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Angie Huffman was born and raised near Dallas, Texas. She graduated from the University of North Texas with a BFA in Drawing and Painting in 2010. The school’s focus on contemporary and postmodernist work challenged her to find a way to act on her attraction to realism and portraiture while avoiding banality. In 2014, after critical evaluation of her everyday life, Huffman relocated to Eastern Iowa. Less time spent in traffic has translated to more time to focus on producing paintings. Her work has been included in solo and group shows, as well as national and regional juried exhibitions, in Texas and throughout the Midwest. Pieces are held in private collections in Illinois, Iowa, and Texas.
Published on January 25th, 2021. Artist responses collected in months previous.
What hurdles have you overcome this year and how have they affected your art practice?
Finishing View was a hurdle. I started working on it in mid-to-late 2019 thinking it would be quick, and ultimately it was not done until the middle of this year. I was able to work on a few small things that presented themselves in that stretch as well, but it is still hard to fathom how long it took. That was a contributing factor to my focusing on creating smaller scale work for the foreseeable future. More recently, in August, a powerful storm called a derecho with sustained 100 mph winds hit the Midwest. Over 350,000 people across Iowa and Illinois lost power. Most regained it over the course of two weeks, but due to more extensive electrical damage to my residence/studio, it took a bit longer. As someone who always feels pressured to meet self-imposed quotas, the potential painting time lost to this event and recovery has rattled my goals for the year. There is still some time left though. We’ll see how it shakes out.
How has your art practice been affected by the pandemic?
I am fortunate that the pandemic has not affected accessibility to my work space, and at this point my livelihood does not depend on sales. I am an introvert that works alone, so I have not taken the psychological hit a lot of extroverts have. One thing the pandemic has definitely affected is the availability of shows. Complications of an art center closing for a while pushed a solo show I was to have at the end of 2020 back to probably the end of 2021. There have still been show opportunities available, but many have continued to be held physically. I do not feel it wise to be traveling anywhere at this time or out in public more than required. Previously, I held a level of skepticism about online shows. Until there is a vaccine, though, they are exclusively what I am searching for. A benefit has been having less reasons to need to leave my residence, which means less things competing for my attention. I am grateful to have a day job that has allowed me to work from home, which gives a little time back to each day that I would have been driving as well.
What support systems have you put in place to help keep your practice thriving amidst these unforeseeable circumstances?
Like I mentioned, my practice has fortunately not been greatly affected by the pandemic. My main support system, my partner, lives with me, so we do what we can for each other on the psychological front. I continue to communicate with my friends and family through text as I did before, and they remain a very great help to me. It seems like there have been unexpected positives lodged in amongst this bleak situation, so I have tried to embrace the good where it can be found. I do miss being able to travel to see shows, and thus appreciate the work art institutions have been doing to bring their resources online. I have been trying to take advantage of their shows, Zoom calls, emails, and social media posts as much as possible, and am optimistic the new ways they have come up with to interact with people remotely will have a lasting effect on their programming well into the future.
What methods do you employ to stay resilient in your art practice? What tips would you recommend to other artists who find staying resilient difficult?
Always have goals. Keep track of them and knock them off your list. If you have large, vague ones, do what you can to find smaller, definable bits and focus on making those a reality. Each small one will get you closer to achieving a big one. Similarly, if there are countless things you want to do, find a focus for the moment and see it through. I have a lot of trouble in that I feel like everything I know of that needs to be done all needs to be completed immediately, which kind of causes me to overload and just shut down. For me, any small thing I accomplish is better than crumbling under the weight of everything. At the same time, be mindful and make time for self care, whatever it may be for you. This is an ongoing struggle for me as well, but I continue to try to find the balance, day to day.
What have you learned about yourself as an artist this year?
