An interview with Margaret Ryall

What artist influenced you & how? I cannot limit my influences to one artist. I think every piece of work you see contributes to your understanding of art and impacts your practice in some way. It all gets filed away mentally and comes back to you in various ways. One artist currently on my bookshelf is Robert Kushner, whose lavish use of decorative motifs parallels my need to connect nature and culture in the work I create. Several years ago, I saw the work of Fred Otnes in New York. His subtle, large scale collage works remained with me for months. I love his muted tones and intricate layering. With the way the world is today are you going to use new ways to sell your work? I can honestly say that up to this point in my career, I haven't given the sale of my work too much thought. I've been more concerned with my art development and building credibility in the arts community locally and on the internet. I live in St. John's, which is a small city on the island of Newfoundland. My work is carried by The Leyton Gallery of Fine Art and my summer studio is listed in an artist studio guide for Newfoundland. I've relied on these two avenues for sales and the amount of work I created matched the demand from these two venues. Another revenue stream I've pursued is exhibition opportunities in publicly funded galleries, since in Canada artists are paid exhibition fees for the exhibition of their work. I've recently begun to consider the role of the internet is sales. Thinking about the question above, are you going to paint in smaller sizes? My work is usually smaller in scale. I panic if I see a painting surface any larger than 14 x 18! I never try to second guess the market. In the past I've found that if I paint what I'm attracted to, my work is stronger and it sells. Do you collect art? If you do what art and artist? I had a long period in my life where I was able to buy art, but these days, I rely on artist trades to build my collection. My collection is made up of about 90 % Canadian artists and the remaining work I've purchased in my travels. I prefer to buy and support Newfoundland artists. This is the work I see the most and many of the artistst I collect are also friends. I am most interested in surface complexity and/ or expressive use of line and colour. Because of this the work usually leans to the non-representational end of the spectrum. Some of the artists in my collection are Elena Popova, Will Gill, Carol Bajen-Gahm and Angela Antle. I'm planning to highlight what's hanging on my walls in blog posts over the coming months. It is a great way to bring attention to the work of other artists. What is an ideal day for you and what would it include? Ideal days for me always involve a balance of things that are important to me. At the back of my mind would be the thought that all is well with my family and close friends. Layered over that would be time to spend contemplating whaterver I wish: art nature, books, or conversation with friends. A glass of wine or a cup of tea wouldn't go astray. I do all this best at my summer house which is in a small fishing community on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean. Life is simple and unhurried. It is where I can just be. What are you looking forward to this year? I now have two granddaughters who live near me. I enjoy spending time with them. I have two bodies of work in progress and I've been experimenting with several new techniques which will eventually get posted on my blog. I'm spending a month in Europe this summer.Two weeks will be spent with 8 friends on a Baltic cruise which stops in St. Petersburg where I plan to visit The Hermitage. I think that will be one of the highlights of the year. I've written proposals to a range of centers in Ireland for solo exhibitions of my "Reading a Garden"series, based on a two week stay on the grounds of Birr Castle in Ireland. I'm looking forward to seeing some of the work from my "Remnants" series published in a magazine which is due out this month. Website: www.margaretryall.com