It took a 2 hour drive to Davis, California and back to answer the top 3 questions I had for myself.
The following 8 are answers to questions I've recently been asked in interviews.
1) Why Do I Make Art?
The following 8 are answers to questions I've recently been asked in interviews.
1) Why Do I Make Art?
I feel that making art is one of the most natural and intuitive things we humans can do - think caves. Thankfully, I was born to parents that encouraged me to express myself through arts, crafts and music. I cannot imagine not making art.
2) Why Do I Paint?
 |
| from "Cave of Forgotten Dreams" |
Painting is an almost daily activity for me that opens the pathways that most accurately represent the real me. It allows me to express my feelings and emotions about my life. By doing so it helps me understand myself better.
3) What Is My Purpose?
I’m not sure what my purpose is in this life, but it may have something to do with expressing my feelings and emotions through my work in a universal-enough way that others may relate to it.
4) When did you begin painting, and why?
I began painting in 2002.
 |
| "Steer" - First painting I made after leaving the corporate world |
In 2001 my job fizzled out during the dot com bust. I needed to figure out what I was going to do next. In 2002 I took a Painting On Fabric course at Quilt University and the rest is history as they say. I fell in love with painting.
 |
| "Froggie" - From the Painting On Fabric class |
5) Has painting always been your chosen medium of expression?
No. Prior to painting I expressed myself with graphic design, photography, music, and originally crafts.
6) Your work appears to be portraiture, but you've stated that the people in your paintings "aren't anyone in particular," and that you reference mass media sources for the faces you portray. Can you say more about this?
I think I became attracted to portraits at a young age. My Uncle and my Grandfather were both avid photographers. Every year after the family reunion we would watch what seemed like thousands of slides of family portraits. For a child it was just a bit torturous but I would give anything to see those slides again.
I tend to study the people in photographs and think about what their life was like. Whether the photos are of ancestors or strangers it's a 'jumping off point' for going into a make believe world. Sometimes the results are familiar, other times it's purely fictional.
I think I became attracted to portraits at a young age. My Uncle and my Grandfather were both avid photographers. Every year after the family reunion we would watch what seemed like thousands of slides of family portraits. For a child it was just a bit torturous but I would give anything to see those slides again.
I tend to study the people in photographs and think about what their life was like. Whether the photos are of ancestors or strangers it's a 'jumping off point' for going into a make believe world. Sometimes the results are familiar, other times it's purely fictional.
7) There's something about your subjects that suggests they are from an earlier era. Is there a nostalgic element involved for you in your painting?
Someone once said I'm a storyteller. I think using old photographs is not nostalgia as much as that it lends itself to a narrative about history, and a life lived. My paintings more than likely do not reflect an accurate portrayal of the subject in the painting as much as they reflect a closer representation of my feelings about my own life.
8) What effect do you hope your work will have on the viewer, either emotional or intellectual?
I don't set out to have any effect on the viewer. If a viewer does make a connection to one of my paintings it's because they connect emotionally or the subject matter is familiar in a physical sense, often times it's because it looks like someone they know or a "story" they relate to.
 |
| Sweetness |
9) If someone were to visit your studio, what would they find?
They will find an easel filled with layers of paint that took years to accumulate, a table of collages and sketches, lots of paint, brushes, and works in progress. They will find a cork board filled with inspirational messages. They will find A-frames filled with small works and the walls lined with paintings.
10) What is your working environment like?
My studio is a cozy little room in my house. It is the first studio I've had with heating and air conditioning so it's pretty luxurious. My kitchen is only steps away which is a huge bonus. I have a cat that checks on me periodically, demands little but let's me know when it's time for loving or food.
 | ||||||||
| Studio - June, 2011 |
I am currently working on a series of 6"x6" paintings of dog faces for the 50 50 Show III at the Sanchez Art Center in Pacifica, California.
 |
| Pumpkin |
1 comments:
re: #6 - talk to Dave!
Post a Comment