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The BoldBrush Show
153 Patricia Watwood — The Fey Wild
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For today's episode, we sat down with artist Patricia Watwood to hear about the creation of her upcoming solo show "The Fey Wild," a show deeply rooted in mythology, theatre, and the magic of childhood wonder. Patricia shares how reconnecting with her younger, imaginative self and raising non-binary children have enriched her perspective and inspired a world of artistic freedom and inclusive representation. Through her evolution from classical precision to bold, painterly expression, she celebrates joy, play, and the courage of creative authenticity. The Fey Wild becomes a haven for bodily autonomy, gender fluidity, and boundless self-expression, reflecting the hope and idealism of new generations. Patricia emphasizes that art, especially in challenging times, serves as an antidote to fear and a catalyst for collective joy and resilience. Ultimately, she invites us to delight in creativity, cherish the freedom to dream, and share beauty that uplifts our communities. The show will be on display at Equity Gallery in New York City starting November 6, 2025.
Patricia's FASO site:
Equity Gallery:
There's a lot of things in the Fae realm that get topsy turvy and upset, and the regular order of things is not how things are going to go. It's also themes about how, like, love is blind, Love is crazy, like love conquers all right? The sort of the madness of love something like being struck by Cupid's arrow.
Laura Arango Baier:Welcome to the BoldBrush show where we believe that fortune favors the bold rush. My name is Laura Baier, and I'm your host. For those of you who are new to the podcast, we're 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 today's episode, we sat down with artist Patricia watwood to hear about the creation of her upcoming solo show, the Fae wild, a show deeply rooted in mythology theater and the magic of childhood wonder. Patricia shares how reconnecting with her younger, imaginative self and raising non binary children have enriched her perspective and inspired a world of artistic freedom and inclusive representation. Through her evolution from classical position to bold, painterly expression, she celebrates Joy play and the courage of creative authenticity, the Feywild becomes a haven for bodily autonomy, gender fluidity and boundless self expression, reflecting the hope and idealism of new generations, Patricia emphasizes that art, especially in challenging times, serves as an antidote to fear and a catalyst for collective joy and resilience. Ultimately, she invites us to delight in creativity, cherish the freedom to dream and share beauty that uplifts our communities. The show will be on display at equity Gallery in New York City starting November 6, 2025 welcome Patricia to the BoldBrush show again. It is such a joy to have you on again and to talk about your show that you are now working on, and I'm so excited to hear about it, because it is literally magical. So thank you for being here. It is
Patricia Watwood:great to be here, Laura. I always really love our conversations, and thank you so much for taking the time to talk to me and let me share about my show.
Laura Arango Baier:Yeah, of course. So of course, your show is called the Fae wild for listeners out there, so they can know what it's about. And I'm excited to have you on to talk about this, because I feel like it really goes hand in hand with the work that I find. BoldBrush wants our artists to really aim for, which is work that speaks to something higher. It is work that is magical and it brings new perspectives and inspiration and color and a kind of profound, authentic joy and love. And I totally see this with this solo show that you've been working so hard on. Wow,
Patricia Watwood:thank you. I appreciate that. Yeah, the Feywild is the title of the show comes basically from mid summer Night's Dream. But actually, Shakespeare took that story of the Feywild and the world of Titania and Oberon and Puck and all of those characters, the fairies. It's actually a very old folklore, right? It goes all the way back to of course, it's kind of well known in Irish mythology. Celtic mythology, the realm of the Fae, the world of the fairies, magic, druidic cultures. So it's all of this sort of neat pagan, kind of old folklore kind of universe. And I started my interest in this show. Actually, I got out my little notebook when I was thinking about you, asked me, like, Why did what sparked the initial inspiration? I had to, like, think about this. So a long time ago, I made this just, it's a little color sketch, watercolor sketch. And I do a lot of just idea development, just like in this little book, sometimes, you know, travel sometimes, just little like thumbnail sketches. And this particular sketch I just made from imagination. I've always loved Midsummer Night's Dream. I love Shakespeare in general. And I made this sketch, and it like my process this. It doesn't surprise me, because it happens over and over again, but somehow it still sort of like feels surprising. I'll make one particular sketch, and it sort of doesn't let go of my imagination. So time goes on. Maybe you're working on another piece or something. But this particular piece, I kind of kept going back to and feeling inspired by it, and then I was like, Okay, I think I'm gonna, I'm gonna make this painting. I'm gonna make this crazy painting of Titania and bottom. So they are two characters from Midsummer Night's Dream. Titania is the queen of the fairy realm. The bottom is actually a human who's been magically transformed to have the head of a donkey. And it's all kind of a prank, a lark. There's a lot of things in the Fae realm that get topsy turvy and upset, and the regular order of things is not how things are going to go. And so that's kind of those are all the themes, in part. It's also themes about how like love is blind, Love is crazy, like love conquers all, right, the sort of the madness of love, something like being struck by Cupid's arrow. So all of those are themes in mid summer that I was interested in exploring in this body of work. But then I started thinking about like, well, what is the fey realm and what does it represent? I've always been interested in mythology and narrative like my work has always kind