STUDIO CRITICAL

ALAN VAN EVERY

2012-02-14T00:53:00.000-08:00

Gawkei, 60 x 50 cm, paintmarker,

glitter & acrylic on canvas, 2011

What are you working on inyour studio right now?

I am epoxying some coconut shells together and justgessoed a new canvas. I need to buy some new materials, I tend to work too fast and use uppaint way too fast for my economic standing. Coconuts are cheap and epoxy isn’t bad either.

Can you describe your workingroutine?

I tend to work on one or two things at a time. I work most days for about 2-14 hours. What I mean is, Itry to work every day at least a couple of hours. I get kind of obsessed about finishingsomething when I get going on it and sometimes spend 14in a row. I rarely ever finish anything in a day or so, though. I find painting a bitfaster as you don’t have to build it first, sometimes I do one in the middle of working on asculpture. They inform each other somehow and that helps me work.

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

I live in a row house and actually my living room is the studio. It is bigenough and I always have done it thatway since school (I mean my studio was part of where I lived and I didn’t travel to getthere). I like the TV and computer on so I can waste time when paint is dryingor I am sitting andlooking a little distraction clears my mind and I like sensory overload. Being here in Thailandaffects my work more than the actual psychical space that I work in. I do tend to worksmaller than I did when I lived in a big place that I felt was my home. I likesmall work as much as Ilike big things so that isn’t really that important, some of my favorite things are not thatlarge. I think a ‘big expression” can be gotten out of a very intimate piece.

It is a practicality too,as I feel I will move away and shipping is harder and more expensive with larger works. I dolike it here but also think I will go to someplace that feels more like “home” again at somepoint. In general I did feel that way about NYC and I miss that. I really like some of thenatural “trash or junk” here that I use in my work. Bamboo and coconut shellsare kind of throwaways and they work well for me. Also there are craft items that I like to use, glass boxes,candle holders and such things for Buddha shrines that Thais use in their homes. There is a kind offolk or handmadeness that I like about these objects. I like that using them and feel as a nonThai contemporary artist it recontextualizes them. In my (relatively speaking) flat paintings, Ihave been using glitter for about eight or nine years now and years and I feel that one of theattractions of moving here in the first place was seeing the temples with the glass/mirrormosaics and the sort of stacking of forms.

Over The Under, 40 x 30 cm, paintmarker,

glitter & acrylic on canvas, 2011

Detail

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

Well, first of all it really isn’t where I start that is important, it ishow I finish things that counts for me. I workpretty improvisationally, but I change up how I start things from time to time. Sometimes I willjust drag my brush over a prepared canvas while I am working on another to start it, I reallylike to use all of my paint and not waste it. Painting to me is about build up andmostly about addition, I think that is why some of my work is completely 3D butI still consider it all aspainting. I realize that strictly speaking there is no doubt they aresculptures and that does havea different mindset in the doing and viewing of them but I am a painter first and the sculptures are made to be covered with materials in apainting way. Even the building of them is more like collage to me, which I think of as a paintingprocess. The works are sometimesthought out, in that I have a vague notion of what I want out of the materialsand what I am going todo to achieve it but I find working with too much of a plan constraining. I tend to find mostof my processes involve some sort of stacking; either forms or illusions or paint. It is kindof about showing how I got to the spot I am at when I finish but also about making it lookjust right to me. I spend a lot of time looking at things.

What are you having the mosttrouble resolving?

Usually I have trouble resolving works when I am into like the 4 or 5ththing in a series of related works. Isometimes like to switch up too fast because of that and when I do, a yearlater I will come to theconclusion that “this work sucks” and paint over it. I try to give that process and time limit achance, as thoughts about what I did before and work I have done over has changed too. Iusually have a notion of what I want out of a piece but I like to surprisemyself, so if I don’t feelthat as I work, I tend to have more trouble getting trough it. I like thestruggle for the most partthough. If I just pop one out, I always think the work has kind of a superficialness.It may or may not, in fact but I trust my instinct on that. There are times Ijust hit somethingright and quickly but they are few and far between.

