Featured artist: Ali Cavanaugh
Predisposed to a place of understanding, 16x38, Modern Fresco on Ampersand Aquabord
Ali Cavanaugh, who coined the term "Modern Fresco" to describe her work on Aquabord, has developed a process grounded in realism, but with spontaneous energy.
Fading into a luminous lucidity, 30x30, Modern Fresco on Ampersand Aquabord
Q: You have spent over eleven years developing your process that you refer to as “modern frescoes”. Tell us about your process.
I originally found Aquabord when I was researching surfaces to try painting fresco-secco. Fresco-secco is essentially pigment painted on a cured plaster surface and is similar to watercolor on Aquabord. Early on, the galleries labeled my work watercolor, which confused collectors because my paintings looked so different from what they understood watercolor to be. “Modern Fresco” was a term I began to use in 2007 to describe my watercolors on Aquabord because it was like a modern interpretation of fresco-secco. The term was very well received by the gallerists that represented my work and the clients collecting my work.
My early process was to paint with many layers in a very literal approach, and I visualized the painting and painted it to reach a high degree of realism. Many years later (in 2015), I began to paint differently and wanted the water application to be more organic and free-flowing. My process has come full circle in recent years as I’ve developed a process grounded in realism but also has the energy and spontaneity that I love about watercolor.
Indefinite awareness, 16x20, Modern Fresco on Ampersand Aquabord
Q: Your oldest daughter had been your best-loved muse. When she went away to college, how did your subject matter change?
My oldest daughter was my best-loved muse for about 17 years. I painted hundreds of paintings of her. She had an inspiring presence and graceful gestures. I knew a painting would be a success if it were of her. She was reserved, quiet, and guarded. Her charm set the tone for my work, introspective and thoughtful. When she left for college, it was the end of an era. I was excited for a new chapter, even though a part of my heart was broken. I began to paint our youngest daughter Saoirse. She was two at the time (We have 17 years between our oldest and youngest child). Saoirse had a huge influence on the transformation of my work. She was so different from Neve. Saoirse was like a little fairy. So open and curious, so full of light with open expressions. She changed my perspective and helped my work to grow in a different direction. She also inspired me to change my palette, technique, and concept.
bon bon, 8x8, Modern Fresco on Ampersand Aquabord
Q: Your work has evolved quite a bit over the years, from the Socks Series to the Chroma Series. Tell us a little bit about this.
I’m always pushing for evolution in my work and looking for new things to discover. Each painting contains a new sort of encounter. Also, there is a lasting imprint of events in my life that stay with each painting. Although I like to make bold changes in my work, the constants are strong composition, clean color, deep emotion, and authentic presence, capturing a universal expression and depth in the human soul. I search for a profound connection to my subjects in every painting.
Eutierria, 12x12, Modern Fresco on Ampersand Aquabord
Q: Do you prefer working on your high-detailed portraits? Or the more abstracted?
I like to go back and forth between realism and abstraction. I painted with extreme control early in my career, but in the past seven years, I’ve enjoyed loosening up and letting the medium be more expressive. I believe my paintings are now more of a hybrid of the two techniques I’ve developed.
Inside the stillness, outside of recurrence, 16x16, Modern Fresco on Ampersand Aquabord
Q: When you were two years old, you lost most of your hearing through spinal meningitis. Has this influenced your artwork in any way?
Yes, I lost much of my hearing at a very young age. It profoundly influenced how I take in the world and those around me. I have a little bit of hearing in my left ear. That combined with reading lips, I’m able to communicate pretty well, but for me to communicate with others, I have to be completely focused on their face and body language. Over time this sensitivity to others gave me a deep sense of connection, especially to the emotions of others. I have always loved drawing and painting portraits, but specifically, the unseen presence I see in others drives me. I believe my deep connection to others is because of my hearing loss.
In your warm gaze, I find that I'm still your treasure, 16x20, Modern Fresco on Ampersand Aquabord
Q: Who has been your most inspirational portrait?
Who has been the most inspiring to paint? Probably my friend, Milly, when she had cancer at age 17, but I still continue to be very inspired by her and paint her often. She’s got a beautiful presence, and her expressions tell a story.
become, 8x8, Modern Fresco on Ampersand Aquabord
Q: You curate an Instagram page @Aligator_watercolor_community with a large following. Can you tell us a bit about how this started and about the artists that are members?
The Aligator Watercolor Community is an international watercolor community composed of artists that work mostly in watercolor on alternative surfaces. I began the AWC when I saw a need for artists to have support within a community because one of the most difficult things about being an artist is how isolating it can be. To give you some history, it all began almost three years ago. I started a Patreon page where I shared time-lapse videos and monthly Q&As. It quickly grew, and I formed a private Discord community where we could discuss all sorts of topics about watercolor and art practice. The covid lockdowns inspired me to start a bi-weekly painting challenge.
This quickly led to an Instagram and Facebook page devoted to showcasing the incredible paintings from the painting challenges and the artists’ work in the community. Over 15 countries are represented in the community, and it’s open to all skill levels. I find that the more established artists like myself get an enormous amount of inspiration from artists just starting out and vice versa. We help each other when a painting is giving us trouble, and we celebrate together when we finish a big commission or win an award. We all share in our love for the watercolor medium and encourage each other on our creative journeys. If anyone is interested in joining the community, visit: patreon.com/alicavanaugh.
Hannah, 24x24, Modern Fresco on Ampersand Aquabord
Q: What do you love most about Ampersand Aquabord for your work?
Ampersand Aquabord has been my surface of choice for over 16 years. It’s versatile, forgiving, durable, and doesn’t dull brilliant watercolor pigment. I’ve always loved that it can be varnished and doesn’t need to be framed behind glass. It’s incredible, and there’s not anything else like it!
Artist Bio:
Ali Cavanaugh (American, b. 1973) is an internationally collected fine artist. She studied painting at Kendall College of Art and Design and the New York Studio Residency Program in New York City, earning a BFA from Kendall College of Art and Design in 1995. At the age of 22, she co-founded an atelier -The New School Academy of Fine Art- in Grand Rapids, Michigan. She relocated to Santa Fe, New Mexico in 2001. It was during her six years in Santa Fe that she developed her modern fresco process on kaolin clay. Her paintings have been the subject of numerous national and international solo and group exhibitions. Cavanaugh’s paintings have been featured on book covers, countless internet features such as the Huffington Post, Fine Art Connoisseur, Artsy, and in numerous print publications, including The New York Times Magazine, American Art Collector, American Artist Watercolor. She has painted portraits for TIME magazine and The New York Times. Her work is featured in more than 400 private and corporate collections throughout North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. She currently lives in St Louis, Missouri, with her husband and their four children. To see more of Ali’s work, visit her website, Instagram, and Facebook.