of dwelled. I've done a lot of more Greco Roman mythology and stories like Pandora or Cupid and Psyche, and I like them, not because I'm particularly like moved by the Greco Roman like Pantheon, but because of my interest in narrative in general, and the way we as human beings can tell these stories, share these stories, and then what do they say about myself as the maker and the interpreter? And then the other thing that is a connection for me about the Fae realm and like, why I'm interested in this now is that as I've been getting older, I've been thinking more and more about my young self and my my child self, my teenage self, all the kind of parts of myself, before I decided to be an artist and like, become a serious artist and move to New York City, like, who was that person, before I even began all that journey and trying to get to know that person better. And I started out in in childhood, I loved all this kind of fantasy. In high school and college, I majored in theater and absolutely, you know, and I worked at Colorado Shakespeare festivals, so I spent a lot of time doing things that were like theatrical, playful, imaginative. So all of this has kind of inspired me to think about, how can I create, not just like one painting, but maybe a whole group of paintings that embrace a particular narrative, or a particular like we talk about the idea of world building, right? And in narrative, what is the kind of the universe that these characters live in that I when I'm painting kind of with the trees and the skies and the clouds, like it's not really this world that I look out the window and look at. It's this sort of other, sort of the world inside my mind. And so in this body of work and thinking about the Fae realm, I wanted to kind of expand the universe of the presentation of the show to not just be about one painting, but kind of how a whole group of paintings can kind of give to the viewer the experience of traveling into the fey world, which is also like my world,
Laura Arango Baier:awesome, yes, and I Love that you mentioned too, that it feels like a child self sort of discovery or rediscovery or reconnection, because I have also found, you know, in the trajectory of as one grows as an artist, it's so fascinating how the more you grow and the more time happens, the more You realize that you got to look back, you know, and it's, it's so silly. But I find like as I've, you know, grown as well. I've also looked back at like, Man, my 16 year old self knew what was going on, or my seven year old self she, she had a great idea there. And I totally see that with the playfulness and the joy in your current show, and how silly and magical and fun, and it feels very much like a why not type of series of work, which I think is so enjoyable to look at.
Patricia Watwood:Have you ever heard that kind of expression about like may you have the confidence of a 10 year old girl, right? And there is this way in which 10 year old girls, like, when they're that age, they're like, I got this I'm going to be the president, and I'm going to cure cancer, and I'm going to tell you how to get yourself organized, because you obviously don't know, right? They got it all going on, and then they kind of get into high school and young adulthood, and they just learn so many ways in which the universe is not going to roll out the red carpet for them. And they try to we try to conform ourselves into this universe right to be approved and so that the guy likes us and the cool girls. Let us sit with them at lunch and like all of these things, right? And I've been trying to tap into that confidence of that 10 year old girl
Laura Arango Baier:I totally relate to that, yeah, there's something about growing up the kind of I don't know if it's the exposure to reality or it's the exposure to what we think reality is based on what other people tell us, that really just dampens that magic for us. Like, I think, you know, there's something about having those quote, unquote, child eyes that really, as you get, you know, I guess, closer and closer to the type of work that really is meaningful to you. It's so important to recover those child eyes to, you know, try to pull away. Pull away all of those, you know, illusions about what reality is supposed to be, or how the world is like, how the, I guess, how the world tries to box you in, you know, which it's all a mental concept that has been created. Instead of just thinking like, heck, why not? I just want to be, you know, I want to be free. I want to do my stuff. I mean, I'm not hurting anyone. I'm being fully myself. I'm enjoying my life as I want to. So why not? Right? And then If anyone finds that disturbing, well, that's that's honestly their problem.
Patricia Watwood:You know, I think another thing that's kind of brought me to this, like thinking about this a lot, is the privilege of raising kids, right? And both of my kids, who are also non binary, which has another connection to this show, which maybe we could also talk about, but the experience of raising them, and then especially, you know, through middle school, through high school, seeing them develop their own just complex, rich lives, also then seeing myself in those things, and able to kind of remember and re experience things that maybe you'd forgotten about a little bit, or there's that idea of like, putting away childish things, and you're like, actually, that's pretty awesome. Maybe I shouldn't put that away. And also being immersed in their universe with like their communities and the things that they care about, they they actually like their communities, like they have such freedom and support for each other. They really give me a lot of hope for the future because of like, the idealism and the fierceness and the just general openness and love, which which they like, embrace the people around them and their community, and what people are doing and how like, naturally creative they are. So that also has been kind of just a privilege to like be reminded of all of that strength, right, that that our young people have,
Laura Arango Baier:yeah, yeah. And you also mentioned too, in, I guess, a previous conversation or previous interview that I saw how these two worlds of the fey realm and the very free movements that are happening now in terms of LGBTQ. Do you mind telling us a little bit more about how these two worlds relate in your show?
