Greta Chapin-McGill
Author/Painter
By Rodney Wayne Branche
Copa Style Magazine's Publisher/CEO
Copa: Where are you from?
Greta: I am from Washington, DC, but I consider myself a global citizen. I have lived in quite a few Cities. Some I have adopted as my own, and some I just love because I feel I could live there. I have lived in New York City, Firenze, Italy, Santa Fe, New Mexico, and carry a passport that is most probably in need of new pages at this point.
I love Italy and all things Italian Venice, Sienna, and Firenze call to my heart daily. I'm from a combination of all of these places with Paris and Barcelona thrown in for good measure, let me not forget the Cote d’Azure. I think at this point in my life the clear sky and blue waters of the Mediterranean are where my heart would most like to be.
Greta: I am from Washington, DC, but I consider myself a global citizen. I have lived in quite a few Cities. Some I have adopted as my own, and some I just love because I feel I could live there. I have lived in New York City, Firenze, Italy, Santa Fe, New Mexico, and carry a passport that is most probably in need of new pages at this point.
I love Italy and all things Italian Venice, Sienna, and Firenze call to my heart daily. I'm from a combination of all of these places with Paris and Barcelona thrown in for good measure, let me not forget the Cote d’Azure. I think at this point in my life the clear sky and blue waters of the Mediterranean are where my heart would most like to be.
Copa: What schools have you attended?
Greta:
Howard University/Corcoran School of Art, Washington, DC.
Art and Art History
Prince George's Community College, Largo, Maryland
Renaissance Painting Technique
Ghost Ranch Education and Retreat Center, Abiquiu, New Mexico:
Landscape studies
Venice, Italy:
Lived and worked with 5 international artists
Harvard X - An online component to Harvard University:
Pyramids of Giza: Ancient Egyptian Art and Archeology
Howard University/Corcoran School of Art, Washington, DC.
Art and Art History
Prince George's Community College, Largo, Maryland
Renaissance Painting Technique
Ghost Ranch Education and Retreat Center, Abiquiu, New Mexico:
Landscape studies
Venice, Italy:
Lived and worked with 5 international artists
Harvard X - An online component to Harvard University:
Pyramids of Giza: Ancient Egyptian Art and Archeology
Copa: At what time did you discover the wonder of Art?
Greta? When I grew up it was expected for girls to take piano lessons, dance lessons, be in the Girl Scouts, go to church on Sunday, and wear white cotton gloves. My parents also chose to send me for art lessons. Memories are often associated with smell and taste. The smell of oil paint was completely intoxicating to me at the age of 12. It has never left my memory and I always come back to it. I can see the studio where I was sent every Saturday morning as if it were yesterday. It has been my calling ever since. Life sometimes halts your dreams with hurdles that must be jumped, especially for women. Relationships, Marriage, raising children and becoming a caregiver are just a few of those life bridges that must be crossed. I have never lost sight of my art in jumping through those hoops and every experience has added to my artistic expression.
Greta? When I grew up it was expected for girls to take piano lessons, dance lessons, be in the Girl Scouts, go to church on Sunday, and wear white cotton gloves. My parents also chose to send me for art lessons. Memories are often associated with smell and taste. The smell of oil paint was completely intoxicating to me at the age of 12. It has never left my memory and I always come back to it. I can see the studio where I was sent every Saturday morning as if it were yesterday. It has been my calling ever since. Life sometimes halts your dreams with hurdles that must be jumped, especially for women. Relationships, Marriage, raising children and becoming a caregiver are just a few of those life bridges that must be crossed. I have never lost sight of my art in jumping through those hoops and every experience has added to my artistic expression.
Copa: How did you develop your first skills in color and paint?
Greta: Manipulating color, texture and medium is a learning curve that is never entirely met. Most of my foundation in color comes from continued study of Wassily Kandinsky and his book “Concerning the Spirituality In Art”. The opinions represented by Kandinsky are at the cornerstone of my personal study of color theory. Color can make the eye and the brain relate to each other by placing certain colors next to each other and in creating abstraction by using mathematical correlation, one color and or shape to another to convey feeling, Painting medium is really a personal choice. I have worked in many mediums…oil, acrylic, watercolor, pastel, charcoal, pencil and I have experimented with making my own paint from natural clays and pigments. I have tried applying paint to canvas and whatever surface I have chosen to work with in many different ways. In conversation with abstract artist Jack Whitten he challenged me to “use something other than a brush” This is what makes art a never ending learning and spiritual pursuit for me. My skills will constantly be evolving.
Greta: Manipulating color, texture and medium is a learning curve that is never entirely met. Most of my foundation in color comes from continued study of Wassily Kandinsky and his book “Concerning the Spirituality In Art”. The opinions represented by Kandinsky are at the cornerstone of my personal study of color theory. Color can make the eye and the brain relate to each other by placing certain colors next to each other and in creating abstraction by using mathematical correlation, one color and or shape to another to convey feeling, Painting medium is really a personal choice. I have worked in many mediums…oil, acrylic, watercolor, pastel, charcoal, pencil and I have experimented with making my own paint from natural clays and pigments. I have tried applying paint to canvas and whatever surface I have chosen to work with in many different ways. In conversation with abstract artist Jack Whitten he challenged me to “use something other than a brush” This is what makes art a never ending learning and spiritual pursuit for me. My skills will constantly be evolving.
Copa: What was your first subject matter?
