We are thrilled to have the opportunity to interview Jeanette Iskat, a talented watercolor artist who lives in Villa Nueva, New Mexico. Jeanette's beautiful and captivating paintings are showcased in Wolf Martinez Gallery, and we are excited to learn more about her creative process, inspiration, and artistic journey.
Can you tell us a bit about yourself and your background as a watercolor artist?
I am a certified peer support worker, someone with lived experience with addiction and mental health issues who provides support to people in crisis. I am also a writer, Painter, activist, and farmer. . I live in rural New Mexico and have lived here for about 14 years. I moved from Los Angeles. I have lived all over the world, but love living in New Mexico.
What drew you to the medium of watercolor, and what do you enjoy most about working with it? I saw watercolors at the O’Keeffe Museum during my first visit to New Mexico. I was not interested in them as a medium until I saw how abstract and messy she was with hers. I took a class at Santa Monica College and fell in love with the medium. Since seeing those paintings, I have found multiple watercolor artists whose work I greatly admire.
Your upcoming solo exhibition at Wolf Martinez Gallery is titled 'A Journey Through Dance.' Could you share with us the inspiration behind this theme? During the pandemic, I was in a critical services role at my job. I had to be very safe and only went to work and home. I love to watch people dance and often carry sketchbook with me. I began painting during my lunch hours and after work, and the theme of dance kept coming up for me. I had an abundance of photos of my friends, family and neighbors, dancing, and that eventually turned into the show.
Specifically, you mentioned being inspired by flamenco dance performances. How has flamenco influenced your artwork, and what aspects of the dance do you try to capture in your watercolor paintings? I learned about Flamenco through Vicente Grieco, an accomplished singer and teacher in the Flamenco cantante style. He invited me to my first show, with La Emi. I was in love with it from the first and found myself sketching during the performance. I focus on the color, the incredibly beautiful movement, and all of the lovely colors of the costumes. There are many styles of dance in this show but there is definitely a Flamenco focus.
Watercolor impressionism is a unique style. How would you describe your approach to creating impressionistic watercolor pieces? I love the interaction between water and the painter with watercolors. Water will have its way and you cannot control what it will do. But you can learn the ways it might behave and go from there.
Could you walk us through your creative process? How do you translate the energy and movement of dance into your artwork? I paint multiple paintings at once. I will prep my paper and layout multiple materials. Then, I do under drawings. I work on multiple pieces because so much of watercolor is doing things in an order of operations, with small things to each one, concurrently. I often listen to music while I paint and focus on remembering how that dancer made me feel watching them.
What challenges, if any, do you encounter when working with watercolors? How do you overcome them? Watercolor is a very challenging medium. It’s about what type of paper you’re using, what brush, the temperature and how fast it dries, which style of watercolor medium! I have learned to paint through my frustration and fear. There are moments when I am sure I have ruined a piece, so I just go ahead and really ruin it. In doing that, I often find something really powerful and good.
Are there any specific techniques or methods you employ to achieve the desired effect in your watercolor paintings? I love capillary action, how the pigment meets the water. Think about when you add cream to black coffee and you’ll have an idea of what it looks like. I will often paint with clean water and a very clean brush and create a shape and then add pigment and let the colors decide what they wanna do.
I also like to mix my watercolor mediums within a single piece so I might be using watercolor, crayons, gouache, metallic ink, etc. I like to play around with different kinds of paper. There’s a lot of black paper in the show because it helps capture the mood of seeing dancers in a club or on a stage.
The location of your solo exhibition is Albuquerque, New Mexico. Do you find any particular connection between your artwork and the local culture or environment? This show is so New Mexico focused. I have dancers at fiesta’s in Las Vegas and Villanueva, Flamenco in Albuquerque in Santa, Fe, ceremonial dancers from the plaza in Taos (done with their permission) … at least 90% of the dancers are of our communities in New Mexico. I take as much joy in seeing a small dancer at their first flamenco recital as I do watching a couple two step at a fiesta.
What do you hope viewers will take away from your exhibition, 'A Journey Through Dance'? I really worked hard to include all of the dancing that brings me joy and all dancing brings me joy. I hope people feel the beauty that is dance. I think dance is one of the best things that humans do. Pure joy and movement.
On a personal note, the show opens shortly after the one-year anniversary of my father’s death. I did not get to be present when he passed and he was my first art teacher. I hope he would be proud of the work.
Are there any future projects or artistic endeavors you're excited about and would like to share with us? I am very excited to be painting big, which is very challenging and difficult with watercolors. I have been refining techniques over the last couple of years and I’m really looking forward to see how I might make some really good big watercolors.
Lastly, could you tell us about any upcoming events or exhibitions where our readers can see more of your work? You can find me under my name on Facebook underwater is my church on Instagram. I am also working to update my webpage which is jeanetteiskatart.com. I show regularly with a Wolf Martinez Gallery, and often at
Alas de Agua, in Santa Fe.
Xo j
Thank you, Jeanette, for taking the time to share your insights and experiences with us. Your passion for watercolor painting is truly inspiring, and we appreciate your willingness to answer our questions. We look forward to seeing more of your incredible artwork and wish you all the best in your future endeavors.
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