Artist's corner: Tabby Ivy
Bio
Name: Tabby Ivy
City: Bigfork
Age: 71
Medium of choice: Oils
Local gallery: Frame of Reference Fine Art, Whitefish
Q: How did you get started?
A: I started in art later in life. I stared painting in my early 50s. I’d always enjoyed black and white photography, so that was my creative outlet for a while and then I just decided I’d like to give a shot at painting. I started doing workshops … and one thing led to another.
Q: What has been a source of inspiration lately?
A: I’ve been painting larger pieces in the last year or two. What I’m drawn to is the textures and the composition and tonal aspects of painting. There’s a style of painting called tonalism — it’s not real bright colors, the paints are grayed down a little bit. It’s simple compositions, not a lot of detail. It’s more imparting a mood or a feeling. I’m drawn to things that lend that feeling of quietness and serenity of a painting. I’m drawn to the quiet message rather than a bold message.
Q: Tell me something most people don’t know about you.
A: I worked for a diagnostic ultrasound company in Seattle for 10 years. I was a marketing manger for echocardiography. I worked all over the country working for university’s…and physicians who were the early pioneers in echocardiography.
Q: What do you hope your work communicates?
A: What I would hope when people view one of my paintings is to continue the dialogue I’ve started within the painting. I always feel that a painting continues that dialogue that started with the artist and what they’re trying to say on the canvas … I hope my paintings inspire a continued conversation with the viewer.
Q: What is the most challenging part of being an artist?
A: I think just getting out of the way of the painting. I think artist can overwork and overanalyze and be their worst critic. Sometimes you’re in the creative process and you get kind of bogged down by things you shouldn’t be conned with … I think sometimes an artist has to walk away from their work and come back to it with fresh eyes.