Patricia Watwood:Yeah, for me, well, many different ways. For one, it's the world of the theater. And anyone who has worked in the theater, spent time in the theater, knows that, like a tribe of players, all of the people who make theater, they are a radical fairy, you know, LGBTQ, supportive, free thinking, free loving tribe, right? And so just the people who are in the world of the theater, like that was my high school and college, like my background, I love my theater people. I think they're inspiring LGBTQ. Both of my kids are non binary, and so then that has been obviously something that all of us have learned like that wasn't a concept that we really maybe had our language for five years ago, certainly not 10 years ago. And so we've seen this big emergence in culture and a huge change. And my own children have really shown me that, like generationally, their world is changing, our world is changing in a way that makes me feel very optimistic, because I see that like the binary right of the male and the female, and the world that I live in as a feminist, right, where the work of equality and feminism is so not done, and the more time goes on, the more like discouraging that seems so then, with my kids being non binary, and myself being a figurative artist, like I have spent my whole. Life like, basically drawing women, mostly, and men, and then now it's like, well, what as a figurative artist in 2025 if I want to expand my own experience and the universe, like the world around me is experience of gender and how we think about just identity fluidity, like as a figurative artist, what? What does that mean? How might I bring that into my work? So I've been thinking about how I want to bring that into my work, how I want to like representation as a general theme has always been important to me as a figurative artist. I've always tried to bring in women, people of color that I've are, you know, close to me, so that the world of figurative art looks like a broad rainbow of representation. And so now I see this in as far as trans identity and trans people. And I've been really inspired by a lot of trans performers, models, people that I've worked with and wanting to like, bring them into this, into my my own pictorial universe as well. So for the Fae wild, it seems obvious to me that the fairy realm is going to be a non binary, LGBTQ, embracing land of bodily autonomy and freedom and love, as opposed to hierarchy and patriarchy, the fey realm is like Titania is The Queen. Oberon is not the king. Oberon is titania's husband. But I think that's a whole, like, polyamorous, like polycule Over there, right? It's this, you know, it's a very libertarian, free and they and communist. It's like work to it's like, how do we achieve together? How do we take care of each each other together, as opposed to power over so I wanted to kind of use the Fae realm, in the world of the fairy world of Shakespeare as this kind of creating this beautiful safe space, this realm of imagination and beauty and play for for my tribe,
Laura Arango Baier:yes, yes. And I totally agree that, you know, the the way that you you see the Faso realm, it's very much how I would also see it, which is, you know, this, like you said, it's very free. People can decorate themselves as they wish. There are no, let's say, like, no real boxes like I said to put people in, because, you know, by putting someone in a box, you're immediately determining, okay, no, this, this is how you should pave, this is how you should dress, this is what you should do, versus, we have a whole world of all of these beautiful things that are, you know, there aren't, they aren't attributed to just one gender or one idea of something. And again, that introduces the idea of play, right, of just expressing yourself fully. And I see that so much in all of the beautiful characters that you've portrayed in the paintings as well, how they just, they feel like, like, they're just free. And I think, you know, that's, that's definitely one of the keywords that I would use for your show, which actually did want to ask, you know, what is the overarching message of the show.
Patricia Watwood:Well, in thinking, I love that you said that, because that really is close to my heart in terms of what I'm thinking about for myself and what I want for this show, I've been thinking a lot about freedom and the importance of keeping yourself free of for myself as an artist. What does that mean to really use and express and prize and treasure my freedom? I'm very aware that it is a great privilege to be able to really focus, especially in the last six months, I've not been doing other like, more like other kinds of jobs, I've like focused all of my work just on this body of work. It's such a privilege to be able to do that. So then what am I going to do with my freedom? Right? Like you worked so hard to get this freedom, what are you going to do with it? And then I've been thinking about our culture, where, basically we live in this some very challenging time of anxiety and fear. And I think that our, you know, current administration government system is encroaching authoritarianism and absolutely toxic masculinity. The opposite of the kind of equality and freedom for women and my LGBTQ family that I want to see and fear is the mind killer. How do we keep ourselves free? How do we maintain our mental health, our sense of freedom, our joy, right? And so creativity is it's a recipe for how to have an antidote to all of that stuff that is trying to shut you down and keep you small and quiet and afraid, right? And so I've been thinking about what is my responsibility as an artist in this time, right, this difficult time. I do think that somehow my responsibility as an artist is actually to make art like, not necessarily to, like, quit my job as an artist and go be a political activist. I mean, I'm gonna, you know, go to a march and carry some signs too, but, but that that we all have a role to play, and that the arts are the place where we must. We must use our imagination, and it is our imagination and our ability to visualize, to express visually that allows us to expand beyond what is our world as we know it, business as usual, and if artists aren't using your our imaginations and kind of trying to express it freely, well, we're probably all in more trouble than you know, we want to be and also, I'm alone in my studio. People make theater in small communities, like thinking about the world of this, the Fae realm. Like for millennia, people have been taking themselves into the woods, in community, in private spaces, to make art, to create, to think their own thoughts, to not let their minds be governed by other thoughts and ideas, right? And so I think that so I hope that people will take away from this show the importance of keeping yourself free, of finding creativity and joy and beauty no matter what is going on around you, and then just for me, in terms of like the imagination and relationship to my work or the work that I have done, I came into New York City to be an artist like in the late 90s, and that was a universe still sort of immersed in the world of like post modernism, kind of abstract expressionism, and then people who are making figurative work, it tended to be Very representational and realist, you often saw paintings of people in restaurants, paintings of women in bathtubs, painting of people like real people in the real world doing like, kind of like a documentary, right? That I'm going to make a record of this visual world. And for better or for worse. The longer I have painted the more I have understood about myself that that is just not what I'm interested in, that I continue to make these worlds that are sort of my own little world, and it would not have even been probably it's still not cool. It was not cool in the mid 90s to do this work of like imagination, like things like the Rococo, Boucher Fragonard, to paint a nymph and a Seder like, so not cool. Guys. Like, really not okay. And instead, in this body of work, I have just, I feel like I've just been running with a scissors towards all of the things I was not supposed to do. And because I think that there, there is great power in that imaginative freedom and that that I'm not interested in just recording the world around me, because the world around me needs a lot of work. And instead, I think that creatives that that it's our job to try to imagine a different universe.
