Lana Miller Caywood

HOW DID YOU GET INTO ART AND MAKING?

My grandmother was very creative. As a young woman she studied painting. She turned to the practical arts of sewing and knitting to meet the needs of her family. She was the first creative influence in my life. I enjoyed art in school and went on to earn degrees in art education.

WHAT ART DO YOU LIKE TO MAKE?

This is a difficult question. Over my 40 year art career I’ve done large format watercolors, collage and oil paintings

WHAT MATERIALS DO YOU USE?

I’m currently using oils on wood panels

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOURSELF?

I describe myself as an artist and maker. I am an artist who paints and a maker of clothes, quilts and knitted items.

WHAT OR WHO INSPIRES AND INFLUENCES YOUR WORK?

My favorite museum to visit is the Nelson Atkins Art Museum in Kansas City, Missouri. I’m inspired by the brushwork of John Singer Sargent, the layering of color of Richard Diebenkorn, the shapes and lines of Henri Matisse.

HOW HAVE YOU AND YOUR WORK CHANGED OVER TIME?

My work has gone from large to small format, realism to abstract and back to a looser realism, from watercolors to collage to oils. My years of teaching lead me to become more motivated by process than final product.

WHAT CHALLENGES HAVE YOU FACED ALONG THE WAY?

Fortunately, I can’t claim illness as an excuse but I own the others listed*
*listed examples were: lack of time, lack of money, illness, creative block, self belief, technical ability.

WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR BIGGEST ACHIEVEMENT/S SO FAR? NO MATTER HOW BIG OR SMALL?

I was asked by an art professor who had once been a student of mine to hold a twenty year retrospective of my work at the university where she taught.

HOW DID IT FEEL TO EXPERIENCE THIS ACHIEVEMENT?

I was very pleased to show my work but especially honored to be asked to exhibit by a former student.

WHAT DIFFICULTIES, DOUBTS OR FEARS DID YOU FACE AND HOW DID YOU OVERCOME THEM?

I struggled with the marketing and business end of art because I simply don’t like it. I’m trying to motivate myself to do online sales using one of the many websites designed for selling art.

WHAT OR WHO HAS HELPED YOU IN YOUR JOURNEY?

My husband has been patient and supportive of my work for more than 40 years. I’ve had teachers and friends who have also been supportive over the years.

IF SOMEONE COULD WAVE A MAGIC WAND AND MAKE AMAZING THINGS HAPPEN FOR YOU, WHAT WOULD BE YOUR DREAM?

My dream would be a mobile studio aka camper trailer so I could travel and paint.