Today we’d like to introduce you to Allison Bogard Hall.
Hi Allison, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
My mom’s an artist, and her grandmother was an oil painter. That thread of familial artistry continues to connect me to my work and has for as long as I can remember. Growing up, we had a neighbor who drew pastel portraits in her spare time, and she did a drawing of us when we were little. My mom left it sitting out and I was so enthralled with it that I smeared the entire thing when she wasn’t looking. I loved the feeling of the chalk on my fingers. After my mom had it fixed and recovered from the shock, she got me my first set of chalk pastels; they were the most beautiful things I’d ever held. At five, I was creating messes and getting chalk everywhere. My parents always encouraged me- I’m truly grateful for that. At age 9, I got a set of Oil Paints for Beginners, and I painted my very first plein air landscape: A pink Magnolia tree in our backyard. I didn’t know what plein air was, or how to use oil paints, or even that they could be toxic. It was life-changing for me to paint from life, to paint outdoors, to realize how much I loved landscape and color and paint and texture. I wanted to learn anything and everything I could about painting. I started spending afternoons at the library copying from the old painters, filling sketchbooks with Da Vinci and Picasso studies. My grade school didn’t have an art program, and then my high school didn’t allow oil paints in the classrooms(despite having wonderful and supportive highschool art teachers), so I sought out oil painting classes elsewhere. My mom and I discovered painting and drawing classes at BAYarts with painters such as Stanka Kordic, Mary Deutschman, and Jeff Yost, who were revolutionary in helping me understand the nature of oil paints and introduced me to painters such as Sargent, Whistler, and Turner. These classes allowed me to expand my portfolio and prepared me for my undergrad education at MICA(Maryland Institute College of Art) in Baltimore, Maryland, where I majored in Painting and minored in Literary Studies. A semester abroad at the Burren College of Art in Ballyvaughan, Ireland, cemented my great love for the soft landscapes and the natural world. I moved home to Cleveland after graduation in 2014 and promptly fell into working in art education with local non-profits, in addition to teaching at art centers such as Beck Center for the Arts in Lakewood and FAVA in Oberlin. I took a step back from teaching to start a family and had my son Archer, who is now four. He loves to come to the studio with me and paint on his easel with watercolors, or draw with his own chalk pastels. I let his hands get messy, too. He says he’s an artist like Mama, and nothing brings me more joy than to hear that. I am now making work out of my studio at the Screw Factory in Lakewood, making paintings and drawings that reflect the world around me. I delight in drawing my son, my partner, my siblings, parents, strangers, and friends, putting them into landscapes both real and fantastical. I’ve been working on a series of paintings for a solo show at BAYarts that opens June 7th of this year, and it is such a special body of work for me. It truly feels like coming full circle with my work. When I’m not in my studio, I am working full-time as the Studio Manager for Foundation and Continuing Education at the Cleveland Institute of Art, where I am able to support my two great passions for art and education with our incredible students.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I wouldn’t say smooth… The work I’m making is autobiographical in nature and, therefore, can sometimes feel incredibly personal to put out in the world. I’m very open about my struggles with mental health, and I think it’s something we need to talk about more as a society, especially with young people in today’s climate. I lost one of my best friends to struggles with mental health; I try to check in on the people around me, and it’s great to hear others doing the same. A goal of mine is for my work to function in that way as well, to “check in”. My pieces often reference my own struggles with depression and anxiety, sometimes relating to postpartum depression I experienced in the first year of motherhood. As a new mom during the pandemic, I had limited support, and I felt very alone despite having a loving partner and family close by. I’m grateful for the mental health resources available to me, but I can only imagine what new mothers and birthing persons without the support systems and privileges I had(and continue to have) can possibly be experiencing in a society that does not seem to value women or birthing persons.
