Romona Youngquist: 0:00

If that's what you really love to do, if this is what you want to do, you just make it. You just do it. You just force yourself. And you just get in a place where, and like I said, have a lot of paintings before you actually make the jump and solid, good paintings. And just if that's what you want to do, you just make it work.

Laura Arango Baier: 0:24

Welcome to the BoldBrush show, where we believe that fortune favors a bold brush. My name is Laura 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 who are in careers tied to the art world. In order to hear their advice and insights. For our first episode of the year, we sat down with Ramona Youngquist, an artist who describes herself as a lifelong Country Girl and homebody whose deepest desire has always been to paint the rural surroundings she loves, often within a 20 mile radius of her home. She recalls recognizing her calling as an artist as early as age four or five, and later feeling that oil paint was her true medium. After experimenting with watercolor and acrylics in college, she also tells us about how throughout her life she held a series of unconventional jobs, but always returned to nostalgic rural landscapes, eventually realizing she could not keep a normal job and had to make art her livelihood. Ramona explains that her paintings are driven by intuition, memory and emotion, rather than strict realism. She chases a very specific feeling in the light and design of a scene mixing plein air, sketches, photos and childhood memories of Oklahoma's skies and trees. She also talks about the tension between nostalgia and change, seeing herself partly as a visual historian preserving vanishing farmsteads, gardens and rural spaces, and notes how her work has evolved towards more layering and a desire for greater simplification and abstraction. Ramana offers advice to aspiring artists. She stresses building a large, solid body of work, considering financial stability and accepting a painting is an ongoing, often difficult process, where doubt never fully disappears, but commitment to one's vision is essential. Finally, Ramona tells us about her upcoming shows. Welcome Ramona to the BoldBrush show. How are you today?

Romona Youngquist: 2:21

Good. How about you?

Laura Arango Baier: 2:24

I'm doing great. I am so excited to talk to you, because you and I could literally talk for hours and hours and hours. And of course, I have invited you because your work is so beautiful, it is so nostalgic. It really pulls you into that, if anyone has you know, grown up at a farm or grown up in a rural area, you can really feel like you're sitting in the grass and you're observing this beautiful landscape that you wish you could stay in forever. And I think that's one of the main things that really pulled me to your work. So I'm so excited to have you for that reason.

Romona Youngquist: 2:59

Oh, thank you.

Laura Arango Baier: 3:03

But before we talk about more of your beautiful work, do you mind telling us a bit about who you are and what you do?

Romona Youngquist: 3:10

Well, I I'm just a country girl. Actually, I feel like I just grew up kind of a Feral Kid and and all by all I have really ever wanted to do is paint my surroundings and and and relay what I see to other people that used To I used to get mad because people wouldn't pay attention to what I'm looking at, and that's part of the reason why I paint so yeah, and, and I'm very much a stay home. I used to say I have a mild case of agoraphobia, but my neighbor goes, I had to look that word up. And isn't that actually what we used to call home bodies? I go, oh yeah, that's right, I forgot about that. So, yeah, so where were we going with that?

Laura Arango Baier: 4:18

Oh, man, well, I mean, it makes sense to be a home body when home is a beautiful place that you, you know, want to just look at all day. I mean, I'm also a bit of a home body. And I think there's also a natural inclination as an artist, kind of like how you were saying, where it's almost like the way that we perceive the world sometimes can be so specific, like, Oh, don't you see the light falling on that the tip of that tree? Or, don't you see just the way that the, I don't know, the ground is glittering with the snow? You know, all of these very specific things that I can definitely see that you capture in your work. So I understand the frustration of your child. Old self being like, but don't you see?

Romona Youngquist: 5:02

Yeah, I couldn't share I had nobody to share that with. It seemed like I felt very lonely in my little bubble of prettiness in my head. And yeah, and so, speaking of, you know, being a home body, I actually like to paint very close to home too. I'd say 20 miles radius. But Russell Chatham was very into that too. He painted, and he's, he's one of the first landscape painters that I go, you know, I just, I, I studied, you know, I just loved his work. And I have a story too, maybe later on, when I finally got to meet him. It was so funny. But, um, but anyway, I, I paint very local and and it's so cute now, because around town, people will go, I just saw Ramona painting when I was going down the road. So it was like, Oh, my God, this is working. So, yeah,

Laura Arango Baier: 6:14

yeah, that's so sweet. Because, you know, it's like, how it was saying your work has this way of striking, you know, like, just like the way that you position, for example, like the viewer, right? It really pulls you into the image. It's almost like you're down low in the grass, which is why I said it that way. And it really reminded me of my own childhood, because I grew part time at, like, my grandparents farm. And it was one of my favorite things to, you know, see the sunlight on the side of the house, and you're sitting away from it, and you're, you know, looking at little grasshoppers hopping around, or hearing the birds or seeing the breeze, you know, it's, it's really nice to hear, like, from other people, like, Oh, I saw Ramona painting, right? And it's like, you could see it in real life, and you can see the actual painting too, like what you're trying to capture, and I think that's really beautiful. And besides that, though, I'm also really curious to know, since it seems like you've had this tendency since you were young, when would you say that you began to follow the path of the artist?

Romona Youngquist: 7:19

Well, I mean this, a lot of people know my this story. I like to tell it because it's true and but I knew, and I was like, four and five, I think it was, I was at a preschool type set, or not, a kind of a, yeah, preschool type setting. And the teacher had us drawing. And so I drew this rooster, and she came up to me, which I'm sure she did every single kid, and but she held up my rooster, and she goes, Look at this rooster. Is just amazing what she did. And I go, she goes, she's an artist. I go, Oh, I'm an artist. And it's like, because I remember the feeling when I was also doing the drawing, how much I loved it. I was so happy and so calm and and, but that was the first person that really recognized Well, I thought maybe she did, but, like I said, she did everybody else, I'm sure. But from then on, it's like, deep down, I knew that's what it was that I wanted to be, yeah, yeah.

