When did you realize you wanted to be an artist? Before starting school I would tear up old Xmas cards and glue with sparkles. Then when I started school I fell in love with the smell and texture of the paint used for finger painting. We never had books in our family so I would make my own and collage things into lined exercise school books. I lived near the beach so with the Australian summers being very hot I would go to the beach most days and collect shells glass anything and create things at home with them. I think I realized it when my school marks for art and music were well above average while my other subjects I failed badly in. What are your favourite materials to work with? I collect junk, street litter when I travel, advertising and packaging materials, lolly papers baguette bags I have over 200, these and more are all my favourites things. Oil paint and wax ,wallpaper, graph paper, hand painted papers, for my sculpture I like to use found objects,boxes boxes boxes for sculpture, music boxes, cups, china, metal rusted and patina car parts for welding, scientific stuff , microscopes, test tubes, vintage shoes, hats I could go on and on......
Describe a bit of your process...is everything planned or sketched out before hand? DO you work on impulse?
Most of my abstract painting is about the creative process this is my interest...the end result is never in my mind because my job is to discover new things as I’m doing..over the past few years my work has expanded ,changing and can be more issued based in some areas. With my sculpture it’s completely the opposite I have to have my objects all around me and it’s a much slower thought out mathematical creative process. Especially with the welded pieces I do
Where is your favourite place to work? My shed (studio) in my backyard.I built it 8 years ago even after a car accident I was determined to get it finished. I’m a welder 
and did the framing myself and my brother helped with the rest.
and did the framing myself and my brother helped with the rest. What inspires you? My environment and strange underground spaces. I have been researching and documenting underground spaces a for years in Australia Paris and Spain. I’m interested in the forgotten unseen spaces in life as well as graffiti a, street art, litter, tips, collecting.
What artist, past or present, has inspired your work? The American abstract expressionists especially Rothko, Pollock, the Surrealists, Dada, Vincent, Tapies, Joseph Cornell, Ian Fairweather, Max Ernst, Basquite, and so many more
Where do you see your work going in the next 10 years? Continue exploring online opportunities and applying for more arts residencies and exporting my art more overseas.I would like to making a full time living from my work but mainly have enough money to be able to continue doing what im doing and to get my projects and ideas happening. I would like to expand into other areas including video and installation and would like to live overseas in USA or Europe as its better for artists there than in Australia.We are so far away and artists are not respected or treated well at all here. We can be called bludgers here but it is slowly changing.....
How are you taking your work/techniques to the next level? I’m using the computer as tool now as well as photography, video ,sound, installation and whatever else I need to do to get out my expression so my practice is changing and expanding into areas unknown, I just let happen and try not control it see what happens....
Have you ever taught any art classes? Yes, I taught 3 people from my studio once.
What item are you most proud of on your Artist Resume? An Arts residency awarded to me in Barcelona Spain, and I was chosen to exhibit my work at the Athens Olympic Games,
What is the role of the Artist in our society?discover new ideas ,new worlds.......to express themselves freely uncensored in order to give a new way of seeing,,,,to be open to the times present past and future and of course without artists there would be no history.
Has selling art on-line been a success for you? Why? Not really successful yet, I’ve only sold one painting this year online, and a few t shirts,cards .I have many many websites selling my work it doesn’t seem to get seen, maybe cause I live in Australia I get on the 5,000 th page and no one sees .However,the Internet is an invaluable tool for marketing and promoting your art, getting it out there. I have made heaps of contacts worldwide, invitations, to participate in exhibitions. I use the computer daily to network and to send off my portfolio for residencies, applications, comps. exhibitions, art blogs etc. I mostly sell my paintings at exhibitions which have been slow past year.
How do you encourage people (or why would you encourage people) to buy Original Fine Art? Buy from a living artist, it’s a good investment.
Your biggest sale or commission was..paintings for a winery and to collectors overseas
The biggest show/award you got was...this year I received from the Australian Government export award for actively promoting and marketing my Australian art Internationally that was pretty cool....An Arts residency in Barcelona Spain.
Where do you sell your work? mainly exhibitions but im working on opening my house maybe having some happenings ,showings over the next year or two. Im actually looking at new ways of getting my work out there, sick of the gallery scene and paying gallery directors for spaces that cost the artist a mint and the directors get a wage from us so they dont have to sell our art..... mail art and collaborations with other artists and I keep pushing the web looking out for opportunities.
Posts
0 comments:
Post a Comment