06:31):
money than I could make here. SoI went to Memphis and lived, I
kept my place here. And I livedup there for about two years.
And he graduated. And I movedback down here. And the library
system here needed a director.
(06:53):
And so they asked me if I would,would come and you know, do
that. So I took a look at that.
And at the time, in order to bedirector, you had to have a
master's degree and informationlike or science. So I earned
that from University of SouthernMississippi, I actually got a
scholarship for that, because Ihad so much education all ready,
(07:16):
I wasn't really interested inpaying more. So I did get a
scholarship, I went to nightschool, so ran the libraries
during the day. And I went tonight school and not until I
retired really from that didstart painting. And it's just
been kind of a way, you know,you retire. And I've worked on
(07:42):
my life since high school. Soit's been, you know, you can't
retire and do nothing. So I didretire early. And I picked it up
as a way to supplement income.
You know, I have my parents totheir here. And so that's kind
of what I've how I've evolved.
So I've been painting probablyfull time, maybe maybe three
(08:04):
years, maybe two and a halfbecause I did so after I retired
to help with another librarysystem in Panola County. And I
did some work for theimmigration court, transcribing
some of the court proceedings.
So I did that for a little whilebefore I started painting,
(08:25):
basically full time. And I'vebeen a member on daily paint
works for many, many years. Andso I was part of, at that point,
after I retired, I was saying,Well, I played some small daily.
And that that really did help.
At this point, I do go to I dowhat I do for online classes and
(08:48):
to keep growing as an artist. Ido some online work, but I don't
like the last one I just tookwas for oil painting. And I'm
acrylic painter, what I do iskind of different. I do it
on-line and I kind of play it atdouble speed or speed and a
half. And I run through it. Idon't want to paint like them. I
(09:12):
want to learn what they'redoing. Sometimes, if I like
their color, or theircomposition, or their values
they use I'll run through itreal quickly. And then I might
run through the spots that Ilike a second time. And that way
I have very little time investedin it. And I'm not learning how
to paint like them. You know iftheir colors are really good, I
(09:36):
want to see their palette and Iwant to know You know, one of
the simple things that I'velearned most recently is I'll
just stick with my messy paletteforever. And it has really
helped me to transfer my paintsto another one and get a clean
fresh one every day instead ofjust mixing a remix and then,
you know, that's just so easy.
(09:59):
So That's the most importantthing I think I've learned
recently. So if you can takethose, and they're usually
fairly inexpensive, some ofthem, I don't take the live
ones, I take the recorded ones,if you can pick up one or two
tips, it really is helpful. Sothat that is, that's what I've
been doing recently,
Derek Smith (10:19):
and the recorded ones tend to be a little bit
more cost effective, because theartists are making a passive
income off of it. So you know,it's not a one time shot where
they have to make all theirmoney there, they're planning on
it being a little less, and alittle more people over time,
you know, going in. So those aregreat resources, and what a
great tip on how to experienceit. I do something very similar,
(10:42):
where I ignore the majority ofwhat I'm watching and go in to
find just the meat of what I'msearching for. And if it
intrigues me enough, right, if Ican see the merit in what I'm
watching and learning, then I'llgo back in and watch other or,
maybe watch the whole thing. Butyeah, I can definitely see the
(11:02):
benefit of doing that. And whatan interesting life to have
lived and then now be able to gointo a passion, you know, are
something that you really loveto do. Paulette Dove, I had her
on as a guest, and she hadmentioned that her retirement
was just a whole new life.
Vicki Wood (11:23):
It is and I'm so fortunate I live in the country.
Now. You know, I don't thepopulation is a couple 1000 I
think at this point. So anythingI do at this point, I have to
travel which is fine becausewhen I lived in Memphis, it's
gonna take you 30 minutes to getwherever you're going anyway. So
in 30/40 minutes, I can be inBatesville, and then Oxford and
(11:46):
Grenada, so and then Memphis isnot that far. It's it. It's
fortunate for me, because I'vebeen able to have the animals
that I want. I've had horses,and dogs. Dogs are always an
influx around here, because somany people drop off animals.
And so I always have a new dog,a new cat. So I'm always getting
(12:09):
spayed and neutered and all thatfun stuff. And then, and then I
had a relationship with theOxford Lafayette Humane Society.
And they would always have anart auction every year. And I
donated to that, for many, manyyears they've changed the way
they they run it now. So. So wehad a good reciprocity, because
(12:31):
I would get all these animals,because we don't have animal
control here. And I would Iwould catch them, a lot of the I
kept, but yeah, there's a limit.
And then I would catch them, Ihave an old truck, and I would
love it enough. And Oxford wasgracious to take them from me.
So I had a spot a resource thatwould help me and then I was
(12:53):
donated a painting, which thepeople that supported that
organization were very, verygenerous and would always fund
my work. And I've done it 100%Like, you know, it's done that
100% If I'm going to donate, I'mgonna donate. And but they did
me such a good service in thecommunity here. Such a big
service by taking these animals,and it was always cats, and I
(13:16):
rescued two horses once and I,not so much. Their too big guys,
I'm not doing that again, so Istuck to cats and dogs. So I'm
kind of the dog lady. So when Iran the library to and I was
always up at the library, peoplewould come in and they would be
like, What did you see this dogand he's on a chain and na na,
you know, I was like the animalperson for a while around here.
(13:38):
And and still do get some calls.
But I no longer have a resourcewhere I can do anything to help.
So that's kind of how that ran.
That's why you see so manypaintings with animals. And, and
also generally the landscapesare from right around here.
There usually are very, verylovable.
Derek Smith (14:01):
I was just going to mention that a big strong theme
in your artwork going you know,if you get to go back go on to.
I'll include links in the shownotes and also in our post, but
it's too long to list off rightnow. But go to Vicki's website
and the art is all laid out inchronological order and you can
(14:24):
scroll back through it andthere's a very strong theme of
horses and animals and dogs andyou can tell that it's a big
part of your life.
Vicki Wood (14:32):
Yeah, and and I did have somebody once tell me, she
said I can always tell whenthey're your horses. She said I
can always tell when you paint apainting and they're your horses
because you have such aconnection, but it has and the
landscapes are something thatare more newer for me and they
(14:54):
have been a struggle. I have nottransitioned into painting
landscapes very easily. You Youknow, most people, I think, I
don't know that because I am newto it, are oil painters that
paint landscape. And there issomething in oil or I don't know
what it is I recently triedwater solubles which, which
(15:16):
people misunderstand that aswell people misunderstand
acrylics people misunderstandwater soluble, water soluble is,
once the content dries, itbecomes just like any other oil
painting. it is, you can cleanit up with water, but once that
evaporates, it becomes just likeany other oil paint. And I
(15:38):
bought a whole set, you know,being optimistic, but I had I
had an allergic reaction. So Idid, I did have to return those,
unfortunately. I found them, Iwas going to talk a minute about
acrylic versus oil. And, youknow, I have actually had people
say to me, acrylics are so mucheasier. And as somebody who's
(16:02):
used both, because I started outwith oils, and once it was about
was a little while before Ideveloped. I bought this huge
air purifier, it's like it's thepaint, I'm not gonna be able to
use it. So I had to make theswitch. But I had somebody say
to me that Oh, acrylics are somuch easier? Well, you know, my
(16:22):
thought was, well, number one, Ican tell that you've never tried
them. Because after recentlytrying to water soluble oils,
they are so much more forgiving.