Laura Arango Baier: 8:36

I think I have heard a lot of artists have their own, like, moments kind of that is usually in childhood, where they will say something similar. It's like, what was this moment in that moment? But I love that yours is a rooster.

Romona Youngquist: 8:52

And guess what? I still have my chickens that I love. Oh, my chicken cup.

Laura Arango Baier: 9:00

Cup. Yeah, no, it's, um, I think that makes a lot of sense too. And it makes sense with, like, the type of, sort of homey, rustic feeling that you get from your work. So I think that's really wonderful. And the fact that, you know, you're so young, and then that also makes me wonder, you know, because you've had quite a bit of an interesting timeline in your life with becoming an artist and all you know the different things you've done. When would you say that you started really painting work for yourself? Or do you find that you were always as even as you know, child, teenager, young, adult adulthood, like, were you always painting, or was it something that you kind of stopped and then, you know, went back into?

Romona Youngquist: 9:47

Well, I really, I drew all the time, you know, and you hear that a lot about artists. I didn't really grow up having material. Else. So I use my pencil until I got, I mean, in high school, we have the art class, which I of course, is my favorite class. I was always in there and and, you know, our our art teacher did, he was pretty good with the basics. And so fixing, and so I was introduced to that. And, you know, I didn't really know I hadn't been to museums, and I hadn't really seen real art until I got I went to college to escape my little town, so I shouldn't have been college material, but I went and took some art classes and stuff, and then I really got to use materials in painting, and it wasn't, and I was doing watercolor and acrylics, and those were okay, but It's like, I felt there was this thing I needed to do, but none of that was getting I wasn't getting there until I was introduced to oils. And I was like, Oh my god. It was life changing. It was like, This is my soul thing. I love it so much. And so I've been doing that ever since. I don't know where we going with that, either.

Laura Arango Baier: 11:27

Well, just, you know, if you kept painting or, you know, drawing, yeah,

Romona Youngquist: 11:31

oh, yeah. So, so in, really, in my 20s, mid 20s, I was in this little gallery up in Alaska, and I was doing my, not my Alaska, not Alaska scenes. I was doing, you know, my nostalgic stuff that I love to do. Oh, my God, those were popular. And it was like, this is but this is what, just what I want to do. This is what I love to do. And so I just kept doing that. And that's when it really I go, Okay, I can't really have a normal job because I I just can't hold down a job. I would get fired from anything because I'm just not a good employee. So I go, I have to figure out how to make this work. There's no two ways around it. So I just worked my butt off, and I still, do, you know, and just made it work.

Laura Arango Baier: 12:30

Yeah, oh, man, I am so curious to know about these jobs, if you don't mind telling us, you know, just like a few of those jobs that you think were, I guess, like the funniest or strangest ones that you tried out while you were making things work.

Romona Youngquist: 12:51

Well, when I was going to college, and that was another thing I had to make it work. I got a job. There was a new country bar, and I got a job as their boot shine girl. This was a whole new thing, and so I had to learn how to shine shoes. I had to go. This was Fresno, California, and so I went downtown and found this shoe shiner, and kind of shadowed him for a while. And I even learned how to crack, you know, everything so I would shine boots. And then went up in Juneau, up in Alaska, I go, I hate jobs. I hate real jobs. And so I decided I was going to have a vending cart. So I had, I had lived in Philadelphia a little bit too. And so I, I made Philly cheesesteaks in general Alaska. And there's some other weird jobs too. I've had so many weird jobs, but things that aren't normal,

Laura Arango Baier: 14:12

yes, yeah. And I think that's, you know, that's so lines up with, I think a lot of like, just like the type of mentality we have as artists, right? We're not looking for like, we look for something that's interesting and strange, usually, you know, like, it's like, Huh, that's that looks kind of fun. I kind of want to try that, because I can relate to that with the types of jobs that I've had as well, this being one of those jobs where it's like, oh, this is fun. I get to talk to really cool artists, yeah, and it's a bit unconventional, because it's not something you hear about very often, but I think that lines up so well with your character. Just yeah, it was a shoe shiner. Wow. Oh, did that help with your painting skills?

Romona Youngquist: 15:07

I made good money.

Laura Arango Baier: 15:09

I yeah, when people still use shoe shiners? I don't know if that's

Romona Youngquist: 15:15

but this is boot shining. Oh, that's in a country bar.

Laura Arango Baier: 15:19

Oh, no. Skippy little outfit, yeah, oh, okay, wow. There you go,

Romona Youngquist: 15:27

rhinestones and all that stuff, and then actually doing a really good job shining shoes or boots.

Laura Arango Baier: 15:35

Yes, oh, man. So that also leads me to my next question, because it's very clear that, obviously these jobs were really just a means to an end, right? When did you realize, okay, this is my calling. Being an artist is my calling. When was that moment for you,

Romona Youngquist: 15:57

well, to realize that it was my calling. Was probably in my 20s. That's when, I mean, I, I didn't want to do a real job. I go this and and it's, it's most, I wouldn't say, self taught. I didn't go to art school. I I basically learned the skills by when I got older, and I figured out, oh my God, all these wonderful painters out there. And I used to take the Richard Schmidt landscape book, this was in the My early 20s, from the library. Oh my god, I checked that book out so many times, I mean, and then I actually didn't give, didn't put it back in the library one time, and my but my friend took it. So it's missing. I'm sorry. Yeah, it's missing. And, but I don't have it and, but I paid for that. I paid for the book, because anyway, and so, where was I going with that one? Oh, self taught calling. Oh yes, I mean, and so I just figured, I go, this is a calling. This wasn't anything else. I mean, intuitively I knew from my when I was little, this is what I want. This is why is met. I meant to be. There's nothing else except for maybe baking. But, I mean, anybody can bake, but this is what I this is what I'm supposed to be doing. I I've always known that and and I never really deviated from that idea. And I just felt like there was something and so much of what I do is intuitive. I really don't know what the hell I'm doing half the time, more than half the time, and people, that's why I can't I would never teach. How can I teach other people to do what I have no idea what I'm doing, right? And yeah, so I believe it's a calling, and I and I love that. You know, it's comforting to know that it's something in me. So,

