Artist Spotlight: Angie The Rose

Vivid: What is your art background?

Angie: Educationally, I obtained my BFA in Graphic Design at Appalachian State University. Being in the BFA program at ASU enabled me to take classes across all art disciplines like printmaking, photography, painting, and illustration.

My whole life I’ve been creating art. I can’t remember a childhood memory where I wasn’t making or painting something into being. My grandmother on my mother’s side was an ad illustrator and I like to think I inherited her talent as well my mother and father’s.

Vivid: What materials do you use?

Angie: I prime pre-primed canvases. I then use acrylic paints and sometimes add archival ink to the works.

Vivid: Where do you find your inspiration?

Angie: I get inspired by the notion of being self-aware of the tiny moving parts of my being and the scientific findings that link our biological material with universal elements that are found beyond our plant. I’m also greatly inspired by the abstract works of Lee Krasner, Helen Frankenthaler, Robert Motherwell, and Clyfford Still. Georgia O’Keeffe is also an inspiration of mine in finding a way to display the female form of myself in my paintings that I create.

Vivid: Where is the craziest place that you’ve found inspiration?

Angie: Growing up I use to go to a church that had terrazzo floors and was constantly inspired by the random pattern and colors that I would stare at during the mass prayer. That image has stuck in my mind and I’m constantly going back to those moments in time where I found the unfindable within this beautiful floor surface.

Vivid: Who are some of your favorite artists?

Angie: I grew up being inspired by Vincent Van Gogh and Frida Kahlo. In college, I learned about Lee Krasner, Helen Frankenthaler, Robert Motherwell, and Clyfford Still who greatly influence how I approach my palette and shapes. Some modern-day artists that I enjoy following are Amy Sherlad, Harmonia Rosales, Kehinde Wiley, Suzy Lindow, Melissa Boughey, Arther Lanyon, Antona Perricon Mrljak, and so much more!

Vivid: Describe your process.

Angie: It all starts with a feeling. My paintings are a reflection of that day’s interactions and the mood I’m in. I find that sweet spot of being in touch with myself and I close my eyes to remember how I felt during those inspiring moments. Once I get those memories in my mind more clear I interrupt what I felt with color waves that I envision in my head. It’s a synesthesia of sorts and I like to think I’m in tune with the creative vision of being able to turn memories into colorful clouds of movement on the canvas. Day to day it depends if I’m in a creative mood or not. On the days that it’s hard to get started I start by mixing random colors in my painters tray just to exercise that mental muscle. Once I’ve achieved it I set in front on my canvas to think. On my creative days, I throw myself into the work.

Vivid: Can you describe a typical day?

Angie: I do have I a 9-5 job so on my remote days I go to the studio to work and when I get a free moment or my lunch break I paint. After my work day, I keep on painting until I’m too tired to paint anymore.

Vivid: What musicians do you listen to?

Angie: I listen to a mix of different musical genres. I get most inspired when I listen to either Nils Frahm or Odezsa. Most of the music I listen to is on Soundcloud and its a bunch of new age remixes using world music, electronic sounds, rap, hip-hop, and old school sounds.

Vivid: How do you take your coffee, strong and black or sweet and creamy?

Angie: Strong and black. It tastes the best!

Vivid: Favorite cocktail?

Angie: I love citrus and herbal based cocktails. Tequila is definitely my favorite base for any cocktail I drink.

Vivid: Do you have a favorite piece that you’ve created, and if so, what was it and why?

Angie: I would say that the one that has haunted me in a good way was a painting I did titled, “Time and again.” It created a shift in how I thought about shaping my works and the sort of movement I wanted to express in each painting. One of the paintings y’all currently have of mine that was an echo from that experience is “When you move along.” I aim to create movements and shapes that differ from one another in each painting I create while still maintaining a cohesive palette that the Molecular Series is known for.

Vivid: What is your sign?

Angie: I’m a Leo-Virgo cusp. The duality of the two keeps me in a constant state of flux.

Vivid: If you could invite anyone (living or dead) to dinner, who would it be?

Angie: I would love to have dinner with Georgia O’Keeffe. There is such a power in her work that shakes me to my core.

Vivid: Tell us three words that describe you.

Angie: Cheerful. Colorful. Mysterious.

Please Follow Angie the Rose on Instagram!

You won’t regret it. 🙂