I met Emily Gmitter through Sally Cronin from Smorgasbord. I knew her as a poet and writer. It was only when I read Emily’s wonderful book, Happiness Is A Warm Cat, I realised Emily was also an artist.
Tell us a bit about how you came to be an artist. What draws you to painting? What subject matter do you enjoy painting the most?
Thank you for hosting me, Robbie. You are one of my favourite artists, and I appreciate your interest in my work. And hello to all the wonderful artists out there!
The truth is, I really don’t know what draws me to paint. I was always a “doodler” but learned early on that I could draw. At Easter, my teacher would hang theme posters on the walls. I was so taken with all the adorable big-eyed “Easter bunnies”—the males in their Sunday suits, females in their finest bonnets—that, during art class, I’d make them my subject matter.
It was surprising to learn I had a knack for drawing. In later years, I created charcoal sketches of people whose faces were interesting to me. In terms of known faces, I’ve sketched George Harrison and Kris Kristofferson. Kris had a great face! All his angels and demons in every line, which he wore proudly.
My love of art progressed to painting, starting with oils. Again, I’m not sure why. Bob Ross was a factor. It was fascinating to watch him use one brush to achieve different shapes and effects. Like any Ross fan, I was amazed at how the push of his brush seemed to magically create “happy little trees.”
My favourite subjects to paint are seascapes, landscapes, moonscapes. And trees. I also enjoy creating vibrant abstract art using flow paint. Dirty pours are a surprise. Chain/string pulls are great fun, and I love creating art via Dutch pours. There are so many techniques to play with! “Play” is the key word here.
I really enjoy your use of colour in your artworks. Among the Cherry Trees is a painting I really love. You also had a painting featuring a Japanese lady and one of an autumn tree. What medium do you work in? How do you capture the essence of the flowers and colourful leaves in your work?
I do love colour! Acrylic is generally my medium of choice. My first three paintings were oils, but I detested the clean-up and the odour of turpentine, so I switched to acrylics. I’m currently learning how to use and control watercolour.
I try to capture the essence of flowers and leaves with impressionistic-type technique, using brushstrokes and dabbing methods to suggest their forms. I tend to want instant gratification in my work and feel I have neither the time nor the patience needed to paint individual flowers or the many leaves on trees in detail. Instead, I lay down splotches of colours to suggest foliage and flowers and may embellish with some details here and there. In landscape art, though, details are not required to create beautiful pieces.
To create subjects in suggested form, I use a variety of tools: stippling brushes, paper towels, a scrunched-up piece of foil or saran wrap, large-pore cellulose sponges, lightly inflated balloons, a dry brush for softening edges. And my fingers. I hoard odd items that may be useful such as bottle caps, jar lids, fake flowers, thin tree branches. I’ve learned not to discard old brushes; bristles that have become ragged over time are perfect for creating random splashes of colour to suggest a field of flowers or sparkles on the ocean’s surface.
Click on the gallery to enlarge the paintings.
- Japanese Woman by Lake;
- Among the Cherry Trees; and
- Lone Autumn Tree
Which are your favourites of your own artworks and why?
The three paintings you mentioned are among my own favourites.
As much as I love colour, I also love creating black and white pieces. Winter Cabin and an older piece I call Solitude are among my favourites of those. I love Winter Cabin for its serene beauty … a snow-covered landscape as yet undisturbed by man or beast. Another favourite is a moonscape I call Winter Trees Under a Full Moon, which I love for its contrasting colour scheme.
The Japanese lady painting you mentioned is another favourite. My husband asked me to paint “something with a geisha girl and cherry blossoms.” He may have wanted a portrait painting of an exotic face but, being inexperienced at painting detailed faces, I went with what I knew best and designed a landscape with cherry trees and a lake (water seems to appear of its own accord in my work!) to which I added the full figure of a Japanese woman. I had a 2 x 4-foot piece of sheetrock lying around, which seemed perfect for what I had in mind. This one evolved over several weeks. I love Japanese Woman by a Lake because it’s the largest painting I’ve done, and it’s on a different canvas that required sealing. Creating this one, from concept to sealing with resin, was quite an experience!