You know, if you're an acrylicpainter, then, they handle so
much differently from oils, andyou cannot, you better paint
(16:45):
pretty fast too. Because if youmix a color, which I mix so
much, if you mix a color, you'renot gonna be able to go back
into that little area you mixedfor very long, because this can
dry. And once it dries, it's dryand then when you put it on your
surface, it's going to dry,you're not going to be able to
(17:07):
go back in and rework it, youhave to paint over it. So I
would venture to say that it's alittle more difficult. And I do
love to clean up. It's so easyto clean up. So but you know I
do, I did think that maybe Icould possibly use the water
solubles. And then that justwasn't going to be an option for
(17:31):
me. So I'm back to the acrylics.
And so that's what I do. So ifanybody has any questions on how
acrylics handle or any, youknow, they're welcome to contact
me, and I'll be I try to whenpeople ask me things in social
media, I always try to give avery detailed explanation, so
that maybe I can help them andgive them some shortcuts that so
(17:52):
they don't have to go throughthe struggles
Derek Smith (17:53):
but absolutely pay it forward. We're all a
community and the moreinformation that we can put out
there and help each other, thebetter the community gets as a
whole. Why would you not? I lovethat, thank you so much for
doing that. And offering thatbecause a lot of people don't.
I've been in a lot of situationsin areas in the states where
(18:14):
it's, you know, your secrets oryour secrets. And that's how you
are going to make your life andit's a miserable existence, to
be honest, because you'reconstantly trying to figure out
new ways to hide from everybodywhat you're creating and how you
create it, no share, and if theycan do what you do, then
congratulate them. But most ofwhat they do,
Vicki Wood (18:36):
and it can be a struggle, you know, it's not
easy. And painting is a reallybig challenge. And it is a daily
challenge. And it can't youknow, some days, you know, I've
done so much and I did somepreticularly in Baton Rouge and
a lot of courtroom work trialwork very stressful. So and at
(18:58):
the end of the day, sometimes Ifinished painting and I'm like.
I'm so mentally fatigued. It'slike, wow, you know, so the
focus is so intense that you doyou get mentally fatigued, I
think from it. So it's greatbecause I can go outside and
walk around, walk around, youknow, go back and get my dogs
(19:20):
and that kind of thing. So I canget a break pretty quickly. But
sometimes it's surprising howweary it can be. And social
media that adds to some stress.
I do a lot of experimenting. SoI don't post everything I do,
because I find that I don't wantthe feedback. I don't I don't
(19:43):
people can think whatever theywant to think. But I don't want
to hear it because I don't wantto I don't want it to influence
what I'm wanting to do and itwill shift my focus sometimes.
So like, I was gonna take like aweek off and just experiment,
just play. And I ended up doinglike three weeks. So I've been
(20:07):
kinda experimenting lately. AndI find that when you do when I
do that, and I just shut itdown, and don't be influenced by
anybody or anything and paintwhat I want to paint, if bad
good that I recognize it as atime to explore. And so that
(20:28):
surprisingly, has really helpedmy landscapes. I have put, just
apply, I had put just somecanvas on the wall and some
scrap pieces, because artsuplies are expensive. And I
would just come in every morningand do something just really
fun. I did some stick figuredolls. And it's like, people
would laugh at this. I thinkthis is a joke. So I put 'em. I
(20:53):
said, Well, you know what, itdoesn't really matter now does
it because I'm doing anything Iwant to do. So I did, they're
actually fairly popular. It'sbeen like, wow, they want my
stick figures. So but then thosewere with oil pastels. And so
that, of course I had I couldn'tuse for very much had to shut,
(21:15):
put them in an airtightcontainer. But I found pigment
sticks. So they have differentbinders. And they dry. So I'm
the next thing I'm going to trypigment sticks. So we'll see,
we'll see how it works. But I dothink that experimenting, and
being authentic, go hand inhand. And that they're very
(21:36):
important to have your work stayyou, and have it be unique. And
just kind of not be concernedabout what other people say
about it. It can be bad, youknow, but if it's okay with you
to be bad, then that's you know,you're gonna learn whatever you
(21:57):
do, you're gonna learnsomething.
Derek Smith (22:00):
Let's talk about the visual aesthetic of your
work really quick, because yougo in and you're very painterly
painter. It's lots ofbrushstrokes, and you have big
color mapping on your figures.
And on your flower, you do thesebeautiful flowers. Also, we
haven't even mentioned those.
But again, going back to yourwebsite and scrolling down, it
(22:21):
looks like around 2015 to 2016You started really coming into
developing a style that you youalmost I can see it now still in
your work of these simplifiedshapes that build complex
objects, simplified shapes thatbuild a whole still life are a
(22:44):
dog or a horse or, you know,this these really beautiful
takes on the subject matter.
What kind of shifts you intothat direction. Do you think
Vicki Wood (22:55):
at first of all, thank you, um, I tend to like
abstract. I find abstract work,I am not here to copy. I am not
here to go outside and copy whatI see. I probably the biggest
influence is color. Color is thebiggest influence. I don't use,
(23:18):
I use fairly inexpensivebrushes, probably one inch even
on smaller works. I haveexpensive brushes, but I tend to
like the cheaper ones. You know,who knows? Who knows? But I
don't really So your question ishow do I get into some of those
forms? Is that
Derek Smith (23:38):
or how did it develop that when when did you
start going in that directionand deciding that this was
something that you wanted tofocus on and that you were
inspired by?
Vicki Wood (23:48):
I don't know that it was it was not a conscious
decision. Um, years ago, I'mgonna say my biggest influence
probably was years ago, I tookthe just really really fun class
on the internet, which those aregreat. I mean, those are
probably the best and I will sayit was Lynn Whipple's big blooms
course. And she she used some,it was just an inexpensive
(24:15):
materials, house paint, she usedsome house paint. She did big
work, and nobody it was allgreat. It was just all very
positive and very fun. And Idon't know if that's still
available probably. she's notavailable I don't think on it.
But um, and that that tended tobe some shape finding. That
(24:40):
tended to influence find it,paint it, don't worry about the
color just paint and look at theshapes and find your shapes and
it tended to be more abstract.
And that probably was thebiggest influence. I don't
really do that any more likethat. But I'm I not gonna say I
won't because it's so much fun.
(25:02):
And you know, she turned thepainting all around and that
kind of thing to look at it fromdifferent areas. So I don't
know, I think I just focus on,you know, I have grown from
looking at just the object tothe entire surface, and the
(25:26):
design of the surface throughthe shapes on the surface. So
that I do do that. And I thinkI've just evolved, you spend
enough time doing this stuff,particularly if you can get in a
few minutes every day, you'regonna develop your own style.
And it's, it's little by little,I think, so I don't, I don't, it
(25:48):
wasn't a conscious decision. Ilike I like design, not
necessarily composition, becausethat's tough. I like to make
sure that the whole page isdesigned, and I like color, and
I like line quality. So thoseare the things that probably
influenced me the most. I think
Derek Smith (26:07):
Do you think that your love of design inside of
your artwork comes from yourbackground in advertising and
design.
