Peaceful Meanderings: Meet Fine Art Painter Emmeline Craig
"Sea Meadow." "Promise of Rain." "Sanctuary." "Hush." Emmeline Craig titles her works simply and accurately. This fine art painter from France — who now lives in California’s Marin County — creates with the intention of bringing peace and well-being to those who view her art.
Watercolor Wonders
Watercolor and water-mixable oils are her mediums of choice, and through them Emmeline (pronounced EMM-uh-lynn, rhymes with Evelyn) hopes to invoke a retreat from our hectic world. In “Smooth Emergence,” a water-mixable oil on deep canvas (shown above), she balances shadow and light while infusing the piece with radiant positive energy.
Setting the Mind Free
Throughout the body of her work, you can see Emmeline’s skill at painting scenes where your mind can freely roam. Her watercolor “Clear Day” (shown below) is framed in our Metal Profile 11 Frame Kit in Frosted Black (Anodized). “This particular metal frame by Frame Destination is slick, solid, and easy to assemble — perfect for framing my minimalist works,” Emmeline tells us. She adds her appreciation for the "totally reliable and beautiful finish. The quality is worth the price.”
See More of Emmeline’s Work
Take a tour of Emmeline’s website to enjoy more of her paintings, to hire her as a coach, or to shop the Book of Bliss, a coffee table book of her art paired with prose. Check out her Instagram for time-lapse photography of Emmeline in action and short videos where she encourages us on topics like focusing and slowing down. (Prepare to be charmed by her French accent!) Keep reading to learn more about Emmeline’s take on an artist’s role in society and her first glimpse of being in “the zone.”
Now for Artie’s Eight Q&A with Emmeline Craig…
1. What is your background; how did you get started?
I always loved to draw, paint, craft stuff. But I really got serious about painting around 1990 with my first solo exhibition in the South of France. I was doing watercolors at the time and that was my favorite medium for many years. I actually got to experiment with water-mixable oils much later on, in 2009 or so, when I wanted to paint larger pieces. I used to exhibit mostly solo, in casual venues such as coffee shops and restaurants. In 2012 I took a leap of faith and created my own art gallery.
2. What role do you think the artist plays in society?
I am convinced that art is a profound means of expressing all that is unbearably beautiful, ineffable, unspeakable, wondrous, or unfathomable. Art helps us humans cope with our mortality, and all that we can't pragmatically approach. Above all, an artist is a channel of expression taking in all that is, and offering her own version of what comes through. An artist has also something special that is invaluable: a worldwide license to mingle with any societal group, any gender, and any language, without having to conform to their specificity. As such, we can be messengers, ambassadors, defenders, revealers, catalysts — and become part of profound paradigm changes in our own unique ways.
3. What has been a formative experience or the best advice you’ve received within your career?
As a very young child I had the privilege to sit in my neighbor's studio and cuddle his dog while he stood at his easel painting away. I guess it gave me the notion I could create my own world in that intangible space I would later call "the zone.”
4. In what way does your work reflect your personality?
For many years I have been orienting my life toward being in a state of peace, and to deliberately cultivate emotional balance and mental clarity. Inner spaciousness, so to speak. To paint vast and serene scenes is the reflection and the cultivation of that inner space. It's like a visual meditation that I get to share with the world.
5. Creative blocks, do you get them? If so, how do you overcome them?
I would not say that I have creative blocks, but I do have periods of active execution and periods of what I call “percolating,” when I don't paint, per se, on any canvas, but when I’m being nurtured for future work.
6. What is your most indispensable tool? (Not counting the obvious, like paints, brushes, canvas, camera, etc.)
A quiet, comfortable, organized, personal space — full of light and open time.
7. Do you have a new project you are working on, or a new passionate idea?
After running my own art gallery for eight years, I’m transitioning to showing my work essentially online. So that is currently what I work on the most. Other than that I have a large piece in the making, on canvas, that has been on my mind for a few years.
8. What is your favorite paint color name?
Ultramarine blue.
All artwork and/or photographs used in this post are subject to copyright held by the featured artist.
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Last Updated May 16, 2022