Taxidermy Puff, mixed media, 2011

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

Sometimes I do and sometimes I don’t. I do try things out and see wherethey lead me. It tookexperimenting to get me to the processes I use now and I change them sometimes but in general Iknow what I want when I try a new thing out. In some ways at least technically, I know what I amgoing to get if I try something new out. It may take a bit of time to perfectit and then developideas that come from doing it.

What does the future hold forthis work?

I am always trying to grow and learn new things, that is in general what I get out of working, practiceand of course, exchanges with others. A bigger audience and more support would be great and Ihope and work towards that. I like to work to learn. Itusually develops in a kind of cylindrical way, I do new things and find how they work withideas that always seem to repeat themselves in the work. Most of the time it is not an intentionalthing. I think most artists do that after years of working. I hate to be concrete about any statement Imight make about the future though.

Is there anything else youwould like to add?

Thank you for asking me to talk about my work. It is so nice when people take an interest. Itis an honor and a pleasure. I love that the Internet has given rise to this kind of exchange andappreciate your doing this Valerie.

Embryonic Fluid, 40 x 30 cm, paintmarker,

glitter & acrylic on canvas, 2012

IAN WHITE WILLIAMS

2012-02-06T23:59:00.000-08:00

Crossdown Dragit, oil on linen, 9 x 12 ", 2011

What are you workingon in your studio right now?

Iam currently working between two studios. This summer I moved into a rented studio in the city (Philadelphia) thatI share with friend/painter Tim Schwartz, having previously worked exclusivelyin a studio set up in my home. It takesabout 40 minutes for me to get to the city studio, which means I am not thereas often as I would like. So, I keep thehome studio set up for aqueous or mixed media works on paper and smallerprojects, working whenever I can steal a few minutes, while the city studio is setup for oils and/or larger projects (“larger” being a relative term). Right now I feel that I am finding some tractionin my oil paintings. These newest paintingsbegin to capture the immediacy of my works on paper. This has been something I have struggled withfor a while, reconciling the work I make on paper with my more “formal”painting.

City studio

Can you describe yourworking routine?

Iwould hesitate to call my working process a routine. In many ways my work has evolved from myinability to establish routines or regularity in my life in any significantway. I began painting right around thesame time I was first hired as a high school art teacher, about five years ago (previously,I went to school for sculpture and for a time after graduating I maintained a studiopractice as a sculptor). Early on, outof necessity, I would take a minute here and there to throw a few marks down ona found scrap of paper while on hall duty or waiting for classes tochange. I started scanning these littlepieces and posting them to a blog as a way to force myself to keep making. This was my routine for years, if you couldcall it such. Eventually, I set up astudio in my house and was able to work for a couple hours after school beforecooking dinner, cleaning, spending time with my wife, etc. I remember having a conversation with anotherpainter about how excited I was to have two whole hours to paint, to which hedubiously responded, questioning how I could get anything accomplished in suchan insignificant amount of time. Recently I have begun getting up early so thatI can have a half an hour or so to paint before going to work. Additionally, I get to my studio in the citya couple nights a week. My routine continuesto be sporadic at best, which I embrace. I see my provisional approach for thereality it represents: the compromises, constraints and imperfect nature of anyemerging artist’s life and practice. Mywork attempts to engage the imperfections of the everyday as opposed toovercoming or ignoring them.

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

Asmentioned before I have two spaces where I work (not including the work I makewhile I am at school teaching). My newstudio is in a converted Catholic high school. I am in a space that most likely was originally a storeroom or closet,much smaller than the studios around it, which are converted classrooms. Ishare the space with the painter Tim Schwartz, with whom I have been a friendfor close to twenty years. I am rarelyin the space without him there, making our conversations, observations andcritique an essential part of my process. My space, like my life, is far from pristine. It is much the same in my home studio. A messy mix of clutter, sounds and smells,ideas, memories, phone rings, cats and interruptions, coffee or whiskey, songs,tape, pencils, paint, paper, an uncomfortable chair, a view out the window; allof which contribute to the making of my paintings.