Vicki Wood (26:16):
I think I liked it prior to that, I like interior
design. And as I struggle morewith the design of the page, I
found that much more difficult.
So I've always liked design, andI did take some architectural
course, in college. And I'vealways loved color. And the
thing about color is, so now myfamily I kind of come from a
(26:41):
creative family. I'm like theonly painter but um, but we tend
to create, and I will say tothat painting, the creativity is
more about what I like then thepainting, I like to create, at
the end of the day, you know, Iwould love if I had time to, to
(27:01):
not stop but pottery and dothings with my hands. I love to
do things with my hands. So it'smore of a creative outlet that I
seek than painting. So it can bemost anything, you know,
stringing beads, and you know,because you can people do
beautiful work in the fiber artsjust gorgeous. I've ended up
painting because I have thosesupplies. That's what I have.
Derek Smith (27:26):
I don't want to take up too much more your time.
But is there anything that'scoming up? People can find you
on Instagram at Vicki wood art?
But do you have any other placesthat they can find our
experience or artwork?
Vicki Wood (27:39):
Um, excuse me, my website is Vickiwood.com. I'm on
Facebook, I post a lot on mypersonal page. I have an art
page too. But for some reason,the connectivity, I think where
I live for my business page, itsays slow that I can't post on
that business page as quickly Ican post on my personal page.
(28:03):
And let's see. So that's justunder Vicki wood and daily paint
works. So if you go to mywebsite, it'll lead you to my
space on daily paint works,which will give you kind of like
a history of all the work thatI've done. It'll give you old
work as well,
Derek Smith (28:24):
the website I've been reffering to the whole time
is your daily paintworks site. Iapologize because I did I found
your daily paint work sitefirst. And that's what I focused
on. It really does. It gives youa beautiful history of your
artwork.
Vicki Wood (28:38):
Yeah, it does. And one really nice thing about
that, that that is real. I'vebeen on there for years. And you
That's exciting. How are you?
How are you handling gettingknow, they're never gone up in
price. It's thirteen dollars amonth. And you know, when you go
to do your taxes and everything,you can run a report. They do
all that for you. They keep youkeep all that data for you. So
(29:00):
it makes it it makes lifeeasier. You can pay with credit
card or whatever on there. Soit's a nice platform. My
website, you can just hit hitthe button that says shop now
and it'll it'll go down to godown to my daily paintwork page.
So that that ends up being very,very easy. You can also see my
(29:21):
work. I'm very proud to berepresented by Browns fine art
gallery, in the Fondren districtin Jackson. And then at the end
of the year, December, I will behaving my first solo show, which
is very exciting for me a littlea little intimidating, I must
say in Tupelo at the GumtreeTupelo art museum. So I will be
(29:44):
posting some information onthat. And so if you're in the
Fondren area, please drop by andtalk to those folks. Or Take a
look at some of my pieces ontheir website. They had a few
pieces up and what they had like10 pieces I think that we had
two left. So I'm trying toresupply them as well as get a
(30:06):
collection together for theGimtree exhibit.
ready for this exhibit because Iknow I well in advance, I start
to go a little nuts.
It's intimidating. It's veryintimidating. And I don't really
(30:29):
know I do, I have, what I'vedone is I've started to put I've
got one painting set aside,that's a huge, they've just
rennovated that space. And soit's gorgeous. It's a huge
building, I asked how manypaintings I needed, they sent me
a floor plan. And I was like,oh, so I've got to go there with
(30:50):
you know, the knee surgery, Ihave to do a whole lot. So I'm
gonna drive over there, take alook. I know, it's gonna call
for big pieces. So I am going,I'm trying to transition the
last few pieces I've done 11 By14, um, I just placed an order
for some larger works. And Idon't really know, because I
(31:12):
struggled to find good frames. Ibought myself a miter saw. So I
did some framing myself. So I'mnot real sure, um, my plan is to
put away several paintings amonth. I know, I'm going to have
to be ready in November,probably to get them there and
(31:33):
hung for December. I knowthey're going to have to be big
pieces, which I have not beenpainting a lot of big pieces,
it's so easy to ship smallerpieces. So I don't really have a
plan. I mean, except for to makesure I don't get caught in a
bind. So I know that thatgetting these pieces ready will
(31:54):
impact my income for the year,because I won't be available for
sale until later. So that's astruggle, you know, that's a
balancing act there. So it's,it's going to be interesting.
And I'm going to be in touchwith them pretty soon to get
whatever tips they might have.
As well as, so I need to do thatas well as keep the gallery
(32:15):
supplied with some work. So it'slot of work to produce. That's a
lot, that's actually a lot ofpressure.
Derek Smith (32:26):
You've got a busy year ahead of you.
Vicki Wood (32:30):
Any tips you have would be appreciated. Or anybody
Derek Smith (32:33):
Yeah, please? Well, you know, we we run here at the
else?
little yellow building, we runshows, but I don't consider
myself a gallery. You know,we're very small space, a lot of
the things that we do arevirtual, the physical shows that
we have are in a separatefacility provided by the
Mississippi School for the Arts,or somebody else that wants to
(32:54):
work with us. But yeah, I startwith the idea of the show a year
in advance. And then, you know,slowly, but surely, I keep
circling back around to thatidea of filling in more gaps,
finding more artists, you know,just slowly building it. But
over time, that way, I kind ofmake sure that I have my thumb
(33:15):
not only on what the artists arecreating and how the show is
developing, but how I feel theworld at the time is going to
experience it. Because if wechange month to month on how our
public opinion sways one way oranother, and I want to make sure
that we're putting out thingsthat are relevant. So it is it's
a lot of pressure to providethings that are going to be
(33:38):
interesting for the time toprovide enough for space, enough
for interests. You know, there'sthere's so much that goes into
it. So yeah, anybody that hassuggestions, reach out to Vicki
or reach out to myself. I'lltake I'll take advice all day
long.
Vicki Wood (33:55):
Yeah, yeah. And I think it's such a large space,
that's why I'm going to thelarger format, which is much
more I find much more difficult.
In the larger format. For me,it's more difficult. I think the
largest brush I have right nowis probably a little bit bigger
than one inch. I just orderedsome that are, so my thought is
well, I guess I'll just use alarger brush. That's probably
too simple to make all thatwork. But it's like you get the
(34:17):
brush strokes in the things thatI like to cover a larger space,
I'm probably just gonna have togo to a much bigger brush. So
it's gonna be interesting. It'llbe fun. I'm excited to be
challenged by the larger format,which I'm not sure I would have
made that move. They'rehardship, they're hard to deal
with, they're harder you know,find space to put them. Your
(34:38):
supplies become exponentiallymore expensive. So I don't know
that I would have made the shiftwithout the invocation but we're
gonna give it a try.
Derek Smith (34:51):
So the the last question I want to ask you
before I let you go is whatwould be some advice or that you
would give to yourself orAnybody coming up behind you
Vicki Wood (35:02):
some practical advice, if you're interested in
color. That I recently learned,is to mix the paint, probably
everybody knows this, but me.