Laura Arango Baier:Absolutely, absolutely. And you mentioned quite a few things there that I think are so important, you know, like how art our role as artists, you know, what? What stories do we want to tell? Right? What? How is, you know, art a vehicle for freedom and the responsibility that art has as a message, right? I feel like we've been so surrounded, especially, you know, in the last 20 years, not so much now, because your work is a testament to that we have. So surrounded with artwork that is just kind of vapid or not very deep, it's very hard to find paintings that have that can actually speak to this, you know, higher sort of feeling of what it means to be a human right, what the human experience means to us. And I think a lot of us are getting tired of this feeling of almost like emptiness and and seeing your work, you know, have that feeling of holding in that imagination and that freedom and just putting it out there. I think that is so important as a message for people, because we have realized more and more, at least, I have noticed this more and more, that a lot of the things we say like, oh well, we all know it's just this one thing, right? But in reality, things do affect us subconsciously, right? The Hyper fixation on advertising, the hyper fixation on this fast paced sort of world that tells you what you should like, what you should buy, what you should do. I think a lot of us are getting very tired of that, and it's a breath of fresh air to see you know work like yours, that touches on something else. It touches on the colorful beauty of like the freedom of childhood, the freedom of expression. And I think that is such an important message to put out there. And I think it really hits the nail on the head in terms of our like you said, What is your responsibility as an artist through your work? Right to break free from all of these things that, you know, school told you, oh no, you shouldn't do that. It's like, why not? You know. And it comes back to what I said about your work, that it's a big why not? Which I really love. I think it's so great. And it also, I wanted to ask you, what do you hope that people will take from your show?
Patricia Watwood:I hope that people will take from my show, just delight, just delight and joyfulness. Actually, I'm including in this show some installation elements. A few of you can see behind me that I've started working on are these, these paper poppies, and they're gigantic, like some of them are, like almost three feet across, one foot to two foot across. So Poppy is like my you might remember from the Wizard of Oz, right, Dorothy, and the line, they have to go through the field of poppies, and they fall asleep. So poppies have always had this, like magical spell connotation, but they're also really brightly colored, and they're large. And so then I want these set around the work, so that when you're kind of, and there's an outer room, an outer Gallery, which is right by this storefront, which I want you to kind of walk into and think, Okay, this is a little different. This is kind of, but it's like transitional space, like you're going to walk from New York City through the door in to the first room, and you're like, Okay, this is an art gallery. Now I'm in an art gallery, and then you actually have to go the way the gallery it is designed. There's kind of a hallway and a second gallery space. So now I'm going to create this set of kind of curtains that you have to kind of pass through to get into the inner Gallery, where I want to have these flowers and a sense that you have left the regular world behind and walked into this other universe. And what do I want? I just want people to be like delighted I am including a number of kind of really silly easter eggs, like, actually, like, I always have put a lot of little symbols and kind of easter eggs into my work. It's just fun for my brain. And so I've done a lot of that with this that then I hope just kind of crack people up a little bit right, that I think, is also something that's very different from this work, from anything I've ever done before, and reflecting, I hope, some growth, but just some self understanding about like looking back at my earlier work, like I was very earnest and I was very serious, but also it's because I really wanted to be taken seriously, right? So I felt like I had to be serious in order to be taken seriously. And as I've gotten older and more grounded in just what I am, I also think that art should also just be delightful. It should just, you know, like, I'd rather see Midsummer Night's Dream than like, what is it, Henry, you know, Henry the Fifth, right? Like, in Shakespeare, I'd rather go to the rom com than the tragedy. I'd rather watch mid summer. Than Macbeth, you know? So I found in my that I wanted to inject more of this feeling of just play delight like because I when you go to see a show, right? Hopefully you're going to take some of that energy and feeling from so that's so that's what I'm hoping. I'm hoping that people will just be delighted that, that they'll sort of be able to find themselves, kind of like transported into a different space, delighted by the beauty in it, and hopefully then feel a little like the you know, when go and get a nice coffee. And maybe things aren't going to be so bad, after all,
Laura Arango Baier:if you've been enjoying the podcast and also want to be able to ask our guests live questions, then you might want to join our monthly BoldBrush live webinars where our guest artists discuss marketing tips, share inspiring stories and answer your burning questions in real time. Whether you're a seasoned painter or just starting your creative journey. This is your chance to connect, learn and spark new ideas, and whether you're stuck on a canvas or building your creative business, this is where breakthroughs happen. Don't miss out. Ignite your passion and transform your art practice by joining us. Our next BoldBrush Live Webinar is coming up on the sixth of November, with our special guest, Steve Atkinson. You can find the sign up link in the show notes 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 faso.com forward slash, podcast, yeah, you know, I think that's, yeah, that's another thing that I think is very important, that you know that you're definitely showing through this work. Is that feeling of we can overcome, or there's hope that despite anything that might be happening in the world, because it does feel like the world right now is just topsy turvy and it's crazy. It It is very important to maintain that hope, especially as you're doing with painting and with the joyful colors and the just, you know, reminding people that things are going to be okay, that we can still create this beautiful world that includes everyone as a community, rather than this divisive, war torn place that it feels like it's truly become in the past few years. So I really appreciate that message of hope and freedom. And then I also wanted to ask you, because you mentioned a little bit your earlier work, um, I wanted to ask you a little bit about how you have felt in terms of your artistic growth, you know, comparing your your early, earlier self and the person you are now. How has this show represented your evolution as an artist and as a person,
