Capital City Weekly: Do you have any particular creative routines or habits — favorite spaces to work, times of day, materials you use, music you listen to, etc.?
Patti Hutchens Jouppi: I am a painter of nature. So the first habit in my creative process is to gather reference material. I am constantly looking for good compositions on hikes, boating, and trips, scanning friends’ shots on Facebook. My second most important habit is to paint as much as possible. I like to set aside two days a week at least to paint. I paint in my home studio gallery mostly, but enjoy painting en plein air (outside) for this is where you can really capture the color, light, and feel of the subject. Two of my favorite places are the Shrine of St. Therese and Amalga Harbor. These past two weeks, I was fortunate to be awarded an artist residency by the Alaska Department of Natural Resources at Ernest Gruening Cabin. While I was there, paintings just… happened. The beauty of the place mesmerizes you. As a painter, the surroundings offer endless painting possibilities. The solitude allowed all my creativity to flow — unless the whales interrupted, which they did regularly. I did put a whale in the painting of the cabin I did. Music, yes — I love listening to music when I paint. I like a great mixture, from gypsy jazz to classics to rock. Vivaldi is particularly inspiring.
CCW: How much of your art do you usually get done in a one-day period?
PHJ: This is a question everyone asks me. Very rarely do I finish a painting in less than a week. Some take months. I work in somewhat realistically in oil, so it takes time. My watercolors, however, which I do as studies for oils, can be completed in a few hours.
CCW: How do you balance your creative life with your day job (if you have one?)
PHJ: I consider myself a full-time artist now, although family and love of outdoor endeavors interrupt on a regular basis. I have to be firm about taking time to paint. I put off this career choice for 20 years and now I am devoted to making art.
CCW: What do you find particularly inspiring?
PHJ: A couple of things inspire me. First, the works of great master painters like John Singer Sargent, Claud Monet, and Andrew Wyeth, whom I strive to be like, and second the beauty we are surrounded by. Everywhere you look in Alaska there is a painting waiting to be painted. Each tells a story through my artist’s eye.
CCW: What are you working on now, and when do you hope to finish it?
PHJ: I am working on theme-based art. I finished a series on migratory birds last year; some showed birds in new environments as a result of climate change. Now I am working on a series featuring the intertidal regions around Juneau. Part of my goal is to highlight our state parks and the delicate nature of the environment. This is why I wanted to paint at Gruening Cabin. I will be finished with a series of about 12 paintings by next year and will have a show in Juneau. I also continue to paint the Mendenhall Glacier area, as that is where my studio is. The visitor center sells the prints.
CCW: What advice have you heard (either directly, from someone you know, or indirectly (from reading or otherwise learning about another artist) that’s been beneficial to you? Separately, do you have any advice for other artists?
PHJ: Do the best you can possibly do and keep at it. Don’t listen to anyone, particularly gallery owners.
If you need help finding friendly artists. Plein Rein Painters in Juneau are a wonderful group.
Mendenhall Lake, oil on canvas, 8 by 10. By Patti Hutchens Jouppi.
