Twists and Turns

Aug. 12, 2016

Working in acrylics on canvas, Acme artist Marcia Hales creates colorful paintings full of sweeping curves and contours. Her current works are jam-packed with layers and lines that attract and challenge a viewer’s eye. “I’ve done other media, including print making, pastel chalk and gouache, but now I really enjoy acrylics,” she explained. “It dries fast, and that’s important to my works.”

Born in Mount Pleasant and raised in Farmington Hills, Hales lived in Boston and New Bedford, Mass., for nearly 20 years. She earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in painting from the University of Massachusetts. Later she moved to San Diego, working briefly as an art instructor for imprisoned men and women. Her works and prints have been exhibited internationally and can be found in collections across the U.S. and in France, Mexico and Turkey.

HOW I GOT STARTED

As a small child I painted landscapes, mostly trees, and my father would buy them. I’m not sure how I even knew about painting back then. We didn’t have much art, if any, in my home, and no one in my family painted. But I liked to sit and stare at things. I had a curiosity about how things work, which may have gotten me started. Later, as the quintessential high school misfit, I painted to promote my individuality. It was a slow start, as it was frustrating at first trying to match my limited ability with the great art I wanted to create. It took many years before I learned one had to be patient and keep trying. Thankfully no one discouraged me, but no one really pushed me either. No one said, “Wow, you’re a genius! Let’s get you the supplies you need to keep you working!” But I kept working to improve because it was what I wanted. I chose to be an artist.

THE STORY BEHIND MY ART, MY INSPIRATION

Aside from choosing art as my major in college because I loved to create, I found most art students to be hilariously funny and witty. Many seemed to see things with an odd slant. I was comfortable with that, and knew I was in the right place. We all struggled to do good work, but it was fun too.

My goal has always been to do something different. When there is likely “nothing new under the sun,” this has always been the hardest part. I might sketch out a rough idea of composition prior to painting, but I’ve never been compelled to draw just to draw. You would probably never see me whipping out a pad to sketch something. I really don’t like drawing much. If I like something I see, I’ll take a photograph. I am, however, inspired by some things I see, like the mystery of what lies beyond. I see rocks or hills, and I want to climb over them. I look into the woods and wonder what’s in there. I found that I could express this curiosity visually with paint. I strive to create visually rich playgrounds. The tight lines and marks, which crowded my early canvases, became looser and deeper over time, and closed loops developed. I enjoy the way these forms dance around each other and envelop space. Color is always a challenge, but it’s always worth taking it on.

WORK I’M MOST PROUD OF

My work has evolved, and I think I enjoyed some successes in most of my “periods” of creativity since I was an undergraduate. I came to know there would be bad days of art-making that would make me want to tear my hair out, but I would learn from them. I had an opportunity to really focus on my work in grad school, produce a lot of work, and fortunately the momentum continued. When one does a lot of work, things happen, and new ideas are born. Everything I do leads me to the next work. I am proud to have persevered long enough to please myself and earn respect from those who matter most: my family, my friends, other artists and gallery owners. An artist is never “done,” and I still fail miserably sometimes, but I feel good about what I have accomplished so far.

YOU WON’T BELIEVE

I once ran a sweatshop in Boston. We had workers making surgical sponges in horrible conditions. And I once had a drink with Big Mama Thornton [an American blues singer], also in Boston.

And, I think art education can be oppressive. I don’t think that to create work of great substance that you need to spend years in school being forced to learn what the elders considered the basics: perspective, composition, etc. Personally, I found that being forced to draw buildings in downtown Boston did little or nothing to help me create the work I wanted to do. It may help some to learn the basics, but it can also slow or inhibit creativity ... Ideally art education should evolve through process and encouragement, not mandate or coercion.

MY FAVORITE ARTIST

I don’t have a single favorite artist, I have many! Locally, I like the works of Rufus Snoddy, Jerry Gates, Pam Yee and Ron Gianola. The non-representational and abstract artists include Jean Dubuffet, Cy Twombly, Mark Tobey, Jackson Pollock, Joan Mitchell, Frank Stella, Alma Thomas, Henri Gaudier-Brzeska, and Brice Marden.

But I am also drawn to the figurative work of Rembrandt, Odd Nerdrum, Egon Schiele, Kerry James Marshall and Max Ernst. I never stop looking at the greats, and it would seem no artist should.

ADVICE FOR ASPIRING YOUNG ARTISTS

Take time to think about where you want to be with your work: What it will look like? What form will it take? What is your goal? Look to nature for what interests you. And by nature, I mean everything that exists inside and outside of you! Do the work, push past the obstacles and disasters you create, do some more work, and above all be honest about what you create. It might take a while before people appreciate your work, but stick by it. Trust it for a while. Defend it. Realize that everyone commenting on your work thinks they’re a damned critic! It gets personal, but ignore them — unless you trust their qualified opinions. Look at great work everywhere, but if you are copying someone else or you are trying to produce something you are certain will sell, you’re not being creative. You’re lying, and people will know it. Don’t waste your time. Accept only your best, and above all, develop thick skin, as being an artist is not for wusses.

MY WORK CAN BE SEEN/PURCHASED

At The Twisted Fish Gallery in Elk Rapids, Gallery Fifty in Traverse City, and the Charlevoix Circle of Arts. It can also be viewed on Facebook at Marcia K. Hales - Art.