Artist Interview: Kelly M. Hogan and Her Spiritually Inspired Art

For our second-place winner of the Black & White contest, Kelly M. Hogan, the mission of art is to convey positive power and the message of hope. She often paints live to engage others in her creative process, and we are glad to have encountered such a passionate artist through the contest. An interview with Kelly shows more sides of her that are interesting and inspiring:

What are your hobbies?

Giving back to others, hiking and G.oing O.ut D.oors in nature, finding secret spots to adventure to, meditating, meeting new people of all kinds and hearing their stories and connecting with them.

When did you know you wanted to create art?

As a child, when I realized that it was the perfect escape.

What is your creative process?

My Inspiration is found mostly when I am spiritually seeking connections to the Universe and when I am working and sharing Its message of truth with others.  Through spiritual practice and a lifestyle dedicated to finding freedom and a peace of mind within, I find direction from a Higher Power in the inspiration that It gives me and then I use my God-given talent along with my humanly-attained skills to take action in creating based off of it.

Who are your favorite artists?

We are all artists and we are all equally divine in our gifts, so I do not have a favorite.  I am drawn to the styles of artworks made by Basquiat, Keith Haring, and Van Gogh.  But, not one artist is my favorite ever- because I love all artists, each one is unique and holds the same amount of value to me.

What charities or organizations are you part of and why?

I am a featured artist for The Creative Wave Movement.  My path aligned with the founder of this amazing nonprofit at one of my friend’s art shows.  I was drawn to the passion I could feel pouring out of this selfless person of faith. I am in the process of connecting with another organization called “Mirror Mirror” where artists are paired with homeless kids and the mission is to inspire one another and come up with a creative concept together and then create it!

Do you like animals? Do you have any pets?

I love all the creatures that inhabit the earth.  We share this home together, so we must be good neighbors and not discriminate.  I rescued a shelter pup from East LA a year ago, but what I soon learned was that he rescued me too.  He is a year and a half and he is a majestic deer-fox.

What is one interesting fact few people know about you?

I moved out to LA to pursue my dream of being a songwriter, but fell back in love with my fate as a visual artist.  Fear held me back for a while with this.

*Another fun fact:

I go by the name RT, my alter artist ego.

For more information on Kelly and her works, please visit website.

Artist Interview: John Dukes sees art!

For Illumination Gallery's third-place winner of the Black & White contest, John Dukes, "the art of seeing" is his life. In fact, he literally took up photography while he was hiking in the Garden of the Gods one day and has not let the passion go ever since. An interview with the artist reveals a few facts about him, which are as interesting as his works.

What are your hobbies?

Other than shooting, I do enjoy a good game of basketball and working out. I feel it's important to be physically fit as well as spiritually fit.

When did you know you wanted to create art?

I was hiking through the Garden of The Gods in Colorado Springs one afternoon with my partner. We were so engulfed in shooting pictures and observing nature that we lost track of time and the trail. When you’re lost, you really pay attention to every detail with your eye. I took that to my camera. I believe it’s divine that I discovered my passion while lost in the Garden of the Gods.

What is your creative process?

I always find myself with headphones blasting music, whether it be hip hop or blues, out and about people watching. People and architecture are intriguing to me so when I see an inspiration, I just have to pull over. I don’t have any sort of “creative process”, it just comes when it decides to come.

Who are your favorite artists?

Benny Andrews, Andre Wagner, Tria Xiong, Thomas Evans. You probably don’t know them but they are artists who influence and shape my art. Andy Warhol, Picasso, Basquiat, if I had to name famous artists.


What charities or organizations are you part of and why?

None currently because my time does not permit me to be but I hope in the near future. I do believe it’s important to give back to the community and I look forward to being able to do so.


Do you like animals? Do you have any pets?

Hell yeah! I have this bad ass 8 month old, 120 lb English Mastiff who is as sweet as apple pie. I love him to death. My girl always jokes about how he must've done something wonderful in his past life, because he is loved and spoiled. He loves being picked up as if he only weighed 5 lbs. He’s always jumping on me asking to be picked up. He really doesn't know he weighs more than most people! He is incredible and I can go on and on about him but I won’t.

What is one interesting fact few people know about you?

I was a pretty good athlete, a b-baller in my day and could have done something with it but I was young and scared of the business so I let it go. But I say it was a blessing because I am here with another passion that I love more than I did basketball.

Want to find out more about John Dukes? Visit Illumination Gallery or John Dukes Photography and you too will see that "the art of seeing is his life"!

And the Winner to the Black & White Contest is..................

Congratulations!

to our Winners

Thank you to all the creative artists that submitted such fantastic artwork for the Black & White Contest. After such a close contest, we have our winners!

Illumination Gallery proudly presents 

Christine Lyon our Grand Prize Winner

Kelly Hogan our Second Place Winner

 and John Dukes is our Third Place Winner!

Illumination Gallery is here to ignite, inspire, expose and educate.

Stay tuned for more creative excellence to come!

Artist Interview: Phoenix of the Nile

While voting is underway for Illumination Gallery's Black & White contest, we've been able to catch up with yet another 360 degree artist -- Derris Nile. In our opinion, Derris has learned the "art of soul healing". His oeuvre is happy and sad, bittersweet, but above all: accepting. But let's hear it from the horses mouth. He says it better.

Where do you get your inspiration?

What inspires me to create things is the need of expression beyond words. Sometimes I have things to say that I cannot put into words, I turn to creativity when the world is being harsh. It's my soul time with myself. I never know what I'm going to do or shoot, whatever speaks to me I do. In doing that I think it's perfect.

