Patricia Tudosa, ‘Blood Runs Female,  An Evolution.’ Acrylic, pencil, oil pastel on canvas,  60.5 x 44.5 in. (Courtesy: Patricia Tudosa)

Patricia Tudosa is a New York City-based self-taught professional artist. Imagination wonders when one is looking at her canvases—an interplay of space, color, theme, and texture. Tudosa, who was born and raised in Romania, has tapped into a variety of artistic pursuits throughout her career, including graphic design and writing. These days she is concentrating solely on painting. Tudosa spoke to Fine Art Globe exclusively about her emergence as an artist, her work, and hopes for the New York City art world that would emerge after quarantine.

FAG: What inspires your most current work today?

PT: When it comes to inspiration, the issue is whether I can be present within a certain state of mind in which I can reap the benefits of having paid attention to the world. The things I am most paying attention to now, and as a result are likely to show up in my art, are politics, feminist awareness, science, religion, nature, and mysticism. Also, the human face has long held a fascination for me. And of course, light, the very source of art, in my opinion.

Patricia Tudosa, ‘Moral Compass.’ Collage/ mixed media on paper & canvas, 46.5 x 46.5 in. (Courtesy: Patricia Tudosa)

FAG: You were supposed to showcase your recent work at the Paris Art Fair. Due to the Coronavirus, the fair was recently canceled. Many artists are dealing with the same cancellations of art fairs where they were supposed to showcase their work. I am sure this is quite frustrating for you.

PT: The Coronavirus arrived and put the Paris Art Fair on hold, along with everything else. I’m being told it would get rescheduled when things “go back to normal.” I suspect the definition of “normal” will keep evolving in the meanwhile.

FAG: I know that you were planning on exhibiting some new work there. Can you tell us what you had planned on showcasing? 

PT: I was supposed to exhibit three paintings: “Blood Runs Female,  An Evolution”,  “Light at Midnight”, and “I Spy.”

Patricia Tudosa, ‘Light at Midnight.’ Acrylic on canvas, 28×28 in. (Courtesy: Patricia Tudosa)

FAG: What do you see when you first look at a blank canvas?

PT: A blank canvas. It’s rare that I know what I am going to paint. A lot of my work is very process-driven. In my large canvases I have been developing a process that allows for concepts to reveal themselves. I begin with a pencil geometric pattern that I build using rulers, compasses, lampshades, kitchen tools, anything in my apartment. I then throw paint at the canvas, drag it, splash water, remove some of it, toss the canvas around, etc., allowing the paint to do its thing. Once it dries, I am left to interact with the mess of paint and color and the geometry underneath. I then have to trust that concepts will surface in time, and frankly, it takes a lot of trust to get through a painting like this because I can stare at one of these canvases for weeks and have no idea what I’m looking at. I’ve learned to be okay with that. It’s a very interactive and meditative way of working.

At the same time, I am now completing a commission for a very traditional landscape for which I’ve used a photograph. It turns out that my abstract work has taught me a lot of technique that’s been coming in handy. I haven’t done a landscape in almost 20 years, and I can tell you I would have approached it very differently back then.

FAG: Do you have a favorite artist you try to emulate?

I have many favorites, and I could give names, but it would be a long list, and I am aware, a bit too male-dominated. While I’m trying not to emulate anyone in particular, I do actively learn from other artists. Some of my favorites are the cave painters: the grace and abstraction of 40,000-year-old figures take my breath away. Then the Greek and Roman Empire-era portraitists: these works are exceptionally beautiful, their color blending is masterful; I’ve spent hours staring at them inside the Met. Several years ago, I traveled through Peru and became acquainted with Inca carvings and geometry: they taught me how to relate imagery to the natural environment, while still creating something very human. My own Romanian culture exposed me to wonderful patterns and colors: the colors show up in my paintings, as I use a lot of primary tones. From the Renaissance painters, I am learning attention to detail, perspective, and drama. Then, of course, there are the 19th- and 20th-century big-names and their reinvention of cave-era and indigenous abstraction; for a long time my answer would have been contained here. Most recently, NYC’s Chelsea art galleries and Instagram exposed me to amazing contemporary artists—I definitely look to them for inspiration.

FAG: What is your ideal city to showcase your art?

PT: New York City. It is my home and a center for all things art. And as we are currently going through this sheltering in place together, I hope the movers and shakers of the art world take the opportunity to reevaluate what, and more importantly, whose art is shown here. I know artists are still creating while quarantined. I am too. We’ll have relevant things to say about it. Maybe, in the end, there will be a quarantine-era art show. I’d hope to participate not only with work but within the larger societal conversations that are sure to ensue.