Carmen Drake: 0:00

You are an artist. First, you're human, and you are not a machine. I think the biggest advice that I could give any artist is to not become a machine, because then you will hate being an artist. So don't get caught up in that, in that hamster wheel, and just really do what you love and find that emotional connection, because that will translate without you even trying. Your emotions will will translate to that canvas, and people will pick up on that. People will will see that.

Laura Arango Baier: 0:47

Welcome to the BoldBrush show, where we believe that fortune favors the bold brush. My name is Laura Arango Baier, and I'm your host. For those of you who are new to the podcast, we are a podcast that covers art, marketing techniques and all sorts of business tips specifically to help artists learn to better sell their work. We interview artists at all stages of their careers, as well as others creating careers to the art world in order to hear their advice and insights. We would also like to add a disclaimer that the microphone for this episode malfunctioned, and therefore the audio quality is not the usual quality that you can expect from our episodes, and we do apologize for that. Thank you for understanding for today's episode, we sat down with Carmen Drake, a deeply passionate and accomplished fine artist whose journey is marked by resilience, dedication and a profound emotional connection to her work. She emphasizes the importance of staying true to oneself and never becoming a machine, reminding artists to create from the heart, rather than for external demands. Carmen's advice to never stop learning and to continually seek out new knowledge and inspiration is a testament to her own lifelong commitment to growth. She encourages artists to build supportive relationships within the art community, knowing that shared experiences and encouragement are invaluable. Carmen also stresses the significance of valuing one's work and not underselling the years of training and effort that go into each piece her wisdom and authenticity serve as a guiding light for artists striving to find meaning, joy and success in their creative paths. Finally, Carmen tells us about her upcoming shows. Welcome Carmen to the BoldBrush show. How are you today? Good. I'm so excited to have you because I became aware of your work when I was still a student at the Atelier, and your work is absolutely breathtaking. I love your still lives, the atmosphere, your portraits, they're all just a delight to observe and to look at and to try to figure out how the heck you did that. So I'm very excited to have you and to be able to pick your brain about your technique and your gorgeous vision and all of these wonderful things. So thank

Carmen Drake: 2:51

you. Thank you.

Laura Arango Baier: 2:54

But of course, before we dive into all the fun stuff about your work, do you mind telling us a bit about who you are and what you

Carmen Drake: 3:00

do? Well, I am Carmen Drake. Is my artist name, and I'm a professional artist currently. And I, you know, I, as you, as you said, I paint still life, and I'm starting to kind of experiment or work towards doing more portraiture and hopefully figurative work down the road. This is kind of a new venture that I'm doing, but, um, yeah,

Laura Arango Baier: 3:41

and it's awesome, because I honestly, when I looked at your recent portraits, especially womans of children, I was flabbergasted. They are so precious. I wish you know, it's one of those things where, like, painting children is so difficult, and you really nailed it, which I think if you know, in the future, when I decide, hey, I want to paint, you know my niece, or you know a child, I would totally look at your work for reference, because you pulled it off

Carmen Drake: 4:11

you Well, I have great models. I have great models. I think that might make it a little bit easier.

Laura Arango Baier: 4:18

Yeah, that does make it a lot easier.

Unknown: 4:20

Children are prone to move around a lot. That's, yeah, yeah,

Carmen Drake: 4:25

grandson, I haven't quite got him to sit still.

Unknown: 4:31

I'm still working on that, so we'll see where that goes.

Laura Arango Baier: 4:35

But one day, one day. But then I also wanted to ask you, when did you begin to follow the path