Laura Arango Baier: 18:40

yeah, yeah, no, totally. And I think I love that you mentioned the intuitive part, because I think it's one of those things that isn't mentioned very much, actually, now that I think about it, when it comes to being an artist or a painter, even though it's almost too obvious, maybe it's so obvious, it's not mentioned just having that intuition of about it. And I've heard other artists similar to you also mentioned, like, Oh, I just, you know, move around, for example, with composition, I just move stuff around until it feels right, right? And I think that's like, yeah, that's intuition telling you, like, this is how things are going to look the best. Do you find that in your process that's like one of the things that you do, or what's, what's your artistic process? Like when you find, you know, a scene that you really want to paint

Romona Youngquist: 19:33

that's interesting? You asked that because I was just thinking about that. It's a feeling, and I probably everybody has it. I guess I see a scene I go by, you know, hundreds of times. And of course, it's the light that hits it, but it's a feeling that I get kind of it. It's just such a strong feeling. It's like that, I've got, I've got that is what I'm looking for. I mean, I have to put that down and then it in a painting, because it's just making me feel like it needs to be done and and so I try to keep that feeling, and I think the big part is design, and that's why I sometimes I don't even feel like I'm a real artist, because I just it's like, it's a design and how I feel, and it's in my head, and I don't know how I'm going to do it, and there's a lot of mistakes and I and I do a lot of different crazy things To get that feeling on, on the canvas. And sometimes these big paintings, that's why I like to do the big pings, because I you get more feeling from them, and you feel like that. I want people to feel what that feeling is when I see that scene. I don't know how to explain it otherwise.

Laura Arango Baier: 21:21

Yeah, no, I think that makes perfect sense, because there's, I can, I can relate to that, and maybe you can, you might relate to what I'm about to say, which is like, you know, it's kind of like when you enter a room and the light is coming in in a particular way, in a particular season, and then if you imagine that the room were in a different direction, the feeling is totally different. Oh, yeah. So I think, I think I can definitely relate to that if that's the case. But yeah, do you find that the image that really captures you. Do you think? Or do you find that there's a story attached to it, that you create in your in your mind? Or is it just wordless,

Romona Youngquist: 22:12

totally, it's a story of and it mostly comes back to that four and five, again, four or five, growing up in Oklahoma and this rural, just little town, I mean, dirt roads and stuff and and I would just stand in the road and and watch the trees in The Sky against the trees, and it's like, I that's what it is to me. It's just that that place or that garden, it's like, oh, walking through that garden kind of like what you said, you know, sitting in the grass and and observing, because I don't think a lot of people do that anymore, but walking through, in my eyes, this beautiful place, and I just want to hold it in time, you know, a place that used to be, but maybe isn't there anymore. There's all kinds of stories that that old lady made this garden, she and it's still, some of the plants are still there, but they're not doing well, but they're still there, hanging on to what you know, she had, you know,

Laura Arango Baier: 23:38

yeah, it also reminds me a bit of like the as you as you know, as time goes on and you move to a new place, or you leave a place, and you realize that, kind of like you said, that place no longer exists. So even if or it still exists, but even if you go back, it's no longer how it used to be. And it feels like some distant sort of location that is no longer reachable. And it's kind of, I think that's maybe also why your work feels nostalgic. It's that feeling of like not being able to return to this physical location any longer. So it's more of a place to live, in your mind or in your heart during your memories that you can close your eyes and you're there again, but you wish you were physically there again. Yeah, yeah.

Romona Youngquist: 24:28

You know. What's funny about that is, I was on Google Earth, and I go, I wonder what it looks like. Does it look the same? And the place was, we're very depressed in this little Oklahoma town. And it was the same I walked with the camera. I went through all the you know, where I stood, and some of the little meadow. Those are the little in the woods with my dog. I I walked through those places, and guess what? The trees were still there, and the the my house, but it was much smaller, but everything was really overgrown, but it was still what I was seeing. So it was very cool.

Laura Arango Baier: 25:23

Yeah, yeah, at least that's really nice, because the place that I wish I could go back to, which is my grandparents farm, it got sold off a while ago, and they like tore down all the trees, all my grandma's plants. So we did go back, and it was really sad, because the place that I remembered, of course, was no longer really there, even though the place was still technically there. So that, I think that's one of those difficult things to reconcile, but you just mentioned something really interesting. Do you find that, do you paint mostly from memory, or do you paint on location? Or is it a bit of a blend of both?

Romona Youngquist: 26:07

It's it's a blend, for sure, but it seems like a lot of the skies and the trees are still from what I used to see as a kid, and you can see that in my stormy, some of my stormy scenes, it's, it's all of what I saw, but I also use them. You know, I, I used to paint outside a lot more, and that's actually one of my teacher. The best teacher was Mother Nature. I swear she's hard, she's really hard, but that was how I really learned. But, yeah, that's it's definitely a mixture.

Laura Arango Baier: 26:52

So you go, like, on location and like, if you painted from life, right? You would probably take like, little painting notes, or do you take mostly pictures. Do what's, what's that intuitive process? Like for you,

Romona Youngquist: 27:05

um, I like to paint little, little sketches. Just for me, I do. They're, they're mostly inflammation. Like my planner, work is nothing that I strive to actually finish. I've got so many, but I reuse them. I go through and I say, okay, yeah, that's what that looked like, plus photographs, drawings, memory, and so I use it all, whatever gets me a painting. It's all game,

Laura Arango Baier: 27:47

yes, and gets you that feeling, you know, that vibe, again, of that story, yeah, that's awesome. And then when, when did you realize, like, Okay, this is I'm gonna quit all my really crazy, funky jobs, and I'm just gonna focus on painting. What was that moment like for you?