Patricia Watwood:my work has changed, sometimes gradually and sometimes in jumps all of my you know, I've been peeing down for 2025, years. My first self, I was this more serious person, really passionately inspired by things that were classical and very balanced, very composed, poised at that time, also my pictorial language, my work was tighter. I was using tinier little brushes, and every little like inch of my canvas had to be kind. Like carefully stitched together, right? But as I've just developed as an artist, I've spent a lot of time in my studio doing plein air work and life sketches where I've been pushing myself to work a lot more quickly and a lot more broadly. Actually, in this show, there are seven or eight pieces that are all works on paper, and what we're calling the project room, which is it sort of makes a connection to the Feywild, because you can see through like the color and the brush work and the atmosphere that these people are in, that it's sort of still kind of somehow being translated into my universe, but there's a lot of things that are much more boldly colorful or painterly or loose, and that kind of looseness, and the energy that comes from that kind of looseness in your studio is something that I've very consciously wanted to bring into my more finished studio practice. So in this work also is a much bigger range of parts of the picture, which maybe are very tightly, like tried to be rendered with the especially the faces or the figures in terms of the careful drawing, or like eyelashes, but then other parts in the background that are really just like, is that it? What is that? Is that a tree? Or is that maybe, I guess those are branches, right? Like, where I actually want the brush strokes and the texture to on one hand suggest something. But then the more you look at them, you're kind of like, actually, it's kind of dissolving into just paint, and I find that that's been fun. And another thing that I've really changed, and it's been an evolution, and then in this body of work really intentionally, is that I've really changed and upped the chroma in my work being trained in the Atelier you're sort of working from perception, and there's this very high value sort of put on capturing, like the natural quality of the light and the quality of the atmosphere. And instead, I'm actually just embracing a really theatrical sense of light, where the light on the figure and the light on the background might actually be totally different. You see that in theater, because you get a spotlight on the actor doing their soliloquy, and then you get blue purple lights in the background, and that's great. Like you're at the theater, you don't think that, oh, that doesn't make any sense. Or I've been doing things where just with the palette and the Chroma, that instead of making a sky that's like a little pinkish, I'm making the sky like, really pink, like, maybe it's a different planet pink, or just using the color in the background of like this sort of desert tree, where the whole painting in the background is just like yellows and reds, as opposed to feeling like I needed to use some more naturalistic palette, or construction of the effect of the light. So, so that, you know, so there has been a lot of kind of painterly or color palette evolution as well that I think, by embracing the playfulness of the the theme of the Feywild, or the theatricalness of it, it's really allowed me to feel like, yeah, I can make that light in the background Purple. I can, like, make the light in the foreground a different color, right, in a way that is been pushing against my, sort of, my training, or the way that that I feel like it has been done in in representational and realist painting,
Laura Arango Baier:yes, yes, yes. And I love that you mentioned that because, like, I think, you know, I truly appreciate, you know, academic training, you know, I also went through it, and I think it has a lot to give. But I, and I'm, I'm sure you can relate it, it's lacking in that sense, it's lacking in the, okay, but what if I want to, you know, change this up. What if I want to, you know, use these different elements that aren't necessarily real, like, I have to pull in from imagination. There's like, I feel like that's kind of lacking in a lot of affiliates today, in terms of, like, allowing students to be free the way that you are becoming with this work and and you can tell now that with that training and with you know, playing, you can achieve it right, you can still achieve this fantastical, colorful, still very atmospheric work, like, especially in your painting Puck, I really love that blue background and the. Abstract shapes that happen in the background. It really feels like there's a galaxy behind Puck, and just how he he's or they are really in this environment. And it's very much, I can see the academic inform information and academically informed painting that happens, but at the same time, you've pulled it into this fantastical, imaginative realm, which, in my opinion, that's, you know, one of the coolest things, because that goes to show that, you know, a lot of people who go into academic school, I'm pretty sure we all go in because, or a lot of us go in because we love narrative and we want to be able to paint really well, so that then we can pull that into imagination and, like, pull it off and make it look cool. And I am very happy to see it happening in your work, because it gives me hope as also an academically trained person, that maybe I can also pull it off as I continue in my path as well. And I actually also wanted to ask you, do you find that there has been anything while you've been working on this. Well, the show, the paintings, the set, is there anything unexpected or interesting that you have discovered about yourself through the work?
