(Jay) Could you tell us a little about the energy in your studio while you’re painting? Do you play music, listen to a podcast, work in silence?

(Grace) I always need to have the right studio snacks. I find that a burrito is a really good one. I'll eat half when I get to the studio and half when I get hungry again. The walk to my studio is pretty important for me and my dog. Walking fast helps me think clearly and helps me feel powerful in my body. When I get to the studio I usually change my shoes, fill my Brita, and take my bra off. I can't stand hair in my face so to ensure that this doesn't happen I usually add 5 or more bobby pins. I prefer painting with dim lamp light and always have a podcast or tv show on. The tv shows have to be episodes that Ive already seen before. I am a sucker for a laugh track so Friends, Seinfeld, Mad About You are favorites. When Im painting I like to be reminded of other worlds and I like to listen to music that the people in my paintings would listen to. Country music is good for this. Lyrics about drinking a beer on your daddy's front porch and songs about driving down a dirt road and living for warm summer nights with your friends.

(J) I love that you take your bra off, but add bobby pins! What a nice mix of freedom and self-control. And I can relate to your love of snacks. My must-haves are Polish pastries or Haribo dinosaur gummies.

Let’s jump right into talking about your paintings. Each of your paintings are singular in the story they depict. However, there is a strong continuity between the figures that exist throughout your body of work. Who are the figures in your paintings?

(G) I have seen first hand how excited you get around a bag of Haribos and it is beautiful. Although, I think the last time we shared a bag of gummies they were Sour Snakes not dinosaurs. There is a bag of Haribo gummies for everyone out there, which is a perfect segue to discussing the figures in my paintings.

Sometimes the same old characters show up like old friends or family members "stopping by" to remind me that they are still there. Other times I feel like I'm meeting a new friend. Sometimes the figure is an extension of myself even if they are male. I like when people have their own interpretations of who these people are. There are times that my paintings can feel like a Quija board, the brush being guided by the world inside. That is so cheesy. But I really like learning from the people in my paintings. They often help me out by telling me who they are and what their needs are. It excites me when the painting feels like a story being told to me by the process of painting and by the figures inside these worlds who are generously wanting us to know them.

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