Unknown: 4:44

of, well,

Carmen Drake: 4:47

I would say I was, you know, I'm born, I was born an artist. So, you know, I've for as long as I could remember, you know, being able to hold a pencil or a crayon or whatever. That. Writing instrument in my hand, I would consider, you know, that that was my beginning seriously. You know, I think when I was in high school, that was when there were thoughts that, you know, that's kind of what I wanted to be. I didn't know what else I could possibly be. I didn't know what kind of path that would take me to, or even where to begin how to make that happen at that time in my life. So, you know, it was off and on. You know, as life kind of throws you curveballs and so, yeah, so starting the actual path of being an artist when I was in my Well, I think I was probably about 19 or 20, I went to night school at that time. It was called pear School of Art, and it was the only school that I could find in Connecticut, that's where I was living at the time that offered any type of realism, and their focus was mostly illustration. So I started there at night, but at that time in my life, I had married really young, and I was working full time, so it was difficult, and I ended up not going past a year of doing night school, unfortunately. And then, you know, my life went on, and I had divorced my first husband and married my late husband, and I became a mother and a military wife, so art kind of was put on the side burner for a while. My focus was on the family, but I still fed that hunger by doing more decorative artwork I was painting on furniture for a little local boutique, and my late husband, at the time, was building some of the furniture. So it was kind of a joint effort. He was really supportive of my art desires. So, you know, I, I, I filled that void or that desire at that time doing that kind of stuff, the when my art really took a turn for the path that I'm on today was when, after my late husband had passed away, I I was eligible. I found out for a scholarship through the military, and that allowed me to go to non accredited school. So an atelier, and I was really fortunate that the that there was an atelier right in southern pines, and that was ran by Jeffrey Mims classical school of design. And so I was given a four year scholarship, and that was the beginning of my path of always wanting to be, you know, a realist artist or working in the master's manner. And so I started studying with Jeffrey for three years, and after about, I think I was probably about three, four months in, I became a student teacher with him. And at the end of three years, I was just beginning to do my first cast painting, so I spent a lot of time drawing and learning to see. But I realized that I only had one year left of my scholarship, and I knew I wanted to paint. I wanted to learn, you know, everything that I could about the figure and portraiture, and the school was starting to switch focus, and that was no longer their main focus anymore. So I decided to leave Jeffrey school, and I the scholarship allowed me to spend a month at GCA during the summer. They had a program at the time, and it was two weeks that was drawing the portrait morning, and then, or excuse me, sculpting the portrait in the morning, and then drawing that same model in the afternoon. And then the last two weeks of that month, we did a whole figure where we were sculpting the figure in the morning, and then we drew that figure in the afternoon, and it was incredible. And I met some fabulous artists. I got to experience a different Atelier mindset, and which really opened up my. Eyes as well to a different method and realize that there's not one method to get to that destination. And so after that, of course, my family, I had left them for a month, they didn't like that idea of me doing that again, so but I knew I still needed to continue my education, as we all know, to you know, to really reach success or reach your goal as being a fine artist. It is. It does take a long time. It's not something that you go to school for, you know, a short time and, oh, you know, I, I can be a great artist. So at that time, my my husband, suggested that we would renovate our barn and turn that into a place where I could bring the artists to me to be able to continue my education. And the very first artist that I hosted was Colleen Barry and her husband, will st John, and it was the most wonderful experience they would stay here on the farm with me. And so then in the evenings, we got to just hang out. And, you know, got to know them. You know, I'm more of a friendship basis and talk art and, you know, just just really absorb it all in. And so that continued for I'm trying to remember now, I think it was about three or four years that I did that and I hosted artists like Rob Liberace, Mark delessio, Katie Whipple, Kate stone and David Gluck, oh, gosh, and i COLLEEN came several times. Michael Klein, I had just fabulous artists. And they were all artists that I admired and I wanted to learn a certain you know, certain, something that I found that I would maybe was not up to par In my own technique, and I wanted to better that. So where I was struggling, I looked for artists that could help me solve those problems that I was having. So, so I did that, and then I also was able to work with Paul Brown. He had moved to the States. He had been living in England for the majority, for a good part of his art career, and he was a very established still life artist, and sold his work through Oh Jeepers. Now, like the name of the gallery escapes me, but anyways, I admired his work as well. So I was also he had offered to share a studio or a little space next to his studio, and so I was able to work there and watch him paint, and that's where I really learned how to paint and see color. Was through Paul, he's incredible with color and and his technique. So all of those artists that I had at that time made my path, you know, to where I am today. They all were my mentors and and they all taught differently too. Even though they were all from the same school of thought, there were little nuances that really helped me, because I think we all learn differently. You know, we're we are not all made to maybe understand things or apply things all in the same way. So learning all these different methods or hearing it different ways. Maybe that's a better way to describe it, but hearing it being told a different way or something, made it easier for me to perhaps understand something that another artist may have said this exact same thing to me, but I didn't quite understand it while someone else explaining it all of a sudden, you know, light bulbs clicked, but um, so after doing this, you know, when I think about as long as that I studied, you know, it probably was 810, years of really, truly, just studying, being a student, and, you know, being in a student. Video environment every day and working, and that was my priority and my goal that eventually got me to where I am here today, and that was with the help of all of those mentors that and relationships that I built over those years. So does that answer that question?

Unknown: 15:20

Yeah, yeah. That's

Laura Arango Baier: 15:21

definitely, that's awesome though, because you got so much, you know, one on one time with such great artists, yeah? And I think that can really, you know, like, yeah, it's really great to go to an athlete, it's great to go to a school, but that one on one time is so invaluable for the reasons you mentioned. You know, you know, you get to ask questions. You get to, you know, be more direct, and, oh, I'm having this problem. How do you solve it? And then they can also demo, which I think is also very important. It's just watching the person do it and explain their process in depth. You can't get that from a workshop unless it's like a really small workshop, but that's awesome. And then how would you say, since you studied with so many different artists, how would you say that they influence your process and how your process has evolved? Do you find that you've branched out a lot more, or how, how has each artist influenced you? Oh,