As much as I want to crank out large paintings, the reality is I am a slow painter, and large pieces will probably take me a very long time to complete. Also, there is not yet a market for my larger pieces. Smaller work is both quicker to make and more likely to sell. Therefore, I need to fight my urge to go big and try to stay small for the foreseeable future. Also, I have discovered that I desire to make sculptural fiber work. I cannot recall previously wanting to pursue anything outside the photorealist and painting realms. I do not know if the work will grow legs as I am in the infantile stages of exploring, but for the first time basically ever, I have the desire to sketch and try all kinds of different things. Ideas have come faster than I can begin to try to actuate. It excites me and gives me new optimism.
What hurdles have you overcome this year and how have they affected your art practice?
Finishing View was a hurdle. I started working on it in mid-to-late 2019 thinking it would be quick, and ultimately it was not done until the middle of this year. I was able to work on a few small things that presented themselves in that stretch as well, but it is still hard to fathom how long it took. That was a contributing factor to my focusing on creating smaller scale work for the foreseeable future. More recently, in August, a powerful storm called a derecho with sustained 100 mph winds hit the Midwest. Over 350,000 people across Iowa and Illinois lost power. Most regained it over the course of two weeks, but due to more extensive electrical damage to my residence/studio, it took a bit longer. As someone who always feels pressured to meet self-imposed quotas, the potential painting time lost to this event and recovery has rattled my goals for the year. There is still some time left though. We’ll see how it shakes out.
How has your art practice been affected by the pandemic?
I am fortunate that the pandemic has not affected accessibility to my work space, and at this point my livelihood does not depend on sales. I am an introvert that works alone, so I have not taken the psychological hit a lot of extroverts have. One thing the pandemic has definitely affected is the availability of shows. Complications of an art center closing for a while pushed a solo show I was to have at the end of 2020 back to probably the end of 2021. There have still been show opportunities available, but many have continued to be held physically. I do not feel it wise to be traveling anywhere at this time or out in public more than required. Previously, I held a level of skepticism about online shows. Until there is a vaccine, though, they are exclusively what I am searching for. A benefit has been having less reasons to need to leave my residence, which means less things competing for my attention. I am grateful to have a day job that has allowed me to work from home, which gives a little time back to each day that I would have been driving as well.
What support systems have you put in place to help keep your practice thriving amidst these unforeseeable circumstances?
Like I mentioned, my practice has fortunately not been greatly affected by the pandemic. My main support system, my partner, lives with me, so we do what we can for each other on the psychological front. I continue to communicate with my friends and family through text as I did before, and they remain a very great help to me. It seems like there have been unexpected positives lodged in amongst this bleak situation, so I have tried to embrace the good where it can be found. I do miss being able to travel to see shows, and thus appreciate the work art institutions have been doing to bring their resources online. I have been trying to take advantage of their shows, Zoom calls, emails, and social media posts as much as possible, and am optimistic the new ways they have come up with to interact with people remotely will have a lasting effect on their programming well into the future.
What methods do you employ to stay resilient in your art practice? What tips would you recommend to other artists who find staying resilient difficult?
Always have goals. Keep track of them and knock them off your list. If you have large, vague ones, do what you can to find smaller, definable bits and focus on making those a reality. Each small one will get you closer to achieving a big one. Similarly, if there are countless things you want to do, find a focus for the moment and see it through. I have a lot of trouble in that I feel like everything I know of that needs to be done all needs to be completed immediately, which kind of causes me to overload and just shut down. For me, any small thing I accomplish is better than crumbling under the weight of everything. At the same time, be mindful and make time for self care, whatever it may be for you. This is an ongoing struggle for me as well, but I continue to try to find the balance, day to day.
What have you learned about yourself as an artist this year?
As much as I want to crank out large paintings, the reality is I am a slow painter, and large pieces will probably take me a very long time to complete. Also, there is not yet a market for my larger pieces. Smaller work is both quicker to make and more likely to sell. Therefore, I need to fight my urge to go big and try to stay small for the foreseeable future. Also, I have discovered that I desire to make sculptural fiber work. I cannot recall previously wanting to pursue anything outside the photorealist and painting realms. I do not know if the work will grow legs as I am in the infantile stages of exploring, but for the first time basically ever, I have the desire to sketch and try all kinds of different things. Ideas have come faster than I can begin to try to actuate. It excites me and gives me new optimism.
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