My daughter, Ashley, met Quentin soon after we moved to Fort Worth, TX. They became good friends and I was glad she had met a nice kid to hang out with before starting at her new high school. So, what does Quentin have to do with this story ... well, he is Charla's son. I met her through Ashley and Quentin's friendship. Charla is a wonderful person and an exquisite artist. I am so lucky to have been able to purchase one of her works. It is absolutely beautiful and hangs in my living room so I can look at it ALL the time; it is entitled "Handle With Care". I hope, one day, to be able to own another Pavlik and would love someday if Charla and I could collaborate on a children's book .... Here is Charla's story ....
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| Handle With Care |
Charla - Please tell us a little about
yourself:
Charla Marion Pavlik
I was born and raised in Fort Worth,
Texas....I am married to Wayne and we have 2 boys; Quentin (19) and Chandler (16) along with 3 dogs; Angel, Pixie and Hershey. I went to Texas Tech and studied fashion and graphic design. I
transferred to Texas Christian University (TCU) and graduated with a BFA in Communication
Graphics. I still live in Fort Worth. I have done a wide range of
creative arts which include; dollhouses, murals, posters, brochures,
illustrations, decorative/faux finishes, logo design, paintings, mixed media,
photography, artist retreats and workshops.
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| Charla in her "studio"! |
Who is your favorite painter /
artist?
WOW....so many....I have many
favorites, but maybe I should start from the beginning, when I was born...just
kidding...but I have had so many favorites...I could start with my earliest
influences....Walt Disney....My friend and I would trace Disney characters over
and over again, I want to say we were 6 years old, then I started drawing on my
own. I would draw all the time. I was so extremely shy, that I would write
notes and draw pictures and give them to friends instead of talking to
them.
During my college years, I learned
about all the art periods, from Renaissance to Modern art. I loved the poster
art from Toulouse-Lautrec and Alphonse Mucha, I loved Gustav Klimt's golden
phase and Picasso's blue phase. I loved Art Nouveau. I liked Matisse,
Manet, Monet, Van Gogh and Gaugin, especially the letters from Van Gogh to his
brother Theo. I think reading the letters made the art of Van Gogh that much
more interesting to me. (LETTERS) I learned about graphic designers, I loved
Paul Rand. I took photography and LOVED Ansel Adams. My teachers were artists
and they were a great influence to me. Luther Smith taught photography and Don
Punchatz was an amazing illustrator, big influences. My Uncle Henry Rayburn is
the one that introduced me to collages. He was a huge inspiration and mentor.
Presently, there are just too many artists to name that influence me, or I
would say are my favorite. I am going to say, after looking back over this,
that my top 3 favorites would be, Henry Rayburn, Alphonse Mucha, and Van Gogh.
I guess I forgot to mention my Mom is an artist too, Claudine Marion. She is
also the Minister of Hospitality at Broadway Baptist Church. I love her title.
Minister of Hospitality. She has done this for many years and her office is
filled with treasures I continually find that I will use in my collages, or
inspire an idea...which leads me to your next question.
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This was taken in 2008 with my Uncle Henry Rayburn
he passed away in 2009 |
You can learn more about him here:
http://www2.sacurrent.com/arts/story.asp?id=69815
He still has art at the Koelsch
Gallery and The San Antonio Museum of Art has one of his pieces.
http://koelschgallery.com/hr/index.htm
What inspires you?
