Written by Kay Heino | Photos by Eric Butler What is a studio visit? Studio visits can be as formal as meeting with a curator organizing an exhibition, or as informal as inviting a friend over to discuss your newest body of work. Studio visits are a useful tool for making new connections with other people in the art world. A first year MFA student here at MCAD, Anna Lyle, met with Owen Brown a few weeks ago. This is typically where I put the information about studio visits being scary but I'm actually beginning to enjoy asking others about theirs! Her studio visit went excellent and she felt she clicked well with Owen. Below are some questions I asked Anna to answer about the studio visit. KAY: Can you just do a short introduction about who you are, your concentration as of late, and who you met with? ANNA: I am more formally a figurative painter, but have lately been introducing mixed media and abstraction into my work. My initial reasoning for wanting to incorporate the marriage of painting abstractly with my methodical realism painting was to find ways to break away from my perfectionist brain and my previous career life as an architect. My studio visit was with Owen Brown, a brilliant painter who also happens to have a background in architecture. KAY: How did your studio visit go? ANNA: The studio visit went really well! The conversation flowed so naturally. I am so grateful for the time and care he took into understanding my painting background, current practice, and the direction I'm aiming for in my work. He asked incredibly insightful questions and provided some wonderful advice for a painting practice that I've been actively using. KAY: Was there something you heard during the studio visit that you may try out in your future practice? ANNA: I have a large series of small abstract, mixed media sketches that I created throughout the process of working on several paintings. They can easily live on their own, but I am interested in giving them another life. Owen suggested splicing them up, rearranging them (blindly or otherwise), and collaging them. I think that is such a brilliant way to quickly view past work in a different light. KAY: Any tips about studio visits that you'd like to share? ANNA: My tips for studio visits are to prepare several specific questions (technical and conceptual), review the visiting artist's work and artist resume/exhibition history before the visit, and to be open to the natural flow of strange and new ideas. OWEN BROWN - owenbrownartist.com Categories Studio Visits