Carmen Drake: 16:22

um, hmm. That's kind of a hard question, because, you know, you try your your goal is, is to not, or my goal was, anyways, I didn't want to necessarily copy the people that I was being trained by. I didn't want to become, you know, I didn't want my work to look exactly like Colleen Barry's, or I didn't want my work to look exactly like Michael Klein's or Katie whipples, even though their work is absolutely fabulous. I mean, there's, that's a, you know, a reason why I wanted them to be my mentors. I wanted to be myself as well. So the way that they influenced me, I guess it's just that is such a hard question. I don't know why that's such a hard question for me. Um, me. I guess it would be just, you know, realizing that we are all reaching for the same things, to find beauty, to create, recreate that beauty, to share that beauty. And to be in that same club is reassuring, and yeah, and that it's and that it also, I guess, I guess some of the other influences, I could say is that, you know, that there was a mindset that I thought when I looked at these, you know, mentors that to this day, I still look up to so much, you know, I always, I was of the mindset that I thought, Well, you know, one day I'm going to reach that point where it's going to be so easy, like, you know Michael Klein, or, you know, Paul Brown or Katie Whipple, where I'm going to go into the studio and I'm just going to paint these beautiful paintings, and it's just going to come so easy to me. But when you actually sit and you talk with them, and you realize that they have days with, you know, it doesn't quite go well, and, you know, they have paintings that they put off to the side, and they struggle. And so that was also something that was really reassuring, that okay, I am not a failure, or I'm not not being an artist, because I am not producing a perfect painting every time my brush touches that Canvas that they're, you know, I'm human, just like, you know, and, and They're human and, and that was also, you know, reassuring. And, yeah,

Laura Arango Baier: 19:30

yeah, no, I totally agree. I think that's, you know, it's one of those things, especially when we're just starting out, where we have these artists we admire, and we think, Oh, they just wake up and they whip out a paintbrush and they just magically produce this amazing thing on the canvas. And then they go to bed and they have sweet dreams every night. You're

Carmen Drake: 19:55

waking up at two in the morning going, Oh, that's what I need to do.

Laura Arango Baier: 19:59

I need to do. Yes, oh my gosh, yes, exactly. There's always that, I don't know if, I mean, that happens to me too, where I wake up at like, four or five in the morning. Like, the solution, which is so funny that it's, you know, seems like a common thing that we all face, but it is really important to really have that, I guess, to temper those expectations in that way, you know, like, yeah, you'll get better over time, and you'll be able to build a good repertoire of technique that you can fall back on, you know, if you meet you know something down the road. Oh, man, I've never painted this one thing before. How do I do it? You have all the skill to fall back on, right? Yes, but that doesn't change that you will inevitably run into really challenging things that will bring you down, and you might give up on a painting, and you'll put it away and then cry a little. You know, that's how it works, but it's one of those things, but it is very important, like you said, to have realized that as quick as possible, because you're going to have to go through it again and again. It's part of that process of creation. It's it's supposed to challenge you. If you're not challenged, I'd get a little worried, you know, yeah,

Carmen Drake: 21:16

yeah, yes, yes, yeah. And even, because some of my non artist friends, you know, they'll see a painting or something that I have laying in the corner, they're like, oh. And I remember one time when I was cleaning out my studio and I had work in a pile with garbage, and my husband comes by. He goes, What are you doing? Why are you throwing this away? I'm like, oh, no, it's done. It's over. Put it in the burn pile, because we live in a farm, so anything that we kind of, you know, don't want or something, will either burn it or take it to the dump. And he's like, No, I'm taking this and I'm going to put my name on

Unknown: 22:01

it, sell it. Like, no, no,

Carmen Drake: 22:04

um, so, oh, my goodness. Now I'm trying to think where, where I was going with this thought, um,

Laura Arango Baier: 22:11

oh, we were just talking about, you know, like, the the rejects, right, that it's normal to have, like, rejected work, and that it's totally

Carmen Drake: 22:17

fine, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, it's, yeah, it's, it's totally normal. And yeah, we

Laura Arango Baier: 22:31

also really wanted to ask you, because your still lives are so breathtaking, did you have like, was it in part because of you know your teachers, or was it also your own desire to you know, or like this attraction that you had to still life was what? What drew you to still life initially, and then now, what draws you to portraiture? Okay?

