walnut artists deanna mccaw and brooke wayne team up to create cosmological fantasias
Deanna McCaw has a BFA in Drawing and Painting from OCAD University and is currently balancing full-time work in concurrence with an emerging art practice. She is primarily interested in process-based abstract work, with focuses on colour and fluidity. She currently creates her solo pieces with acrylics paints, but through her collaborative practice with Brooke Wayne has been exposed to other mediums and working methodologies.
Brooke Wayne has a BFA in Drawing and Painting and a minor in English from OCAD University. She currently balances full-time work concurrently with freelance graphic design jobs and an emerging art practice. Her practice is heavily influenced with research-based work centered around astronomy, colour and science. She primarily works with oil paint, but through her collaborative practice with Deanna McCaw, has begun to explore process-based methodologies as well.
"First and foremost we are friends and have been prior to working together as painting partners. We think the foundation of our friendship combined with our complimentary aesthetic tastes created the perfect storm of collaborative success."
1. tell us the story of cosmological fantasies. how did this idea and artistic synergy come about?
It was during a critique in a painting class at OCAD U, where we all were showing our individual works to each other. Our professor commented that our work, although not identical, shared common qualities that showed potential in working well if we decided to collaborate on a painting. For the second individual painting project, we proposed making a collaborative piece in lieu of separate works. It ended up being a positive and successful experience, spurring a continuation of what would become Cosmological Fantastias.
2. what is the artistic goal of the project? what are you trying to communicate to the viewers?
Our goal is to successfully bring together two different mediums and working methodologies to create hybridized images. We combine both a research-based practice (Brooke’s) and a process-based practice (Deanna’s) while exploring our mutual love for abstraction and colour. The end result is a synthesis of our aesthetic preferences and our solutions to the technical challenges of combined mediums.
3. give us a detailed run down of how you collaborate. artistic collaboration is thought of as a difficult process because people's egos often come into play. how do you make it work?
We bring our individual expertise into the collaboration with our primary mediums while being receptive to feedback from the other partner. The composition is decided during the acrylic stage with Deanna’s pours which can take anywhere from 1-4 layers, followed by several layers of clear gesso, then 1-6 layers of oil paint by both painters.
“Making it work” is a bit of a misnomer because it implies that it’s something that is a challenge for us. First and foremost we are friends and have been prior to working together as painting partners. We think the foundation of our friendship combined with our complimentary aesthetic tastes created the perfect storm of collaborative success.
4. how does sharing a studio space at Walnut aid in the success of the collaboration and project of Cosmological Fantasies
We sought out a studio space together because we wanted to be exposed to each other’s individual practices while having opportunities to collaborate together, all in the same space. Having a studio at Walnut is great not only for the public exposure but allows us to access the casual atmosphere of interacting with other artists, two key elements crucial to keeping our practices ongoing.
To see more of Deanna's work, click here!
To see more of brooke's work, click here!
Check out the process of Cosmological Fantasies here!
Visit their Facebook page here!
