Artist of the Month
Meet Chelsea Sebastian
Chelsea Sebastian is a representational oil painter who creates reflections of her daily life from her studio in Wellesley, MA. She works from sketches, photographs, and memory, often combining images to compose poignant paintings of vernacular places. She derives inspiration from her childhood on a small farm, extensive world travel, and New England’s dramatic seasons and dynamic community. Her artwork is held in collections throughout the United States and Canada. Recently, she was chosen to be part of the U.S. State Department’s ‘Art in Embassies’ program.
WHAT IS YOUR BACKGROUND?
Because I was raised in a large family by two painters, I have been making art since childhood. My dad is a maritime watercolorist and my mom is a portrait artist who works in acrylics. I hold a degree from the University of Washington in Community and Environmental Planning and a Masters of International Studies from North Carolina State University. Invariably, I paint at every opportunity, and relentlessly examine art history and human creativity. Since 2021, I have been studying figure painting from life at the Academy of Realist Art in Boston
WHAT IS YOUR PROCESS?
I call my process “Assemblage and Archeology.”
Assemblage: Through sketching, photography and deep observation, I collect images of people and places. In my studio, I engage in an awkward analog process of combining images. I print, copy, trace, cut-out, collage, sketch, and re-draw compositions. I often carry around an assemblage for years and study it whenever I have a moment of pause.
Archeology: I build my paintings by applying direct impasto layers of color over numerous painting sessions. As a painting takes form, I scrape off texture between sessions. I tremendously enjoy this tiny act of destruction. I rediscover paint layers and remind myself that my previous work is not yet precious. I put in earplugs and get physically close to the canvas, scraping with a pallet knife and wiping with my hand. During this process, I enter a soft consciousness where I only think about mixing color and creating form.
WHAT DO YOU PAINT? AND WHY?
My current work is a reflection of my daily life. I am in a personal era of suburban domesticity and my art reflects home, children, pets, and my beloved neighborhood. With fidelity, I attempt to capture subjective experiences and accurately portray how New England’s stark light magnifies minor places in the landscape and plays on architecture. My work is also a reflection of my psychological state, as I am sensitive to my family’s growth and how our community engages with nature. More than anything, my paintings chronicle my joy and connection with this time and place. They are both composites of isolated moments and are my effort to keep record of the fundamental importance of my life.
WHAT ARE YOU WORKING ON NEXT?
I set myself the task of mastering portraiture over the next two years. I have started with my immediate family members and am enrolling my neighbors and friends as models. I continue to study at the Academy, show locally, and spend as much time as possible alone in my basement, beside the boiler, painting.