Romona Youngquist: 28:11

The best, but the scare. It was very scary, and, you know, but it was also a transition too, because it seemed the more I sold, the less I thought about, you know, having to do something else. And so then I also, you know, having a fat when the kid, you know, I had, we had the kids and, and I don't know that was that was difficult to do that and try to make money. But I just kept I did. I just, that's all I did. I mean, that's all I do. So I just made it a point is this is I have to do it. I have to make it work. And a lot of, especially female painters, I think, find that, yeah,

Laura Arango Baier: 29:12

yeah, balancing, yeah, balancing, raising kids and painting, yeah, I can imagine.

Romona Youngquist: 29:20

But it seems like yeah they It's funny though, when you when you have little kids and you're painting, you get really smart with your time. Seems like when I'm old, now I'm older, and now I can feel fart around. It's like, I gotta get serious. Oh, I I can still do that later. But when you have little kids, you know it's like, Nope, they're napping. Gotta do it.

Laura Arango Baier: 29:49

Yes, yeah. And you can't procrastinate anymore, because you got to make the most of the time that you've got. Yeah. Yeah, I have a very small niece, and that's how it feels. Whenever I was helping take care of her, I always felt like, Okay, I'm going to do as much as I can while she's sleeping. Yeah, yeah.

Romona Youngquist: 30:16

And I had twins,

Laura Arango Baier: 30:18

oh, goodness gracious, yeah,

Romona Youngquist: 30:19

a three year old, and then the twins were born. Holy mackerel. I don't even know how I survived that. And it kept, yeah, some of my best work, though, was those times it's really weird.

Laura Arango Baier: 30:34

That's interesting. I wonder if it also has to do with because there's always a bit of a balance between time and effort, right. Like, if, like, I don't know if this has happened to you, where, if you have too much time allowed to do something, it's almost easier to dilly dally, but then when you you have to focus on getting that one thing right. Kind of like, how a lot of plein air painters improve so so fast is also because of that time constraint. Yes, yes. I find that it, yeah, it makes sense that maybe you feel like that was, you know, really, really good work as well, because you had no choice,

Romona Youngquist: 31:14

no and it was fresh. It was down. It's fresh and it now, it's like, I can kill a painting just by overdoing it, and I didn't overdo it at then it was like, very innocent stuff. Seem like, now it's now my paintings are jaded. Overwork them.

Laura Arango Baier: 31:40

Oh no, but your work is so gorgeous. It's still so gorgeous. But yeah, I think definitely the skill that you must have built with that having to really focus and get it done, get it done, get it done, that must have definitely also helped develop your work. How you do it now as well, you know?

Romona Youngquist: 32:00

Yeah, I think so. But now it is where the work is. It's like it's to a different level where there's so many layers that, so many layers that, that that wasn't it wasn't there before.

Laura Arango Baier: 32:24

At BoldBrush, we inspire artists to inspire the world, because creating art creates magic, and the world is currently in desperate need of magic. BoldBrush provides artists with free art, marketing, creativity and business ideas and information. This show is an example. We also offer written resources, articles and a free monthly art contest open to all visual artists. We believe that fortune favors the bold brush, and if you believe that too, sign up completely free at BoldBrush show.com that's B, O, L, d, b, r, U, S, H show.com. The BoldBrush Show is sponsored by Faso. Now more than ever, it's crucial to have a website when you're an artist, especially if you want to be a professional in your career. Thankfully, with our special link, faso.com, forward slash podcast, you can make that come true and also get over 50% off your first year on your artist website. Yes, that's basically the price of 12 lattes in one year, which I think is a really great deal, considering that you get sleek and beautiful website templates that are also mobile, friendly, e commerce, print on demand in certain countries, as well as access to our marketing center that has our brand new art marketing calendar. And the art marketing calendar is something that you won't get with our competitor. The art marketing calendar gives you day by day, step by step, guides on what you should be doing today right now in order to get your artwork out there and seeing by the right eyes so that you can make more sales this year. So if you want to change your life and actually meet your sales goal this year, then start now by going to our special link, faso.com forward slash podcast. That's F, A, S, o.com, forward slash podcast, yeah, I get you. I feel like that's one of the interesting tidbits about being an artist as well that maybe doesn't get discussed as much either, which is how process changes over time, right? And how art process as an artist affects the result as well, right? Like, it's very different to make an alloprema versus making a very, very layered painting, or it's very different when you're attempting to use even just different brushes, right? How the effects can really vary, or even you decide, oh, I'm going to start using this new color in my palette. And it's so funny, because one of the first things that I remember being really curious about when I was a very young, you know, student was, oh, what palette does this one artist use? And then, as I. I've become more familiar with the evolution of process. The palette that I may have started using at first is definitely not the one I use now, right? And it won't be the one that I'll be using in the future. And that's also so interesting, because it really does affect the mood of the painting, and it affects the work and how it is presented, you know, like the specific brushstrokes. Or I've also asked artists too about, like, you know, has had, do you find that, like, your work reflects your state of mind in that moment as well? And I think it was Shanna, who also she mentioned to me, like, yeah, you know, I painted a lot of lonely trees for a long time, yeah. And I think it is very reflective of, you know, people's inner world sometimes too. And maybe that's also why process changes so much, you know,

Romona Youngquist: 35:55

thinking of that, that's very interesting, too, lonely trees and when I found that when when I was more kind of down and depressed, my paintings got really bright, and when I when I was in a really good place, I did A lot of tonal work so people that knew me, when they saw the bright ones, they go, Oh no, what's wrong?

