Puck, acrylic on canvas, 12 x 9", 2012
What are you working on
in your studio right now?
I'm
working on about 50 small paintings simultaneously right now. I'm starting or
revisiting--depending on how you look at it--some very small paintings on
canvas. I wanted to start some new work after reaching a stopping point with a
recent series, but looking around the studio realized I have a glut of old work
that I am not really close to anymore. So I'm recycling.
Can you describe your
working routine?
I
have a day job, and my wife and I have a 22 month old boy, so there's a lot of
time-management and scheduling involved in my routine which basically involves
working around job and family 2-3 nights during the week in the studio, and one
day over the weekend. I do a lot of sketching with ink, crayon, pencil every
day whenever there's a gap in my schedule. So, along these lines, before going
to my job I've gotten into the routine/ritual of sketching in the park
beforehand. I sketch later on my lunch. And at night after work if I can't make
it to the studio, I work on some watercolor and pencil drawings on the couch,
or drawings on my iPad or phone.
Studio view
Pencil sketch of the Taco Bell
parking lot across from my studio
Can you describe your
studio space and how, if at all, that affects your work?
I
have a studio in the Greenpoint section of Brooklyn which has a nice view of midtown
Manhattan in the distance and a Taco Bell in the foreground. I share it with
another artist who I have only seen once in all the months I've been there, so
it's almost like having my own space which is important for me as I don't work
well with someone else in the room. The space itself has a certain bearing on
my work that I haven't figured out yet. I've worked in a tiny spare bedroom in
a former apartment on some very large-scaled canvases. I think that working in
that cramped space on such large paintings makes it hard to see the space
inside the painting and maybe that's a good thing, to work somewhat blindly
that way. Conversely, I have a lot of working space right now but am working on
small-scaled works that I tend to stand very far back from to look at when I'm
just looking. So in a way I'm just as blind about the space painting
those. I work best when I have a nice
view outside, and maybe that’s a lonesomeness thing.
Acrylic
on canvas paintings in progress, 2012, 10"x10"
Tell me about your
process, where things begin, how they evolve etc.
It’s
hard to pinpoint where things begin and evolve with me. Drawing is important to
my painting. But there is reciprocity between them with ideas/influence flowing
back and forth. I work on a lot of paintings at the same time with dialogue
between them as well. Everything plays off of everything else. Sometimes when I
stumble in a good idea I have to go back and work over what I thought was a
good idea in something I felt satisfied with a week or year ago. Like many
other artists, I'd say drawings help me locate ideas, marks, color, for the
paintings. When I turn to painting, however, it's hard to stay true 100% of the
time to the template I thought a series of drawings had established. Departures
happen as a result of accident, frustration, ineptitude, and the difficulty of
translating the muscle movements involved in drawing into the act of painting.
I think the circumstances I have just described are common among artists who
move from drawing to painting. Drawing feels more acoustic and disciplined than
painting. In painting, I get a lot of feedback that can't be controlled. I
always reach a point of anger and disgust in a work which I think is an
essential part of my process.
What are you having the
most trouble resolving?
Everything. But I don’t think of this as trouble really.
I don't think of any of my work as being resolved. I mean I do, in moments, but
there are so many ways to finish something, resolved doesn’t seems like the
clearest way to describe how I look at a work I've stopped working on. Maybe
there's some word in a dead language that means essentially "the work has
just stopped, sort of".
Untitled
(a work that just stopped, sort of), 2012,
enamel on wood panel, 72”x48”
Do you experiment with
different materials a lot or do you prefer to work within certain parameters?
I
basically paint and draw using mostly the usual media and supports associated
with those forms. I do a good bit of spray painting and digital drawing, if
that counts as different. I've made paintings on aluminum that I hired an auto
body shop to finish. But I still think I've remained true to a fairly narrow
band of working, even though many of my art heroes do some pretty wacky stuff
with varied materials. I just haven't gone there yet.
What does the future
hold for this work?
Things
that are related to question number 6. I’d like to explore different materials,
different approaches to support/presentation, avoid squares.
Is there anything else
you would like to add?
I
really appreciate this invitation to discuss my work and process Valerie. Thank you. I am sure I would answer these
questions differently in time, maybe even by the time I get home from work
tonight. In fact, I am sure after I send you these answers I am going to wish I
had answered everything another way.
Washington Square Park
drawing, 2011,
crayon and ink on paper, 8”x5”