Carmen Drake: 22:57

Um, well, I think, and I'm not well, I've always enjoyed still life. And probably a real big reason why it's such a big body of my work is because that's kind of what was the basis of how I started my art career. Because Paul Brown was painting. The majority of his work with the gallery is still life. You know, he's a fabulous portraiture and figurative artist, but the bread and butter for him is his beautiful still lifes. But there's also, there's something about and I hope that translates with my still lifes. I mean, I love I love gardening. I'm also an avid gardener, and I love to be outdoors. And I used to own an antique shop, so I love old things, and so there's this emotional connection I have when I'm in my garden. And so when I have those emotional connections, or even when I have an emotional connection, like in the past, I talked about, I have a painting of an umbrella that I did, and I remember being in the antique shop and noticing this very tattered old umbrella kind of casted away in a corner. And it was, it was pretty beat up with with time the fabric had started to, you know, just kind of crumble away. But there was this beautiful tassel that somebody had at one point put on the handle of it, and that was in pretty, pretty good condition. And I remember picking that up and thinking, okay. Hague, you know this, this at one time, was somebody's umbrella, many, many, many years ago, a very personal item, and how it got to be in a dusty old corner of an antique shop. And, you know, I just, I, I begin to kind of think about the life, the lives that were connected to that umbrella, you know. And once that said, you know, how many, you know, rainstorms did it protect somebody from? Or how many stolen romantic kisses were, you know, underneath that umbrella? So when I have those connections, I want to translate that onto a canvas. And hopefully my goal is that those feelings that I had come come to be with, you know, somebody that sees it when it's finished, you know, and not necessarily, you know, maybe what I was thinking, but that's kind of like the challenge that I have with still life, these very, you know, everyday items, things that people don't really pay attention to. I like the challenge of making it something where people look at it and then do question or get an emotional connection to it, where you know otherwise maybe someone wouldn't even think. Why would you paint that ugly door ripped umbrella and it kind of reminds me Paul Cezanne. I think it was, I think he was the one who had said, you know, that a work of art doesn't doesn't begin without emotion, or if it doesn't begin without emotion, it's not art. And so I I hope, and those that's where I feel the strongest emotions, is in my garden, with with nature, you know, little, especially like wildflowers. I started painting roses recently because I found some old fashioned varieties that kind of survive here. But otherwise I, you know, I fall in love with the dandelions that pop up and or just weeds, basic weeds that pop up, and I have this affinity for it, and hope to bring show their beauty to something that is pretty, you know, not probably appreciated most people are kind of overlooked by most people and and I guess that kind of is starting to translate with my children paintings, because the children that I'm painting, they are, you know, their family members, my great niece, who is the one that's in most of my work. She has this spirit about her and this personality that just it, just it just comes out on her. And I think that makes my job somewhat easy when I am translating that, because she admits that so strongly she's wants to be an artist and draws all the time. And of course, that just, you know, fills my heart with so much joy. So I love to have her in my studio, and she's always intrigued by everything that's going on in here. And she, you know, I never had to pose her. I would just let her sit on my model, stand behind me, and we would play dress up, because I collect, I've collected children's clothes for a long time. And so, you know, now that I'm starting to kind of venture into this side, I'm so excited to see what fits and dress them up and put them in it, into the old clothing. And so, you know, I get her into those little outfits, and she gets up on that model stand, and it just is so natural for her, and it's it, it's just a joy. And so, again, my emotions are so connected to this child, and the same with my granddaughter. There's a couple of pictures that I've done of my granddaughter, again, another family member, that shows artistic talent, and she's got this fabulous personality. And then. There's another little girl that I just started working with, and her mom and husband are extremely talented. Her mom's a potter, and her husband can do just about anything creative. And this little girl same thing she when she first sat on my model stand. The first thing she did was the typical thing, because, you know, her mom would be taking pictures of her, and, you know, smile, you know, smile. So she instantly got on my model stand. And so I was like, okay, Hazel, we want to, we want to, let's, let's try to be, you know, think about something dramatic or and she, she knew what we were talking about, and all of a sudden she starts looking around my studio, and I have some portraits that Colleen had painted that I own, and will St John and a couple of other artists portraiture. And of course, no one is sitting in those portraits with big smiles, and she's looking and she's looking, and all of a sudden, with like a little light bulb came on, and I think she was probably about four, and all of a sudden she got into little actress mode, and I got some of the best stuff from her. And it's just these little personalities, these these children that I'm working with right now that I'm so fortunate they are, I think artists themselves deep down. So it makes again, it makes my, my my time, easier to work with them and and all those emotions that we are having back and forth, I guess just translates to, or, you know, translates to the to the campus.

Laura Arango Baier: 31:46

Yeah, definitely. I think again, I love those portraits that you made, because there's just this and, you know, I think it's what you said. There's this emotional response that I'm having about your emotional response to having, you know, experience being with, with these children, and even with your other paintings, right? Like how you mentioned, even the dandelions draw you in. And I think there's, you know, there's obviously this common thread of, like, the, you know, the Evanescence of these things, right? Like the dandelions are there one day they're gone the next or there's this, you know, part of living in the moment that really happens, specifically, you know, with flowers, with any perishables, really, and children, of course, because children grow up so fast, right? So there's this wonderful sort of, you have to be in the moment, and you have to, you know, experience it. You have to smell the roses, as they say, and it's not even have to. You're drawn to that, right? And it definitely shows in the work, which is delicious, delicious, yeah? And then I also wanted to ask you, because you had, you know, a lot of in your past, you know, having, you know, studying and then also raising children. What advice would you give to someone who wants to be an artist and is also a stay at home parent or stay at home mom?

Carmen Drake: 33:16

Yeah, it's difficult, and I know that there are some young moms right now in the in the field that I'm just amazed at, because I didn't again, you know, like I had talked about earlier, I was just doing some hand painted furniture and stuff when my children were really little. So there wasn't a lot of, not that it wasn't difficult, but it wasn't emotionally draining. I don't know about you, but when I paint it, sometimes can be really, you know, kind of emotionally draining, because you are, you know you are emotionally connected to your work, so it's, I guess. What I could say is that you've, you've got to try and make time and think of it as, you know, it's for your own well being. Perhaps I should say, because, as artists, if you have that desire, you will, you will make, you will make the time to do it, to not give up. I had to wait a little bit longer, because I, for me, I couldn't do it with my children were real little, and so I had to think of other ways to express my artistic desires. But once they got to be a little bit older, where I had a. More time for during their school, when they were away at school, I always took that over a priority. And sometimes, you know, the housework doesn't get done because we can't be super I couldn't be a super mom. You know, I couldn't have my house being totally neat and tidy, and, you know, my gardens just right. And also, you know, have the meals already. And, you know, run my kids everywhere. And so some things I had to let go, and it's okay, and and take that time to study. And, you know, don't give up feed, feed that feed that desire. And if, even if, you have to wait a little bit longer, but just just never, don't give up on it, and you just just keep trying. Yeah,

