A View with Leila Ataya
Some art work slaps you in the face and says, "you like me don't yeh", and there is no doubt in your mind that you do.
Other art has a more subtle approach and pops off the printed page as you fumble through your fave graff mag. This is what happened to us... and have an "oh that's nice moment" and on closer examination the conclusion... "Oh that's really nice"!
So we were extremely lucky to catch-up with this lady, as she wedged a meet into her busy life.
RD: Well pleased to meet you, tell us about yourself Leila, where you are from, where do you live now etc?
I was born in Moscow, Russia. Around 15 years ago I moved to New Zealand and at the moment live in Auckland.
RD: What training have you had, it seems like it is fine art based, is that true?
Yes I have been painting and drawing for many years. I started studying art in Moscow in Art School I learned classical watercolour and drawing, I also studied ceramics, traditional Russian art, Palekh - lacquer miniature, Icon Writing techniques and many other styles. After coming to New Zealand I continued working on my painting and worked with oils and later acrylics while majoring in painting at Elam, School of Fine Arts, University of Auckland. I graduated with BFA in 2001 and in 2008 returned to Elam to continue on my PGdip.
RD: What is your preferred media and have you tried any others before you settled on what you are using now?
I worked in pastels, graphite, ink, watercolour, guash, oils, egg tempera, acrylics and many other media. The main materials that I am working in now are acrylics on board, I still work in graphite, watercolour and use other media but it’s mainly for sketches from nature and thinking on paper/work book stuff. My paintings get often mistaken for oil, I think it’s because of the layering techniques that I use with acrylics that makes them look like oil. My first studio was my bedroom so I had to adapt to the environment and developed this painting style as I couldn’t use oils because of the fumes and the mess. Now I have a wonderful studio where I work and teach but I still prefer to use acrylics.
RD: Your subjects seem to be elegant females, felines, fine laces and other more extreme characters, could you tell us where those ideas came from?
It’s hard to answer this question as I can not put it down to one thing. It’s everything - objects I am drawn to because of their history, delicate nature or even strange associations and meaning. Things I see on TV, books, magazines, people, animals and many more. I also think that my own life experiences influence my painting, it happens unintentionally and usually I only see it when the work is finished.
From the Sketchbook
RD: The downturn in the economy seems to be on everyones lips, has it affected your art in anyway?
I don’t think it has, well not the creative side of things. The retail side I think has changed – it looks like galleries are finding it harder to sell as much art as they did before and it takes longer to sell larger more expensive paintings. Some art galleries had to close but luckily non of the ones I have been working with. I think of recession as of a butterfly: at the moment we are in the cocoon stage where nothing much is happening but there will come a time and the butterfly will spread its financial wings and fly, only to repeat the cycle again at some point.
RD: What puts a smile on your face?
Yummy foods especially desserts, holidays, when my students are excited about their works, when my mum’s chemo session wasn’t too bad, when I get cheerful comments about my work on facebook from strangers on the other side of the world, when I wake up in the morning and it’s a lovely sunny day and so many other things.
RD: You run an Art School, when did that start?
I had been tutoring for some time and really enjoyed it but when the school that I’ve been teaching at closed down I decided to run my own classes and then it turned into ongoing art programmes for adults and children. It’s a lot of fun and most of my students come back for more classes. I love teaching it lets me pass on the knowledge, open up peoples imagination and help them to notice little things that many take for granted like different shades of a cloud in the sky or reflections that one bright coloured object sends throughout the room. I have been teaching in my school since 2004 there is more info on my website. See end of post for this address.
RD: What pisses you off? (go on let it all out...ha ha!)
Questions like this one :-p ha ha ha ha.... nooo I am just joking J I think it’s different things at different times like at the moment my cat doesn’t want to go through the cat door unless I hold it open for him day or night... But the problem is that he is too cute to be pissed off at for a long time and he knows it better than I do that’s why he carries on like that... little =^.^=
RD: Smoked Salmon or Chilli cheese Burger?
Salmon and not smoked but fresh with a bit of salt and dill sprinkled on it, wrapped in a nice semi sweet crepe - slightly salty and sweet together makes an amazing combination ... mmmmm..... this is my favourite.
RD: Would you like to say thanks to anyone?
To all the people that I personally know and don’t know who have supported me and my art, to my parents as they have always been there for me and my lovely husband who puts up with all the weirdness ;-) , to cats, dogs and all the other amazing creatures of this world for inspiration.
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