But I was mixing my paint as Iwent with my brush. Now I mixed
my paint with a palette knife.
(35:24):
Made a huge difference, I get awhole lot less mud. So it's made
a huge difference in my work.
That's kind of recent, um, andbe creative. Um, don't try to
paint like other people, youknow, extract what you want from
(35:46):
what you like. Um, maybe get offsocial media for a while so that
you don't have those constantinfluences. Um, and just stay
true to yourself, you want yourart to look like you, or I want
my art to look like me. I wantsomebody to walk into a room and
say, I recognize that as yourwork. So, you know, for better
(36:07):
or worse. I would rather havesomebody recognize a bad piece
of mine than to be painting likesomebody else. I don't attend a
lot of workshops in person,because I don't want to carry
that because it can be tooheavily influenced, influential
on me. Um, I mean, you can do,you can go to workshop, I'm not
(36:31):
saying don't go to them. Butknow what you're there for, you
know. Know that you don't wantto go home painting like those
people, you want to go home andtake what you've learned and
apply it to the way you want topaint. And so I think that if
you try to continue to becreative in your own work, then
you will automatically andnaturally kind of weed out the
(36:55):
influence of others and try toremain doing what you like to
do. That's kind of all I have, Iwant to say if you're an acrylic
painter, stick with it. Um, it'sa really, it's a really good,
medium. I'm not sure I would bethere. If I you know, if I
(37:17):
didn't have to be, I will saythat. But I'm glad I'm there.
You know, at this point, I'mglad I'm there. So oil paint,
oil just handles so differently.
So, you know, and I will say toyou take a minute to experiment.
Just take some time. You know,if you haven't used charcoal,
(37:38):
use charcoal for a minute. Um,if you haven't used paper, use
paper for a minute. I do findthat the surfaces that I paint
on make a big difference. So Ido chat I do I do a lot of my
favorite is actually just paper.
So I do change that a lot. I doa lot of changing.
Derek Smith (38:00):
You work on a special paper to you have I
know, I noticed that you hadnotes on it when you can go and
purchase your work that this ishow you need to treat this
paper. It's very light fast.
Keep it out of the keep. Keep itout away from sunlight.
Vicki Wood (38:15):
Yeah, well, probably all fine art needs to be kept
away from sunlight, even nomatter what it is, or be under
some UV protective glasses justwhen you're selling to such a
broad audience, like that'sglobal. Some people are not
going to know that. So I paint alot on Fabriano watercolor
paper. A heavy stock. And that'sactually my favorite. A lot of
(38:38):
times to what I will do is I'lltake the back before I paint on
it, before I start painting, Iwill take and it's a huge piece.
I will take the back of it aboutsome expensive, inexpensive
gesso it's kind of thin, andI'll paint the whole back of
that piece of paper and it givesme a surface. So I'm not going
(39:02):
to paint on that just onsurface. I'm going to turn over
and paint on the watercolorsurface, because it's so it'll
act, but it makes that a reallyreally really nice sheet of
paper to handle. It doesn'thandle then like paper, it
handles more like, I don't know,it handles a little bit more
(39:25):
like a canvas. It's a littledifferent. And also that keeps
me from having to stretch it. Idon't like to stretch paper. I'm
not gonna spend the time. Um, soI just put a light coat of gesso
thin Gesso on it. And when Iturn it over the surface is just
so beautiful. And it makes it soit doesn't ever rip or tear and
(39:47):
you can roll it easily and shipit. So it has a lot of good
qualities. And I also I prefer,oddly enough, I like a rough
texture but more more than arough texture. Sure, I like a
really smooth texture. So youknow all that comes into play on
what you like to do. Um, and youhave to be willing to go out and
(40:10):
experiment. Try it know if youlike it or not.
Derek Smith (40:14):
Well, Vicki, thank you so much for taking the time
and or giving us this time,filling it with information
about your life. wonderfulexamples of advice. It's always
so nice to hear from someonewho's so passionate about what
they're doing at the moment. Andit's obvious that you're
passionate about the physicalaspects of your work and how you
(40:36):
get involved with it. And Ireally, really appreciate you
sharing that with us today.
Vicki Wood (40:42):
You're sure I appreciate you. Thank you for
your time and thank you for whatyou're doing.
Derek Smith (40:47):
For everyone else, we will be back again with
another artist another history.
Join us back. You'll have agreat one.
Vicki Wood (40:58):
Thank you.
Derek Smith (41:01):
Special thanks to our members Jenny Howard, Buffie
Jordan, Jenny Moak, EvelynPeavy, The Evans Family, Janet
Smith, Beth Breeland, MaryHardy, Gwen Furey, Mary Adams,
Jennifer Drinkwater and theSmith family
Hello everyone and welcome back to the Mississippi
artists to artists podcastbrought to you by the little
yellow building in Brookhaven,Mississippi. I'm your host Derek
Covington Smith. And before weget to the interview, I'd like
to tell you about some thingsthat we've got going on. We
currently have an open call outfor our next exhibition that
will be in April, the title ofit is 'Body', and it's an
(00:32):
exploration of figurative workby Mississippi artists. So feel
free to check outthelittleyellowbuilding.com
under calls for art. All entriesare free, and you can submit as
many as you'd like. We also havean ongoing call for art for
southern exposure. Southernexposure is our program that
(00:52):
features Mississippi artistsfrom all over the state each
week on our social media. Andthen we also have a section in
the magazine that's dedicated tosome of the art submitted from
the southern exposure. So it'ssomething that we can constantly
keep New Work circulating byMississippi artists so everybody
can see and enjoy it. coming upMarch 22 is the launch of the
(01:15):
tlyb art mag. And that's ourvisual arts magazine from
Mississippi. I'm super excitedabout it. This has been a lot of
fun to work on. Our cover artistis Ellen Langford. Not only will
the magazine feature Mississippiartists, but it will also have
layouts of where to find art andMississippi, whether it's art
(01:35):
organization, Open Studios,galleries, you can go on and get
yourself listed. And it's meantto hopefully be a guide to
exploring contemporary art inour state. Some other exciting
news, thanks to our membershipprogram, friends at the little
yellow building, we're going tobe able to have 100 of our first
(01:58):
edition magazines printed andyou know, everybody who's
signing up online is going to beable to get the free digital
edition of the magazine directlyto your inbox. But these are
physical collectable copies, andI'm so excited about it, not
only did it fund the printing ofthe magazines, but also we're
now able to have our episodestranscribed for the hearing
(02:20):
impaired. And that is opening upanother level of inclusion that
is exciting to be able toprovide and thanks to our
members for for believing in usand and helping fund what we're
doing here. We have alsolaunched the MSA2A hotline where
you can call in and leavemessages for artists who are
(02:42):
coming up, you can leavemessages of encouragement for
anyone listening, you canpromote yourself, you can
promote events coming up, wejust want to hear from you. So
call in leave us a message andthen check back at the end of
the episodes to hear yoursplayed back. Alright, I think
that's enough for now on to theinterview.
(03:13):
Hey, everyone, and welcome back.
Thank you for joining us again.
This week, we're joined withVicki Wood, Vicki Wood art.