My Mom's office is filled with great
inspirational materials. The letters, the magazines, the old bibles (especially
the ones that have been written in and underlined), old hymnals, sheets and
papers of notes from learning about art in religion, art at the museum,
personal notes on sermons or lectures, all inspire me. The older the better,
that means it has a story behind it. I can hold a bible from 1908 and imagine
where it had all been, how it was used, and who owned. it, same with an old
letter. (LETTERS again.) Letters are a mystery, it is just a part of a story
that you don't have all the pieces to, and yet you have just enough to imagine
the rest of the story in you mind. I am inspired by a moment that touches me,
or creates a surprise reaction I wasn't expecting from myself, or something
that makes me smile or makes me happy. Sometimes an image inspires me. Beauty
inspires me. Nostalgia inspires me. Questions inspire me. (This interview
inspired me by causing me to retrace my early influences and reconnect with
those feelings.) Relationships, people reacting or interacting without some
sort of agenda or thinking that someone is watching...genuine moments inspire
me. I do have vivid dreams and sometimes an idea comes while dreaming or
in that in between state. Sometimes while walking or jogging, once my head is
clear, it leaves room for fresh ideas to come in. Anything that creates a happy
positive feeling... then I want to try and express it through art in a way that
someone else can get those happy positive feelings.
Is it difficult to sell certain
paintings?
I love color, and a lot of my mixed
media paintings have lots of color. Most people want more subtle colors to match
their couch, or go with the neutral colors in their home, but the art I create
has to be inspired and may not always match a couch. If I am doing a
commissioned piece, of course I will use colors that the client wants. I
had a large pink painting titled Delilah. One person said, " If it just
wasn't so pink, I would buy it." Not many people can put a pink painting
in their home. I did finally sell it though, to the person that said, "If
it just wasn't so pink...."
Do you have any works that you
just could NEVER sell?
My first collage, I had all these
drawings, paintings, sketches, printed pieces from different events, jobs, etc.
that I had accumulated, just stored away. After seeing some of my Uncle Henry's
collages, I decided to make one huge collage. I then painted my baby photo over
it and titled it, Self Portrait. After that first collage, I couldn't stop,
seemed like all I have done lately is collage/mixed media.
Have there ever been paintings
you've started and then just given up on?
ALL THE TIME....I get an idea, start
plastering the canvas with sheet music, life magazine pages, hymns, letters,
text, stamps, etc. I usually will only tear out pages or use images that have
to do with the theme of the idea. Then I will drip and splatter paint,
sometimes too much gets covered up and I wipe off paint. I love building up
texture and layers and later sanding it down to see what emerges. Kind of a fun
game to me. Right now I have a piece that is stuck in that place and has
sat in my studio for a year now. There have been times I just painted
completely over something. There are even a few pieces that are on my website
right now that I ended up going over a little, changing something up here or
there, then I get carried away and then it's like, "Oops...guess I will
start over."
How does it make you feel when
someone purchases one of your works?
VERY HAPPY. I feel a connection with
that person, because I think, "they get me", I am deeply touched,
excited, and like a puppy, I just want to follow them home and live with
them...then I feel kind of sad, like saying bye to a friend who I have spent so
much time with. Each piece has a special meaning to me. My art where I go to
when I am sad, or when I am in a good mood and want to have fun, or when I want
to experiment....and every time I leave my studio (ok, living room) I feel
better, I am happier, I am more connected all together. Most of the time
it really does feel like a spiritual experience. I do get attached to each
piece, so letting go can be difficult, but it is a huge compliment.
Commissioned pieces are a bit
different, they can be more difficult. You have to pay attention to them
because you usually have a deadline.....but they push you to be better, to be
disciplined, to possibly learn something about yourself that you wouldn't have
learned if you were just painting what you want, when you want.
Do you work on a painting all
at once or is there a process -- days, weeks, months?
I don't think I have ever worked on
just one piece all at once. I usually have 4-5 canvases lined up around the
studio. I go from one to the other, sometimes spending more time on the one
that I am drawn to at the time. Sometimes a piece will sit in my studio for
weeks or months before I am inspired to work on it again. There are many
paintings that are layers and layers of ideas and images. I have had my husband
and friends say, "Leave it alone, it is perfect." but if it sits in
my studio for too long, it may change, because we are always changing and
things change. "Layers happen."...
Do you sketch out ideas first?
