Kimetha Vanderveen: Taking San Francisco by Storm, One Monotype at a Time

I discovered I could work on this scale and be able to create the work on this small scale on my own. I realized I really wanted to work small and it became very intriguing. Over time, it has changed because you get interested in different things. When you are in school, sometimes you are learning from your teachers so you are very influenced by that.  I think that if you want to have your own voice it is often something that comes over time, when you become more confident in your choices.


Q: Then do you do other types of art as well?

A: I do drawings and paintings. I really think of the monotypes as small paintings, so I don’t make a big distinction between them and the paintings.


Q: In what sense are your paintings like your monotypes? Do they describe architecture, light, and objects like your monotypes?

A: Some of them do, but I have explored some different things over the years. For a while, I was making paintings that were almost monochrome and had to do more with creating a surface. It was like a record of touch essentially and the aspects of the painting were very subtle. They had to be lit precisely to see that it was painted with the contrast of where the light fell on the surface. That is one series of work I did. I think all of my work relates to painting and having a real engagement with the idea of painting as a language.


Q: To the naked eye, your monotypes appear in colors of gray and blue. What kind of colors do you enjoy working in? Do you like using a lot of color?

A: I do enjoy working with color. In the monotypes, it is a limited palate but there is a lot more color than you might think. The colors I lay out on the palate include white, yellow, red, a very dark blue, and sometimes gray. So there are subtle amounts of all that color in even the more limited range. It is hard for me to think of painting without that set of primary colors. The times that I do limit it to black and white would be with ink drawings or with charcoal or pencil.


Q: What is your favorite aspect of being an artist?

A: I think the chance to work in a studio and the dialogue about ideas between colleagues.


Q: So do you collaborate with artists a lot?

A: Yes, we show each other our work—that kind of exchange is very common. I think the chance to reflect on things is the most wonderful thing about working as an artist.


Q: What’s the most difficult part for you?

A: There are a lot of challenges. For some artists I would say the solitary nature of the work—if you require that for your process. It’s very challenging to find a way to balance that. That is just one of the things that is hard for me.


Q: What about being a woman in the art field— Do you find that difficult?

A: I think that it is very challenging. I think that artists face the same challenges in the same areas that all women do in their jobs and careers. Whether it is in academia or commercially, I think there are different demands for women.


Q: Do you think there are the same amount of opportunities for female artists as male artists?

A: That is hard to say. I am certainly conscious of each successive generation and how we are benefiting on all the work that has been done previously.


Q: Any advice for aspiring artists out there?

A: If you really care about doing it, you will find the solutions.