Hello Markéta! Thank you for making time for this interview. First of all, tell us, please, about yourself and your relationship with art. When and how did you understand that art would become an integral part of your life?
Hello and thank you so much for having me! I know it doesn’t sound original at all, but art has always been important to me. I have wished to become a painter since I was a kid, even though back then I didn’t feel that it could actually happen. However, I enjoyed drawing and later painting more than anything else, seizing every opportunity to practice. I would draw my teachers at school until they finally accepted my hobby and just allowed me to do that. I also loved sketching people in the underground. It was me who turned my family kitchen into one big artistic mess when my parents would leave.
According to your bio, you were born in Prague, have lived for some time in the United Kingdom and in Germany. How has living in different countries influenced your perception of the world and your mentalitу?
It has shifted my understanding of the world completely. I have grown up in a grey block of flats not in the safest part of Prague. Not having much money, we did not travel, and I was the only child in class whose family attended the church. I went through my teenage years feeling very confused and lost. When I found the courage to go and explore the places I had been interested in, it had a dramatic influence on my life attitudes regarding the questions of responsibility, meaning, hope, and spirituality.
It’s amazing to see how many ways of life there are in the world: the «old truths» firmly believed back at home can be under dispute in a different part of the world. In the Czech Republic there is still a lot of prejudice, also in regards to travelling or living abroad. For example, many people argue that after travelling, you will never fit in again. I have been warned against losing a sense of home and belonging. For me the opposite is true. I feel so much more connected to the universe now.
Can you think of the people who greatly influenced your creativity and eventually brought you to the point where you are now? To your mind, does a mentor play an important role in the development of a young artist?
Replying to the first question, I believe my mum had much influence over my development as an artist. Whatever I showed her, she would always provide me with honest feedback, which was just priceless. When I was a child, she helped me to shape an understanding of the contrasts and the perspective as well as the composition, so she has been really supportive. At the same time she would never shy away from pointing out that I, for instance, had broken the rules of the horizon, or the resemblance of the portrait with the original image had been lost. I believe such kind of help was the thing I exactly needed, and I still do. That’s what my partner does for me now, for which I am so grateful to him. You know, after hours of staying in front of the canvas, one loses the sense of reality to some degree.
Regarding professional mentors, I have never been lucky to find the one in one person, so I decided to rely on online sources as well. The latter I see as an amazing advantage of modern times, many examples of which are on YouTube. In general, it’s the Internet where one can find answers to almost every question. The biggest influence for me were the videos of Stuart Davis, who is a true master of Tonalism and can perfectly explain and demonstrate how landscape painting works. What I mean here is a very substantial way of explaining, not just showing off some miraculous skills without giving any context, just like some tutors on YouTube do, which I find rather frustrating. One of the best things I learned from Stuart Davis was that the illusion of detail in the painting is way more convincing than the detail itself. That discovery helped me to “loosen” my style and really got me into the painting process.
In my opinion, having a mentor can be fantastic, if you manage to find someone who understands the message you are trying to convey. However, art is often about touching the deepest layers of a human soul, so it might be difficult to find the right person who would entirely understand and feel your artistic vision. In my experience, many people in the art world like curators, gallerists etc. know perfectly what to do if they were in your place, yet they usually forget that it’s the artist who needs to have a say in one’s own statement.
You work in various art styles and techniques like Cubism, oil painting, graphic arts, and even comics. How do you manage to be such a versatile artist? What is your favorite art language?
I think it's just in my nature. It’s really difficult for me to focus solely on one thing. Nothing makes me happier than jumping from one idea to another, carrying over some experience on the way.
In general, I see landscape oil painting as my principal art language. While painting, I relax, express myself, and learn something new, so it’s almost a form of meditation for me. But sometimes I feel like doing something completely different, just for fun. And that’s what I love about Cubism — there are no rules, one can just go crazy, freely, without worrying about the message or other technicalities. I see that as a journey. The more I learn about the colors and values in Realist paintings, the better I can express my ideas in Cubist style.
Regarding graphic arts, it’s a different story. I use them more as sketchbooks for ideas, especially when it comes to some dark topics. Those small graphic illustrations help me deal with the things that bother me and the feelings I still struggle to find a name for.
As for comics, it’s such a great way of storytelling! I absolutely love stories. As a child I would regularly create some short stories about Jesse James for the school magazine. Later I drew comic strips for different websites and periodicals. In the future I will definitely love to come back to making comics. However, I don’t expect to get very good at it, since there is so much to learn, and it might take one a lifetime to master any field. Still, it’s a true joy to work on projects like this just for oneself.
What is inspiration for you and where do you derive it from?
For my paintings I get most often inspired by music and nature. For me, walking in the woods feels like being in my own home. I also celebrate it in my art. Music often helps me to make the right choice of colors. I love listening to rock and metal, jazz, country, folk, and sometimes classical music.
Cubism and graphic arts usually derive from a long process of consideration, so I do some planning in advance. Cubism, in particular, requires a few initial studies to clarify the colors and the composition. However, I try not to plan things for too long, otherwise, they lose their spirit.
