Modern watercolor frescoes, suitcases full of striped socks, and a mutual love for Swatch watches. Yep, this is what went down on today’s episode with American painter Ali Cavanaugh. I was so curious about her process – she paints on panels coated in a thin layer of clay!? Obviously I asked her all about that. I also had a question that read as follows, “arms, legs, striped socks… why?” Well, she told me! You can listen right up there under the dot-covered arms of that lovely redhead, or you can subscribe on iTunes.
Let’s begin with a few arms ‘n socks. I’m sure you’ll recognize this work – it was all over the interweb a few years ago {including my site of course}:
I love them oh so much. Not only are the stripes and compositions absolutely fantastic, um, these are watercolors! Stun. Ning.
Ali mentioned moving from oils to watercolor as an experiment. For those pieces – pieces that basically changed her life – she only used one color for each painting. These are not the exact pieces, but they’re from her “monochromatic” portfolio so that you can see what they look like:
Again, I must reiterate… these are watercolor paintings!
Alright, and now, onto the legs! This is where the striped socks began:
So feminine, so absolutely lovely… as was her reason for starting these swinging legs in the first place.
Oh, now this series is beautiful, on so many levels. Here are just a few paintings from the “Milly” series:
A teenager with a very aggressive form of cancer who became Ali’s inspiring, light-filled muse for the series. And in case you haven’t listened to the episode yet, I’m very happy to report that Milly is in full remission! Ali has painted her several times since, and yes, these pieces are insanely beautiful too:
I mean, come on. GORGEOUS. Also, I want Milly’s haircut.
From oil, to watercolor, to washy watercolor… the micro-evolutions that keep Ali’s work fresh. These are some of her latest portraits:
Dreamy, yes? Sigh.
I had to include this, even though it makes me sad. This is the portrait Ali was asked to paint by a mother whose baby was stillborn. She wanted an image of him that was filled with life and love:
Beautiful. And heartbreaking. And beautiful.
And finally, a peek into Ali’s brand new studio. I found these images on her lovely instagram feed:
Gah! That light… are you kidding me!? She’s got everything she needs in there – big windows, lots of space, and a few cute kiddos to keep her company.
Ok, and before we wrap things up, Ali took a few photos of her insane sock collection for us:
And that’s just a few of them! Yeah, that’s alotta socks. Thanks so much to Ali, a fellow Swatch lover, for taking the time to chat with me; thanks to Saatchi Art for supporting this episode; high fives to audible.com for making my new book into an audio book – and for letting me narrate?! To preorder a copy of the audio book FOR FREE, along with a 30 day free trial at Audible, you can use my fancy link: audibletrial.com/JealousCurator
… and last, but certainly not least, thank YOU for listening. There will be more art for your ear next weekend.
Other links:
- Kendall College of Art & Design
- Affordable Art Fair, New York
- Milly’s work
- L.Ross Gallery, Memphis
- Swatch!
- Short film about Ali… so good!
Seriously Stunning!! My faves are the stripy socks… of course!!
And such heartwarming stories. Thank you!
yes i love the socks too… so many stripes! that milly story was fantastic too <3
Lovely podcast. Socks! So many socks! And capturing the beauty of people in pain. That was awesome too.
I love this collection of work. So beautiful and so talented!
Fresco socks portraits…so elequently beautiful – yup jealous☺️
awesome art, and what an incredible conversation. this has maybe been said elsewhere: but this isn’t so much an interview podcast, as much as it is a conversation between people who love to create art. the baby portrait story was just beautiful.
thanks marc – that’s a huge compliment (and yes, that story was so beautiful – ali is a very special person)
Thank you for the kind words and love, everyone. And thank you for the opportunity to share, Danielle. I had the best time talking with you!
WOWOWOWOW!!!! I can’t believe those are watercolors, they are seriously amazing!!!! I really want a print of the socks!!!! LOVE the portraits too, beautiful!!
This was a really beautiful, honest and open interview. The work is so bold, unusual and emotional – really touching and inspiring.
I love Ali’s work.she is such an inspiration for me!and it was so good to hear this chat! Thank you so much! (I am little jealous about clayboard though! No such think in Greece!)
I especially liked hearing about her fresco work and how she figured it all out. And, Danielle, I think we are about the same age too – I had swatch watches (with the guards)!
ha! really!? #swatchsisters
just crying here now, what an amazing beautiful story. i also had my son during my senior year of art school! so crazy. mine are 7 years apart. one heading to college. i am in love with her journey to watercolor. its such a rewarding medium. glorious interview. thank you!
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Wow, I looooved this interview. What a wonderful artist, and just hearing about her experience painting Milly and the baby, it’s just so incredible, I almost teared up. Keep up the great work Ali, your art is just incredible and gives people hope.
So so beautiful, both the artwork and Ali’s creative spirit. She’s such an inspiration as an artist…and human being. I just listened to this episode again today and its my favourite, which is hard to say because all the interviews are wonderful. Something about this one touches me deeply. xo
me too.