Do you have any crazy hobbies you'll admit to?

My hobbies include painting, film, abstract art, studying cultures, outdoor adventures, going to the ocean for soul time, movies, singing, acting, writing. 

When did you realize you wanted to make art?  

I knew I wanted to create art when I was getting sober from crystal meth and going through rehab. My therapist suggest I do hobbies because hobbies are healing and I had the urge inside to paint. I watched a video from this Australian artist and made my own twist on things. I had no clue what I was doing.

What's your creative process?

The process starts with a flash of intuition of colors that mix that might look good together. Then I find everything else just falls into place once I know the colors I want to use. With photography it's just walking around and seeing something powerful that speaks to me.

Are there any artists you find most inspirational?

Artists that inspire me: Bradford Stewart - I really love his pour art, it has such freedom in being messy. Gerhard Richter - I like how he scrapes off the layers with a butcher's knife.

Do you do any pro bono work for your community? Are you involved in any charities?

I volunteer in Santa Monica helping feed the homeless at the shelter, I also volunteer at Being Alive to help those with HIV/AIDS. It's important to make some time each month for volunteering; it opens my eyes and gets me out of myself. I'm always changed by each experience.

You sound like you've got a pet. Do you?

I have a dog, Phoenix 

Let's call it the Illumination Secret: tell us one thing that nobody knows about you.

Most people don't know that I'm sore all the time from working out. I'm very goofy.

Artist Interview: Svetlana Bagdasaryan, The Inversionist

Artist Svetlana Bagdasaryan started painting by accident. Literally. A life-changing experience altered Svetlana's perception of the world and she rapidly began to express this with oil on canvas. Soon afterwards she went on to champion the movement of Inversionism. Her creativity draws inspiration from all walks of life and some of her more recent endeavors include illustrated, bilingual fairytales. Svetlana is a woman of few words, but let's find out some things about Svetlana that only few know.

What are your hobbies?

Writing, illustrating and publishing bilingual fairy tales. My Grandma’s Fairy Tales is a series of fairy tales from around the world. The books are bilingual and should be interesting for adults and children as well.

When did you know you wanted to create art?

After an accident. I’m a PhD in chemistry and worked as a research scientist. In August 2010, after an accident, I created my first painting. The occurrence totally changed my way of perceiving and understanding things. Before, I had held no interest in painting and had no clue as to how to hold a brush; yet from that time on, I was seized by a need to paint. Within days of the accident I painted my first picture and since then numerous skillful artworks are being produced nonstop. I have already participated in several exhibitions worldwide. My patrons include collectors from the U.S. as well as Western and Eastern Europe.

 Check out this interview with Svetlana.

What is your creative process?

Hard to describe. Ideas are coming by themselves.

Who are your favorite artists?

Modeliany, El Greco.

What charities or organizations are you part of and why?

I'm involved with Armenian Schools Support Project.

Do you like animals? Do you have any pets?

I do and I have a gorgeous German shepherd named Ramzes.

What is one interesting fact few people know about you?

I am crazy about ice-cream.

Artist Interview: Michaell Magrutsche & Liminal Expression

Illumination Gallery recently caught up with multimedia artist Michaell Magrutsche to find out more about the man behind the art. Besides from being a lover of dogs (but not owning any), Michaell's self-dubbed style is The Liminal Expression. Michaell's oeuvre seeks to change the direction of gravity and pull the viewer towards a wall. It seduces one to discover it's content by luring the imagination to fill in the blanks.  Let's meet the liminal expressionist.

What is your creative process?

As soon as a physical or mental image triggers me and has enough artistic impact, I pencil sketch it on paper. I adjust and redraw it until I have a clean copy. I turn it into a digital file, adjust the design to my liking and fill in various color schemes. Once the image is completed to my taste, I paint it on canvas. To start a dialog with the viewer, I sometimes include parts that could be slivers of objects to engage the eye, similar to the old masters that added a caterpillar or bee into a Still Life. I balance artistic value with naïveté, intermingle unfamiliar objects and unusual colors to express mysticism to evoke more mind-soul play. Because I paint for myself, I am not losing my passion for creating and my paintings stay very unique. I hold clarity, dynamics and truth in high regard. I attempt to be concise in conveying my inspirations. For this reason, I try to leave my personal life behind or at the psychiatrist’s office. A clear mind allows me to transfer only my purest creativity on canvas.

Who is your favorite artist?

Ellsworth Kelly

What charities or organizations are you part of and why?

My main charity are artists. Since they are the most charitable supporting every charity event and most are living around the poverty line.

What is one interesting fact few people know about you?

I am art, I love it. I see art as part of a person and has incredible power when you know how and for what to look for.

Keep an eye out for Michaell's art on 

Illumination Gallery's VOTE page!

EXPLORE YOUR ART WITH THE B&W CONTEST!

Illumination Gallery wants to honor your creative, fabulous artwork. Exposure is open for all artists who want to promote their artwork. Show us your Artistic excellence and shine it all over the world.

 

 The motive of our contest is to find outstanding artwork, to support emerging artists and shine great artwork in the world. We are searching for people who share their passion and want to learn and contribute to a growing, thriving art community.

We are spotlighting your artwork in Illumination Gallery and also promoting it on all our social media platforms. Join our Black & White Contest 2015 to win great prizes worth over $1500. 

 

The entry fee of the Contest is $15 for 4 images. Submissions are open still until this Saturday April 25, 2015. If you are an artist and want to boost your art career, then join us now and take part in the Black & White 2015 competition.  Without any delay, submit your artwork today. Only 3 days left, so hurry up and join us!!!