29 Missing ,ink & gouache

on polypropylene, 9” x 5.5”, 2012

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

Afew years back, attempting to figure out my process, I adopted a sort ofmantra: fill the space. I thought if I could reduce the process ofpainting to its most essential practical operation it left enough space forsomething uniquely personal to be left behind; a sort of trace fingerprint ofauthorship unencumbered by formality, narrative or intent. It was from this initial idea that my workhas evolved. When I sit down to paint(or stand up as it may be) I am intention-less. I attempt to be wholly receptive, adopting a sort of neutral buoyancy,so that the faintest of influence tips the scales and starts my process. This influence could be something I see,think, hear, or remember, the more mundane or under-considered the better. From there, my process is one of action andreaction. Sometimes I take it too far, other times not far enough. When influence is hard to come by, which isquite often, I may run through any number of standard operations: fill thespace, draw a line from left to right, draw a line from right to left, make ashape and fill it in, make two marks and connect them. These operations may end up as the workitself, or may lead to an unfolding of responses. Recently I have been including text in manyof my paper pieces. This is just a wayfor me to connect or pair observations. The text is often something heard or thought while the painting is beingmade. It is meant to reinforce the markswith which it shares its origins.

The Burden of Counting, ink & gouache

on polypropylene, 9” x 6.5”, 2012

What are you havingthe most trouble resolving?

Istruggle with the physical differences of painting with oil on linen andpainting with ink, watercolor or gouache on paper. I want to translate the lightness andquickness of my works on paper to my paintings, yet retain the presenceafforded oil paint as a medium.

Do you experimentwith different materials a lot or do you prefer to work within certainparameters?

Ilove playing with different materials and methods. My current work evolved froma process of using scraps and materials leftover by my high school studentsduring a normal school day. As asculptor I used anything I could get my hands on and much of my work wasperformance based. In grad school Ispent most of my two years taking photographs. I have been painting for the last five years and now I teach ceramicseveryday. I typically don’t find myselftoo constrained by parameters, at least not for too long. I genuinely believe that whether it is a drawing,sculpture, performance, photograph, painting, or pot, anything I make is madewith the similar motivation of acknowledging the everyday as sublime.

We Are Sailing, ink & pencil

on polypropylene, 5”x 6”, 2012

What does the futurehold for this work?

Well,my biggest hope for the future is that this work finds an audience. I struggle at times with the confidence andcommitment necessary to build a career of painting, but I believe withopportunities such as this one I am gaining momentum.

Is there anythingelse you would like to add?

Thishas been a great honor and pleasure for me, and I want to thank you for theinvitation. I have been incrediblyfortunate to find support for my work through primarily online forums. I think we are experiencing an amazing pointin history, that through technology we are able to connect instantly andintimately with artists across the world, trading ideas and critique (andsometimes even trading work). Your blogserves to inspire and inform, thanks for your hard work Val!

HalfAwake, oil on linen, 10” x 13”, 2012

MOLLY HERMAN

2012-01-30T00:42:00.000-08:00

Blue Streak, oil on linen, 24 x 24", 2011

What are you working onin the studio right now?

CurrentlyI’m working in a small-scale with black and white (and grayed color) insomething I’m tentatively calling “Milk-Paint Drawings”. I’m combining drawing techniquesand process with painting media and attempting to blend the two.

Can you describe yourworking routine?

Ideally,a daily routine means I wake early, meditate, get to the studio, put onwordless music or a song in a foreign language I don’t understand ( ex: NusratFateh Ali Kahn, Philip Glass, Virginia Rodriguez, or experimental sound worksby my friend, Daniel Hill, etc…)IfI’m working large I’m often on the floor (pouring paint, etc.) or ifsmall-scale I work on a shelf – always mindful to step back and see the work ina fresh way.

Atnoon, I break for lunch and have time to just sit still and really look at whatwas done, scrutinize it. Recently, I found a small trampoline by the dumpsterand brought it in my studio – I’m experimenting now with bouncing as I look –especially if I’m feeling restless. Sometimes I write notes – almost like poemsin a sketchbook – but this is something only for me – it’s very personal, open-ended,associative kind of thinking, like a dream diary.

