A Conversation with Angela Bandurka

Angela Bandurka is an award-winning artist, and also a colleague at ARTspot. You’ll see from her accent (favourite… colours…) that she hails from British Columbia, Canada. Talking with Angela about art is always a joyful and inspiring experience!

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Scott:   What are the most important materials you use to make your art?

Angela:   Wow. What a good question. I tend to start thinking too much about this and I'm going to go crazy! Essentially, I could make my art with any materials and support – it could even be a stick and some sand! The end product may change depending on my situation and time, but I will always create.

Scott:   Haha! That’s great – I’d love to see your Stick & Sand Collection someday. What materials are you utilizing in your current projects?

Angela:   As far as the key ingredients that are specific to the work I’m doing today, I'd say these are my Top5:

• Brushes

• Canvases

• Paints

• Modeling Paste

• Gesso 

Scott:   What techniques have you developed that have proven to be essential to your art-making process?

Angela:   I always cover my canvas with light modeling paste as my first step. It's essential to my art-making process because I have discovered that I detest the uniform texture of canvas, but I like the give of the fabric. Modeling paste allows me to create a texture that is not uniform, but can allow bits of canvas texture through in places and still allows the fabric to give under my brush. 

Scott:   What is your favorite art-tool at this time?

Angela:   My favourite tool is a flat or bright brush. I will use different sizes of this style of brush for everything. It allows a thin line as well as a thick line. When using oils I enjoy fluffy makeup brushes as a way of softening my edges and blurring sections.

Scott:   Where do you find your inspiration to create art?

Angela:   I find inspiration in everything! I don't have a choice in whether I create art or not. I go to bed dreaming about painting, what colours I'd use for a specific piece and different ways I can create interesting imagery. Sometimes in nightmares I imagine dark paintings. I might paint these at some point, but right now it's not time for that. Inspiration comes to me in quiet moments. When I'm watching my son play, seeing scenes around home that are beautiful - the play of light in the trees, a flutter of a bird or butterfly, or anything else external that makes me calm and that makes me feel good. 

Scott:   Who are your essential influences right now? What is it about them that stirs you?

Angela:   My essential influences? I have had many that have led me to where I am now, and I continue to find more that help me shape and change the way I create. My grandma and great grandpa, who were both artists, were my first influences as a very young child! Right now, I'm influenced by Picasso and his life -- the way he continued to evolve as an artist, more so than even his art in itself! I see that as a huge influence on me and who I am as an artist and the way I try to think about my art.

Scott:   How would you describe the art you’ve chosen to bring into your living space?

Angela:   There are three types of art in my home:

1. Art created by people I love, my grandmother, other distant relatives, my mom, my son, friends...
2. Pieces that I've purchased because they spoke to me. I buy art for emotional reasons, not decorative ones.
3. Some of my art has been passed down to me by ancestors – going back even farther than my grandparents.

Scott:   What would you love to add to your collection?

Angela:   I'd love to add more functional art - replacing objects that I use daily with handmade, creative pieces. Furniture, dishes, and the like. If money were no object, I'd have hand-painted Spanish tiles in place of my floorboards, and original one-of-a-kind wooden furniture carved sleek and elegantly by someone who loves their craft.