Q: What is your full name and do you have any nicknames that you go by as an artist?

A: My name is Carolyn Gernhard. I don’t have any special artist nicknames, but I go by Cara/Caro and to a few special people Gernie.

Q: How old are you and are you currently, planning to, or have attended art school?

A: I am 23 years old. I graduated from the University of New Hampshire, where I studied linguistics. I do regret (just a bit) not going to art school; in high school I felt like my art wasn’t very good at all, but I loved linguistics and I’m happy that that’s what I studied. I’m still trying to figure out exactly I want to do with life. I would love to get a degree in fine arts with a certification in graphic design, but I really am still so unsure as to what is going to happen. I only know that I want art in my life.

Q: Where were you raised and does this play an role in your artwork?

A: I moved 9 times in my childhood, but the place where I have spent most of my time is in western New Hampshire. The trees, the mountains, the area really is gorgeous and plays a huge role in my artwork.

Q: Who and what inspires your art? Besides the usual answer such as family and life?

A: So many things are an inspiration to me. Nature, music, color, emotion….near anything. I’ll read a book and want to draw the characters. I see something and how the colors fit together inspires a painting. One of my favorite illustrators and a huge inspiration is Trina Schart Hyman. Seeing other people’s art work is an inspiration as well.

Q: What is the first thing that pops in your head when you wake up in the morning?

A: “I wish I could remember my dreams.”

Q: When was the first time you remember drawing something as a child, and, what was it?

A: Oh I don’t even know. I think once I drew out all the Greek Gods and Godesses. I found those a year or so ago. I legit laughed out loud.

Q: How would you describe your art?

A: I love lines. LOVE. Color and form are both super too. Once, a long time ago, a good piece of art advice was given to me, and that is that “Drawing is not about putting lines down on the paper. Drawing is about capturing light.” But to capture light with lines…that is me. ^.^  With a lot of my paintings, especially my abstract paintings it’s all about color and how colors affect your emotions. Looking at a painting you can feel happy, sad, calm, quiet, overwhelmed, tired, crazy, ecstatic, controlled…just about anything, and a good deal of this has to do with color and form.

Q: When you encounter an artistic slump; how do you come out of it?

A: Taking a really hot shower and driving helps too. In the summer I like to run outside. Pretty much anything to clear my head helps. Sometimes even just forcing myself to put pencil to paper and make a line, any line, helps.

Q: If you would send out a message in a bottle for the next generation of artists to read, what would it say?

A:Stop comparing your work to that of other people. Believe in yourself and the things you can do. Don’t expect to be someone else. Expect to be you.

Q:What art tools can’t you live without and why?

A: Staedtler fineliners. I love ‘em. And um, pencil and paper.

Q: What non-art items can’t you live without?

A: Food, water, and air. Some diet coke would be nice every now and then, but it’s not a necessity.

Q: How personal do you get in your artwork?

A: Very personal. I started drawing again only last March, after about 6 years of not making any art at all. I was going through some really bad times, and I’m not sure how it occurred to me, but I just picked up a pencil and started drawing. Art work for me is a way to release a lot of emotions that I have without being “weak” or blatantly obvious with my emotions.

Q: What is your biggest motivation as an artist? This is different from inspiration, what I’m asking is what makes you pick up that brush, pencil, pen ect…?

A: I’m pretty sure I’d go crazy if I wasn’t able to create. I’ll go for a week sometimes without drawing anything, just cause I’m busy or whatever, and I get in the most awful mood. It’s kinda ridiculous. But then I remember to pick up a pen and paper or a paintbrush and everything is instantly better.

Q:What is your favorite movie and book?

A: The Royal Tenenbaums and Peter Pan.

Q: What are you listening to on your iPod right now, and does music play a role in your art?

A: At the moment I am listening to ambient music that my friend Caleb made; he asked me to do the cover art for his album. I have a pretty eclectic taste in music and it all definitely plays a big role in my art…although I would say that a lot of what it does for me is to help solidify the emotions that I am feeling. It’s sort of a halfway point for me between emotion and realization of a piece of art that I create. One of my very favorite pieces I’ve ever made was inspired by a song called Saliva by Werner Kitzmüller, which despite being a beautiful song, made me feel cold and alone.

“So Cold Here” based loosely on the Kitzmüller song:

Q: How do you feel when you are working on an art piece in terms or feelings, emotions?

A: Haha, it completely depends. For me my art follows my emotions rather than the other way around. It’s my way to express how I feel and what I need to let go of. I do know, though, that when I am done, I always feel better than when I started.

Q: Besides your art; are there any hobbies that you like to indulge inn?

A:  I enjoy cooking, running, walking in the woods, driving to new places and exploring the world, and taking photographs.

Q: Is social media(blogs, myspace, facebook) and the internet in your words good for the art world. And for you as an artist?

A: Yes. Having the ability to look at art easily is absolutely wonderful and being able to blog my own art and get feedback as to whether or not people appreciate what I do is great. Especially for me as I live in a very rural area without a lot of access to galleries and the “art world” in general.

Q: There is an big issue with people posting art and photographs on social networking sites (including tumblr ) without giving credit to the artist. What are you thoughts on this and has it ever happened to you?

A: Yes, it’s happened to me. Personally, it’s annoying, but it’s a risk I take when posting on sites like tumblr. It’s really not the end of the world to me if I don’t get credit for something that I create, especially if it’s just being posted in a blog.

Q: Where could people be able to find your art?

A: Good question. I do have a blogspot and a deviantart, although I’m pretty bad at updating them.

All of my art work is on my tumblr (piratesandindians.tumblr.com) but I’m pretty bad at updating it.).

If a search for “cjg” (my initials) were to be done it would pull up most of it.

My flickr account is (flickr.com/photos/sabrepirate/).

I also have a blogspot (acaracolouredworld.blogspot.com/)

Q: Any advice to give to other artists out there?

A: See the “message in a bottle” question.

Q: Is there anything else you’ll like to say?

A: Hm. Well one thing that I’ve been seeing floating around lately is how people get annoyed that everybody wants to be an artist these days (I don’t know exactly; I’m paraphrasing). In my opinion, if you want to create then why shouldn’t you? If you want to draw, then draw. If you want to paint then paint. Don’t let other people tell you what you can and can’t do. I can easily list 50 people I know who DON’T want to become an artist these days so it’s hardly a true statement, plus why would you want to stifle any sort of creativity? That is what makes our world a more beautiful place.