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

Mystudio has a wall of windows facing north, with good, even light. The view isof another Pencil Factory building,-- not very spectacular or distracting. Ihave a decent amount of floor space and a large palette on wheels. I want tokeep everything is easily moveable. Onewall is for storage of paintings and supplies. The other two walls are devotedfor making and viewing paintings. I keep a full-length mirror to view my workbackwards – a trick I use to surprise my view of the work and keep it vital. Also,my husband has the studio next to mine – (his sculptures and method are quitedifferent from my work) during breaks, we’ll take a peek at one another’sstudio --offer observations and encouragement. However, we try not to critiquewhen either of us is “in process”.

Silverpoint styllus, vine charcoal

& graphite on paper, 8 x 6 ", 2012

Tell me about yourprocess, where things begin, how they evolve, etc…

Itend to create work in series, though not necessarily on purpose – by this Imean, I don’t wake up one day and set out to make a body of work, on “plantlife”, but I actively invite and pursue inspiration by noticing what’s aroundme/ available. – I “trust my muse” and I keep working. Then, one day, lookingback, I’ll say “Oh, this appears to make a group of a sort” --It happensorganically. Often one series bleeds into another. I try not to worry over thisanymore (as I used to) – it’s howcreativity evolves.

Mylatest work began during this past summer in France, with a pocket sketchbook.I had been intensely involved with color before my trip, but travel made melimit what I could carry and reduce my media to a silverpoint stylus, charcoal,graphite stick and eraser. The black and white became an interesting limitation.Thinking about it now, it also seems to signify the “memory of a time” to me.

Thesedrawing-paintings I’m making in my studio now, come out of looking back onthose sketches, but they are also their own things. Recently, I saw a terrificprint show in Baltimore and I think this has been an influence on me as well,especially the lithographs by Odilon Redon. In some of my new work, I’m usingbirch panels so I can really wrestle with surface, etch into it, do some monoprinting and even a bit of carving!

What are you having themost trouble resolving?

Initially,I had a hard time acknowledging this new shift --I thought: “OK, I’m working inblack and white while looking at seed pods or drawings of plants.”—Itfelt like a big departure because I view of myself as a colorist who makesabstract paintings. Allowinga touch of muted color has helped. Still, I wonder how long I will continue inthis vein. I’m itching to move into larger scale paintings and suspect I willwant to involve more color (perhaps indigo dye) – and I want to continue toexplore drawing space as well as light and value range. Additionally, I’mcoming to terms with the jumble of re-occurring themes: Nature; landscape;pattern and abstraction. Sometimes my paintings may appear to the viewer as completelynon-objective and at other times quite specific. Then I’ll think of those exquisitebotanical drawings by Ellsworth Kelly and it brings confidence. In any case, Ibelieve the debate of figuration vs. abstraction is a non-issue.

Duo, oil on birch panel, 14 x 11", 2012

Do you experiment withmaterials a lot or do you prefer to work within certain parameters?

Ilove all paint media. – I love the malleability of paint and how its viscositycan go from watery to buttery, and the surface changes from chalky to juicy. Ilove the range and variety of pigments and their history – all of it isenthralling to me. However, I’m not so much a technician as an alchemist. As agift, I received a book on paint recipes that I’m eager to try some involveeggs and various oils and vinegar emulsions, lavender spike, and that sort ofthing. It may just be art lore, but I’ve heard that de Kooning tried all kindsof things in his paint – even mayonnaise! Infact, working within a narrow color-range has opened me up to even moreexperimentation with paint-stuff. I’m using milk-paint (which is a wonderfulsaturated, flat-matte surface made from lye) in combination with high-glossenamel and graphite powder and even a little silver leaf.

What does the futurehold for this work?

Well,I suppose I’ll post some of my new work on my website --and see if anyonesalutes.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

Thank you Valerie, it's been a pleasure

Hay-maker Moon, oil on linen, 48 x 36", 2012

T. J. DONOVAN

2012-01-27T06:22:00.000-08:00

Untitled, oil paint & rubber foam on board,

5.5 x 7.5", 2011

Whatare you working on in your studio right now?