Vicki, thank you for so much forjoining us and sharing all this
about you.
Vicki Wood (03:25):
Oh yes. Thank you so much. I appreciate the
invitation.
Derek Smith (03:29):
Well, why don't we start out? Why don't you tell us
a little bit about growing upand your history with art.
Vicki Wood (03:35):
Um, well growing up.
Um, I didn't get a ton ofsupport with the art. So really,
I did not get started until verylate. Um, and my dad was a
chemical engineer. So weactually moved around a lot. He
ran chemical plants. So yeah,with him being an engineer, I
(03:56):
was expected to do math andscience, which is opposite of
what that you know, I was soyoung at it now, but I'm not one
of those people that started outdrawing and art you know, I'm
just, I'm just not one of thosepeople. Um, and then I think
that maybe the chronologicallythe best way to then go through
(04:16):
it as an adult. Um, when I wentto college, I went to LSU in
Baton Rouge, we were livingthere at the time. And, um, I
did get a degree, I got a BFA,um, which really didn't make
anybody reel happy. You know,parents just want to know you're
gonna make a living, you know
Derek Smith (04:37):
they want the best for you.
Vicki Wood (04:40):
They want the best and it it can be such a struggle
in the arts. So, but I did get aBFA, I went, but it was not a
painting or drawing, whichprobably would have been a
better choice. It wasadvertising design. That was the
curriculum that they labeled itnow It really wasn't, there
(05:00):
wasn't a lot there. Um, but alsoI wasn't old enough to learn. I
wasn't in the mood to learnanything. So I was just there to
enjoy myself, which is what Idid. But then after that I
worked a few years, I had areally good job in New Orleans,
I went to New Orleans. And forMcDermott Incorporated. And in
(05:22):
advertising, what I did was puttogether their public relations
pieces. And I did that for abouta year and wasn't really
thrilled New Orleans is a littlebit bigger than I like, I'm on
the back of Baton Rouge workthere. And I actually did not
too far from LSU at the time,and I decided to go to law
(05:46):
school. So I went to law school,and then just practice law for
many, many, many years. I movedfrom Baton Rouge up here to
where I am now NorthMississippi, and didn't really
start painting until my son wasin high school. When he got his
(06:08):
driver's license, and he wasout, then I would wake up and I
couldn't sleep, because I waswaiting on him. I started just
messing around with somewatercolors so that I would be
awake when he came in and knowthat he was home safe. But, and
I went, then I went to work.
When he went to college, I wentto work in Memphis for a very
large law firm, because he wentto Colorado, and I needed more
(06:31):
money than I could make here. SoI went to Memphis and lived, I
kept my place here. And I livedup there for about two years.
And he graduated. And I movedback down here. And the library
system here needed a director.
(06:53):
And so they asked me if I would,would come and you know, do
that. So I took a look at that.
And at the time, in order to bedirector, you had to have a
master's degree and informationlike or science. So I earned
that from University of SouthernMississippi, I actually got a
scholarship for that, because Ihad so much education all ready,
(07:16):
I wasn't really interested inpaying more. So I did get a
scholarship, I went to nightschool, so ran the libraries
during the day. And I went tonight school and not until I
retired really from that didstart painting. And it's just
been kind of a way, you know,you retire. And I've worked on
(07:42):
my life since high school. Soit's been, you know, you can't
retire and do nothing. So I didretire early. And I picked it up
as a way to supplement income.
You know, I have my parents totheir here. And so that's kind
of what I've how I've evolved.
So I've been painting probablyfull time, maybe maybe three
(08:04):
years, maybe two and a halfbecause I did so after I retired
to help with another librarysystem in Panola County. And I
did some work for theimmigration court, transcribing
some of the court proceedings.
So I did that for a little whilebefore I started painting,
(08:25):
basically full time. And I'vebeen a member on daily paint
works for many, many years. Andso I was part of, at that point,
after I retired, I was saying,Well, I played some small daily.
And that that really did help.
At this point, I do go to I dowhat I do for online classes and
(08:48):
to keep growing as an artist. Ido some online work, but I don't
like the last one I just tookwas for oil painting. And I'm
acrylic painter, what I do iskind of different. I do it
on-line and I kind of play it atdouble speed or speed and a
half. And I run through it. Idon't want to paint like them. I
(09:12):
want to learn what they'redoing. Sometimes, if I like
their color, or theircomposition, or their values
they use I'll run through itreal quickly. And then I might
run through the spots that Ilike a second time. And that way
I have very little time investedin it. And I'm not learning how
to paint like them. You know iftheir colors are really good, I
(09:36):
want to see their palette and Iwant to know You know, one of
the simple things that I'velearned most recently is I'll
just stick with my messy paletteforever. And it has really
helped me to transfer my paintsto another one and get a clean
fresh one every day instead ofjust mixing a remix and then,
you know, that's just so easy.
(09:59):
So That's the most importantthing I think I've learned
recently. So if you can takethose, and they're usually
fairly inexpensive, some ofthem, I don't take the live
ones, I take the recorded ones,if you can pick up one or two
tips, it really is helpful. Sothat that is, that's what I've
been doing recently,
Derek Smith (10:19):
and the recorded ones tend to be a little bit
more cost effective, because theartists are making a passive
income off of it. So you know,it's not a one time shot where
they have to make all theirmoney there, they're planning on
it being a little less, and alittle more people over time,
you know, going in. So those aregreat resources, and what a
great tip on how to experienceit. I do something very similar,
(10:42):
where I ignore the majority ofwhat I'm watching and go in to
find just the meat of what I'msearching for. And if it
intrigues me enough, right, if Ican see the merit in what I'm
watching and learning, then I'llgo back in and watch other or,
maybe watch the whole thing. Butyeah, I can definitely see the
(11:02):
benefit of doing that. And whatan interesting life to have
lived and then now be able to gointo a passion, you know, are
something that you really loveto do. Paulette Dove, I had her
on as a guest, and she hadmentioned that her retirement
was just a whole new life.
Vicki Wood (11:23):
It is and I'm so fortunate I live in the country.
Now. You know, I don't thepopulation is a couple 1000 I
think at this point. So anythingI do at this point, I have to
travel which is fine becausewhen I lived in Memphis, it's
gonna take you 30 minutes to getwherever you're going anyway. So
in 30/40 minutes, I can be inBatesville, and then Oxford and
(11:46):
Grenada, so and then Memphis isnot that far. It's it. It's
fortunate for me, because I'vebeen able to have the animals
that I want. I've had horses,and dogs. Dogs are always an
influx around here, because somany people drop off animals.
And so I always have a new dog,a new cat. So I'm always getting
(12:09):
spayed and neutered and all thatfun stuff. And then, and then I
had a relationship with theOxford Lafayette Humane Society.
And they would always have anart auction every year. And I
donated to that, for many, manyyears they've changed the way
they they run it now. So. So wehad a good reciprocity, because
(12:31):
I would get all these animals,because we don't have animal
control here. And I would Iwould catch them, a lot of the I
kept, but yeah, there's a limit.
And then I would catch them, Ihave an old truck, and I would
love it enough. And Oxford wasgracious to take them from me.
