Telecommuters

Telecommuters Purple Boat

by Cathy Hegman

Telecommuters is a series about our dependency on being connected either symbolically or literally. We seem to thrive when we are connected to people. We also seem to panic when we are disconnected or lose connection. My cell phone has been the biggest blessing and the biggest curse in my life. I enjoy knowing I am available if someone needs me; but I also resent the fact that people can interrupt me when I am in deep thought or working. This series revolves around the figure being self sufficient in communication in their world. Each figure has an antennae or semblance of one connecting it to the world. A completely copacetic existence.

While working on paintings I am often numbed by the fact that very often I will fight with myself over how to approach my work with the figure. I am so in love with texture and surface that very often I find that visceral aspect of painting becomes the crux of my work and often at the expense of detail on the figure or other parts of the painting. I am compelled to be honest and true to who I am and how my wheels and cogs interlock and function. I find joy in the figure with new eyes each time I paint it,I am looking and delving deeply into how to portray my thoughts; not about not every figure, but this particular figure and the environment that it dwells in. I often get pretty far along in a piece and find it too derivative of another previously painted work, at that point I will completely paint it out; because I know if it looks to familiar to me in the early stages, I will be completely bored by the end of the work and I will feel I have short changed myself. In my eyes there is no greater joy killer as an artist than the boredom born of repetition.

Telecommuters Fish Stackers by Cathy Hegman detail above and finished piece below

I don’t use models, or references when I paint. I want the knowledge to come from the recesses in my memory, without the added weight of having to try to portray or compare it to something I have seen. This series brought a whole new twist to my figures they are more deeply embedded in their environments and I chose to give them more fluid details in parts and in other parts breaking them down as geometric shapes that somehow ground them to the flat surface of the painting.

Telecommuters Adrift by Cathy Hegman detail and finished piece below.

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Telecommuters Adrift by Cathy Hegman

I am always a student looking for a new assignment. I hope I never lose the sense of wonder about painting and surfaces.

Thank you for reading my blog! I wish everyone a Very Merry Christmas and Blessed New Year!

Take care,

Cathy Hegman

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About Cathy S. Hegman

Art, much like a road links people together both visually and mentally. One can attain a glimpse inside the artist’s soul by studying the artist’s work, and perhaps find something that links them to the artist and the art. A work of art has the ability to resonate and touch the emotions without regard to age, gender, race, or religion through the application of pigment to canvas or paper. Art can be the voice that cries out without limits, or sometimes whispers the thoughts of the creator. Art speaks silently, yet conjures up feelings and gives satisfaction that is undeniable, and yet intrinsic. It validates our need to learn about ourselves, and gives us freedom to search for our own identities. The road is long and often dusty, but always renewing the spirit with inspiration. It is my hope in this lifetime to give a part of what I have learned through and on my journey with others. The deepest form of us is revealed in our thoughts and my art is the translation of my thoughts to paper and canvas. I paint layers of color and line to create a history of marks that will guide the viewer into my world of thought and engage them in the process. I embed personal symbols throughout my art to give it deeper meaning. I encourage you to think about life in a visual way and to contemplate our connections with each other and the world we share.

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8 Responses to Telecommuters

cdmcclure says:

December 7, 2016 at 5:20 pm

Wonderful statement and insight into your wonderful work, Cathy.

- Cathy S. Hegman says:
  
  December 7, 2016 at 6:37 pm
  
  Thank you Cheryl!!! I think our approach is the same whether it is figurative or non objective abstract…we are all searching.
  
Barbara O 'Neal Davis says:

December 8, 2016 at 4:14 am

Cathy, this series is wonderful. Is it acrylic or oil and cold wax?

Roberta says:

December 8, 2016 at 4:51 am

These are wonderful Cathy!

- Cathy S. Hegman says:
  
  December 10, 2016 at 3:22 pm
  
  Thank you Roberta!!! Merry Christmas to you!
  
Cathy S. Hegman says:

December 8, 2016 at 6:20 am

Thank you Barbara! It is acrylic on wood. I have been playing with making new textures in my layering, adding gels and polymers, and it has given me something new to add to my repertoire!

- Barbara O 'Neal Davis says:
  
  December 8, 2016 at 11:27 am
  
  Thanks, Cathy. On the computer it looked like oil and CW. I was always fascinated with your earlier work in that medium and wanted to see it up close and personal. Never did. I took a class in it last fall with Linda Benton McCloskey. Doing figurative work in that medium would be challenging, but then I only have one week’s experience. Hope to get back to it someday. Kudos to you finding a way to get that look with gels, polymers in acrylics. It looks sensational.
  
  - Cathy S. Hegman says:
    
    December 8, 2016 at 2:37 pm
    
    Thank you!! I still work in the wax and oil pretty often but I got really into the acrylics and most of this series is acrylic with the exception of a few encaustics.