I’mreally excited about a diptych that I think I’ve recently developed to a point atwhich I can let it be. The piece is shown in the photo above and I think thatit’s a breakthrough of sorts for me. So the story goes: I was in my studio withtwo blank 4 x 4’ stretched canvases. I began painting one of them (the entirelypink one on your right) and was getting my ass kicked badly. I couldn’t turn itinto an interesting painting for the life of me. Well, 3 a.m. rolled around andI could hardly stand any longer so I decided to call it a night and leavetormented with my tail between my legs. I had just turned off the lights andwas exiting through my studio door when suddenly I envisioned myself slammingthe face of the blank canvas against the face of the painting that had beenkicking my ass all night. It seemed like sheer desperation, yet I abided by theimpulse.

Iwalked back into my studio, grabbed the blank canvas and slammed it against thepainted one. I then rotated the more recently blank canvas 90 degrees CCW andslammed it against the ass-kicking canvas again. I then rotated the morerecently blank canvas yet another 90 degrees CCW and slammed it against theass-kicking canvas one more time. I then set the more recently painted canvas whichnow consisted of transferred impressions of the ass-kicking canvas down andbecame inspired to continue to paint on the ass-kicking canvas some more. Atabout 5 a.m. I had finally transformed the ass-kicking canvas into a very darkand strangely interesting painting and noticed that while kicking the ass ofthe ass-kicking canvas I had splattered paint all over the canvas that nowconsisted of the impressions of a former state-of-being of the ass-kickingcanvas. I thought the canvas consisting of impressions of the ass-kickingcanvas was beautiful yet need one more thing, so on its right side I added apink square.

Sothere I was with two dramatically different looking paintings that were byprocess entangled. I lived with the paintings for a couple of months enjoyingthem mostly separately as I was very interested in their relationship yet feltvery unfulfilled by the depth of their relationship. I felt that therelationship between the two paintings lacked reciprocation and closure in thatthe ass-kicking painting seemed to be of enormous influence on the paintingconsisting of its impression while the painting consisting of the ass-kickingpainting’s impression didn’t have much influence over the ass-kicking painting.Anyway, while recently painting the ass-kicking painting pink I accidentallydropped my palette and splattered pink paint on the painting that consists ofthe impression of the ass-kicking painting.

Otherthan that, I currently have a variety of different focuses going on in mystudio. From aggressively broken paintings on glass and plexi-glass to tightformalist sculptural abstract paintings to minimalist folded paintings on paperto found-object sculpture to collage. I try to maintain a studio environmentthat is conducive to continual discovery and surprise. I’m having a blast!

Can you describe yourwork routine?

Iwork as much as possible, whenever I have time. As a husband, father and artistwho works a lot, I’ve managed to become quite good at juggling these threepriorities. I usually work at night after the family has gone to sleep. Ithrive in the solitude of the night. I am usually a sleep deprived mad manwhile making things.

Tell me about your process, wherethings begin, how they evolve etc.?

That depends on whatlevel of process we’re talking about. If I’m looking for a new process throughwhich I can develop a new type of work, I consider everything around me as apotential medium that just needs to be manipulated through a just process. IfI’m working on an individual piece, it starts with one decision and thenanother in response, and so on and so forth until the individual work possessesits own unique logic and enigma. I obsess over my work, so I’m thinking aboutit constantly. This obsession almost always leads to breakthroughs, as long asI’m on the right path.

work in progress

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

Iam currently an MFA student at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Mystudio is on the 17^th floor of a building on Michigan Avenue. Thebuilding faces east and has panoramic windows, so the view of Lake Michigan isamazing. My studio is fairly small, maybe 15’ x15’, but I love it. I’msurrounded by very interesting artists with very diverse approaches to makingthings. I don’t think I’ve ever been so inspired. I’ve only recently moved toChicago from South Dakota, so living and working within a major urbanenvironment is quite exciting. I’ve made things here that I know I wouldn’thave made back home.

What are you having themost trouble resolving?

Words.

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

Iwork with many different materials and am very particular about materials andthe context in which they are used. In my mixed-media practice, material andprocess are inseparable in that a process is birthed from a material. In anycase, this whole consisting of both material and process, must lend itself to anumber of process/outcome-based experiential qualities such as, and in noparticular order: immediacy, economy, uniqueness and believability, just toname a few. The process is the outcome.

Untitled, oil paint & rubber foam on board,

8.5 x 10.75", 2012

What does the futurehold for this work?