So I had a spot a resource thatwould help me and then I was
(12:53):
donated a painting, which thepeople that supported that
organization were very, verygenerous and would always fund
my work. And I've done it 100%Like, you know, it's done that
100% If I'm going to donate, I'mgonna donate. And but they did
me such a good service in thecommunity here. Such a big
service by taking these animals,and it was always cats, and I
(13:16):
rescued two horses once and I,not so much. Their too big guys,
I'm not doing that again, so Istuck to cats and dogs. So I'm
kind of the dog lady. So when Iran the library to and I was
always up at the library, peoplewould come in and they would be
like, What did you see this dogand he's on a chain and na na,
you know, I was like the animalperson for a while around here.
(13:38):
And and still do get some calls.
But I no longer have a resourcewhere I can do anything to help.
So that's kind of how that ran.
That's why you see so manypaintings with animals. And, and
also generally the landscapesare from right around here.
There usually are very, verylovable.
Derek Smith (14:01):
I was just going to mention that a big strong theme
in your artwork going you know,if you get to go back go on to.
I'll include links in the shownotes and also in our post, but
it's too long to list off rightnow. But go to Vicki's website
and the art is all laid out inchronological order and you can
(14:24):
scroll back through it andthere's a very strong theme of
horses and animals and dogs andyou can tell that it's a big
part of your life.
Vicki Wood (14:32):
Yeah, and and I did have somebody once tell me, she
said I can always tell whenthey're your horses. She said I
can always tell when you paint apainting and they're your horses
because you have such aconnection, but it has and the
landscapes are something thatare more newer for me and they
(14:54):
have been a struggle. I have nottransitioned into painting
landscapes very easily. You Youknow, most people, I think, I
don't know that because I am newto it, are oil painters that
paint landscape. And there issomething in oil or I don't know
what it is I recently triedwater solubles which, which
(15:16):
people misunderstand that aswell people misunderstand
acrylics people misunderstandwater soluble, water soluble is,
once the content dries, itbecomes just like any other oil
painting. it is, you can cleanit up with water, but once that
evaporates, it becomes just likeany other oil paint. And I
(15:38):
bought a whole set, you know,being optimistic, but I had I
had an allergic reaction. So Idid, I did have to return those,
unfortunately. I found them, Iwas going to talk a minute about
acrylic versus oil. And, youknow, I have actually had people
say to me, acrylics are so mucheasier. And as somebody who's
(16:02):
used both, because I started outwith oils, and once it was about
was a little while before Ideveloped. I bought this huge
air purifier, it's like it's thepaint, I'm not gonna be able to
use it. So I had to make theswitch. But I had somebody say
to me that Oh, acrylics are somuch easier? Well, you know, my
(16:22):
thought was, well, number one, Ican tell that you've never tried
them. Because after recentlytrying to water soluble oils,
they are so much more forgiving.
You know, if you're an acrylicpainter, then, they handle so
much differently from oils, andyou cannot, you better paint
(16:45):
pretty fast too. Because if youmix a color, which I mix so
much, if you mix a color, you'renot gonna be able to go back
into that little area you mixedfor very long, because this can
dry. And once it dries, it's dryand then when you put it on your
surface, it's going to dry,you're not going to be able to
(17:07):
go back in and rework it, youhave to paint over it. So I
would venture to say that it's alittle more difficult. And I do
love to clean up. It's so easyto clean up. So but you know I
do, I did think that maybe Icould possibly use the water
solubles. And then that justwasn't going to be an option for
(17:31):
me. So I'm back to the acrylics.
And so that's what I do. So ifanybody has any questions on how
acrylics handle or any, youknow, they're welcome to contact
me, and I'll be I try to whenpeople ask me things in social
media, I always try to give avery detailed explanation, so
that maybe I can help them andgive them some shortcuts that so
(17:52):
they don't have to go throughthe struggles
Derek Smith (17:53):
but absolutely pay it forward. We're all a
community and the moreinformation that we can put out
there and help each other, thebetter the community gets as a
whole. Why would you not? I lovethat, thank you so much for
doing that. And offering thatbecause a lot of people don't.
I've been in a lot of situationsin areas in the states where
(18:14):
it's, you know, your secrets oryour secrets. And that's how you
are going to make your life andit's a miserable existence, to
be honest, because you'reconstantly trying to figure out
new ways to hide from everybodywhat you're creating and how you
create it, no share, and if theycan do what you do, then
congratulate them. But most ofwhat they do,
Vicki Wood (18:36):
and it can be a struggle, you know, it's not
easy. And painting is a reallybig challenge. And it is a daily
challenge. And it can't youknow, some days, you know, I've
done so much and I did somepreticularly in Baton Rouge and
a lot of courtroom work trialwork very stressful. So and at
(18:58):
the end of the day, sometimes Ifinished painting and I'm like.
I'm so mentally fatigued. It'slike, wow, you know, so the
focus is so intense that you doyou get mentally fatigued, I
think from it. So it's greatbecause I can go outside and
walk around, walk around, youknow, go back and get my dogs
(19:20):
and that kind of thing. So I canget a break pretty quickly. But
sometimes it's surprising howweary it can be. And social
media that adds to some stress.
I do a lot of experimenting. SoI don't post everything I do,
because I find that I don't wantthe feedback. I don't I don't
(19:43):
people can think whatever theywant to think. But I don't want
to hear it because I don't wantto I don't want it to influence
what I'm wanting to do and itwill shift my focus sometimes.
So like, I was gonna take like aweek off and just experiment,
just play. And I ended up doinglike three weeks. So I've been
(20:07):
kinda experimenting lately. AndI find that when you do when I
do that, and I just shut itdown, and don't be influenced by
anybody or anything and paintwhat I want to paint, if bad
good that I recognize it as atime to explore. And so that
(20:28):
surprisingly, has really helpedmy landscapes. I have put, just
apply, I had put just somecanvas on the wall and some
scrap pieces, because artsuplies are expensive. And I
would just come in every morningand do something just really
fun. I did some stick figuredolls. And it's like, people
would laugh at this. I thinkthis is a joke. So I put 'em. I
(20:53):
said, Well, you know what, itdoesn't really matter now does
it because I'm doing anything Iwant to do. So I did, they're
actually fairly popular. It'sbeen like, wow, they want my
stick figures. So but then thosewere with oil pastels. And so
that, of course I had I couldn'tuse for very much had to shut,
(21:15):
put them in an airtightcontainer. But I found pigment
sticks. So they have differentbinders. And they dry. So I'm
the next thing I'm going to trypigment sticks. So we'll see,
we'll see how it works. But I dothink that experimenting, and
being authentic, go hand inhand. And that they're very
(21:36):
important to have your work stayyou, and have it be unique. And
just kind of not be concernedabout what other people say
about it. It can be bad, youknow, but if it's okay with you
to be bad, then that's you know,you're gonna learn whatever you
(21:57):
do, you're gonna learnsomething.
Derek Smith (22:00):
Let's talk about the visual aesthetic of your
work really quick, because yougo in and you're very painterly
painter. It's lots ofbrushstrokes, and you have big
color mapping on your figures.
And on your flower, you do thesebeautiful flowers. Also, we
haven't even mentioned those.