Greta: My first subjects came from the books I read as a child. When I was in school books like “Dick and Jane” were serial stories of an idealized family. My mental conception of what these figures looked like and what they wore in real time were my first mental models. In the study of art you move on to landscapes and life models. Learning how to recognize and make the colors your eye sees. Now the world is my subject matter. My art enables me to tell the story of my time.
Greta: My first subjects came from the books I read as a child. When I was in school books like “Dick and Jane” were serial stories of an idealized family. My mental conception of what these figures looked like and what they wore in real time were my first mental models. In the study of art you move on to landscapes and life models. Learning how to recognize and make the colors your eye sees. Now the world is my subject matter. My art enables me to tell the story of my time.
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Copa: Who are the top 3 Artists that have inspired you the most?
Greta: Hard question, Many artists inspire me on a daily basis, it’s one of the reasons I look at so much art. I am always drawing inspiration from every artist I see and meet. I love the abstract approach of Victor Ehikhamenor and Joan Miro. Henri Matisse and his use of minimal lines to convey a huge message. Impressionist artists Frederic Bazille and Amedeo Modigiliani. My personal mentor Yale University professor William Georgenes. Professor Ed Love from Howard University who allowed me to give him an abstract vision of my own face instead of a mirror image. The tribal artists of Aboriginal Australia, Ethiopia and Benin have contributed greatly to my understanding of the aesthetic of me.
Greta: Hard question, Many artists inspire me on a daily basis, it’s one of the reasons I look at so much art. I am always drawing inspiration from every artist I see and meet. I love the abstract approach of Victor Ehikhamenor and Joan Miro. Henri Matisse and his use of minimal lines to convey a huge message. Impressionist artists Frederic Bazille and Amedeo Modigiliani. My personal mentor Yale University professor William Georgenes. Professor Ed Love from Howard University who allowed me to give him an abstract vision of my own face instead of a mirror image. The tribal artists of Aboriginal Australia, Ethiopia and Benin have contributed greatly to my understanding of the aesthetic of me.
Copa: What is your philosophy to Art as it pertains to visual perception as well as the individual expression of your own work?
Greta: My philosophy of my own artistic practice is to tell the story of my time. To show my personal and spiritual DNA through the visions live within me. I want the viewer to see in my work the indomitable spirit of the women of my past who came to America in the holds of dark ships and had the tenacity and strength to survive. To convey the beauty and color of what makes up this American Girl. I want to be an archivist for the events of my life. I believe all art is political and the most meaningful events of my life have been surrounded by the political atmosphere of my time. I want you to look at my works and feel the strength my ancestors… and of myself to be brave enough to live the life of an artist and survive,
Greta: My philosophy of my own artistic practice is to tell the story of my time. To show my personal and spiritual DNA through the visions live within me. I want the viewer to see in my work the indomitable spirit of the women of my past who came to America in the holds of dark ships and had the tenacity and strength to survive. To convey the beauty and color of what makes up this American Girl. I want to be an archivist for the events of my life. I believe all art is political and the most meaningful events of my life have been surrounded by the political atmosphere of my time. I want you to look at my works and feel the strength my ancestors… and of myself to be brave enough to live the life of an artist and survive,
Copa: What and where are your favorite museums and why?
Greta: My favorite museums….. that is tough but let me mention of course the Louvre in Paris. It used to house great works of art since the 16th century, I cannot think of any artist who has not been there to study the contents of the Great Louvre, The British Museum in London and the Victoria and Albert, The HIGH in Atlanta and the MINT in Charlotte are exquisite. The Barnes in Philadelphia is breathtaking, architecturally as well as its content, The Foundation Maeght in Saint-Paui-de Vence near Nice France is another architectural wonder with contents that will take your breath away. The Metropolitan in New York and the National Gallery in Washington. I could go on and on. The bottom line is there is beautiful art to see in every corner of the world so get out your passport!
Greta: My favorite museums….. that is tough but let me mention of course the Louvre in Paris. It used to house great works of art since the 16th century, I cannot think of any artist who has not been there to study the contents of the Great Louvre, The British Museum in London and the Victoria and Albert, The HIGH in Atlanta and the MINT in Charlotte are exquisite. The Barnes in Philadelphia is breathtaking, architecturally as well as its content, The Foundation Maeght in Saint-Paui-de Vence near Nice France is another architectural wonder with contents that will take your breath away. The Metropolitan in New York and the National Gallery in Washington. I could go on and on. The bottom line is there is beautiful art to see in every corner of the world so get out your passport!
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Copa: What does the future hold for Greta Chapin-McGill and her world of Art?
Greta: My dreams are big. Right now I am exhibiting at the Banneker-Douglas Museum in Annapolis Maryland. February brings the Howard University Alumni Club of Greater Washington opening at the Pepco Edison Place Gallery. The Adrian Helen Gallery in New York in March, and The Joyce Gordon Gallery in Oakland, California in September. There's always room on my plate for more learning, more visions to emerge and travel to places beautiful. Come…visit my studio and see what moves you!
Greta: My dreams are big. Right now I am exhibiting at the Banneker-Douglas Museum in Annapolis Maryland. February brings the Howard University Alumni Club of Greater Washington opening at the Pepco Edison Place Gallery. The Adrian Helen Gallery in New York in March, and The Joyce Gordon Gallery in Oakland, California in September. There's always room on my plate for more learning, more visions to emerge and travel to places beautiful. Come…visit my studio and see what moves you!
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For more information about Greta Chapin-Mcgill follow this link:
http://chapinmcgill.com/chapinmcgill.com/
~Copa