Atlanta based painter Bethany Marchman uses traditional oils to create parallels between innocence and influence/ history and popular culture. These paintings are sometimes funny and sometimes sad. They are reflections of the awkward changes we experience as individuals and as a society, while questioning whether or not growth is synonymous with improvement. Here’s an interview with Bethany below.

An-Mag.com: How are you?

Bethany Marchman: Great, Kendrick, thanks! How are you?

An-Mag.com: Amazing! A lot of your subjects are women. Why is that?

BM: I think I gravitate toward subject matter that I can sympathize with. When I was first trying the find my personal style as a painter, I was going all sorts of directions. I found that the subject matter that really held my interest and felt the most authentic to me focused on women and children. Even animals I feel an association with. All my paintings are like little expressions of my feelings. They aren’t so much my opinions as my observations of experiences. I experience life as a woman and express it often through the feminine perspective. I hope that by being as honest as possible in my delivery I can create something genuinely relatable to others regardless of age or gender.

An-Mag.com: Did you attend school for art? If so where?

BM: I attended Columbus College of Art and Design and completed my degree after transferring the University of Georgia . I feel like my greatest learning experience came earlier in private lessons back home in Florida from my teacher, Barbara Bassett. She pushed her students harder and more effectively than I’ve ever seen since.

An-Mag.com: You use oil paint. What about this medium attracts you?

BM: I’m madly in love with oil paints! I got to make my first oil painting at sixteen and I was chomping at the bits. It’s been my medium ever since. I guess what I’ve always loved most about it is the potential it possesses. To look at the works of masters and to know all of the visual possibilities are achievable through oils is so exciting. Aside from that, the process of painting with oils is unique and appealing. It’s almost like sculpting with clay in that it is an additive and subtractive process that can be very forgiving. Your colors stay true. They don’t become some different color when they dry as with other paints. They blend like no other paint. Oh, and you can leave your pallet out without them drying up on you. Love them.

An-Mag.com: I also notice the references to history. What is it about history that interests you?

BM: Looking to the past is such an amazing way to assess and digest the present. I’m fascinated by what changes and what remains the same in our human history. I tend to romanticize certain aspects of the past a bit too. Today so many things are built to be disposable. I’m sure it’s because our technology is moving so rapidly, but I feel like we lose something beautiful and valuable along the way.

An-Mag.com: Where do you see the Atlanta art scene going?

BM: I really hope for the best. I know there are a lot of creatives trying very hard to reach out to one another and to contribute to the city. Many still have to look outside of Atlanta to find success. I think enough people do care about art here to make a real difference and I feel optimistic that the art community will continue to grow and find support.

An-Mag.com: Your newer work includes female subjects with animal body parts. Tell me about that.

BM: love using animals in my paintings because they have so much symbolism associated with them. To paint a portrait of an imaginary person with animal aspects lets me express their personalities in a deeper way. We are animals ourselves and interconnected by nature.

An-Mag.com: What is art to you?

BM: That is a very challenging question for me. It’s hard to put a logical purpose to art when you think about it. It can almost seem frivolous when you look at the more obvious needs of people in the world. I feel like the existence of art in society is almost a proof of the spiritual aspect of lives. It’s kind of like love. You could technically survive without it, but who would want too?

An-Mag.com: Who are some artists you look up to?

BM: A few names of a ton I admire: Norman  Rockwell, Diane Arbus, Michael Hussar, Mark Ryden, Julie Taymor, Pieter Bruegel the Elder, Francisco Goya…

An-Mag.com: What’s next for you?

BM: 2010 is looking very exciting for me. I’ve got group shows in Berlin , Denmark and Atlanta the first half of the year. In September I’m showing solo at Bold Hype Gallery in Orlando . I’m also thrilled to be working on a collaborative show with photographer, Neda Abghari, and artist, Fahamu Pecou, this year that I feel is going to be an amazing experience for me to grow in my art with the aid of their inspiration.

An-Mag.com: Is there anything else you’d like to mention?

BM: Just thanks, and I appreciate what your magazine is putting out into the world.

For everything Bethany Marchman click here.

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