Denise Gasser is a mixed-media artist with a fascinating collection called Tree Portraiture. She lives in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Describe yourself as an artist. I would say that while I am not always consistent, I am absolutely persistent. My lifestyle and personality don’t always allow for really consistent productivity. Sometimes I will go for weeks without picking up a paintbrush, and sometimes I will paint every single day for months. I will get random bursts of inspiration and stay up all night working. Other times painting sounds like the worst thing in the world and I wish I could just read or watch TV guilt-free; it’s kind of a complicated relationship. I also have a hard time sticking to one subject matter or style. I get inspired by so many different things, so it’s hard to make myself hone in on one thing at a time. So I have been categorizing my work into a few specific series, and I’m forcing myself to at least stick to those for now. Despite the challenges of being an artist, it’s who I am; I wouldn’t be me without it. I decided a long time ago that it’s worth the struggle, so I’m in it for the long haul…sometimes inching along, sometimes sprinting…but I’m in it.

What do you think about art within the Mormon culture? When I think of ‘Mormon art’ my mind immediately recalls soft, glowing images of Christ with flowers and sunsets, or the super-muscular Nephi paintings that accompany the illustrated version of the Book of Mormon. I’m guessing a lot of Mormons would have the same reaction…likely because these are the overtly Mormon images that we all grew up with. Though these works are beautiful and important, I think we are really limiting ourselves if we allow these few images to typify our entire view of Mormon art. Mormons are a creative people with a rich history in art, architecture, music, and dance, emphasizing beauty, quality, and craftsmanship. This tradition is still thriving in the Mormon community today, with artwork that is incredibly expansive and diverse. Just off the top of my head I can think of at least a dozen Mormon artists who are doing amazingly innovative work. I think we just need to expand our definition of ‘Mormon art’ to include ‘art created by Mormons’. Even if the artwork itself isn’t specifically Mormon, there are common threads of belief that bind Mormon artist together, and likely weave their way into everything they create. Allowing for a broader definition of what constitutes Mormon art would hopefully encourage us to take pride in the incredible talent that is harbored within the Mormon culture.

What are you working on next? Right now I’m putting most of my creative energy into two major projects. This is me honing in! After all that talk about simple beauty…I am actually working on a more conceptual series called Art After. It’s been an ongoing project that attempts to harness the tension and ambivalence that exists in my roles as artist and mother. They are just tiny little pieces, 5×7, and I’m hoping to make about 200. I create each piece in one sitting, working without stopping until I am either finished, or until I am interrupted. Usually I end up stopping at the point that I literally can’t continue working through the interruptions. At that point I have to stop working, and I can’t go back and finish. For each piece I am documenting the start time, the end time, and the nature of the interruption that forced me to stop. So some pieces last about two minutes, and others last over two hours. It’s been a really nice way to integrate art and motherhood, and to comment on the extremely challenging aspects of continuing to make art after becoming a mother. The other project I’m working on is a series based on the amazing urban park here in Vancouver BC, called Stanley Park.

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Justin Kunz is a painter and illustrator and is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Visual Arts at BYU. Previously, he worked at Blizzard Entertainment creating concept art, environment textures, and building 3D assets for World of Warcraft. He was a Lead Texture and Concept Artist at Disney Interactive Studios. Kunz was also selected to be a master designer as part of the Artistic Infusion Program with the US Mint and he has had three designs minted.

Describe yourself as an artist. I live in a perpetual state of amazement at the beauty that is practically everywhere I go. I understand not everyone experiences the world this way, so I try to act normal just to blend in. I could blame my college education for burdening me with a mind attuned to this impractical kind of awareness, because that was the time when I felt like I had finally begun to see. But I have memories of the awe induced by visual experiences that predate any formal training. That makes me wonder if part of my sensibilities are the result of something more primal. Maybe I’ve always been this way.

I guess that’s what people probably mean when they say, “You’re so talented.” I once saw a T-shirt that said something like this: HARD WORK IS FOR PEOPLE SHORT ON TALENT. Silly me, I thought, I’ve been working way too hard on my art! It came as a great relief to learn, after more than 20 years of continuous efforts to improve myself as an artist, I can just kick back and relax because, as so many people have assured me, I’m talented!  But in all seriousness, I still find myself working many long, focused hours because I haven’t figured out how to produce high-quality art using talent alone. The component of craft is integral to the way I create, and that is something that takes time.

