Artist in Residence {July}: Alexandra Peacher
What is the biggest inspiration for your pieces over time or for your current work?
My work has a sense of whimsy and playfulness, which is always inspired by nature and my background in dance. It wasn’t until moving out of the city and really getting my hands dirty again in the garden that I started to feel my sense of self returning. I remember when I stopped “playing in the dirt” with my siblings around the age of 15, so it’s been nice to feel some of my early childhood self come through again.
What is your technique for creating?
I’ve learned to let ideas marinate a bit in the brain before trying to create. I can tend to be hard on myself when I have large breaks between the actual painting phase, but the incubation chapter is just as important! Sometimes inspiration for a piece comes months after you see or feel something that really moves you.
What is your favorite & least favorite part about professional art?
While social media can be an asset, it can also be a bit debilitating, especially when you compare yourself to where others are in their careers. It seems like one has to be the marketer, the PR team as well as the artist to get anywhere, which can be hard sometimes. It can almost feel as though a gallery or collector won’t take you seriously or question your prices unless you have a following. A favorite part of all this, though, is having the opportunity to work alone. There is something so vulnerable and intimate about getting into a flow state with your work.
What is your go-to work/creative playlist?
When in the studio, I like to listen to mostly instrumental music. Something that can easily stay in the background. I’m not really a podcast person when I paint, music keeps the creativity flowing for me. Monster Rally radio is a go-to, and I’ll never say no to Tchaikovsky.
Who/what are some of your key artistic influences?
I’m from New Mexico, so it would be a sin not to mention Georgia O’Keefe here. There are so many, but Helen Frankenthaler and Hilma AF Klimt are other artists I look to. When it comes to modern artists, I really love Chloe Wise’s portrait work as well as Heather Day’s large fluid abstracts.
If you weren't an artist, what would you be?
I’d like to think that I would still be an artist of a different type in another life, but when I was very little, I wanted to be a paleontologist. I always thought it would be so fun to be the lead singer in a band as well.
If you ruled the world, what would your first order of business be?
Wow, this question bears a lot of weight, but it would probably be along the lines of dismantling the structures in our society upholding white supremacy and discrimination. That’d probably be a good place to start.
What is your dream project?
Right now, I’m actually in the process of building/designing a home with my partner, and while it's been a labor of love, I’d definitely consider it a dream project. It’s honestly just a giant art project! When it comes to my career, though, I’d love to be commissioned for a handful of artworks to be in a permanent collection for a high-end retail shop or restaurant. Another project on my list is to be featured in some sort of campaign for a fashion or beauty brand that I love as well.