Patricia Watwood:Yeah, I love this question. So there have, I think one of the things that's been fun and unexpected is that once I kind of had the theme set, right, the title set, and I started needing to write about and think about, like, well, what am I doing, and how does this all fit together? The that took some time, because it's easier, in retrospect, to say, oh, all of these things go together in this way. But early on, it's like a bunch of different things. You're not sure how they go together. But once I kind of formulated the the language around the concept, I've been just delighted at how many things like, feel like Kismet or have come together that I'm like, Oh, this is perfect for the Feywild. Like, I have two paintings. One of them actually is like this. This one here is the fairies in Midsummer Night's Dream. Are peas, Blossom, mustard seed, cobweb and moth. And these are fourth Shakespeare's characters that are basically titania's court, titania's attendance. So I was able to connect with a friend of mine who's non binary and an actor, and then he was able to connect me with someone else who's non binary, who was just on like Broadway in Cabaret actor named David el Marino so Dimitri Moyes was my friend and actor. And so the way that I've been able to kind of connect with theater people, then also working with actors, as opposed to artist models, has been a very exciting and unexpected development, because in both, in all of these cases, like I just kind of like a director would explain, this is the concept, this is the theme. This is like, this is your motivation. This is what's going on in this scene, and then what happens in terms of creating the composition or their look. And of course, they're like, really good at it. Like, duh, right? Like, of course they're really good at it. So that has been delightful. I have also been really delighted my child, Jonah, who is actually also an actor, and is the character mustard seed. So they are also a really good maker, and I asked them to help me figure out how to make these flowers, right. And so then they took it upon themselves. They've, you know, figured out the pattern. They have since taught me, and now I'm doing it also myself, but they created a lot of the flowers, and that has also just been delightful to then these different elements that I hadn't I was like, I think I want to try to do this installation. And then as those components have come together, they just, they just, they're just delightful. I just think that. I was like, that's fantastic looking. So those things have surprised me and and hopefully then will be a similar experience to people coming to see the show that it's not what you necessarily anticipate. And going to a art gallery, particularly in the representational sort of painting world, installation and sculptural installation is, of course, you know, been common in many art galleries, it's not like I'm inventing something new, but I don't feel like I've seen a lot of people in sort of my little corner of the Atelier and sort of classical painting universe embracing that kind of presentation.
Laura Arango Baier:Yeah, yeah. It definitely pushes those academic boundaries. Um. Into what I think is much more of what the real academics were doing back, you know, in French academic times where they made these incredible multi figure, all compositions and and they were historic ones, and they were fantastical ones. And I find that we've kind of killed that off, but I love that your work is like bringing it back,
Patricia Watwood:like in the Rembrandt house, right? There's like, was an entire room just full of, like, his costumes and props, right? Like it would have been much more like a theatrical production house, and I there was always a great deal of crossover between the world of people doing theater and scenic design. And you know, the the skills of the multi figure realist painter, you know, the studios of Rubens, like they are so much so connected with each other.