Not usually, but I have sketched out
ideas for murals or illustrations, but for the most part, no. I like to have a
general idea and then let it unfold as I go. BUT...for my silhouettes, I will
take a photograph of whatever image I want to use, or a client will provide me
with a photograph and I will draw it on cardboard, cut it out and create my own
stencil.
Do you also draw?
I DO draw and doodle a lot. I
think drawing, like painting, can be therapeutic, relaxing and fun. My Uncle
did a drawing while praying for a sick family member and later when that person
was well, he gave her the drawing and told her about the courtyard where he sat
and prayed for her. It was a powerful and meaningful piece. I plan on
doing some prayer drawings soon...not sure why I thought of that, but YES I do
draw.
The painting of yours that I am proud to own - "Handle With
Care" has stamps underneath the paint -- can you explain that process and
are all your works created this way?
"Handle with Care" is one
of my pieces that is especially dear to me. I used actual stamps from letters
that I saved for years. Some were from my Uncle when he was in the Peace Corps
in Columbia, and some were from old family letters. My family comes from a long
line of letter writers and story tellers. We save stuff..... I used a lot of
personal items and after doing so, I thought...this is so precious, then I
received something I had ordered from somewhere...can't remember, but it had
"Handle with Care" on it. And this happens so much where I am
thinking of something and then something shows up that just clicks. Nowadays
with emails and facebook, it is rare that you get a hand written letter. But I
do remember the days of running to the mailbox to see if I got a letter and who
it was from. Just recently, I found another box of letters, these were from my
great Uncle who I never met, and these were letters that most of my family
didn't know about. They were from the USS Enterprise and some while he was at
Pearl Harbor. His letters were always upbeat and happy. Never talking about the
war, (well they were censored) but he talked about movies, music and his
friends on board. He asked about everyone in the family and was always anxious
to get a letter in return, saying, I haven't received a letter from Dave in a
while, is he still seeing that girl? or Please tell Luedelle to write. Oh...see
I get sidetracked easily. After covering the canvas and getting the package
labeled, "Handle with Care" I thought about all the packages and
letters that I always anxiously waited for. I thought about all the stories
behind each letter or package. I don't know...so much more to say about it, I
could go on and on, but I am just so glad that she found a good home. NOTE - After reading Charla's answer about this painting, it's even more special to me! I absolutely love this piece! THANK YOU CHARLA!
Does your painting style have
a name?
Well, my art seems to fall into the
category of "Mixed Media" I wish I could find a different name to
call it. Abstract? Representational? Impressionistic? Contemporary? I put a
little bit of everything in my art, so I guess it is Mixed Media.......
Where can people purchase your
works?
I am picky when it comes to getting
the image just right for reproduction, therefore, I have put off selling online
or making prints because of that. My art has a lot of texture and small details
that I am afraid may get lost in the process, but I am trying two different
sites to see which one works best.
Just started these this week.
shop:
www.redbubble.com/people/charladee
But for originals or high quality
giclee's visit my website to see what is available, or just email me for
commission work.
website:
www.charlamarionpavlik.com
blog:
www.charlamarionpavlik.blogspot.com
like me on facebook: Charla Marion
Pavlik (Artist)
OTHER TIDBITS ABOUT CHARLA:
I usually try to have at least one
art show a year if not more. I am working on illustrations for a children's
story I wrote years back, but just keep staying too busy to finish it. I am
hoping to get better at the computer so I can stay up to date on my website and
blog. My goal this year is to finish my children's story illustrations, get
published and possibly get a licensing deal. I plan to look at some galleries in
the area for possible representation and or sign up with a renowned art agent.
My Mom and I want to get a book done about my Uncle Henry to showcase his body
of work as an artist and also do a book of family letters. (LETTERS) I do
still have two teenage boys living at home, so they come first, but what I have
learned is that instead of beating myself up over not accomplishing everything
I want to, to just appreciate the blocks of time I find that I can create and
appreciate each moment with the boys...I could go on and on here as well,
learning to spend time wisely, be present, be grateful, take time to get quiet
time alone, help others, eat healthy, drink lots of water, exercise, etc....
