JUSTIN SIEGEL

Orange, gouache on paper, 11 3/4" x 17", 2011

What are you working on in your studio right now?

I am working on a series of 10 18" x 18" drawings that I am going to make a small book of. As well as an ongoing series of smaller paintings that the drawings are made from. Also I am working on a large scale mural at a friend’s house (see image). It’s the largest painting I have ever done, and it has been a lot of fun, I hope to do more.

Can you describe your working routine?

As a parent (of 2 young kids) and working as a full-time Art Director, the time I have is limited. I usually work after 8:30pm during the week after I put the kids down to sleep and I get in about 2 hours. During the weekend I work in the mornings. As of late i have been waking up at 5:00am to work before i have to go to my day job at 8:20am. I try to put as much time in as i can, this happens in sporadic bursts.

Studio table

Can you describe your studio space and how, if at all, that affects your work?

At the moment I work on my kitchen table. This affords me to be a present parent while I work. But it also limits the size and materials I use. I was doing small gouache 9" x 12" studies that worked perfectly for the space. I could take them out easily and put them away when i was done. It’s the same with this series of drawings I am doing; the size makes the transportability relatively easy. For my next series of drawings (36"x36") I might have to make space in the garage, which at one point was my studio.

Tell me about your process, where things begin, how they evolve etc.

I have taken a couple of long absences from making art. So when I started back up recently it was about putting a mark on a surface to get my creative mind going. I had just seen a show of a friend and was really excited about his work. This lead to making geometric abstractions with gouache. Since then my work has evolved and now involves painting and drawing in a symbiotic manner. My mind makes work faster than I physical can, but ideas are constantly evolving and go off into tangents. The challenge is to focus and be disciplined to see my initial ideas through.

Wall mural (in progress)

What are you having the most trouble resolving?

My biggest hurdles are scale and time. I need to physically make the work, which can take months with my prior time commitments. I wish I could spend more time working, that is the dream.

Do you experiment with different materials a lot or do you prefer to work within certain parameters?

The way I work is within a set of rules that evolve. Initially I stick pretty close to the rules, but when I observe something that sparks other ideas I let loose until I find a set of parameters that make sense.

12, gouache on paper, 9" x 12", 2010

What does the future hold for this work?

Scale is always what I aspire to. Like I stated before I am limited to my workspace. For my next series of drawings I am going to increase the size to 36" x 36", with the ultimate goal of 54" x 54". The paintings I do in conjunction with the drawings will also slowly increase in size accordingly.