cameron bliss

The strange and familiar meet in the quirky, contemporary portraits of Georgia painter Cameron Bliss.

The artist: A Georgia native, Bliss grew up in Savannah and graduated with a BFA from Savannah College of Art and Design.

The studio: Her studio is in an old converted barn behind the family’s house in Winterville, GA. In the summer, the studio is “cooled” by a box fan. In winter, it is “heated” by an old wood stove.

In the beginning: As far back as she can remember, Bliss, whose mother and grandmother are artists, always had a paintbrush, crayon or pencil in her hand. She remembers spending hours filling up a huge sheet of paper with wild patterns and colors.

The art & materials: Oil paintings on canvas and linen ($400 to $8,000) with one or more figures placed in elaborate environments. Also paintings of a single figure in a minimalist background. Just as often, animals, like cats, appear too.

“I also paint monkeys, horses, dogs and a variety of other animals,” said Bliss, who has four cats and one dog. “I do like the cats as they have that humanlike gaze that I am often so drawn to in my own paintings.”

“I love the idea of having a birthday party with a cream-colored pony, a tea party with meerkats or having an octopus help you solve mysteries of life.”

Inspirations:

Artists Gustav Klimt and Friedensreich Hundertwasser for their patterns and colors.
Artists Edward Hopper, Alice Neel, and Egon Schiele for their thought-provoking figurative work.
Wallpaper, botanicals, architecture and fashion.

Fun or special commissions: Created a music video by editing paintings in iMovie for “Control” by musician Dodd Ferrelle, the mayor of Wintersville and the artist’s husband.

Recent honors: Featured in Create! Magazine, issue #30. The magazine celebrates emerging contemporary artists.

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