Laura Arango Baier: 36:02

yeah, yeah. I can imagine the, like you said, you know, having all these things to do that are the normal daily tasks, you know, the cooking and the cleaning and the tidying up and all these things. It's natural for those, you know, one of those to slip. You can't, can't carry everything at once. So it's good to, you know, show yourself some grace, like you said, when that's happening. And then I was also curious to know, because I find that it happens with some of my guests who are artists, who maybe, you know, ended up becoming artists, and then suddenly they say, Ah, I'm actually a full time artist technically. What was that like for you? What was the moment where you realized, oh my gosh, I'm a full time artist now, like, I'm, you know, selling work, and I'm painting, and I'm doing the thing that I always wanted to do.

Carmen Drake: 36:58

That's another whole topic. Yeah. You know, I think when that, when that finally sunk in, was so everybody that's in school right now treasure those times, because once you become a professional artist, there's not much time left for continuing education. I guess you can say, if you've got several galleries that are expecting you to have work for, you know, holiday shows, or you are on a schedule for solo shows. You know you, you have the demands of the gallery, where they expect you to have work delivered. I mean, it's a it's a business for them, and they, they expect you to do your part to be successful as an artist, and for them to be successful. And so once you get into that mode, you no longer have the the privilege of having a lot of time to, you know, to can maybe experiment as much as you would like. So those, sometimes I, sometimes they're like, oh, you know, did I? Did I get into the gallery world a little bit too soon, because there's still so much more that I want to learn, and sometimes I noticed with my own work. Like I said before, I truly believe that work begins. You know, your art begins with an emotion. And when you you know, say, for instance, you know you've the holiday times, I find it the most happens to me. You know, I have a couple of galleries that would like to have certain amount of work for those for that time period, and I am a slower painter, and I like to do. I was of the school of thought that no photography. I was a painter from life, strictly, that has changed a bit with me, and I try to now I've gone back to where my still life is strictly from life. I tried to do it from photograph, a very short period of. My art career because I wasn't able to paint fast enough to fill the demand of the galleries for a certain time period, especially for, let's say, a demand for Rose roses. I, you know, the gallery really would like some more rose paintings, and it wasn't the time of year for the type of roses that I paint. And I was like, Okay, well, what am I going to do? And, you know, I need, I need to get these several paintings done. So I thought, I'll take some photographs, and I can then paint them when they are needed for these shows. And I was not emotionally connected to those photographs whatsoever. And me personally felt like I felt that those paintings, to me anyways, didn't have the feeling that those other paintings that I have done, where I did it from life, because it's I get a emotional connection from those items. When I'm painting from life, I'm there with them. And it's not this kind of, you know, piece of paper with a photo, you know, on it that I'm trying to create something from. So you know, that's when I real. I guess that back to the question. That's when I realized that I was actually, Oh, wow. I am a real artist now because and I'm no longer able to play in my studio. Walk into the studio and do whatever I want because, oh, I'm emotionally feeling like I want to do this today. When you when it becomes work and a career, you don't have that much freedom anymore. For me. Anyways, I speak for myself. So, yeah, did that answer that question.

Laura Arango Baier: 42:03

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Carmen Drake: 45:46

miserable. It's definitely a catch, definitely a catch 22 when it comes up. But, um, yeah, so it's, it's it, you know, that's, it's trying to find a middle ground there. And, I mean, I've seen artists where they'll take a break and, you know, and you're like, Well, where did they go? Hope they're okay, but then they come back with, you know, a whole new, you know, body of work that's incredible because they they were allowed to take that little bit of break. I'm fortunate. I have two of my galleries are great. And the first gallery I started off with was Colin's gallery. And Allison is just phenomenal. She's been so good to me, and I think she's she understands sometimes when I'm just like, ah, you know, I can't do that. You just have to wait a little bit longer to meet some of those demands. So she's been she's been great. She's been really good. So that's really important that you do find that gallery that understands that you are an artist first, you're human and you are not a machine. I think the biggest advice that I could give any artist is to not become a machine, because then you will hate being an artist when all of a sudden you're just you get the feeling that you're just pumping out work to you know, fill that, fill the need, and your work will eventually suffer from that. I mean, people will eventually see it and you will hate it, and so don't get caught up in that, in that hamster wheel of of that. Just always remember that to put your best out there, and not, yeah, not, not turn into a machine.

Laura Arango Baier: 47:49

Totally, totally, and that's, again, you know, it's one of those risks, and that's why, like you said, it's, it's important to work with galleries who understand you, who see you as an artist, see you as a person, and not just like you said, a machine, very important. And then I also wanted to know because, of course, I came to know your name when I was studying. And your name is, you know, I know Carter flowers, immediately, beautiful flowers, beautiful spell life. How, in what ways actually did you expand your reach? Has it been through mostly social media, or, you know, through your galleries, or has it been through painting societies? Have you spread your name out there?

