painting animation interview
Q) What is your favorite medium?
A) I have worked with many mediums, but my favorite is oil on glass. It allows me to capture the feeling of strong, strange movement that I like to create. My secret is mixing oil paint with a lot of grease, it's the best way to keep the paint pliable for days.
I used to have a studio at home, but I know oil can cause headaches and be bad for health, especially when mixed with turpentine. That's why I prefer working with grease.
Q) Is there a specific type of grease you use to mix with oil?
A) It's just a generic grease. I use half paint and half grease. The smell is actually more bearable than oil by itself or oil mixed with turpentine.
Q) When I was working on Unleaving, I used so many sheets before discovering glass towards the end. What surface do you use for painting?
A) I like painting on glass. It's strange because you lose it, you have to be humble. You can't be proud because in the morning, the painting is gone.
Q) Does that help you to cultivate a certain mindset?
A) I paint in the middle of the night on a lightbox, and I'm the only one who sees it. No one else witnesses it in its true form, only in the images I capture. I think what people see is only 10% of the magic.
Q) Is cultivating humility part of your artistic mindset?
A) It's unconscious. I can think of it now, but at the time when I do it, at night when I see it, I say it's really nice and I enjoy it. Then in the morning, it's all gone. It feels like a dream, especially when I'm in a state where I need to be able to focus. Painting on glass is really difficult; you have to be really focused because it's not like pencil and paper where you can redo it or change it. Once it's gone, it's gone. Especially for my style where everything moves, it's really hard, but in my mind, once you get there, it's magical.
"I work at night. When the sun comes up, I have a coffee, then go to bed, and it feels like it was all a dream."
Q) Do you think it takes time to develop the focus and alignment needed for that mindset?
A) The first frame is always the hardest. It sometimes takes me three to four days just to complete the first frame. After that, the process becomes easier as I get used to the style, colors, and theme. But overcoming that first step takes the most time.
Q) You mentioned the first frame is the hardest to paint. What helps you start that first frame? Do you look for inspiration?
A) It's more a feeling I'm looking for rather than a reference or a book. I want to understand how to make people feel in order to capture it. It's not exactly what it is, but rather a feeling. What people feel when they look at the frame, that's the abstraction of it. Sometimes I read a book; if it doesn't work I grab another book, etc. I keep exploring what captures the feeling.
Q) Do you have to be in a certain mood or feeling before you paint?
A) Yeah, I read a little, then I go to the studio. It's always difficult to get into the feeling. If it doesn't work, I go back and do it again. I don't have a smooth process. It's always difficult. I know it takes time, but when I know what feeling to capture, it becomes easier.
Q) They say the creative process is a process of surrender, not control. If you control it, the outcome won't work, but if you let it unfold and surrender, then it's magic. What do you think of that saying?
A) It's true, but you have producers; you have to make promises (certain expectations) to yourself and other collaborators when you're working on a movie. You have a lot of expectations of yourself [pointing very high], but you can meet it in the middle [pointing to half of the distance] whenever you're ready. You may never reach the top or the highest expectations, but who needs perfection?
But when you surrender, you realize that's the best place because it serves the feelings you want to capture. Meeting half of your promises/expectations isn't high, but it will get you there.
Q) So the mindset is like aiming for perfection but not being confined by it?
A) Perfection isn't possible. It takes too much time, and in the end, it may not capture the feelings. It's not too interesting.
"Perfection isn't interesting." ~ Carine Khalife
Perfection, it can be nice, well done, but how does it feel looking at it? It is impressive and may not move you or make you feel anything.
Q) Are there certain artists that inspired you?
A) Yes, "Hedgehog in the Fog," a film by Yuri Norstein. It's my favorite. I don't necessarily understand the film, but it's the way it makes me feel, relief, comfort, confusion, etc.
Q) What do you use for light source during painting animation?
A) I use a lightbox that comes from beneath. The more paint there is, the darker it is. Color and darkness are different. I can paint bright yellow, but the more I add, it can turn darker. I love how you can see the brush strokes through the light.
Q) Do you come across reflection during capturing?
A) I work in a dark room. I don't use daylight; you have to have a constant source of light.
Q) How do you capture it?
A) I capture through a camera above. When I capture, it doesn't flash. It's connected to my computer.
Q) What software do you use to capture?
A) I use DragonFrame. I can see 50% of the previous frame. It gives you the benefit of seeing your art, something to check against, like if you have pencil art.
You have more control when you have the sequence running. You have a sense of painting. Sometimes you can see a nice frame, but maybe the movement is off, and that's why you need to see the sequence while painting.
You must feel the movement and not only have a nice picture. It's like a singer singing, they can't stop the voice at some point; they need to keep singing and stop when it feels convenient to convey a rhythm.
Q) Is there planning involved before you start painting animation? Or is it a matter of getting into a certain mood?
A) You have to plan a little, even if it's just in your mind. You have to think about it before you start painting, even if it's like "I have a few seconds [making a sound 'foosh'] then acceleration." You have to think about it, feel it before doing it. Painting is difficult, and you have little control. What helps is always seeing the previous frame, capturing the feeling you want to convey as a way of having some control over the animation. Thinking about it before painting it helps a lot.
I like to let things go.
Q) What do you use for storyboarding?
A) I don't really draw much before I start painting animation, except if I have a strong feeling to make a certain image. I usually clean a wall, use Post-it notes with notes like "picking up a wave," "small wave," "big wave," "skies," etc. Then I have my whole timeline.
Q) I know some artists do storyboarding in detail, but for you, is it like a destination?
A) If I put expectations too high and if I don't get there, then I feel disappointed by not meeting them. I've learned that I don't have to control everything. I only control what I want people to feel. Like, I control if it's going to be dark, strong, small, or whatever. Then I make some sketches. It's not like I don't sketch at all. I don't feel like I have to do more than that. I think about it before the animation, and then I let it go. It works!
Q) I love the work you did with "Womb Stories." It struck me how powerful it felt to see the part that you painted. It felt real looking at it.
A) There was a collection of short videos telling a story of 3 to 4 seconds each. It had to be very powerful.
Carine Khalife is a Montreal-based visual artist whose work explores painting animation on glass, navigating between nocturnal waters and dazzling lights.
Learn more about Carine's work at carinekhalife.com