But again, going back to yourwebsite and scrolling down, it
(22:21):
looks like around 2015 to 2016You started really coming into
developing a style that you youalmost I can see it now still in
your work of these simplifiedshapes that build complex
objects, simplified shapes thatbuild a whole still life are a
(22:44):
dog or a horse or, you know,this these really beautiful
takes on the subject matter.
What kind of shifts you intothat direction. Do you think
Vicki Wood (22:55):
at first of all, thank you, um, I tend to like
abstract. I find abstract work,I am not here to copy. I am not
here to go outside and copy whatI see. I probably the biggest
influence is color. Color is thebiggest influence. I don't use,
(23:18):
I use fairly inexpensivebrushes, probably one inch even
on smaller works. I haveexpensive brushes, but I tend to
like the cheaper ones. You know,who knows? Who knows? But I
don't really So your question ishow do I get into some of those
forms? Is that
Derek Smith (23:38):
or how did it develop that when when did you
start going in that directionand deciding that this was
something that you wanted tofocus on and that you were
inspired by?
Vicki Wood (23:48):
I don't know that it was it was not a conscious
decision. Um, years ago, I'mgonna say my biggest influence
probably was years ago, I tookthe just really really fun class
on the internet, which those aregreat. I mean, those are
probably the best and I will sayit was Lynn Whipple's big blooms
course. And she she used some,it was just an inexpensive
(24:15):
materials, house paint, she usedsome house paint. She did big
work, and nobody it was allgreat. It was just all very
positive and very fun. And Idon't know if that's still
available probably. she's notavailable I don't think on it.
But um, and that that tended tobe some shape finding. That
(24:40):
tended to influence find it,paint it, don't worry about the
color just paint and look at theshapes and find your shapes and
it tended to be more abstract.
And that probably was thebiggest influence. I don't
really do that any more likethat. But I'm I not gonna say I
won't because it's so much fun.
(25:02):
And you know, she turned thepainting all around and that
kind of thing to look at it fromdifferent areas. So I don't
know, I think I just focus on,you know, I have grown from
looking at just the object tothe entire surface, and the
(25:26):
design of the surface throughthe shapes on the surface. So
that I do do that. And I thinkI've just evolved, you spend
enough time doing this stuff,particularly if you can get in a
few minutes every day, you'regonna develop your own style.
And it's, it's little by little,I think, so I don't, I don't, it
(25:48):
wasn't a conscious decision. Ilike I like design, not
necessarily composition, becausethat's tough. I like to make
sure that the whole page isdesigned, and I like color, and
I like line quality. So thoseare the things that probably
influenced me the most. I think
Derek Smith (26:07):
Do you think that your love of design inside of
your artwork comes from yourbackground in advertising and
design.
Vicki Wood (26:16):
I think I liked it prior to that, I like interior
design. And as I struggle morewith the design of the page, I
found that much more difficult.
So I've always liked design, andI did take some architectural
course, in college. And I'vealways loved color. And the
thing about color is, so now myfamily I kind of come from a
(26:41):
creative family. I'm like theonly painter but um, but we tend
to create, and I will say tothat painting, the creativity is
more about what I like then thepainting, I like to create, at
the end of the day, you know, Iwould love if I had time to, to
(27:01):
not stop but pottery and dothings with my hands. I love to
do things with my hands. So it'smore of a creative outlet that I
seek than painting. So it can bemost anything, you know,
stringing beads, and you know,because you can people do
beautiful work in the fiber artsjust gorgeous. I've ended up
painting because I have thosesupplies. That's what I have.
Derek Smith (27:26):
I don't want to take up too much more your time.
But is there anything that'scoming up? People can find you
on Instagram at Vicki wood art?
But do you have any other placesthat they can find our
experience or artwork?
Vicki Wood (27:39):
Um, excuse me, my website is Vickiwood.com. I'm on
Facebook, I post a lot on mypersonal page. I have an art
page too. But for some reason,the connectivity, I think where
I live for my business page, itsays slow that I can't post on
that business page as quickly Ican post on my personal page.
(28:03):
And let's see. So that's justunder Vicki wood and daily paint
works. So if you go to mywebsite, it'll lead you to my
space on daily paint works,which will give you kind of like
a history of all the work thatI've done. It'll give you old
work as well,
Derek Smith (28:24):
the website I've been reffering to the whole time
is your daily paintworks site. Iapologize because I did I found
your daily paint work sitefirst. And that's what I focused
on. It really does. It gives youa beautiful history of your
artwork.
Vicki Wood (28:38):
Yeah, it does. And one really nice thing about
that, that that is real. I'vebeen on there for years. And you
That's exciting. How are you?
How are you handling gettingknow, they're never gone up in
price. It's thirteen dollars amonth. And you know, when you go
to do your taxes and everything,you can run a report. They do
all that for you. They keep youkeep all that data for you. So
(29:00):
it makes it it makes lifeeasier. You can pay with credit
card or whatever on there. Soit's a nice platform. My
website, you can just hit hitthe button that says shop now
and it'll it'll go down to godown to my daily paintwork page.
So that that ends up being very,very easy. You can also see my
(29:21):
work. I'm very proud to berepresented by Browns fine art
gallery, in the Fondren districtin Jackson. And then at the end
of the year, December, I will behaving my first solo show, which
is very exciting for me a littlea little intimidating, I must
say in Tupelo at the GumtreeTupelo art museum. So I will be
(29:44):
posting some information onthat. And so if you're in the
Fondren area, please drop by andtalk to those folks. Or Take a
look at some of my pieces ontheir website. They had a few
pieces up and what they had like10 pieces I think that we had
two left. So I'm trying toresupply them as well as get a
(30:06):
collection together for theGimtree exhibit.
ready for this exhibit because Iknow I well in advance, I start
to go a little nuts.
It's intimidating. It's veryintimidating. And I don't really
(30:29):
know I do, I have, what I'vedone is I've started to put I've
got one painting set aside,that's a huge, they've just
rennovated that space. And soit's gorgeous. It's a huge
building, I asked how manypaintings I needed, they sent me
a floor plan. And I was like,oh, so I've got to go there with
(30:50):
you know, the knee surgery, Ihave to do a whole lot. So I'm
gonna drive over there, take alook. I know, it's gonna call
for big pieces. So I am going,I'm trying to transition the
last few pieces I've done 11 By14, um, I just placed an order
for some larger works. And Idon't really know, because I
(31:12):
struggled to find good frames. Ibought myself a miter saw. So I
did some framing myself. So I'mnot real sure, um, my plan is to
put away several paintings amonth. I know, I'm going to have
to be ready in November,probably to get them there and
(31:33):
hung for December. I knowthey're going to have to be big
pieces, which I have not beenpainting a lot of big pieces,
it's so easy to ship smallerpieces. So I don't really have a
plan. I mean, except for to makesure I don't get caught in a
bind. So I know that thatgetting these pieces ready will
(31:54):
impact my income for the year,because I won't be available for
sale until later. So that's astruggle, you know, that's a
balancing act there. So it's,it's going to be interesting.
And I'm going to be in touchwith them pretty soon to get
whatever tips they might have.
As well as, so I need to do thatas well as keep the gallery
(32:15):
supplied with some work. So it'slot of work to produce. That's a
lot, that's actually a lot ofpressure.
