Q + A with Jodie Niss

You paint a lot of cats. What do you like about them as subjects?

My cat paintings started as portraits of people who loved cats. I was fascinated by what people loved. Then the paintings evolved into animals that represent humans. I look for human emotion where it's unexpected, and cats capture that so well. I paint other animals as well. But cats have something special about them that people can associate with.

Which painting have you reiterated the most?

If I do an image more than once I make two paintings. But perhaps I will one day make more. I work from the same image or a similar image. Sometimes when a single painting sells that I wish to pair with another painting later for a concept, I make a new painting from the same image research, but I make it with new techniques, or I play with the composition or color. Otherwise, I would get bored. 

Sometimes the differences aren’t apparent to the viewer, but are significant to me. For example, my painting of a cat sleeping up against a mirror has been made two times. The first one sold right away, but I didn't feel finished with it emotionally so I made a second one. The second one has now been in many shows and I hope to make some affordable prints of it with Du-Good Press. 

Some of the animals in your paintings are posed in ways that seem human, or a sort of product of a domestic life. Do you think of them as people?

Yes. I see them as representative of people. When I paint my ideas in animal form it opens up the ability for the viewer to see themselves more easily in the painting. I consider everything I paint to be a portrait, meant to make the viewer see themselves within or in relationship to the painting. 

How do you decide when to allow for abstraction in your work?

I let the abstraction dictate when to remain. It's subconscious. When a fatty blob of paint works, I fall in love. Or when my hand elongates a shape, I embrace it. When a good texture and color combo gives me a feeling I might go extra with it. I like to take something small and make it smaller. If it makes me smile, I keep it.

Would you say that your paintings are vulgar?  Do you enjoy confronting constructs of what is “indecent” or “gross”?

I do not consider my paintings vulgar in theory. I understand some may think of my paintings as vulgar, indecent, or gross. I want those people to question why they feel that way. I'm also changing the topic of the original image with a topic of a beautifully painted image. I'm asking the viewer to question their reaction and question why I am painting it. 

Where do you find inspiration? 

I find my inspiration in mundane, everyday sources. Everything from the news, current events, books and philosophy, to personal internal and external conversations and human interactions. From there I start researching source images. I use old magazines, news articles, Instagram, and films.

I take pictures too, but It's not the same as finding the perfect image to represent what I have been feeling and thinking. There is magic in finding yourself in a found image. It’s much more interesting to me because I'm connecting with a person I may never know. And then when I paint it and someone new connects to my interpretation of that image, I feel like I have finished a sentence that the universe asked me to finish. It’s a communication and connection through images and emotions that words cannot do.

Do you have a person you trust that critiques your work?

I have a few friends that get me and help me see myself. I think it is so important when you need help taking a step back from your work. My favorite piece of advice from a friend was, “You can't be afraid when painting.” I repeat that a lot in my head and to my students.