Nothing like starting off with a marginally humorous physics
joke, but hey, why not?
Anyways…
Well, first off, I have some exciting news. Beginning on or
around Friday, October 4th, my work will be on display at LocalCoffee in Stone Oak. The run will be 8 weeks, it’s going to include mostly
photography, but will also have a few paintings just to keep things spicy. I’ve
got some fun, interactive things planned, with more specific details
forthcoming, so keep checking in for more info.
That said, let’s talk about “how I roll”. I’ve been hanging
around that Local Coffee quite a bit lately, both for planning the installation
and for the high quality joe. In doing so, I’ve had plenty of time to see what
art is there, to spend time observing and appreciating the two tranches of art
since I ramped up my visits. There were several things that struck me about the
current artist. His art is very unique (think blue people and flowing,
multi-colored hair), but the level of detail in his art absolutely blows me
away. For example, in one of those works, there are literally hundreds of less
than one inch squares, each colored meticulously in nearly as many colors. In
another – one of the flowing hair ones – the different cross sections created
by strands of hair are all colored perfectly and in an array of colors. What’s
more, it’s all done with marker. It’s difficult for me to comprehend the amount
of time he likely spent making sure each of those individual sections was “just
so”.
In all honesty, it was difficult for me not to hold my work
up to his, and find it lacking in sundry ways.
But after giving it some thought, and having a good
discussion with my biggest supporter [i.e. my wife], I realized that my work is
totally different because it comes from me. For starters, I’m not naturally a
detailed or patient person (just ask any of my employers or anybody that’s been
on a car ride with me). It’s difficult for me to want to take the time to
pursue making every line crisp and every color the exact shade and hue that I think
it should be. Secondly, I’m a pretty emotional person. So when I create things,
I tend to take off the leash and just let things go until they run out. I generally
don’t spend a lot of time planning things out because I feel like it just
snuffs out the spark to tinder to flame process for me.
So what does all this mean for my work? For my paintings, it
means they tend to be more simple, raw, and visceral, with lots of movement and
dramatic color (see Dancing...Trying and Windswept below). For my photography, well, it just makes photography and edits
perfect for me. And the cool thing about that is that I get to use a newer
medium -digital photography - that hasn’t been around as long, so I can be
creative in how those images come out physically (think prints on canvas,
etc.).
That said, I still want to get better. I still want to learn
to use my media effectively and grow as an artist. I still want to challenge
myself to find new ways to see things. However, I don’t see those desires as
being in conflict with my identity, but simply things that make me more unique
and bring who I am into sharper relief. It’s a process I’m excited about; to
see how it will shape me and the things that I do, and how it will shape what I
create and share.
And that, my friends, is how I roll.
Dancing...Trying
Windswept