Derek Smith (32:26):
You've got a busy year ahead of you.
Vicki Wood (32:30):
Any tips you have would be appreciated. Or anybody
Derek Smith (32:33):
Yeah, please? Well, you know, we we run here at the
else?
little yellow building, we runshows, but I don't consider
myself a gallery. You know,we're very small space, a lot of
the things that we do arevirtual, the physical shows that
we have are in a separatefacility provided by the
Mississippi School for the Arts,or somebody else that wants to
(32:54):
work with us. But yeah, I startwith the idea of the show a year
in advance. And then, you know,slowly, but surely, I keep
circling back around to thatidea of filling in more gaps,
finding more artists, you know,just slowly building it. But
over time, that way, I kind ofmake sure that I have my thumb
(33:15):
not only on what the artists arecreating and how the show is
developing, but how I feel theworld at the time is going to
experience it. Because if wechange month to month on how our
public opinion sways one way oranother, and I want to make sure
that we're putting out thingsthat are relevant. So it is it's
a lot of pressure to providethings that are going to be
(33:38):
interesting for the time toprovide enough for space, enough
for interests. You know, there'sthere's so much that goes into
it. So yeah, anybody that hassuggestions, reach out to Vicki
or reach out to myself. I'lltake I'll take advice all day
long.
Vicki Wood (33:55):
Yeah, yeah. And I think it's such a large space,
that's why I'm going to thelarger format, which is much
more I find much more difficult.
In the larger format. For me,it's more difficult. I think the
largest brush I have right nowis probably a little bit bigger
than one inch. I just orderedsome that are, so my thought is
well, I guess I'll just use alarger brush. That's probably
too simple to make all thatwork. But it's like you get the
(34:17):
brush strokes in the things thatI like to cover a larger space,
I'm probably just gonna have togo to a much bigger brush. So
it's gonna be interesting. It'llbe fun. I'm excited to be
challenged by the larger format,which I'm not sure I would have
made that move. They'rehardship, they're hard to deal
with, they're harder you know,find space to put them. Your
(34:38):
supplies become exponentiallymore expensive. So I don't know
that I would have made the shiftwithout the invocation but we're
gonna give it a try.
Derek Smith (34:51):
So the the last question I want to ask you
before I let you go is whatwould be some advice or that you
would give to yourself orAnybody coming up behind you
Vicki Wood (35:02):
some practical advice, if you're interested in
color. That I recently learned,is to mix the paint, probably
everybody knows this, but me.
But I was mixing my paint as Iwent with my brush. Now I mixed
my paint with a palette knife.
(35:24):
Made a huge difference, I get awhole lot less mud. So it's made
a huge difference in my work.
That's kind of recent, um, andbe creative. Um, don't try to
paint like other people, youknow, extract what you want from
(35:46):
what you like. Um, maybe get offsocial media for a while so that
you don't have those constantinfluences. Um, and just stay
true to yourself, you want yourart to look like you, or I want
my art to look like me. I wantsomebody to walk into a room and
say, I recognize that as yourwork. So, you know, for better
(36:07):
or worse. I would rather havesomebody recognize a bad piece
of mine than to be painting likesomebody else. I don't attend a
lot of workshops in person,because I don't want to carry
that because it can be tooheavily influenced, influential
on me. Um, I mean, you can do,you can go to workshop, I'm not
(36:31):
saying don't go to them. Butknow what you're there for, you
know. Know that you don't wantto go home painting like those
people, you want to go home andtake what you've learned and
apply it to the way you want topaint. And so I think that if
you try to continue to becreative in your own work, then
you will automatically andnaturally kind of weed out the
(36:55):
influence of others and try toremain doing what you like to
do. That's kind of all I have, Iwant to say if you're an acrylic
painter, stick with it. Um, it'sa really, it's a really good,
medium. I'm not sure I would bethere. If I you know, if I
(37:17):
didn't have to be, I will saythat. But I'm glad I'm there.
You know, at this point, I'mglad I'm there. So oil paint,
oil just handles so differently.
So, you know, and I will say toyou take a minute to experiment.
Just take some time. You know,if you haven't used charcoal,
(37:38):
use charcoal for a minute. Um,if you haven't used paper, use
paper for a minute. I do findthat the surfaces that I paint
on make a big difference. So Ido chat I do I do a lot of my
favorite is actually just paper.
So I do change that a lot. I doa lot of changing.
Derek Smith (38:00):
You work on a special paper to you have I
know, I noticed that you hadnotes on it when you can go and
purchase your work that this ishow you need to treat this
paper. It's very light fast.
Keep it out of the keep. Keep itout away from sunlight.
Vicki Wood (38:15):
Yeah, well, probably all fine art needs to be kept
away from sunlight, even nomatter what it is, or be under
some UV protective glasses justwhen you're selling to such a
broad audience, like that'sglobal. Some people are not
going to know that. So I paint alot on Fabriano watercolor
paper. A heavy stock. And that'sactually my favorite. A lot of
(38:38):
times to what I will do is I'lltake the back before I paint on
it, before I start painting, Iwill take and it's a huge piece.
I will take the back of it aboutsome expensive, inexpensive
gesso it's kind of thin, andI'll paint the whole back of
that piece of paper and it givesme a surface. So I'm not going
(39:02):
to paint on that just onsurface. I'm going to turn over
and paint on the watercolorsurface, because it's so it'll
act, but it makes that a reallyreally really nice sheet of
paper to handle. It doesn'thandle then like paper, it
handles more like, I don't know,it handles a little bit more
(39:25):
like a canvas. It's a littledifferent. And also that keeps
me from having to stretch it. Idon't like to stretch paper. I'm
not gonna spend the time. Um, soI just put a light coat of gesso
thin Gesso on it. And when Iturn it over the surface is just
so beautiful. And it makes it soit doesn't ever rip or tear and
(39:47):
you can roll it easily and shipit. So it has a lot of good
qualities. And I also I prefer,oddly enough, I like a rough
texture but more more than arough texture. Sure, I like a
really smooth texture. So youknow all that comes into play on
what you like to do. Um, and youhave to be willing to go out and
(40:10):
experiment. Try it know if youlike it or not.
Derek Smith (40:14):
Well, Vicki, thank you so much for taking the time
and or giving us this time,filling it with information
about your life. wonderfulexamples of advice. It's always
so nice to hear from someonewho's so passionate about what
they're doing at the moment. Andit's obvious that you're
passionate about the physicalaspects of your work and how you
(40:36):
get involved with it. And Ireally, really appreciate you
sharing that with us today.
Vicki Wood (40:42):
You're sure I appreciate you. Thank you for
your time and thank you for whatyou're doing.
Derek Smith (40:47):
For everyone else, we will be back again with
another artist another history.
Join us back. You'll have agreat one.
Vicki Wood (40:58):
Thank you.
Derek Smith (41:01):
Special thanks to our members Jenny Howard, Buffie
Jordan, Jenny Moak, EvelynPeavy, The Evans Family, Janet
Smith, Beth Breeland, MaryHardy, Gwen Furey, Mary Adams,
Jennifer Drinkwater and theSmith family
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