Please tell us about your artistic process. How do you come up with an idea? When does the implementation start?
I prefer creating at an isolated site. Painting is a very intimate process, and it barely works for me with plenty of people around. I tried painting with another artist or a life model a few times, but somehow I realized I really need to be close to that person so that we could create together. Worst thing for me is to keep on painting with a group of strangers crowding behind my back and watching over my shoulder. I tried, and I just can’t do that. I really admire anyone who can.
I usually start with optimizing my reference photos, then I put on some music or an audiobook and just delve into the working process for a few hours. I start with a very rough underpainting and a block of tissue to work out the highlights and the shadows. Most of the time I follow the reference just loosely and see what may come out of it.
I feel lucky now that I have an opportunity to work from a small hut in the back of the garden. This is the best artistic environment I have ever had. I am already thinking how to implement that idea, once we eventually move to Berlin.
Also you do illustrations for magazines and calendars. We are curious to learn more about your cooperation with Antikvariát bookshop.
The Letenský Antikvariát bookstore was my family pet project. When I was about twenty years old, my parents seized an opportunity to open a second-hand bookshop next to the Letna Park in Prague. They collected and personally selected the most interesting books from the areas of children literature and militaria and took turns selling them. My dad also sold some prints of historical photos and other lovely graphics, which he made. From my side, I have contributed small pictures of some remarkable local buildings, since Letna is a historically noteworthy part of Prague full of architectural treasures. I usually struggle with straight lines and perspective, and I hate being precise in painting, but I’ve learnt much from that experience, so I value it a lot.
One of the biggest projects we did was a release of the two calendars — the one was created by my dad and the other one by me. My dad’s calendar included his photos of airplanes, mine was done on the ground of fairy tales by Hans Christian Andersen. It was a great task because I love fairy tales! My favorite one, The Tinder Box, has also been a part of it, yet looking back I think it was too big of a challenge for me. Probably now I could approach it better.
Apart from this, I started working for a private collector of pocket mini calendars, designing a calendar on a specific topic each year. He also collected mini sugar wraps, which I found just lovely. I’ve designed a set of six mini sugar wraps with black-and-white pictures of fairy tale devils for him, and we both truly enjoyed our cooperation.
Interacting with individuals is probably my favorite part of making art. I had so many amazing and inspiring encounters! It’s a real joy to get to know a person who buys a painting from me, their tastes and background. I enjoyed working for magazines, although it felt more like a job. For that reason I also hesitate to make art professionally — I just do not want it to turn into routine. I prefer to keep it special and really be able to choose small interesting projects to work on. I am afraid of losing this freedom, if my financial stability would depend solely on me making art.
How has the pandemic affected your creative process in terms of goal setting? How do you see the ways of art world shaping in the future?
I believe that the pandemic has increasingly brought the art world together, since so many initiatives have moved online. I also think that people in general had more time to be creative during the lockdown with many of them having either discovered or improved their artistic abilities. Art is a great way to process the feelings of isolation and anxiety, which is so much needed nowadays.
My personal artistic goals were affected that much, but the pandemic has definitely pushed me to practice and improve. Paradoxically, it also gave me more time to explore different techniques and experiment a little bit. I lost my job last summer, which was not great at all, yet I suddenly had more time to paint and practiced it at least 1 hour a day to keep sane through the job application process. Also my neighbour, who was a gentleman in his seventies and a lively hippie, gave me tons of canvas prints, which he collected from various charity shops throughout the years for whatever reason. I painted them all with great joy. In the end I found a new job, a very good one, where I learned a great deal of skills, so I consider it a very lucky journey.
Please tell us more about your artistic plans and ongoing projects. You are going to collaborate with HAZE Gallery, right? :)
I am excited to be a part of the upcoming offline group exhibition at HAZE Gallery based on landscape painting. This is the thing I am really looking forward to. Hopefully, the situation with COVID-19 will improve so that my friends can fly to Berlin without putting anyone at risk.
Speaking about other projects, I am also working on a comic book inspired by famous operas, which should be ready as soon as I get over the artist block with Fidelio. It’s great fun but it’s a great deal of work as well…
Besides, I am really excited about painting nocturnal scenes and the night sky. Now I am saving money for better equipment to be able to fully devote myself to the process.
And final question, please name your three favorite artists and tell us why.
It’s such an inspiring question! However, I find it difficult to choose only three of them.
I am a great admirer of Tonalists, John Henry Twachtman, but also some others. I love the poetry and the emotion in contrast with the mystery and the stillness Tonalists showcase in their works. Also James McNeill Whistler has been inspired by music to a degree which I find very sympathetic.
Another painter who is my life-long personal favorite is René Magritte. I love his art, I just feel I can relate to his works somehow, no words needed.
The third artist I would name is Juan Gris. I’ve always found something incredibly fresh and lively about his paintings that are full of harmony and sense of humor at the same time.