 |
Particpants: Gaston County
|
| Sallie Ellington Middleton Wildlife/Watercolor Artist Thursday, February 24, 2000 |
|
Sallie Middleton: Good morning, we are here at the home of Sallie Middleton in Asheville, NC. Ms. Middleton is a renowned watercolor artist. She specializes in wildlife and nature. Sallie Middleton: Who would like to start asking questions? |
|
|
NCDPI: Good morning everyone! Shirley Corcoran: David I have a question... Shirley Corcoran: Ms. Middleton would you work on just one painting at a time or have several "in progress?" Sallie Middleton: Both, I would have no more than two or three paintings in progress at the same time. Sallie Middleton: My paintings are seasonal - and the seasons change very rapidly. |
NCDPI: At what age did you discover your talent? Sallie Middleton: Apparently the day I was born!!! At a very early age, the family discovered I was drawing pictures all over the house. |
|
|
NCDPI: Was
there a special teacher that inspired you, or encouraged your talent? Sallie Middleton: There were a number of people who encourage me - mainly in my family. My uncle, Douglas Ellington, was a noted architect and watercolor artist was a special person who encouraged my talent. He never imposed his way of painting, only helped me refine my technique. My mother also guided me in painting and drawing. She attended the Arts Student League, but left to marry my father. She said there were enough bad artists in the world. My father taught me to observe. The power of observation is probably the most important skill for a good painter to have. |
| NCDPI:
what advise would you give to a young artist? Sallie Middleton: For a young artist - if you want money, go into banking or the law. If you want to be happy - pursue your talent in art. Shirley Corcoran: What does the advantages does the "translucent" watercolor give you in your paintings? Sallie Middleton: Translucent watercolor is probably the most difficult medium to paint in, but for my painting nature, it produced the most true reflection of nature. Translucent watercolors giving a "living" look to nature paintings. |
|
|
NCDPI: Are most of the paintings that you have done in watercolor? Sallie Middleton: If I were painting manmade objects, I would have probably chosen to use oil paints. Shirley Corcoran: What makes it so difficult? Sallie Middleton: Translucent watercolors are difficult to work with because if you make a mistake - you cannot hide it. You learn to work very slowly. I loved it, but at times was thoroughly frustrated with all my paintings. Sometimes a problem would keep me up all night thinking about it. A way to see your painting in another light is to hold it up to a mirror to look at it from another perspective. |
Sallie Middleton: Every one of my paintings has a story to how it got started. Let one with you. Shirley Corcoran: I love that idea! Sallie Middleton: My paintings are done from models. Think or image on the patterns of things. The living part such as bird or animals were usually wounded or needed help. I would care for them and then set them free once healed. I would not take a mature animal and confine them long enough to paint them. One time, neighborhood children brought to me a fledgling bird. They convinced me to try and save it. I fed it every 20 minutes - cat food mixed with milk and water. It thrived, put on its down feathers and then its pin feathers. It became a young robin. Then I taught it to fly - doing what the mother bird would do - taking it outside everyday to learn to fly. Then one day it took off - I thought it was gone. But everyday the bird would show up when I was out of doors - following me around the yard. It became best friends with my cat. But in the fall it flew away with the rest of the robins. But by having this connection, it became the subject of a painting. Gaston County: That is so neat.. |
|
|
NCDPI: Did you have someone that you asked to critique your work? Sallie Middleton: I did have people critique my work - my uncle and my father. NCDPI: The Blue Jay feather is placed in many of your drawings, is that a bird that you helped to bring back to health? Sallie Middleton: The Blue Jay feather happened by accident. It was amongst my models - in the area of the ground where I was painting. My sister then suggested that I include a blue feather in my paintings. I didn't think much of it at that time. But then one day I went up on the mountain to paint - settled down to work. Then, out of the sky fell a blue jay feather. So, I decided out of the better part of valor to include this in my paintings. |
Gaston County: Which came first, you love of art or you love of nature? Sallie Middleton: I would say, my love of art and nature occurred simultaneously. It was the atmosphere in which I grew up. NCDPI: Which of your paintings is your most favorite and why? Sallie Middleton: Well, that varies. The Wood Ducks was an achievement that I was very proud of. The Bobcat was hard to let go of when someone wanted to buy it - it was a big challenge. Then there was the warbler paintings that was dear to me. |
