Interview October 2020
Peter Shepherd interviewing Rosalie Dolan
When did you know you wanted to be an artist?
I think I have always wanted to be an artist.
Even when I was younger, I have always drawn and done cartoons. I went to art college for a little while, but reality got in the way. I have always wanted to create, done a lot of craft work – have always been making and creating.
So how did you get started?
I’ve always done a bit of creating, but it was mostly crafts. Recently I went to art lessons, to a local painting school – and the lady there suggested I should do more formal education. So, I went to Tafe – that was a success – gave me some confidence so I started University doing a Bachelor of Visual Arts.
How have you shaped your art career?
Its evolved. Initially very craft, very textile based because of my history with textile. It then evolved into photography, painting, drawing, life drawing, then into sculpting and digital computer work, photographic images, photoshop and now motion. I’m now playing with digital and motion works which is cool.
Why do you do what you do?
What I do – I work with layers and dimensions. I believe that we are creatures of layers, there’s a psychology belief called the gestalt onion skin theory – our personalities are like onion skins and we project a certain veneer externally but internally it may be totally different. I’ve learnt the theory of first impressions count - which I think is quite sad… because there is much more to people than just the first impression. My work is aimed at getting to that deeper layer to get to the meaning and the deeper personality of the person / the image / or the theme.
What is Integral to your art / your work?
My passion, I think. without the passion for doing it – the learning / the joy I find from doing it – I would not do it. I can’t do things because I have to – I’m not very good at doing things “as a job” – not for my art or my craft. That kills the soul a little bit... I must do it for my own innate passion. That drives me to create…
Who is your favourite artist or artwork and how have they influenced you?
My favourite artist – I have 2 –
Brooke Shaden is a surreal artist / photographer. She does amazing self-portrait photography with a surreal overlay on top of them. A real storyteller with her images. She’s very inspirational to me.
And Mira Ruido or Joseba - he does a lot of motion graphics with After Effects. His work is quite stunning to see. He has worked for National Geographic and Green Day. I have done some of his courses online.
The 2 of them - I love their surrealism and their view of the world – how they project – and how they find a story – create the story – is inspirational for me.
How do you measure success – consider yourself successful? Is there any self-doubt?
The measure of success is very personal. I do not do my work for money r for others. So, my measure of success is myself – if I look at a work and feel it is conveying the meaning that I wanted it to convey. If I feel that I have made the mark. It is a very personal measure.
Self-doubt – of gosh yes. Frequently. Bit I think all artists do. I think that’s driven by the concern of measuring by other people’s standards – and whether you measure up to other people’s expectations. Because that’s such a personal thing for me I try not to let that worry me too much.
What keeps you motivated and drives your creativity?
What keeps me motivated? There are huge periods of lack of motivation… I don’t think I’m unique with that. There may be whole months of downtime. Bit I have to eventually create again – one way or another… Its something I have to do, and it drives me. When I learn and explore that’s rewarding and that drives me. It’s a huge buzz and that drives me.
Overtime has your creativity changed – has your view of creativity modified?
Certainly yes! Many years ago, it was drawing as a child, then it became more craft based, more textile based, sewing, knitting, weaving and spinning, yarns! My outlet was very much through textiles, at that stage. The colours were amazing, Free motion embroidery – its just stunning what you can do with it. And then moved into painting with acrylics. That was amazing – so freeform and expressive. So that’s when I started getting lessons and that’s led me to drawing, more photography – that’s been a side passion of mine (one of many). I’m now in a world of digital works I want to bring motion and a feeling of flow into the works. That is where I am today!
How do you work – do you have a ritual or way of doing the work?
No. I have no routine. A lot of creative people do have a routine to get in to the zone – I don’t. I find that – maybe because of my upbringing – I just get on with it. I start… I think in some ways that the ritual is to thin “Ill just do this for 5 minutes” and then 3 hours later you are still there. If there is a ritual, it’s just to start for 5 minutes and then just keep going. That gets me into the output mode.
You have a lot of detail and colour in your work – where do the ideas some from that you put into your work?
I’m driven by colour. One of many driving forces is colour. I love vivacity of colour – I LOVE the colour in the world around s. I see some beautiful, beautiful colours just walking the streets. The ideas come from photographs I take. I wander around – whether my phone camera or my superb camera – I see an image / I see a colour – and I have to take it – I have to hold it. I take the images – I hold it in my head – I take notes – I see it all around me. So, the ideas come from that – and with the idea of layers and dimensions I bring that together. I’m basically on the hunt for images that I can adapt and utilise in my work at the moment. So, I see the ideas all around me.
When you are coalescing all these ideas – how do you know when to stop?
Ah – when to stop a work? If the message has been made, the story has been told…. I think you need to start with some idea of what you want to say, and keep that constantly at the front of your mind (what you want to say). If you look at a work and feel you’ve conveyed that message – then stop. I have works downstairs that I would go back to – I can overdo them – I can overwrite them. Thin gs evolve. Sometimes it takes a few months for the message to come out or for me to feel Ive made the message. The decider for when to stop is when I think the story has been told.
Talking about coming back to things – what keeps you going?
I have to. I have to do it.
As I mentioned I have down time, but I can’t not create. I have to create otherwise I get very down. I lose my soul. Its good for my soul to create. And that’s what keeps me going – its rewarding.
What are you working on now and what do you see for the future?
I’m currently working on a short motion video called “Up North” basically about the layers of my past. Hats brought me to where I am now. The idea is to show a bit of past a bt of the darkness and depression from Up North. The times in the 60s and 70s – up north it was a bit of a dire time – the town was very dark. It had come through the Industrial Revolution and the town was literally black from smoke. Everything around was black. That affects how you see the past. I think I’ve come through that. The work I’m working on now is to show that past - the journey through to where I am now.
Future works? I will continue to work at layers and dimensions. I have ideas of physical dimensions like the marine world – the upper layer of the boats and the ships – then the water surface layer then the marine layer down below. I have ideas of digging through the dirt in archaeology and finding the past. I have ideas of looking at a person’s face and seeing their childhood, their memories through their eyes. I think the ideas of layers and dimensions can apply to so many things. I’m still exploring some of those ideas to be honest.