Artist of the Month: San Merideth
Warmth, Earth, Dryness, Sun, Coolness and Heat.
Crisp, wide, calm, fleeting, sweet.
These are words that come to me when I look at San's paintings.
I can feel those paintings, they have a physical effect on me, like stepping into a hot bath, when you are really cold, feeling Goosebumps all over your body.
Like the first minutes in a dry sauna, when you are not yet sweating but your skin just enjoys the heat going through it and into your body.
Some of the paintings put me high up into the sky, looking down at the beautiful sunlit earth, through silver clouds. Everything is connected, balanced, composed and there is a softness which reminds me of when I was little and I imagined flying away lying comfortably on a big fluffy white cloud high up into the blue sky….
Evening Unfolds acrylic on canvas 60” x 48” private collection, Dallas, Texas
Nightfall near Santa Fe acrylic on canvas 48” x 60” private collection, Rome, Italy
Is your art your full-time career?
Art is my full-time career. My husband Bennie (also an artist) and I have owned a gallery for almost thirty years. We opened Convergence Gallery in San Francisco in October of 1985. We were young and foolish and had saved money earned from sales commissions working for other galleries. The working capital evaporated like rain in the desert. I became pregnant. My husband got a job selling Volkswagens for a few months. We bought a Volkswagen. We had two children. We bought a house. Through sheer determination, abiding foolhardiness, and (sometimes) excruciating effort, we weathered the survival stage and began to thrive. We relocated to Santa Fe in 1993. It was a very good move for us. Business has been quite good here. The art market is big and diverse, the vistas magnificent, and the chile peppers provide a bottomless supply of endorphins. I count myself lucky to split my working time between painting in my studio and managing the gallery. I try to strike a balance between quiet time spent in solitude and public time working with clients. And I am always inspired by the work of the other artists we represent.
Floating Heart acrylic on canvas 24” x 48” private collection, San Antonio, Texas
Totem acrylic on canvas 48” x 30” private collection, Des Moines, Iowa
Do you have favorite places you like to create?
I have one place in which I work—my home studio. I have northern light, a view to the Sangre de Cristo and Jemez mountains, and proximity to a computer and the kitchen. When a painting doesn’t seem to be working, a handful of gummy bears or an online game of Sudoku (no, I’m not kidding) gets the juices flowing.
Western Wisps acrylic on canvas 24” x 24”
Cielo Encendido acrylic on canvas 48” x 36” private collection, Tucson, Arizona
What does a typical day look like? Is there a typical day?
Yes, a day of painting is quite predictable. I know the drill by heart:
Enter studio. Place canvas on easel. Stare at blank canvas. Apply some paint. Step back. Take a look. Apply more paint. Step back. Take a look. Apply more paint. If weather allows, carry painting outdoors. Step back. Take a look. Not good. Sigh. Consume a handful of gummy bears. Complete an online Sudoku puzzle. Carry painting back to studio. Apply more paint. Apply more paint. Apply more paint. Apply more paint. Step back. Take a look. Take another look. And another. Yes! A little tingle in the solar plexus. Something is working! Disappear. Get out of my own way. I paint. Therefore I am.
Upriver acrylic on canvas 16” x 40” private collection, Albuquerque, New Mexico
Flourish acrylic on canvas 36” x 36”
The Deepest Part of Red acrylic on canvas 48” x 36” private collection, Durham, North Carolina
How do you know when your piece is done?
I experience a tingle in the gut. It’s literally visceral and it’s rare. And far more pleasant than acute appendicitis.
Sunken Treasure acrylic on canvas 24” x 24” private collection, San Antonio, Texas
The Ancient Coastline acrylic on canvas 30” x 40”
Near Angel Fire acrylic on canvas 40” x 30” private collection, Fayetteville, Arkansas
Day Is Done acrylic on canvas 36" x 48” private collection, Fort Worth, Texas
Taos Light acrylic on canvas 24” x 48” private collection, Seal Beach, California
Where/How are you inspired?
I am inspired by the routine of painting. The discipline of returning to the easel, soldiering through the frustration of the less-inspired intervals, is in itself inspiring. A certain inevitability in the process brings comfort. And of course finding homes for my paintings inspires me. I have said before that I hold the suspicion that when I begin a painting, there's a destined owner out there, a person whose longing affects the outcome of the painting. It's not unlike chaos theory's butterfly effect--the sensitive dependence on initial conditions. A butterfly beating its wings off the coast of Madagascar can influence the weather in Detroit. Someone "out there" longs for a painting, or at least that undefined something that only a painting, in its very uniqueness, and quirkiness, and unpredictability, can convey. That longing directs my messy process. Weather happens.
Late Afternoon Clouds, Lamy acrylic on canvas 48” x 24” private collection, Sacramento, California
New Mexico Moment acrylic on canvas 24” x 24” private collection, Birmingham, Alabama
Do you work on one or more pieces at a time?
I really would like to work on more than one piece at a time. I am sadly obsessive by nature. I am determined to see things through. The unfinished haunts me. I find myself lying in bed at night, staring at my unfinished painting on the ceiling. My brain has the uncanny ability to project incomplete work on the ceiling of my bedroom. They should do a functional MRI study of this.
Dreamer’s Eye acrylic on canvas 24” x 36” private collection, New York, New York
Sky Ladders acrylic on canvas 48” x 48” private collection, Holmes Beach, Florida
If you were not a painter, what would you do?
Easy. I’d be hosting Late Show with San Merideth.
That Trickster acrylic on canvas 24” x 24” private collection, Helotes, Texas
How can our readers find and purchase your art?
My art is exclusively represented by Convergence Gallery in Santa Fe.
Our website: http://convergencegallery.com
Our physical address: 219 West San Francisco Street
We are near the Lensic Performing Arts Center, a block east of the Eldorado and Hilton Hotels, and a block and a half south of the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum. Public parking is directly across the street at the Sandoval Garage. Visit us!
San Merideth
Cielo de Santa Fe acrylic on canvas 36” x 48”
Do you have anything else you’d like to share?
Gummy bear?
Andrea Hupke de Palacio is the Arts Co-Editor for Wandering Educators. Born in 1957 in Giessen, Germany, Andrea began studying drawing and painting at an early age, encouraged by her family. She studied arts at one of the private Paris art schools, the Ecole Supérieur d’Art Françoise Conte and graduated as a textile Designer in 2005.
For a short period, she discovered the Fashion and Interior Design World, with its précision, style and finesse which helped her to develop her love for the détail. Today she uses these skills to develop her painting. For her sketches and drawings, as well as her paintings she uses different media(s) on various materials, with liberty and intuition. Watercolor, Pencil, Gouache, Ink, Egg-Tempera, Acrylic on Paper, Canvas, or textiles.
Andrea’s paintings can be found in private collections througout Europe and she regularly organizes exhibitions and participate in art markets in Germany and France. She is also the co-founder of Atelier 325, together with Kim Rodeffer Funk, a Washington, DC-based artist.
All photos courtesy and copyright San Merideth
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