Rebecca Weller

Painter REBECCA WELLER's work is rich, with a strong multicultural history and intense emotional brevity. Her recent focus has been on ideals of beauty and femininity in Japanese culture. In search of personal emotional clarification on these issues, she has completed an exquisite body of work. You can visit her in the Essex Studios (2511 Essex Place, Walnut Hills). Read on to discover five things that motivate, inspire and drive this artist.

Other Art. I'm always inspired by people who are courageous enough to put their time and effort into making music, pictures or other art that's an honest expression of who they are. Being around this kind of art is contagious.

Photographs. Many of the paintings I've been working on lately are based on photographs of people. I like to use photos because there's often a particular expression I respond to and try to recapture with the paint. I am also interested in depicting the movement and emotion in a photograph that's often lost when painting from life.

Patterns. I am often interested in fabrics and patterns. While working on my Japanese paintings, I was interested mainly in Japanese patterns (although not exclusively). I consider myself a figure painter, but I like to use these shapes and textures to say something about the subject, her personality, her interests and so on.

Community. I'm lucky to be involved in a community of wonderful and supportive people. In this environment, I can create the work that means the most to me. My husband, most importantly, is always an encouragement.

Color. At a very foundational level, I just really enjoy colors. The way color can convey a mood or emotion is fascinating to me. It's also interesting to see what using very few colors can do to the mood of a piece.

---

ARTICULATIONS offers five things important to one of Cincinnati's visual artists. To be considered, contact Jacquelyn Vaughn, jvaughn@citybeat.com.