Carmen Drake: 48:37

So, as you can tell, I'm old, so I probably wasn't very good at that beginning. So I would say two ways. One was connections and Michael Klein, since we be, we became good friends when they were when he moved to North Carolina and was in Raleigh. So I got to know that whole crew, Joshua, LaRock, Michael Klein and Louis Carr, great, great guys, and they became really good friends. And so with that connection, I think that helped me get into Collins gallery. And then how I got into principal gallery was I entered contests. And one of the contests that I entered, and if I'm remembering correctly, it was through American women artists. If I'm remembering that correctly, I'm hoping that I remember that correctly. It's either that or it was oil painters of America. It's been a while, but I would I entered contest in this one particular car. Contest had me where the Grand Prize was given a solo show with principal gallery. So it was kind of it wasn't termed a solo show, but it was basically a solo show because I was the only artist that was represented. But it was more like, um, what's the lack of a better word, kind of like a coming out, you know, an introduction. So that was an incredible opportunity. I mean, incredible opportunity. So and unfortunately, though, same time, Collins gallery had offered me a solo show, so I did, and I don't recommend this either, two back to back solo shows.

Unknown: 50:55

Oh my gosh, stress.

Carmen Drake: 51:00

And I was painting from life, and I was like, Oh my gosh, how am I going to get, you know, 15 to 20 paintings for two so shows back to back. It was, it was, it was the most stressful thing I ever did to myself. And I was never will do that again, but anyways, but it was also a blessing. So I would say, definitely look into some really credible contests that gets your name out there. And, you know, galleries, look at those, believe it or not. I mean, Arcadia looks at and watches the contest, big name contests you know, to see who's grabbing the grand prizes and looks at work like that. And so. So, yeah, I would definitely recommend contests and and again, it's developing a rapport with artists you know that you really admire and being connected in the art community. So,

Laura Arango Baier: 52:12

awesome, awesome, yeah, yeah, definitely. And it's interesting because, like, yeah, there's a lot of social media, right? There's a lot of stuff on social media, but I do find that majority of the time, when I've interviewed artists, or that I've noted from other artists who work with really great galleries, or have come across, you know, being able to work with galleries, it's thanks to, you know, those contests or participating in painting societies or like the like, any annual event that happens, like the plein air. Don't even remember what it's called right now, but yeah. But like, are, like, the oil painters of America, because there's so many societies and so many wonderful organizations to work with, and they provide so many opportunities, especially if you're looking out for them, they're right there. So, yeah, totally. And you can learn.

Carmen Drake: 53:09

You can learn so from them, you know, because then you get to know other artists on a one to one basis in this, you know, I love the American Women's, you know, American artist Association, you know, it's a great group of women, and they, you know, are constantly promoting women's art. So there's, there's some really good, real good ones out there. And right now, you know, we have, of course, the portrait society. They're really well known. New Salem Museum. They are now running a contest yearly. They did their first one this past year. And, you know, you get to be, you know, your work up, you know, with really established artists, which is a great opportunity. And and there's also another organization, it's called almonarra, which is out of Spain. They are kind of a really big up and coming competition, art competition, it's and this year, actually, I'm a juror on that competition, so I'm getting to go to Spain in November. So, so that's really, really fun. So

Laura Arango Baier: 54:37

awesome, yeah, yeah. And those are all really great. So anyone listening jot those down. I was jotting some down, taking notes. Yeah, and then what is something that you wish you knew when you first started out in your journey of being an artist?

Unknown: 54:59

Um. Oh,

Carmen Drake: 55:02

you know, we always, we always go back and say, Oh, if I only knew, if I only knew. I think, I think one of the biggest things was for me, I wish I knew. You know, where the good training was, when, when I was growing, you know, I'm a lot older, so back in, back when I was in my late teens and 20s, where normally, you know, a person would start their, you know, serious art training, it was still modernism was pretty prevalent, and I didn't know about Florence Academy at that time. So I would say, you know, I I wish I was able to know about those type of schools. So because then I probably would have started a lot sooner than where I had started, my goals would have been probably different. So I would give any young person starting out to really look and, you know, investigate for what your end goal is and find that perfect school. Don't just settle with one, really, you know, do your research and look to see what artists have come out of that school. Look to see what the work looks like, and also see, you know, visit those ateliers and and there's some, there's some incredible choices now in the United States. I mean, some really incredible as matter of fact, the school in Connecticut, I'm drawing a blank right now. Line, yes, thank you. The Lyme Academy, they just became an accredited school, so that's awesome. That means student loans would be able to cover those tuitions, which is really great, because I think that's also been a problem with a lot of young artists that want to go, you know, the to study the the Atelier system, it's expensive, and there's not loans that make that possible for a lot of people. So, you know, we've got some really great schools now stateside that, you know, I wish that's why I want to I want to quit being an artist right now and I just want to go to school. Want to go to Lyme I want to just be a student for the rest of my life now.

Laura Arango Baier: 57:59

Yeah, yeah. I totally relate.