Idon’t know, that’s part of the fun of it.

Is there anything elseyou would like to add?

Thanksfor all of your work Valerie. Thanks for having me. This is an honor. It’s beenfun.

Untitled, oil paint & plastic frame, 12" tall, 2011

EMILY NOELLE LAMBERT

2012-01-07T02:27:00.000-08:00

The Clearing, 2011,

acrylic & wood with canvas, 94 x 90 cm

What are you working onin your studio right now?

Alwaysa number of pieces happening. Varying size, scale and material. The work is made together and there is aconversation that happens between small drawings, large vibrant acrylicpaintings and the sculptures. I aminterested in the making, the interior and exterior structure. Playing with materiality, color, surface,process. Jumping between loose figuration and abstraction. I am curious howabstraction can be figurative. Old questions about painting! Thinking abouttalismans and how meaning is made with intention or a side effect.

Can you describe yourworking routine?

Afriend said it well, “It’s like fishing”… some days waiting and messing aboutin a small seeking way. Other days or weeks I can get caught up and it feels likea drive, full of purpose, a confident pushing forward. In that kind of chaos, the walls and floorsare filled with paintings, stacked against the wall alternating. I do a lot of cross-pollination working bigand small, 2d and 3d.

Thedrive of the work is multifold. Sometimescolor steers the painting. A slap ofyellow violet with grit against a dull black/blue/ grey. The color speaks tome, the texture of the paint, the drip….they are a language. At other times animage or emotional quality will drive the work, beginning with a landscape likespace but thinking about interpersonal space and relationships. This changes when working with the figure,capturing that emotive quality within the known features.

Greenpoint Studio

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

There are a handful of ways I begin:

Sometimes I begin with color, and respond to the color empathically, it feels like a physical response to what I am looking at.

Sometimes I begin with an automatic or gestural painted line….there is a layering within my work, a masking and reiterating. Sometimes like a run on sentence, or a wandering journey, diaristic responsiveness.

Sometimes I begin with a vision of an end, or a scrap of a quality I am going for, inspired by a dream or anotherpainting or an experience or photograph, or emotional quality that somehow seems possible to manifest in color.

Sometimes I just begin a piece by making lines, like knitting or a purposeful quality that is going nowhere but where it is.

Can you describe yourstudio space and how (if at all) it affects your work?

I am very sensitive tomy surroundings, which is one of the reasons I enjoy going to residencies andworking in a new environment; both of the studio but also the landscape. Thelight and terrain, the quality of the space creeps in to the work.

I have been in my studiospace in Greenpoint for ten years. It is a long skinny space, 12’ x40’. I havea window at the end and a big metal door that opens out onto the fire escape. Ilook over the low roofs of the surrounding buildings and purple “Eggs”, ( thewaste treatment plant). A big piece of sky is visable from my window. I haveseen many a double rainbow and moon rise over the waste treatment plant.

On paper

What are you having the most trouble resolving?

I turn over color and image, seeking something unexpected beautiful and ugly, raw and vulnerable. It is challenging to make work that is vulnerable, but bold and brave, that’s what I hope to do. I love finding the edge of my own sense of permissibility. When I locate it, it can send me into a tizzy, making me question the very act of making and image…. It slows me down and then often in an act of defiance I begin again. Begin again….important!

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

Lotsof materials

What does the futurehold for this work?

Thework leads me somewhere new. Not overlydirected or determined. I want tocontinue to learn and be surprised and energized. I want to climb, jump, crawl, and ponder myedges.

Isthere anything else you would like to add?

Thankyou for this great opportunity to ask these questions. I have mulled over themfor several months, leaving and revisiting....perhaps the way I paint as well!I love your project! I enjoyed the intimacy of the questions and also readingthe larger dialogue with other artists on your blog. Fantastic work!

Between, 2011, acrylic & wood on wood panel

CLARE PRICE

2011-12-19T03:02:00.000-08:00

Phaedra, 153 x 178 cm,acrylic gouache,

spray paint & household laquers on canvas, 2010

What are you working onin your studio right now?