What you might find surprising about
me especially knowing how shy I can be, is that I was actually on Good Day
Dallas and Good Morning Texas when the boys were little....I was so nervous, it
was a crazy experience, but a good one. I will have to blog about it. Also, a
big surprise to me was last year NYLO hotels in Dallas bought one of my pieces.
I have permanent pieces in the Gene Thompson Community Center at Broadway
Baptist Church, which is a wonderful service to the community. If you ever need
anything, or know someone in need, it is a great resource.
Thanks CHARLA! Please visit Charla's website & blog
It's really cool to have children
read my books and really exciting when they tell me that they like them!
Children are very honest and very critical of the things they need read ... so
getting a thumbs up from a child is always flattering. But ... when a bunch of
fourth graders do a takeoff of one of your books it is MOST
FLATTERING. That is exactly what children in Mrs. Whitstone's 4th grade class
did at the Manara Academy. I was in their class one day back near the beginning
of school. At morning meeting time I told them a little about myself and
revealed that I was an author .... I showed them my books and it just so
happened that they were learning about Author's Purpose in English/Writing so I
talked to them about my purpose in writing my books. I asked them if they would
like me to read one, they said YES and they then chose Went Out To Get a Donut
- Came Home With a Muffin. I did "warn" them that this book was
written for a younger crowd--but they wanted to hear it! At the time, they
really seemed to enjoy it and did agree that littler kids would enjoy it -- but
they said it was fun to just sit and hear a SILLY story! Later that week they
were reading ... actually most were SINGING the book to their Kinder book
buddies and I would often hear them singing the tune in the hallways! Mrs.
Whitstone wanted the children to write and publish a book during the year and
MANY of them took my book idea and put a twist on it! I got to talk to a few of
the children about their books and the publishing process for their books ....
here's what they had to say!
Malak wrote -- More Than One (which
is a takeoff of Went Out To Get a Donut)
Makador
used his reading Buddy Gael as the main character and like the Muffin book, he
asked Gael what his favorite foods were and places he'd like to visit. So Gael
went on an adventure where he ended up at the Statue of Liberty! Makador loved
using the computer to create his story.
Deneel
also made his main character his reading Budding--Mikaeel (but he used his
nickname-Mickey). Denneel also said that hearing me read my book was very
inspirational--he loved the use of repetition so that Kindergarten students
could pick up on the words and it would make them successful readers. 
Saabiriin
stated that this one was fun and easy to write. Her original reading Buddy left
the school so she used many things her original reading Buddy liked and then
added Amina (her new reading Buddy) into the story. She said it was fun to
write and Amina likes the original story so she hopes she likes the one she
wrote for her.
Ayah wrote--Pizza, Pizza-What Do
You See?
Dorian wrote -- My Ten Little
Princesses
Raima wrote -- Fruit Friends
He
could not believe how much work it was! He didn't realize that a children's
book was hard work. Sometimes they would struggle to come up with words or to
make rhymes and the editing process took FOREVER! They had many drafts and
re-writes which were first done by hand. Once they felt really confident they
had a good copy, they typed their work onto the computer. They then printed out
the words. Worked on their Title Page and Dedication. Another tough thing to do
was folding the paper correctly. They cut the printed words up and placed them
on the pages to match their illustrations, which were drawn in pencil. The
whole book was then photocopied and they then colored over the photocopied
pictures ... this gave the book a really cool affect. They used crayons and
colored pencils. Finally they laminated their book covers (they used file
folders for the book covers) and stapled them all together. He said the process
was rewarding and they are all excited to present the books to their reading
Buddies before the end of school -- Mrs. Whitstone made a photocopy of their
books for them to keep! 