Laura Arango Baier:Yeah, absolutely, absolutely. And what's, what's funny that you mentioned about that is that a lot of those narrative painters say like, like Titian, that you just mentioned. It's really interesting, because they became very influenced by theater, but ancient Greek theater, because Aristotle, at the time, he was at the time Titian was around towards the end of his life, Aristotle's book on poetics, which is all about, you know, theater and what makes a really, really beautiful theater piece, came out, and then suddenly Titian's work took this whole other turn. So it makes perfect sense that we have this connection that I don't think people explore enough between theater and painting as like a still image of a theater of a narrative, and it's a complete image. And I love that you
Patricia Watwood:bring this up too. I trained in theater design, and I trained in lighting design and costume and all of these elements. And so I just kind of unconsciously brought all of that to the universe of making studio art, and when I wanted to then think about, how do I begin to make multi figure and narrative work? Then I felt like I was able to just pull on my theater skills in terms of, well, you need a backdrop for this, and you need scenery, you need props, you need to cast your characters right. And the more I have done that in terms of thinking about kind of world building and like I'm I do see myself more as like the director of my little plays, right that, and then each painting is kind of just a little still scene in my play. Yeah,
Laura Arango Baier:exactly. Yes, yes, yes, absolutely. But
Patricia Watwood:you know, the I think then the issue is also that as painters, right, thinking about the Atelier and material like materialism, or like a bigger message, right? Like, I think, in the 20th century, even when I was first training, like you were getting all of this documentary realism. This like the model on the model stand. Because philosophically, in some ways, there was a little bit of an idea of like, this is all there is, right? It's just this is, you know, this is the material world, and this is the model on the stand. But I think that culturally, I think we continue to have, like a persistent, dogged idea that there is something bigger, something that the subconscious is is real, that the our connective consciousness is real, that ideas are not just something that come from inside, but they are kind of held in community and shared and come from the ether. You know, all of these old ideas about our spiritualism, where ideas come from, how we collaborate with magical forces, right? Those ideas have just been persistent, and the language of the Atelier, the none of that thinking about, like, what is it for? What do you want to say with it? You know, like, I definitely got to a point where I was like, I can paint this. I can paint that. I can figure out how to paint most things I would want to figure out how to paint. So then the issue of, why? Why? What? What do I have to say about that? Why do I pick that? You know, all of those larger meta questions about, you know, how did I get here in the first place, in this language of figuration and classical realism, like holding on to so much of the language of academic drawing and painting and figuration that I'm kind of feel like now I was cooked in that oven. That's, that's how I was made. I'm, I'm supposed to do this work, right? But, like, why? You know, thinking going back to my childhood, right? What? Why was my. 10 year old self, how did I get on? How did I get here?
Laura Arango Baier:Yes, yeah, I think that's such a perfect full circle thing. Because, yeah, you know, it's I found myself having that same question. You know, at the end of academic school, it's like I came here for a reason, and I can't really remember anymore, because I've just been bogged down by all of this, what I would call like materialism, right where, like, this is material reality. This is how you represent it, and it kind of pulls you down to the point where you're deluded into thinking, man, maybe this is all there is, and this is all I want to paint now, because this is it kind of just like, digs into your psyche. But then you almost have to, like, unlearn and pull out all of these things. And it's like, no, no, no, no, these don't belong here. To get back to that child self who was like, I want to learn how to draw really, really good so I can paint unicorns. Because, yes, unicorns and fairies and all of these fantastical things, you know. Because why not again? I mean, we learn these skills, and they're magical skills. I mean, who the heck puts a three dimensional looking thing on a flat surface? I mean, I think that's witchcraft, you know. So why not make it even more magical, like how you're doing with your work. I mean, why not? And the last thing I wanted to ask you also is, if you were a creature in the fey world, the fey realm, what creature Do you think you would be okay?
Patricia Watwood:So I have an answer to this. I'm a little embarrassed to tell you, what creature would I be if I was in the fey realm, to be honest, the the character that I identify with most is Titania as the Queen of the fey realm. And it like I've done a lot of tarot, right? I get the queen of cups a lot, right. And in the last four or five years, thinking about creativity, even circling back to like, playfulness, abundance, right, I've been doing a lot of sort of internal work to how do I just, like, fully embrace that like a personal feeling of like abundance of joy and keeping that cup full no matter what's going on around me, also in the fey realm. In this particular fey realm, I am the queen because I made this little universe, right? So of course, it's my painted universe, and it's really a gallery, but in my own little creative realm, I get to do whatever I want, right? I'm also kind of very consciously for myself, being very mindful of my gratitude for that, for that creative freedom, right for the like, I can make my own little world, and I get to do that in this way in my studio. So and actually thinking about like my younger self, I think the Titania and Oberon have kind of long been like characters that I've like, just loved and identified with and in my life.
Laura Arango Baier:So I think that's that's a perfect choice, especially, you know, because you really are, like you said, You're the director of this, this little world that you've created. So it makes perfect sense that you'd be the head honcho, the queen of it. And actually, one, I did have, actually one more question, because, you know, having, now that you have, you know, all these pieces, and you have formed these, I guess, sentimental attachments. So you have created these sentimental attachments to these, these pieces, is there one specific piece that you find has a little bit more of that sentimental attachment on it?