|
|
Gaston County: How many painting have you created? Sallie Middleton: I can't tell you how many paintings I've created - I've spent the better part of my life doing this. So, I can't tell you how many I have cluttered up the world with. NCDPI: Do you have a painting that you just can't let go? Sallie Middleton: As far as letting a painting go, it depended on what someone wanted to pay for the painting. I didn't want to let go of the Wood Ducks and the Bobcat, but I did. |
Gaston County: Do you have any paintings we can see this morning? Sallie Middleton: No, I'm sorry. There were pictures of my work posted on the Teachers Connect web site. Gaston County: Yes and they are beautiful - thanks for sharing those with us:-) Sallie Middleton: There is also a book called "The Magical Realm of Sallie Middleton" in which you can see many of my paintings. |
|
|
Shirley Corcoran: Your observation skills are awesome -- have you written any accounts of the behaviors of the animals you painted? Sallie Middleton: I have written about the animals maybe in letters to friends, but nothing serious. Sallie Middleton: However, with each print that came out, I wrote a small paragraph or two about the creature and my feelings about them. Sallie Middleton: My painting started as pleasure, hopefully improving in the years. But I came to a crossroads in my life and had to do something to make a living . A publisher came to me wanting to publish my work and did this for many years. But I discovered a little bit of the heart goes out of the painting the minute you begin to do it for money. |
NCDPI: Have you had the opportunity to encourage someone close to you that paints? Sallie Middleton: Well, my two girls both are creative both of their heritage. They are both creative and do paint. One is trying to build a career based around painting, but in a different way. Gaston County: Can you describe the steps (process) you took from the start to finish of your paintings? Sallie Middleton: My first step is to know in my mind what I have to work with as in the case of the little robin or as in the case of the catbird brought to me as injured. I had them as models. I study the creature, the habits of the creature, the surroundings that would be most likely and becoming of the creature. I put all this together in my mind. Then I put up a blank sheet of paper in my mind and start seeing it in my mind for a couple of days. Then I start sketching it out on paper. Then I may start painting. My way of using watercolor is really drawing with watercolor, using a 0 or 1 brush. It takes up to 9 months sometimes to complete a painting start to finish. The publishers are usually yelling at me wanting me to finish the work for distribution. Gaston County: I know deadlines :-( |
|
|
Shirley Corcoran: How many prints are made from a painting? Sallie Middleton: The publisher decided how many prints to make. The numbers ran from 1,500 to 2,000. To me that was far too many, but they didn't think so. The publishers paid me a royalty to distribute my paintings. Shirley Corcoran: Where do you do most of your painting? Sallie Middleton: I've lived in different places in my life and always managed to find a place with enough natural light (because artificial light does not show the proper colors) and would manage to turn this space where I lived into a studio. I would also work out of doors. |
Gaston County: Where can we find your prints? Sallie Middleton: Well, it depends on where you are. In Asheville, there are two galleries. There are also print dealers around the country that receive the prints to sell. But, I am retired now as my hands and eyes are not as accurate as they were. Sallie Middleton: When my paintings were printed, I would be there to proofread the prints, making corrections as necessary. At times with a good printer I had trouble telling the print from the original. Usually, though, the prints had fancier frames than the originals. |
|
|
Shirley Corcoran: Any thing in nature you wish you had painted but did not get the chance to observe and paint? Sallie Middleton: This is a big wide world and it is all beautiful and no one can paint all of it. NCDPI: Why did you choose to use watercolor vs. oil or any other mediums? Sallie Middleton: In use, watercolors became my friends. Sallie Middleton: Any other questions this morning? Gaston County: Thank you so much for bringing nature to life! I KNOW I will be looking for work next time I am in Asheville :-) Gaston County: Thanks for a wonderful session. There will be a Safe Schools session this afternoon at 3 p.m. for teachers. |