Laura Arango Baier: 36:29

So you Okay? Ramona, what happened that is so interesting.

Romona Youngquist: 36:38

I was trying to make my make my happy place on campus. Yeah, anyway, so, yeah, that brought, yeah, you're, by the way, your work is just so beautiful. Oh, I appreciate so soulful, and you're all of that. Oh, there's so much emotion, so much

Laura Arango Baier: 37:01

emotion in your work. Thank you. I hope I can continue to do that. I'm still very much in the early days, so I don't even to me. It's like, I don't even have a portfolio. What are you

Romona Youngquist: 37:14

talking about? Oh my you've got it. I mean, I'm so jealous of your youth and your skill already. It's like, Oh, my God, oh,

Laura Arango Baier: 37:24

well, thank you very much. Oh, man. But to get back to your gorgeous work, because I think your work definitely speaks to a very deep level of that nostalgia. When did you figure out for yourself that this specific theme is what you wanted to paint, you know, like the house with the grass and the trees and like the very rustic, beautiful landscapes, when did you was that always something that, oh, this is what I want to do? Or did you try out different other different genres before it's

Romona Youngquist: 38:03

that's the only thing I wanted to do. I had I admire people that do, you know, portraits and the figure, and that is the only thing I wanted to do is, I, you know, I don't even want to do street scenes. I just love the rural landscape. And basically, without people, it's like I'm anti social. Why would I want them in me on my paintings? No, I just love nature so much, and what I see around me, yeah, that's I've I've always known that.

Laura Arango Baier: 38:47

Yeah, that's so interesting, because that kind of reminds me what you mentioned earlier about feeling alone in your your way of seeing things and like seeing a very specific beauty that maybe the people around you didn't capture. And I find that that's, if anything, that is what it feels like, you know, by you saying, Oh, I don't paint people in my words, like, yeah, I understand that. You know, maybe you still feel that sort of loneliness in your vision, you know, in the way that you perceive the world, because you find that other people don't understand it, or maybe didn't when you were a kid, you know, right?

Romona Youngquist: 39:27

Yeah, and still to this day, maybe you know, actually, I think you know people need to see to experience the nature that they do, they're not doing it. It's like so it makes me sad, and I don't, I don't want it to go away. I don't want the those grandma gardens to go away. I don't, you know, the farms and they're. They are. It's so sad. I don't know how many times I go by a scene and just like, it makes me sad about your your grand grandparents farm. It's gone. It was there, and, you know, just last week, and it's gone. It's like, I'm just so thankful that I got it down. You know, on a painting, it's part of it. Being a historian, in a way, artists are historians,

Laura Arango Baier: 40:33

yes, yeah, yeah. I mean, they were the original captures of history as well, until the camera, of course, rolled along. But yeah, totally. And also, I think, in many senses, right? Because there are the different types of painting that I like to refer to, because there's like the fully expressive type where everything comes from, you know, the artist's mind. And then, of course, there's like the straight up, like Audubon Society, like we were just painting this, this very biographical, in this very biographical way, which, again, nothing wrong with the spectrum, right? There's room for everyone. And then, of course, like there's artists like you who are capturing, of course, this location, but you're also capturing your story of it, right? Your own perception of it without being, you know, like the overly Audubon or the leaning completely towards expression only. It's very much like this is how I perceive this beauty, beauty in this one place, in the way that I remember it, right?

Romona Youngquist: 41:39

Yeah, right. But the funny thing is, though I do, I've known this for about five years or more. I don't know something like that, that there's a transition happening where I want them more simplified. It's just like I'm not getting it. It's like, I don't know how to explain it, but almost more of a abstract feel to it, more feeling than anything. Yeah, I just want to capture is some kind of a challenge that I'm trying to do with myself, and I don't even know what it is, which is basically how I've been going by the seat of my pants the whole dang time.

Laura Arango Baier: 42:26

Oh, man, I love that. But I was about to say, like, well, if you don't know how you're or what you're doing, then you're on the right track. Ramona, throw you back to that. Yes, you're on the right track.

Romona Youngquist: 42:40

I am on the right track, whatever that might be. Yeah.

Laura Arango Baier: 42:44

And you know what? I'm noticing more and more, at least for me with my own work, that the harder it is to figure it out, the more important it is to do it. You know the Oh, it's like, it's almost like having a pebble in your shoe where, like, you just can't ignore it, like it's something that like, the more difficult and the less you understand it, the more I feel like, the more obsessively so I become with trying to figure figure it out, try to do it anyway. And it's I think also that the more you do work, kind of like how you mentioned, like, very abstract, very mental, like, from memory, type of work, I think that's the hardest work. Oh, it is so hard and I and that's one of the reasons why it's so important to do it right.

Romona Youngquist: 43:41

But, yeah, but it's so hard to figure out when you don't know what it is, it is. It's just like, it's so there's so many, so many ruined paintings I've been ruining so many. That's why it's taken me so long. Everybody so mad at me. I get to the point where they're they're really pretty, like a god dang, it's too damn pretty, and I just f it up. But sometimes they're just like, oh, okay, I like that. Now. I like it. And then I start anyway. It's such a process. It's so interesting.

Laura Arango Baier: 44:32

It is, yeah, yeah, because I find that. I mean, when you paint from, strictly from reality, right, strictly from life. It's very different from painting, in that mixed sort of way, where it's reality slash memory, which I feel like it's, you know, since it's what you do like you would definitely understand how you know what I was trying. To describe about the difficulty of it, you know, to try to make it work, because, like you're saying, there's so many mistakes that happen, and it's so experimental in a lot of ways, because you got to put it in a way that makes sense. And it's almost like trying to paint a scene from a dream where it makes sense in your dream, we're like, yeah, totally. That guy could totally have seven fingers, and then you try to recreate it on a on a canvas, and it's so hard because it doesn't actually make sense in the Dream Vision.

