31 Women – March 15th: Astrid Preston
Reflection of the Trees, 2019
Oil on canvas
An Interview with Astrid Preston
MKM: Tell me about your childhood, where did you grow up? Were you always creative?
AP: My parents were both architects who met at the University of Riga, Latvia. In 1944, with the Germans retreating and the Russians advancing on Latvia, my parents, separately, escaped to Sweden and were reunited in Stockholm around the Christmas holidays in 1944; I was born some 9 months later. I was a very physically active child and always had to stay busy. Fortunately, there was loads of paper to draw on; lots of old blueprints around.
MKM: Why did you pursue art?
AP: One day after graduating college as an English major at UCLA, I realized that I didn’t want to be bored and the only pursuit that I found was challenging and enjoyable enough was art. Even though I didn’t study art at school, when I was 17, I started taking classes in figure drawing which I continued for many years.
MKM: When you’re creating what’s your daily routine? rituals, patterns?
AP: I basically spend all my time in the studio, which is in my home. Since I am retired from any other job, that is more than full time. Weekends are especially productive since my husband is also busy and often goes to his office. I do exercise daily, cook, shop, etc., the usual things, but even when busy with life I spend time looking at the work.
MKM: How has your practice changed over time?
AP: I worked full time until I was 40 when I had a son, so I used to do art every evening and weekend. When my son was born it was chaotic at first but then with some help, I was able to work longer hours, every day.
MKM: Do you focus on a specific medium or combination of mediums? Which creative medium would you love to pursue but haven’t yet?
AP: I love oil on canvas and also drawing, but I am not very fluid moving between the two. I would love to take the time to see if I could make acrylic paint work for my ideas and feelings, but the desire isn’t strong enough.
MKM: What themes do you pursue?
AP: My subject has been nature since about 1978; I used to call it landscape. After that I have ideas and feelings about certain images and art history and technique. Themes come out of the working, but the movement in the work has always been shifting from realism toward abstraction and the play between the two.
MKM: What is your most important tool? Is there something you can’t live without in your studio?
AP: Very good fine sable brushes with good points.
MKM: Is there an artwork you are most proud of?
AP: Well, never proud, but fond of several large paintings that took between ½ a year to a year to paint. So much thought and emotion is invested in them that they are very special to me. I also love the experience of looking at large paintings.
MKM: What has been a seminal experience?
AP: Having a child, and later visiting Japan affected my work strongly. The work always has a strong personal message that I usually discover years later.
MKM: What art do you most identify with?
AP: Most art throughout history, but I have always loved Renaissance painting and that has influenced my technique. Only some of the paintings I respond to deal with nature.
MKM: What inspires you? Other artists, other women from history, your process, a theme?
AP: Usually a sunset, or a tree, or a forest, or a color. Something tangible and if possible, I take a photo to remind me. I do get excited when I see great art. Much of the most interesting painting now uses the figure. I am always interested in what makes work surprising and of the moment – it can be technique, image, composition, color combinations, etc; all the usual painting issues.
MKM: Do you have a sense of connection to a particular woman artist from art history?
AP: At the moment Louise Bourgeois still surprises me. I like the strong emotions I feel when looking at her work. The paintings of Hilma af Klint and Agnes Pelton have been more recent pleasures. I was happy to discover how good Hilma Klint’s landscapes are.
MKM: Who are your female role models from history or present day?
AP: As I get older I have a few female role models, but when I was starting out it was usually the men. I liked Mary Cassatt, but Matisse and Durer and Van Gogh made a stronger impression. Vija Celmins, as a brilliant Latvian artist, was a possible role model.
MKM: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given?
AP: Keep going.
MKM: What is your dream project?
AP: I don’t have a dream project; just hope I can stay healthy enough to work to my end. It is such a pleasure to be an artist.
Astrid Preston’s work has been exhibited in galleries and museums throughout the United States and Asia. She has had articles and reviews of her work published in the Los Angeles Times, Art in America and ArtForum. Preston received an NEA Fellowship Grant in Painting in 1987 and an artist residency from Lux Art Institute in 2008. Her work is held in many public and private collections, including the Orange County Museum of Art, Long Beach Museum of Art, UCLA Hammer Museum, McNay Art Museum, Oakland Museum and Nevada Museum of Art. She is represented by Craig Krull Gallery in Santa Monica.