Jerry Cutler is a painter and studio teacher in the School of Art and Art History at the University of Florida in Gainesville. As an artist, Cutler is interested in painting pictures of landscapes. In order to get ideas for his paintings, he frequently goes on hiking trips to places where he sketches trees and views of nature. In this interview, Cutler talks about his work and why keeping sketchbooks are important to him as an artist.
Question: What do you hope people will see in your paintings?
Answer: I am a landscape painter, that is, a painter who makes pictures or views of the land. Some landscape painters specialize in urban views some in agricultural. I, like many landscape painters, like to do views of nature and places where nature is relatively untouched by humans. Since I grew up on a farm I have also done images that include agricultural land.
I hope that when people see my paintings they will have a new way to see nature. This is because I sometimes give emphasis to certain parts of nature that other painters might not notice. I guess this is what all artists try to do: to let others notice what they see as special or important about the world.
Question: How long have you been sketching trees?
Answer: I used to specialize in paintings of human figures and only do landscape once in awhile. However, in 1990 I started to specialize in landscape painting and my interest in trees started then, so I have been working with them for about 10 years.
Question: When did you first realize you wanted to be an artist?
Answer: I first knew I wanted to be an artist a very long time ago. But I also wanted to be an art teacher for just as long. When I was 12 years old my mother asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up and I remember answering "I want to be an art teacher."
Question: How long have you been keeping sketchbooks?
Answer: I have been drawing in sketchbooks ever since I was about 10. My Uncle had horses on his farm next door to our farm and I would go there to draw them. So some of my first sketchbook drawings were of horses. I became committed to doing sketchbooks regularly when I was about 19 years old and an art student in college. I have big boxes of old sketchbooks that go back to that time. Sometimes I enjoy looking through them and seeing how I used to draw.
Question: Why do you keep sketchbooks? How do they help you as an artist?
Answer: There are several reasons. One reason is I feel like I have to draw. When I have not made any drawings for awhile I can barely stand it and I feel like I have to pick up my pen and draw some images.
Another reason is that I do paintings as well as drawings and the paintings are harder to make. So I use my sketchbooks to help me in the process of painting. I do this in two ways. First, I stand outside and draw the trees while I am looking at them. I am careful to get them just right. When I have collected many such drawings I can use them in the forest scenes that I invent for my paintings. Secondly I use the sketchbooks to try out images for new paintings. I, like most artists, call these drawings “composition studies.” I usually do many variations on certain scenes or compositions, then I choose the one that I think will work best for a painting.
Question: How often do you draw in your sketchbooks?
Answer: I work in my sketchbooks every week. I work in them everyday if I am not really busy teaching or painting. I always have a sketchbook handy. I work in 5 or 6 at a time. They are stored in many places so I can easily pick one up and sketch an idea or draw a tree that I have not noticed before.
Question: Why do you spend so much time drawing in your sketchbooks?
Answer: One of the reasons I draw so many sketches is to learn. I learn about the world around me by drawing. By drawing I begin to see things I have not paid attention to before. Its not like I have to know about a thing before I draw it. The act of drawing teaches me about things. For instance, before I began drawing trees I did not realize how different each tree is. Each pine tree or oak tree is different from its companions because of how much light it gets or the slant of the land it grows on.
I've also learned how much trees are like human bodies. This really interests me because I used to draw people so much. The trees that attract my attention seem to be in positions that remind me of people positions. They may look like they are waving or pointing or stooping or stretching or squatting or bending over. They grow in many positions that are familiar to us and I guess this is why we can identify with trees so well.
Question: What advise do you have for young artists who want to keep their own sketchbooks?
Answer: I would suggest that when you go to buy a sketchbook get one with a spiral binding rather than one that is hard-bound (like a book). The spiral binding may not look as nice but you will be able to swing the pages over so it lies down flat. Also, I would suggest that you decorate the cover or print a title on it so you make it special to you. I once printed a special title on the cover of a sketchbook. I called it "The Idea Book."
I would suggest that you get a modest-sized sketchbook so you can easily take it with you. A small book might fit in your backpack or even a pocket. You never know when or where you might find something very interesting to draw.
I would also suggest that you not worry about how good the drawings are. Just keep drawing what you see or what you imagine. Then when you get to the last page you can look back to the beginning and see how much better you have become.