Carmen Drake: 58:01

Yeah, I never want to stop learning. Which is another, yeah. Never, ever stop learning, you know. Never think you know, yeah. Try all kinds of things, yeah,

Laura Arango Baier: 58:15

yeah, yeah. I mean, that is, you know, one of those key things that basically everyone I've interviewed as mentioned, which is you, it's you never stop learning painting and learning paint and all of its forms, whether it's, you know, pastels, or whether it's drawing, whether it's oils, it's the gift that keeps on giving. So I like to say, because you think you got something, and then suddenly, you know, it's, it's almost like a jigsaw puzzle, but the puzzles, the puzzle pieces, are always changing, and you just have to, you kind of figure it out a one, and then maybe you don't the next one, and that's okay, but you just always continuously, continuously learn, that's why I said also earlier, if you're if you're satisfied, if you're plateauing, if you realize, oh, I actually didn't do so bad, you might look at the painting the Next day, and you might be a little sad. I feel like that's happened to me so many times where, like, I go to sleep. I'm like, Yeah, I totally knock it out of the park. And then the next time, like, Oh no, I did not knock it out of the park. Yeah,

Carmen Drake: 59:11

yeah. My husband always asked me when I come up, when I because our, My studio is right on our on our farm, and I'll come up, and he'll go so you know, what do you think? You know? Do you have a good day in the studio? And I always tell them, it's like, I won't know till tomorrow morning, when I walk in, won't know. So I've gotten to the point it's like, yeah, I by the end of the day, I'm just like, hey, that's the best I could do for today. Tomorrow morning, I'll see if I messed up or not.

Laura Arango Baier: 59:41

Yeah, life of the artist, life of the artist. But you know, it never, it's never boring. That's the other part. It's really funny, because it sounds kind of miserable to be like that, like on the outside, but on the inside, it's like, no, I just stopped painting because I'm tired and I have to otherwise going and.

Carmen Drake: 1:00:00

Going, yeah and going, I yeah, I can't imagine myself not being an artist. I would think my life would be so boring. You know, I at this. I don't want to hurt any of my friends, feelings, or anything like that. But I just like, sometimes I wonder. I'm like, What did normal

Unknown: 1:00:25

people do? Because

Carmen Drake: 1:00:30

my brain, everything, everything I look at and everything around me, I'm, you know, I'm constantly taking it in. Or I'll be like, Oh my gosh, look at that. Look. Isn't that the most beautiful this or that, or look at the color, or, you know, like, Oh, it's just or I could, oh, my goodness, if I did this with that. Or if I, oh, I could probably bring that in the house, that would look so good with this, you know. Or I'm always creating, and I can't imagine, like that not being a part of my life. I just, oh, I don't know. I just would think my life would be so mundane. I don't know what I do with myself.

Laura Arango Baier: 1:01:14

I totally relate. I totally relate, because there's nothing like you know, you walk, I don't know, into the woods or something with someone who isn't an artist, and then suddenly you're pointing out, like, look at the moss on that rock. Look at the sun hitting that leaf. Look at the beautiful reflection of the golden light on the leaves on the top. And then the underside is nice and cool. And then suddenly, you know, the person next to is like, are you okay? I

Unknown: 1:01:42

mean, sometimes you would be like, very happy, yeah, yeah.

Carmen Drake: 1:01:45

Stop, stop. I just have to take this all in, you know, just like, look around like, oh, oh, you know, it's the smells, it's like, it's just everything is everything. Yeah, I can't imagine a life like that. I was, I think I may have put this on my Instagram. I'm not sure. About a year ago I was diagnosed with early onset macular degeneration. And for those that don't know what that is, it's basically, eventually you you lose your center vision, so you will just have peripheral, which basically means, me as an artist, would end So Chris, the first thing that goes through your mind is, is that life and who will How can I exist? Because, like we just talked about, it's my brain doesn't even know how to operate outside the realm of that. I mean, I I live and breathe by seeing beauty and thinking how I can translate that, or how can I, you know, represent that on a canvas, and it also feeds my soul, even when I'm not painting, being one with nature just feeds my soul and seeing that, yeah, it's just but, but I'm hopeful. I'm hopeful, and I'm keeping it going, and I There's a great book that was written by an artist that had macular degeneration and actually was blind in one eye, but he conquered it through diet and lifestyle changes. So that's my journey right now, as well working on that to try and keep all that at bay. But um, but it also it, you know, it, it's funny how it also brings a lot of other things in perspective on what's important, and definitely, you know, definitely looking at it in a different way.

Laura Arango Baier: 1:04:12

And, yeah, yeah, it makes, you know, makes it even more

Unknown: 1:04:16

precious. Yeah, because it's

Laura Arango Baier: 1:04:19

Yeah, because I also think about that sometimes, and it's such a difficult, you know, reality that could happen to anyone is losing your vision. I mean any false move, whether it's, you know, through natural means or Wrong place, wrong time. I also sometimes wonder, like, what if I didn't have hands, you know, like I'm so grateful that I am, you know, able bodied, and that I can do the things that I do and enjoy the things that I do. And it makes it so precious when you realize, oh, this is actually extremely important. So I I'm sending you so much love and healing. Um, and that, I hope that you're, you know, you can either reverse it or, you know, stave it off for as long as possible, because we need more painters like you who make beautiful work that just it's so inspiring. I look at your work and I and my hands get itchy to go paint. You know, not feeling

Unknown: 1:05:20

so much. And then, yeah, I

Laura Arango Baier: 1:05:27

bet you're gonna say something so sorry. And then I also wanted to ask you if you have any final advice for someone who wants to become a full time artist