Your figure paintings are really great–how do you choose your subject matter? Thank you. In the case of commissioned pieces such as the coin and medal designs, concept illustrations, and some of the paintings, the subjects vary depending on the needs and interests of the client. For me the unifying theme seems to be a desire to tell stories visually, in a way that conveys a sense of spiritual resonance. Sometimes those stories are historical, other times fictional; some are scriptural, others fantastical. I have a variety of interests and many more ideas than I have time to develop into finished paintings. So I have to be patient and try to choose the right projects at the right time. I also love to paint landscape, but most of my recent work has involved figures in some way. The style of my work is a function of both the process of its creation and the particular sense I have about the subject—not only what it means, but how my ideas and feelings about it might be expressed through a series of aesthetic choices.

How does your religion shape your artwork? Obviously not all of my artwork is overtly religious in nature. In fact, it has only been the last three years or so that I have really started to paint scriptural themes. I illustrated several articles in Ensign and Liahona during the first five or six years of my career, but most of those were contemporary subjects. The Biblical paintings are a more recent development. For a long time, I was reluctant to try painting pictures of the Savior. Not because I didn’t want to, I just never really felt ready (maybe worthy would be more accurate). I wasn’t always happy with the way other artists portrayed him, but I also questioned my own ability to do justice to these sacred subjects. I still have some of those doubts, but I knew it was something I wanted to do eventually, and putting it off didn’t feel right either. So when Dallan Wright from Deseret Book came to my studio and challenged me to try painting a New Testament theme, I took him up on it. That piece, On Earth as it is in Heaven, which is a portrayal of the Lord’s Prayer during the Sermon on the Mount, has been included in several exhibitions including a few national competitions. The artists I admire most have found a way to express some aspect of their faith in almost everything they create, whether that expression is direct or indirect in nature. It’s that kind of artist I aspire to be.

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Boyd K. Packer passed away earlier this month and was a lifelong artist and artisan. An article on LDS.org said of Packer, “Ever since his childhood in the farming community of Brigham City, Utah, President Boyd K. Packer has had a love of nature and art. Of particular interest to him have been birds and animals. In high school, he had ambitions to become an artist, but World War II led him in another direction.”

See more at President Boyd K. Packer: Apostle and Artist.

Michal Luch Onyon was raised in a family of talented artists. Both her parents were accomplished designers and painters who worked for the Church, her sister works in stained glass, and her daughter and nephew are accomplished artists and performers. For example, her mother illustrated the Children’s Songbook. I lived with her nephew, Bryan Hernandez-Luch, on my mission and he would regale me with stories of his family that made them seem, to me, like the Royal Tenenbaums of Mormon art. Onyon received a BFA from the University of Utah and began oil painting several years ago after a career in illustration and graphic design. She adds, “My hobby has been pleine aire watercolors done on almost every vacation for 25 years. I think all these past experiences help me as I discover that painting encompasses more than a lifetime of challenges and ideas. It is a timeless feeling to escape everyday life by trying capture and reinvent from a world so much bigger and varied than we can imagine.”

Growing up in a family of artists how did you find your style and voice? Like the cartoon of a man with an angel on one shoulder and a devil on the other, I have a family art jury sitting on mine. One side is the critique, the other encouragement. It has taken a while to get past such talented parents. I may never be as excellent as them. I pretend not to care or that I am not as invested to avoid that critical voice. Ultimately, you build on your own passions, strengths and accomplishments. I see the influence of both parents in my work and it is exciting to me. I can say, “Mom was here…she loved patterns and nature” or “my father is coming through with his bold sense of structure” You mature and know what you love and can appreciate the influences that flow through you.

How did you get to the point that you could make a living with your art? I hate to tell you. I am not feeding a family on my artwork. There are some smart choices I made in the past so that I have the liberty of painting now. I worked as a graphic designer on logos, catalogs and t-shirts for more than 25 years. I was a window display artist and made plein aire watercolors for more years. I married a hard working man who is generous and lets me do what I want (as long as I make dinner). I paint endless hours with a desire to become good despite little monetary reward. I am a terrible business woman, but… I am busy in my studio.

Your parents were both artists for the Church. How would you evaluate the Church’s relationship to art today? I think the LDS church is proud of its artists, especially if they create predictable pictures of church subjects. It is impressive to see that a culture can produce accomplished people. So if you can get well known you are a shining example of “We are Mormons”. I do not feel like there is any social or doctrinal support or encouragement to women who work to get there. Like the general culture, there is little understanding of the individual who creates art and their need for self expression or respect for the time it takes.

Visit Michal Onyon’s website.