Romona Youngquist: 45:33

Yeah, that's, that's how I always have to look at the painting, is, does it make sense to somebody viewing this? Does this make sense? And so, yeah, so that's a good point. Doesn't have to make sense exactly,

Laura Arango Baier: 45:55

if it's pretty and if it gets the point across, that's also what really matters. Because in the end. I mean, I've, I've seen so many paintings that like, from a distance, they look exactly as as they're supposed to, but if you really get close to it, the brushstrokes are so abstract. It's, it's literally splotches sometimes, or just loves that, yes, just layers interesting.

Romona Youngquist: 46:19

That's what I I want, not just pretty. I want it to be interesting to see up close what is going on in there, what kind of angst was coming through that, you know is, you know, that's the fun part to me. And then when you get back, it's like, oh, it's making sense. So you can have it all.

Laura Arango Baier: 46:45

Yes, yeah. It's that dance between, like, the literal description of something, and then the abstract description of something, you know,

Romona Youngquist: 46:56

and then it's like, how when do you know it's finished when you're in the process of all of this stuff. How do you know to finish it? Yeah, I've got, like, paintings here for, I mean, going on two years, and it's like, I don't know.

Laura Arango Baier: 47:19

I think that's probably the million dollar question. Besides, how do I price my work is, how do I know it's done

Romona Youngquist: 47:29

exactly? Yes, it's like, and most of the time it's like, well, you took, you take pictures of it. It's like, well, it should have been done like, in the middle, yeah, now I screwed it up. I, you know, I look back, it's like, in the middle. It was great. Couldn't show left it, but I had to learn something again.

Laura Arango Baier: 47:56

Yeah, and I think, in a sense, it also gives me peace of mind that you mentioned that, because, yeah, because it goes to show that you don't really graduate from that ever. So it's fine to just accept, like, you know what? It's part of the process that it's, you know, sometimes the painting will change, and I'll be maybe a little disappointed with how it evolves. Because if there's one thing that I think many artists hope for as they grow, as you know, in their career, or even as an artist in general, is that you know that first of all, that that doubt goes away. It never does. Apparently, I interviewed so many artists, they all tell me the same thing, no, those voices don't go away and then, but it does give me peace of mind that, like, not, you know, I can't expect every painting to eventually get really, really, really good or, I mean, if anything, I might get better at preventing a painting from, you know, going through so much of, like, an up and down, but it's inevitable, you know, like it's gonna have up and down, and you the quicker people accept it. And you know, hearing you say that the quicker I accepted and other artists accepted, maybe the less painful it will be. Fingers crossed. Good luck with that. Yeah, we're trying here. We're trying,

Romona Youngquist: 49:23

I remember we are our talk earlier. Yeah, you're going through the same type of thing.

Laura Arango Baier: 49:30

Yeah, we're just trying to figure it out, you know?

Romona Youngquist: 49:33

Well, I think that's it's just important. It's the process you got, you got to do it. But you Oh, I wish it was easier. I tell you this, this is painting is like learning to golf. It's like, the more you know, the less you know. It's like you. It's just like, seems like them. The more you, the more you paint is. It's, it's just like, there's no way I'm going to reach that. I I don't know is that everybody, does everybody feel that? Or do you get to a certain skill level that you're comfortable? It's like, Ah, I'm not, I'll never be. I can tell. I think

Laura Arango Baier: 50:25

I would be more worried if I was comfortable, in a way, would be, it would be, but at the same time, I mean, I think there's a bit of a balance, right? Because there are some artists who very, you know, they might enjoy painting sunsets, and very, very good at it, and that's very comforting. But at the same time, what if you know, like, it's still not satisfying? I think there's some point where, like, it has to be hard enough where it's satisfying, but not so hard that you won't do it. You know, like, it has to be a good level of challenge to keep you going. Because I don't know if you've also experienced this for like, you think, oh my gosh, how could I ever paint this one thing that I've never attempted to paint before? And suddenly you learn to paint it, and you're like, oh, wow, that's amazing. Oh, this other thing over here I could never and then you do that, and it's like, oh, I figured it out. You know,

Romona Youngquist: 51:23

oh, no, that's a challenge. Yeah. That's like, yeah, some like, feared of work. Oh, I'm just in awe of what I see and what I just think it's so hard, it's got to be, it

Laura Arango Baier: 51:44

can be at least, yeah.

Romona Youngquist: 51:49

Now the skill,

Laura Arango Baier: 51:52

yeah, but I think painting landscapes is

Unknown: 51:54

hard, really, yeah, I've never

Laura Arango Baier: 51:57

done it, so that's why it's like, Hmm, that's amazing. I don't know how to do that. Maybe I'll try it one day. We're in like, opposite places. Yeah, it's just a matter of trying it, maybe. But I also did want to ask you, since you know we're still talking about you and your career, when did you notice that your career started picking up, that you started like selling more of your work, because you did mention in Alaska, you were selling some of your nostalgic sort of pieces. Did that also help kick start your career? Or was it, you know, maybe something else that got you going as well.

Romona Youngquist: 52:42

No, I think that did. But then we moved to Oregon, and, oh, I felt like that's I just fell in love with the landscape. And I think that really I That's when I noticed I went to a trajectory that was just where I want. This is where I wanted to be. There's so many paintings everywhere I looked. I just it was crazy. And so I worked just as many as I could, because, I mean, I loved it. I mean, I still love, it is just so, so wonderful. But I was in a gallery. I got into a really good gallery called Lawrence gallery, back in the day, it was just, it was the gallery of the valley here and and I sold really well, and I'm so thankful for that and that that really got me going and and then in Arizona, an artist kind of told me about, I mean, there he he mentioned his gallery that he can't, I mean, about my work or something. And that really got me going, because I got into that gallery, and that was probably the biggest jump. And so nice. That's awesome, Yep, yeah, yeah.