Carmen Drake: 1:05:39

run. No, oh, my goodness. Again. You know, went on a tangent there a little bit ago. I think it is this, really be true to yourself, don't become a machine. And I know that can be very hard. I am fortunate I don't have to feed myself with my artwork. So I can easily say that, and I know that'll be a lot harder for someone who actually has to make a living with it. But you know, always remember to be true to yourself. Be true to your art. Don't give up. Reach out to other artists to help you through those difficult times, because they are the ones who truly know you know what, what the struggles are and what they're like. Never stop learning, never stop studying, and just really do what you love and find that emotional connection, because that will translate without you even trying. Um, your emotions will will translate to that canvas, and people will pick up on that. People will will see that

Laura Arango Baier: 1:07:07

absolutely, yes, all great tips. Totally. I do love the Don't be a machine. Also, because it's so easy, so easy to fall into that trap, and then it's a slipper. So and then recovering from that is also, really can be challenging,

Carmen Drake: 1:07:24

and it's hard society right now. You know, I think that, you know, it's part of just the way society has begun. You know, you as we know in the past, art it was, it was nothing for, you know, society to accept that it takes a long time for an artist to create a piece of work. You know, we see how long it took to build beautiful buildings and all the artwork that went into that took years and years and years. And now, for some reason, people think that art can be done, you know, oh, you should get a painting done in a day or two or a week at the most.

Laura Arango Baier: 1:08:06

So, yeah, I think in part I do, in my opinion, I do blame a little bit of the more modern, contemporary philosophy for that, because the, you know, when we did have that switch from realism and, you know, the camera being invented, and then Impressionism, and then over into, you know, the more contemporary, modern stuff. So much of the understanding of the process of creating a painting was totally forgotten or lost or just set aside. Because, you know, after the war, both wars, everything was so different. And I blamed the whole idea of like, Oh, you gotta do it fast. In in part, because of that, there's that erroneous perspective of, oh, you have, you have to do it in two hours. No, I could try, but it wouldn't be as nice as if I did it in 678, 1012, hours, right? Of course, there's the law of diminishing returns, where there is a point where you gotta stop,

Unknown: 1:09:11

yeah, but usually,

Laura Arango Baier: 1:09:13

usually, you know, a couple hours isn't necessarily enough, depending, I guess, on the type of paintings you do. But just that's my own little side opinion on the night. Because I have also come across, you know, people who have told me to see another one. It's like this, no, no. And even if I did, there's also that this other erroneous perspective people have where, oh, you did a playlist, they're more, therefore I should pay you less. No, you you would pay someone more if they can do it at a better speed, because they've built up so much technique and so much experience that they can pull it off that fast, that takes many years. Yeah, so it's my other two cents.

Unknown: 1:09:59

Yeah. Yeah,

Carmen Drake: 1:10:02

yeah. I guess there's also something else that kind of sticks with me. I had an art teacher, and he told me, he said, Never give your artwork away for cheap, never, never cheapen yourself by giving your selling your work cheap, give it as a gift otherwise. And that kind of always stuck with me as well, to not, yeah, to not, not to sell yourself short either, you know, make sure that you are getting paid for your time and your education, because it does take a long time to work and get this type of education to reach. You know, this type of method that we work in? So

Laura Arango Baier: 1:10:54

exactly very well. Said, Yes. And then, do you have any upcoming shows that you would like to promote.

Carmen Drake: 1:11:04

Well, you know, it's always the holiday shows. So I'm kind of getting a lot of small paintings done right now for those holiday shows that I'm always in, which which is with Collins gallery and principal gallery up in their Alexandria Gallery, and then, oh, I have a museum show in Virginia at the sporting Virginia. It's, can't remember the name of it right now, but that's through the American women artists Association. They have a goal of doing 25 museum shows in 25 years, and so this, this one is coming up. It's next month, in Jeepers. You'll see this is what happens when you get old. Can't remember the name in Virginia, but if you go on their website, it shows where the where the where the gallery is. So yeah, those are pretty much what I'm working on right now.

Laura Arango Baier: 1:12:14

Yeah, that's exciting. And then where can people see more of your work?

Carmen Drake: 1:12:20

Well, my Instagram is probably the best place, which is Carmen Drake fine art. Is my what do they call that

Laura Arango Baier: 1:12:29

handle?

Carmen Drake: 1:12:30

My handle, okay. And then I do have a web page, but I don't keep up with that very much. And it's the same thing Carmen Drake fine art. And then, yeah, so that's really the the best places to see what's what's happening, what's going on.

Laura Arango Baier: 1:12:47

Awesome, perfect. And I will include all of your links in the show notes as well for easy access for our listeners and and yet, this was such a pleasure to be able to pick your brain. You're so funny, and you're so great, and I'm so happy we did this.

Unknown: 1:13:05

Or was it too much of an airhead? I thought this was going to be so easy.

Carmen Drake: 1:13:13

Just go blank, and then I forget my train of thought

Laura Arango Baier: 1:13:19

part of the journey. It's all part of the journey.

Carmen Drake: 1:13:23

Awesome. Well, thank you so much. All right. Well, it was great. I had a lot of fun. Thank you for Team liberty for this, though,

Unknown: 1:13:32

of course.