Among the Cherry Trees, Lone Autumn Tree (acrylics), and a watercolour I call Misty Morning are others that fall into my favourites category. Seas and trees no longer make up my only subjects, though, so I have many favourites.
Click on the arrows to view the seven paintings in the slideshow.
Which famous artist has influenced you most? Which of his/her paintings do you like best and why?
I love most art types but am particularly drawn to Impressionism. Of the many wonderful impressionists who have given us beautiful and timeless art, my two favourites are Claude Monet and Vincent van Gogh. I love that Monet’s varied subjects include the sea, and, of course, van Gogh’s “Starry Nights” is a dream of a painting.
The ocean has long been my favourite subject to paint. Monet created many seascapes surrounded by cliffs and trees; because of that, I get a kindred-spirit feeling from his art, even though he used soft pastels and painted calm seas (even his cresting waves convey gentle movement to me), while I employ vibrant blues and even black, and my waves are large, often crashing over rocks and sometimes threatening lighthouses.
Below are pictures of one of Monet’s Waterlilies paintings and Starry Night Over the Rhone by Vincent van Gogh. Both photographs were taken by Robbie Cheadle at the Orsay Museum in Paris.
What’s next for Emily Gmitter?
Devoting more time to creating art. On my bucket list:
- Face the challenge of painting portraits;
- Create heavily textured and mixed media artwork;
- Learn to layer paints to achieve more depth;
- Improve watercolour skills;
- Create artwork that combines realism with the abstract.
And … perhaps … a trip to Hawaii.
My review of Happiness Is A Warm Cat by Emily Gmitter & Zoe The Fabulous Feline
Happiness is a Warm Cat is a wonderfully unique book filled with experiences and adventures told through the eyes of Emily Gmitter’s fabulous cat, Zoe, as well as some beautifully written romantic and other fictional pieces and biographical stories about aspects of Emily’s life. There are also some lovely poems and several pictures of Emily’s artwork. All of the creations in this book are filled with vibrancy, colour, and passion.
The stories about Zoe and her adventures are fun filled and interesting. Zoe is typical of a cat and is filled with self importance and quite sure about her status as ‘top dog’. She does all manner of naughty things to ensure that Emily remembers her place in the family structure. Zoe is also big hearted and curious (aren’t all cats?) and likes to meet other animals, including Bella the dog and Burt the writing cat, Bella and Barre the Siamese twins, as well as spending time with her sister, Jaz. Zoe also gets to experience some pain and loss.
As a reader, I thought that experiencing daily life through the eyes of Zoe, was a wonderful way to make sense of everyday trials and tribulations and find the happiness in small things and moments.
A wonderful book for readers who appreciate experiencing the ordinary contentedness of life from a different perspective.
Purchase Happiness Is A Warm Cat by Emily Gmitter from Amazon US here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0C2SG4PLM/
About Emily Gmitter
Emily lives on the North Shore of Massachusetts. She loves to spend alone-time at the beach, fun-time singing at local karaoke clubs, and the rest of her time engaged in activities with family and friends … when she’s not reading, writing, or painting.
About Robbie Cheadle
South African author, photographer, and artist, Robbie Cheadle, has written and illustrated seventeen children’s books, illustrated a further three children’s books, written and illustrated four poetry books and written and illustrated one celebration of cake and fondant art book with recipes. Her work has also appeared in poetry and short story anthologies.
Robbie also has two novels and a collection of short stories published under the name of Roberta Eaton Cheadle and has horror, paranormal, and fantasy short stories featured in several anthologies under this name.
You can find Robbie Cheadle’s artwork, fondant and cake artwork, and all her books on her website here: https://www.robbiecheadle.co.za/
Social Media Links
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/robbiecheadle.bsky.social
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVyFo_OJLPqFa9ZhHnCfHUA
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15584446.Robbie_Cheadle
TSL Publications: https://tslbooks.uk/product-tag/robbie-cheadle/
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Robbie-Cheadle/author/B01N9J62GQ
Unsplash profile: https://unsplash.com/@r_cheadle
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