Though I have found motherhood challenging, I have also found a depth of wonder and beauty to celebrate in my new role. I was shocked by the number of people who questioned whether I could be both a mother and an artist! Of course, I can, because I have to be. My love for my child has only grown while continuing my work as an artist, he’s my greatest inspiration. Motherhood has also given me a whole new appreciation for Artist Parents, for Kitchen Table and After Hours Artists, for people who Make It Work. I have to be making something constantly, that’s just how I’m wired, and if I’m not making art, I’m thinking about making art. Artist mothers are incredible people! I follow this amazing artist Madeline Donahue on Social Media, and she’s a great example of an artist who captures what it’s like to be pulled(literally) in a million directions by children and relationships and housework and everything about being a women, and at the end of it all, still manages to Make Her Work. That’s powerful for me, and inspiring. Another great painter doing that is Hilary Doyle, who often depicts motherhood so delicately in her pieces. This experience of becoming a Mom has brought me historically closer to some incredible painters, like Mary Cassatt, and the Nabi School of Artists, such as Vulliard and Bonnard. The Nabis painted their children and partners and home life with a tenderness that is powerful to take in. I still have a lot to learn from these artists, and from other Artist Moms and Parents and she/theys out there who are doing their best to maintain their practice.
Thanks – so, what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
As a classically trained oil painter, I specialize in landscapes incorporating figures and more imagined or “dream-like” elements. I’m most proud of my large-scale pieces, some of which take 3 to 5 years to complete. I have one painting, a 6 footer, called “Yellow Dress(Mother’s Day Painting),” that I committed to starting on my first Mother’s Day. It’s painted from a photograph I found of my own Mom before she had children, like a golden moment in time. It’s a person I know so well, and yet not at all. She’s every woman, she’s every mom, she’s no one’s mom, she’s my mom, she’s me. I wanted it to be massive; I wanted her to take up space in the room. It’s funny to me because she’s a tiny figure in this massive landscape, but for me, she’s the whole painting. I think I’m most proud of that piece. I painted her for my first solo exhibition at FAVA Gallery in Oberlin, Ohio, which opened in 2021. This exhibition can still be viewed online here.
I’m currently focused on preparing for my second solo show, an opportunity awarded to me by BAYarts Gallery through the CAN Triennial as an exhibition prize, opening June 2024. For this new body of work, I’m attempting to hone in on a sensitivity to my subjects within my paintings. I truly believe in each and every piece that I make. If I start a painting and it’s not working, I will make it work or paint over it. I have one piece that everyone always asks me about, it’s a smaller square landscape that I was working on in March 2020. It was actually the first piece I finished after having my son. It was almost done, but something was missing from this very pretty and idyllic scene over water. So I loaded up a pallet knife with creamy, shiny paint, and I slashed at the panel until it felt right. People ask me if I did it on purpose, and my response is always, “Of course!”. It was too pretty. There was nothing interesting in the pretty. I don’t know if every painter would risk ruining a piece by slashing it with a pallet knife like that, but I felt I needed to. Does it always work? Definitely not. But when it does work, that risk is well worth taking. I value my instincts, and I try to follow them. This new body of work feels instinctive and responsive so far, and I’m excited to see it up and finished on the walls at BAYarts.
How do you think about Luck?
When it comes to luck in the art world, finding a studio space that is affordable for a full-time working parent(paying for daycare) while allowing my practice to flourish has been life-changing for me. Get Together Studio at the Screw Factory in Lakewood has allowed me to maintain a successful studio practice and even sell my work out of the space at the Open Studio events. It was pure luck the way that it worked out, too. I had been working out of my attic since moving back to Cleveland in 2014, and when we found out we were having our son, I no longer felt comfortable painting with oils and solvents in our home. I moved to acrylics, collages, and drawing, and worked on a much smaller scale. In 2022, Lauren of Lauren HB Studios told me she was moving her space, and an idea was born. What if I could rent part of her old studio? Back to oil paints! I was thrilled, and since then we have had anywhere from 6-8 artists renting studios in the space and utilizing the open studio events throughout the year. I definitely lucked out knowing the wonderful human that is Lauren, and we do have one space available in the studio right now! It’s hands down the best decision for my practice I’ve been able to make since becoming a parent. I’m excited to see where my work goes in this space.
Contact Info:
- Website: allisonbogardhall.com
- Instagram: @allison.bogard.hall
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/allisonchall/
Image Credits
Nate Rouse
Matthew Bogard
Tirzah Legg