Patricia Watwood:Well, definitely I am most sentimentally attached to this one that is Pease blossom and mustard seed, because the character of mustard seed is being modeled by my child, Jonah, and then their close friend from high school. And so it's a portrait of these two young people who are, of course, just like, close to me and precious in my life. So so that's definitely the one that I'm of course I also like, I'm trying really hard to get the port portrait likeness, which, in my own figurative work, that's not usually as much of an issue, because it's not my job as a figurative painter to also, like, get the likeness. So that has, that's probably the one that I'm most sentimentally attached to. I think it's a good thing sometimes, if you have one painting in your show that God like, God willing, like, if I actually sell it like, and I would be really sad, right? But I think that's also like, it's a good bar. Like to have made something that you love so much that it makes you sad to like, Okay, I have to, I have to give it away now, right? Like, because we're supposed, I think we are supposed to, we're supposed to make things and give them away, right? Like, hopefully that they can have life beyond me and give joy beyond me and go out into the outside world, yeah? So that will be the one that, if it leaves, it leaves, it will take a piece of me with it. Yeah?
Laura Arango Baier:I totally understand the feeling. It's like, it's like, the painting itself is almost like another child, and it's like, Oh, I hope it goes to a good home where it will be loved, you know? So I totally understand that also, because it's one unique piece, you know, I think that's something else that we kind of forget as artists, because we're so used to seeing our own work, but there's only one of it, right? Unless you make prints, but there's only one original as well. And I think that that's also one of the reasons we get so like, oh so pained about, you know, letting them go. But I think that's so important. Like said, it really completes the artistic, creative aspect of, you know, making a beautiful piece that resonates with someone, it goes home with them, and it is loved and cherished for hopefully generations.
Patricia Watwood:I definitely find that the pieces that I am most attached to in the studio do seem to leave my studio, you know, there's, there's something in that and that we as artists that sometimes it can feel a little like, yeah, painful. But like, as much as you're able to kind of like, give it away, that it's, it's like, part of the process and completing this circle of creativity and then hopefully communication,
Laura Arango Baier:yes, yeah. I mean, obviously it feels good to sell, but at the same time, I feel like, and I've been saying this to like, some friends, like, you know, if you think about it, selling and making money from this is really just a symptom of making a good piece, right? It's not really like the goal. It's like the symptom that comes Absolutely.
Patricia Watwood:I love that, yeah, because I I do as an artist, aspire to make my living as a professional artist. And yes, I have bills to pay, and I want to be able to, like, maybe even go to Paris. Is that so much to ask, right? But, but actually, what I really want is, I just want to be able to continue to have this ongoing dialog of making and then sharing my work and having my work seen and understood and selling the work has to be a part of that ecosystem or or it just doesn't perpetuate. Like, also you, we are a little bit like, like a dog with a biscuit, right when you get, like, a biscuit for the treat you for the trick you did, you're like, yes, you're so excited they're gonna do it again, you know, like, and so it helps the actual, the selling of the work is becomes part of your growth and understanding about how to do What you do successfully, you know, or maybe not successfully. I do think that for too long in the 20th century, like the idea that, like art was just this personal expression with almost like disregard for how it was received, how it was communicated. But in the theater, it's much more. It's absolutely essential. How is your work received? How is it communicated? And so as a painter, as a visual artist, I think that's what I'm trying to grow into, more and more, is how, how might my work go out, be received? How is it understood? And then I'm learning so much because I have all these things in my head, but that might not be what you're seeing. So then, can I learn like from that dialog? Can I take the feedback and then refine what I'm doing and then be like, Well, how about this? And then you're like, Oh, I love that, but I think about this, right? That it should be a back and forth.
Laura Arango Baier:Yes, absolutely. And, like you said, it's a continuing cycle, right? You create something, it sells. And then you realize, okay, did that work? Did that not work? And then you repeat, and so on and so forth. And before you know it, you have a solo show, awesome, awesome. And then if someone did want to go and explore this magical world, can you tell us when and where it will be, yeah.
Patricia Watwood:So my new show that Faye wild is going to be on view at equity Gallery, which is in the Lower East Side in New York City. Equity gallery is the gallery arm of the New York artists Equity Association, which is this historic nonprofit organization created by artists to present work and also support the professional development of artists. So I'm also proud of equity gallery as this kind of hybrid, like nonprofit, then artist presentation space. They do a lot of really good work for artists. So it's at the Lower East Side. It. Opens on November 6. The website for the gallery is New York artist equity, actually NY. Artist equity.org, and then, of course, like I'll have links available on my website, Patricia watwood studio.com, which is a Faso website, or on my instagram at Patricia watwood, so you'll be easy to find. To find links there too. So equity gallery New York City is the venue, and we'll have that work up on their website soon. Awesome.
Laura Arango Baier:Well, thank you so much Patricia, and I really hope that our listeners who may be based in New York City can go check out your work in person. There's nothing more magical than seeing real paintings in real life. So I hope people can make it out over there. But thank you so much for sitting down and telling us all about your magical fairy realm.
Patricia Watwood:Thank you for this great conversation and the opportunity to share my work with your audience. I do hope you'll go see it.
Laura Arango Baier:Yes. Thank you.