madeleine einfalt

Hi, I am Madeleine. I am 36. I have always loved creating art. Although I have practiced a lot of mediums, including Stained glass, currently, my active mediums are watercolors, the occasional mural, and acrylics. Right now I’m illustrating a book in watercolor.  I’m also co-running a Vintage Shop on Etsy with my Mom, which is satisfying a creative/business side of my brain. I also sell my own digital art via my Etsy shop - Artmmmporium.

What is it about art that makes you want to do it? 

I think it is about nature and seeing the inherent beauty in it and wanting to capture it. So often I will look outside and see the mountains or something that strikes me, and I want to copy it. That is a big function of being human is wanting to copy the Creator. 

Where do you get your faith from to keep creating? 

I think it is compulsory – I feel like I am happiest if I am creating something. It seems like it's something that is almost as necessary as eating and exercising. I think that something that keeps me going is the drive to improve and enhance my techniques and try to capture certain moods and feelings. A lot of times I will be just going about my day and I will be like, ‘I have an idea!’  I wish I could stop and do it, but obviously if I did that nothing would get done, because I am a mother (laughs). 

What is the drive behind your work? 

I think the drive behind my work is worship because as I am painting something I am thinking about how God created it and how what I create is just a shadow of an impression of it. But I like to try to emulate Him because He is THE great artist, so I just try to copy creation. I think we are made in His image and He is a creator so I think we want to inherently create. 

What is your process as you paint? 

My process is to try to squeeze it in between being a mom and fixing dinner and wiping someone's ass. It is usually at the end of the day and I will get my watercolors out. My tendency is to listen to a book or music and just start. A lot of times I am frustrated because I like to create art if the environment is idyllic. ‘Here I am in my artist robe! And I am painting in a garden!’ But it is usually at my kitchen table and my kids are coming out to say they are scared of the dark (laughs). So I believe art happens because you choose to even if it is not flawless. Even if the conditions aren't perfect, you just do it anyway. 

What is advice that you would tell your younger self? 

Don’t be so intimidated by other artists because I have a unique voice and perspective. To have more confidence because every artist feels like an imposter. To not take myself so seriously and to not feel like I am a failure if everything I do isn’t great. Art is a lifelong journey. 

What is your biggest failure as a creative? 

My biggest failure is trying to rely on talent and not enough on preparation. I have had some big embarrassments over that one. I think another one, when I was younger because I was insecure, I talked too much about how great my art was. I feel as though I have gotten myself into bad situations because I am talking about how I am an artist and I will be talking to someone I don't really know and it turns out that that person is a famous oil painter who travels the world and gives art lessons. And realizing, ‘oh I sound so dumb.’ So I think letting my art speak for itself  and not trying to overcompensate and try to prove that I am an artist. There is a difference in confidence and arrogance and it is a fine line and sometimes people overcompensate and it goes into arrogance and it just sounds idiotic and then you see their work and you are like ‘I saw that in highschool.’ I try to avoid that. Usually when I meet someone new and they inevitably ask what I do, they are happily surprised. 

There is always someone who is better and there is always someone who isn't, but just try to let your art be you. 

What do you hope to create that will continue to repeat? 

I hope I create art that encourages people to look past religion and question who they think God is. I think I want to continue adding more color. When I was younger everything I did was a little muted, I want to continue to really challenge myself to not be afraid of loud colors. I want to bring some color into my work. 

What are you on the verge of? 

I am on the verge of having both of my children in school. And that is a big thing because we have chosen for me to stay at home. Even on days when my youngest is happy to sit and color it is just not really conducive for me to sit and paint. So I will have an extra 15 hours a week. I am also on the verge of doing a series about phones and our relationships to them. I plan on doing big acrylics and have a beautiful scene in the background, but almost the entirety is taken up by the phone. I would love to have a series and show that. 

What do you love about yourself and why?

What I love about myself is I notice really tiny details. Sometimes I get lost in them, and that can be a hindrance (especially growing up and being in school). But I think that’s also a strength. I also love when I see connections between art and literature, or nature and scripture. I rarely get bored, because I feel like I have a hidden treasure. Also, my eyebrows. Lol