Laura Arango Baier: 54:19

That's really, I mean, it goes to show, you know, like, when your work really speaks to someone, I think that's one of the biggest, like gains, and then, of course, that inevitably, magically, and it's so funny, because every single time that I talk to an artist who's had, you know, some success with their work, has Been able to sell it. It always turns out very similar, where their work is just so beautiful, it's unavoidably like going to be seen, you know, like, as long as you put it out there as well, and you talk to other artists and like, you make sure that you're connecting with people as well, which I think is another underrated part of being an artist. We. We were such loners, but we do rely on, and we need to remember to rely on also socializing

Romona Youngquist: 55:10

with other artists. Kind of have to do it

Laura Arango Baier: 55:13

yes, because then if you're if you're a lonely artist in your studio, then that's like the epitome of the whole starving artists dilemma that a lot of people Yeah, exactly, yeah. You can't, you can't do much as an artist without a community or a gathering of some sort. So it's Yeah, I love that you mentioned that because, you know, it's like, oh, you know, a friend of mine really loved the work, mentioned it to their gallerist. And here we are right because, you know, they loved it so much, and that at, you know, the barest level means your work is beautiful, and it, you know, merits being seen by a lot of people. You know.

Romona Youngquist: 55:58

Thank you. You're

Laura Arango Baier: 55:59

welcome, yeah. And then I also want to ask you, because I love that you have this intuitive like, go with the flow vibe. Do you? Do you have any advice for someone who wants to become a full time artist?

Romona Youngquist: 56:22

Oh, well, I actually would tell them to just go outside and paint as much as you can before you be. I would say, okay, get a big body of work ready. I mean, huge and you have a backup, because you never know, but it's so hard. I think, like I said, the more I know is such a struggle that it's daunting, and I'm afraid if, if I gave somebody advice, I'd scare them off. But no, I would say, you know, if that's what you really love to do, if this is what you want to do, you just make it. You just do it. You just force yourself. And you just get in a place where, and like I said, have a lot of paintings before you actually make the jump and solid, good paintings. And just if that's what you want to do, you just make it work.

Laura Arango Baier: 57:38

Yes, I like that. I think that's excellent advice, because you can't really do much with an, I guess, undeveloped work, you know, like, and I am guilty of that when I was, you know, in my early days as an artist, it's so easy to be like, Okay, this is how you can do it. And this is, you know, I just do this and do this and do that and talk to that guy, and then it's like, wait, but like, am I even painting what I like? Am I even painting what makes me happy? And then, of course, suddenly you get this dip. We're like, oh my gosh, I'm depressed, but I'm doing the career I wanted, which is being an artist. What's going on? And it's like, yeah, I'm not pursuing my my vision anymore. I'm pursuing like, the either the dollar sign or the market outside, exactly, or like the outside sort of approval, right? Because it isn't necessarily like, for me. It isn't really like the Oh yeah, like this person's amazing. It's more like, oh their work is nice, right? It's like the that approval part, which is, I think, why a lot of artists also seek out, you know, improving their technique so much. But I mean, technique could never, ever replace having that vision. You know, you can have all the technique in the world, but it will never necessarily give your art a soul. You know,

Romona Youngquist: 59:02

I like that. You know, you have to make sure you have that vision before you really make you know you do this, you've got to have that vision. I mean, you know a lot. And another part of me says to knowing what I know now, if you're able to have another career, which I didn't obviously do, if you really love painting and you have a vision, maybe do it on spare time, maybe, maybe not make it a career, maybe. But then, I don't know that's that's another aspect of it. You know, could you sometimes when it gets so hard. Yeah, you can it can be a love hate relationship.

Laura Arango Baier: 1:00:04

So no, I totally agree. I totally agree. Because especially with the state of the world right now, where it feels very unstable in a lot of ways, economically, yeah, all of these things, it is good to have something to fall back on, yeah, because if there's one thing that will make you hate your work fast, it's the fact that if you don't have, like, a solid financial base to work from, you'll end up hating it to some extent, kind of like I just said that love hates, like, oh, supposed to do what I love you want to and to protect the love you have for this, this skill, right? This, this thing that is okay if it's a hobby, right? I think that's one of those things that some people, they want to monetize all their hobbies. It's like, you don't have to just enjoy it, right? Yeah, it is. I think it's very pragmatic to consider that aspect. Like, it's nice to imagine a utopia where it could be done and it can, but it has so many ups and downs, and now we're, you know, again, unstable, yeah, in an unstable moment of time, I'm so tired of being in like, Unstable Times. Oh, my God, that it is, it is good to have something else going on to protect that love. It'll be hard, but hey, at least you get to still experience, you know, creating something without that economic pressure, without the fear of, oh my gosh, my lights are gonna get turned off, or what am I gonna eat next month you can't eat paint, you know.

Romona Youngquist: 1:01:41

Now you know, yeah, I think it is much harder right now. I think being a young artist would be, it would be so hard to do it right now. And, yeah, and that love hate thing, and once you're on survival mode, oh, sometimes you can't do your best work that way. Sometimes you can. Some people are forced. I mean, I've always been on survival mode. So what am I to talk that's just but, yeah, being on survival mode right in this moment in time is, that's tough, yeah. And I would definitely tell somebody, you know, you get a young, anybody that says, you know, I really want to do this, you know. And then they always, I guess, how many paintings Do you have? It's like, Nope, you got to have way more than that. So that's my advice. There we go, yes, absolutely. Body of work, yeah.

Laura Arango Baier: 1:02:54

And I think the other thing that goes along with that having that body of work is also you give yourself the time to experiment as much as you can. Yeah, because yeah, later on, if you're working with a gallery, because I have heard it's funny. I have heard artists also say, like, enjoy being anonymous for a while, for as long as you can when you're an early artist. Because suddenly, when you start, you know, getting more known, the market starts to also demand back from you, yes.

Romona Youngquist: 1:03:28

And then there's a judgment you can't deviate Exactly. And then, yes,

Laura Arango Baier: 1:03:36

Yep, yeah, those are the tough parts. Also, I just remembered you didn't tell us about when you met this artist who was your the landscape artist that you looked up to. His name was Russell.

Romona Youngquist: 1:03:49

Oh yeah. Russell Chatham, yes, yes, oh yeah. I bought his book. I mean, I his book is in tatters now. But anyway, he's a much loved. He died, you know, not too long, kind of, I don't know how long it's been, but anyway, so he's just my idol, and I was in Sun Valley, and he was actually there in a show. It was a fly artist that fly fish show is like, Oh my god. Russell Chatham is right here, and there's a show tonight, and I'm going. And so I go, and there he is. It's like, in his work, and it's like, I was starstruck. And finally I go up to him, and it's like, okay, what do I ask him? That's stupid me. I go watch your palette, like, Duh. What a stupid thing. But he was so kind, and he was so funny. He's. He has this crooked nose, and he's, you know, he's taller, tall. And he looked at me, and he goes, Well, he goes, my advice is, you know, you have six colors on your palette, you know, basic colors, and more than that. If you have more than that, you're effed. It's like, oh, my god, that was the best advice I've ever had. It's like, every time I wanted to go and get all these beautiful colors, you know, I I start putting them on my palette, it's like, oh, Russell said you're effed more. And so I really tried to keep it to a minimum. And it's always, it's, it's just some it's been great. So I love that. I I got to meet him and and I knew he, you know that that foul language?

Laura Arango Baier: 1:06:03

I mean, I think to some extent he's definitely right. I know, obviously there are a lot of artists out there have different numbers and paints on the palette, but there is, you know, I think the reason he must have said that too is because it's so much easier to harmonize a smaller palette than it is a very extended palette. I am. I'm a limited palette person, so my I have four, and I'm pretty I might extend to six now, just don't do seven. No, no, but yeah, there's, it's, it's certainly much easier to harmonize a smaller palette than a larger one, unless you know, you know how to handle all well. He was basically talking,

Romona Youngquist: 1:06:49

you know, a new artist. You know, somebody that's not skill. Somebody is skilled. You can do

Laura Arango Baier: 1:06:55

what you watch. But, oh yeah, for sure, for sure, I think limited palette is the best to start with, you know, like, you're because of that, because it's so it's the, you know, shiny new object thing where it's like, oh, and that color is so pretty, yeah. So I recently got myself some Ultramarine violet to play around with because, you know, it's the really nice thing about starting with that limited palette when you're the beginner and even later on, when you're still an expert. You know, playing with limited palette is that you you get such a great base to start with, and then with the Ultramarine violet, it's like, okay, I already know what I'm doing, and I can, you know, intuitively understand where to start, peppering it in, or, you know, play around with it, experiment with it in, with more knowledge on me than, like, if I was just a beginner, wanting to play with all the colors. You know, right?

Romona Youngquist: 1:07:40

Exactly. I want to try that, though that sounds, that sounds very interesting,

Laura Arango Baier: 1:07:49

yeah, yeah. Because it's a really nice transparent, like, it would be very pretty. I tried it for a glaze, and it was very, very pretty. So, yeah, that's what

Romona Youngquist: 1:07:57

I'm thinking. Yeah. Girl,

Laura Arango Baier: 1:07:59

so a nice sunset,

Romona Youngquist: 1:08:02

yeah, yes,

Laura Arango Baier: 1:08:06

but, yeah. So do you mind telling us if you have any upcoming shows, exhibitions, fun stuff that you got going on that you'd like to promote?

Romona Youngquist: 1:08:15

Well, yes, I have the, you know, the art elements, local gallery that I'll be in in August. That's going to be my, my big focus right now and then, wild women of the West. We have, let's see that. I'm a part of Shanna. Is a part of it this nine of us really wild painters. No, we're not wild, it's just wild women, you know, paint the West, and so we get together, and that's really fun. And we're doing in in, oh heck, that one is in September. I have to get back to you on that one. See, I knew I would space something out, because it's the end of the deal here, and I'm going to Scotland to paint next year with the group, and that's exciting because I'm leaving home that's not in my 20 Mile surrounding area. So what, what will happen to me? I don't know, but yeah, and new stuff all the time on my website, Ramona youngquist.com, and see what else. Now I'm just this this year, I'm just focusing on, really, on that art elements show and whatever happens, happens. I'm just doing a lot of experimentation and but thank you so much for having me.

Laura Arango Baier: 1:09:54

Yeah, thank you so much for being here. Actually, do you mind telling us your

Romona Youngquist: 1:09:57

Instagram handle? Really quick. Oh. Ramona young puss,

Laura Arango Baier: 1:10:02

that's easy, yeah, it's easy, yeah. But it was awesome to have you on. I think you know, this is one of those conversations that definitely hits deep in terms of being an artist and trying to figure stuff out. So I appreciate, I appreciate having you on.

Romona Youngquist: 1:10:20

Oh, and I appreciate you. I mean, you gave me all kinds of ideas to just, you know, like you said, We're loners, but when we actually talk to people, it's like, why didn't I do that more often? Yeah? It's like, I actually like that. Yeah. Thank you so much.

Laura Arango Baier: 1:10:37

Well, thank you, and I hope you have a lovely rest of your day. You too in Sweden, yes. Thank you to everyone out there for listening to the podcast. Your continued support means a lot to us. If you've enjoyed the episode, please leave a review for the podcast on Apple podcast Spotify, or leave us a comment on YouTube. This helps us reach others who might also benefit from the excellent advice that our guests provide. Thank you.