I amreturning to a larger format landscape canvas which I am trying out some newideas on. I have just completed a smallwork for a show called 100 Mothers curated by Harry Pye and am battling with somecanvases that have been challenging me for a while. I am playing with Helen Frankenthalerinspired wet in wet washes and being more free than normal with formats andoutcomes.

Can you describe yourworking routine?

I don’t havea particular routine although in quite a Gilbert and George fashion the thingsI do before and after I leave the studio are quite ritualised (usually in termsof food and hot drinks). I think thishelps one deal with the intensity and the unknown that the studio holds. I start to work as soon as I get in thereeither with the mundane aspects of the stretching and priming or the projectingand drawing up of the pixels. When I amin the midst of a painting it can be very fast and frenetic. As they progressand resolving them becomes more elusive, time is spent just sitting andlooking. Paintings are faced against the wall when they feel unresolvable. The studio is verysparse in terms of home comforts just a kettle and little else.

work in progress

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

My studio isan Acme space in an old factory building in Deptford (a formerships' propeller foundry), its wonderful there because where it is ispretty desolate so in that way it is quite a haven. Its rough and ready with patched up brokenwindows and a very distressed floor. I can make as much mess as I like which isimportant to me. It is in what Iconsider to be a brutal yet beautiful urban environment and this informs mywork to a degree. Although I love it forthe solitude I have also been fortunate enough to meet some very interestingother artists there who have been very supportive and inspiring.

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

I start mypaintings on anantiquated computer drawing program. Thepixelated lines are carefully edited, projected and drawn with pencil onto thecanvas creating a grid or skeleton. This drawing creates a structure that canbe disrupted using analogue gesture such as choreographed drips and sprayedmarks. The mark making explores the intersection of something that is visceralwith something that is controlled and designed. I use metallic sprays,garage door paint, Japlac high gloss enamels, Hammerite, Japanese acrylicgouache and oil paint. In some parts thepaintings are flat, stark and graphic. In other parts paint drips voluptuouslyover the drawn lines, breaking the spacial arrangement and reopening the composition. I imagine thestructures are taken to a point of collapse hanging by their own pixelatedthreads.

What are you having themost trouble resolving?

Prettymuch everything! it’s mentally all consuming at the moment. I feellike my brain is racing ahead and I am trying to catch up with the progress inmy thoughts in formal terms. There is ashift in the work, I am interested in making the work more spare and reductiveand focusing more on the romantic element to the paintings. I am experimenting with new materials andpalettes and creating unexplored compositions in terms of the originaldrawings.

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

I alwaysclung to familiar parameters in terms of materials and was very rigorous aboutthis. I worked always with Japanese Acrylic Gouache, household paints (B&Qgarage door paint being a favourite) and montana sprays. Of late however I haveopened up to new ways of working and new materials. I have been working with oil paints for thefirst time, although I still work with the gouache for wet in wet“grounds”. I am working with newpalettes and have just discovered white gloss paint as opposed to mytraditional black. It feels uneasy toveer away from the familiar but necessary also.

What does the futurehold for this work?

I have asense that it is on the edge of something new, it is unknown but open and fullof possibilities.

Isthere anything else you would like to add?

Thank you somuch for asking me to do this interview.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

260 x 169cm, acrylic gouache, spray paint

& household laquers on canvas, 2010

JULIE ALEXANDER

2011-12-13T01:30:00.000-08:00

Wayfarer, oil on canvas, 36 x 36", 2011

What are you workingon in your studio right now?

I just finished a couple 36” square paintings. And I’m still digesting them. Ihope to do some more of that size but first I am going to shift over to workson paper. Ideally I like to shift back and forth, keeping both surfaces, orways of working, in the same conversation. Sometimes though, the idea that Iknow what the conversation is seems contrived. Perhaps the paper, being adifferent size, substrate and applied with different media should be different?I am less interested in a consistent body of work these days.

Can you describe yourworking routine?

I always start with a pot of tea tucked under a painting rag like a tea cozyand from there one of the key features to my routine is a battle or dancebetween focus and distraction. I am attempting to start my painting day withsome meditation to help bring a more rooted clarity to my practice but mydesire is to straight away pick up a brush and start painting. Anything thatgets in the way of that frustrates me. That said, my focused painting periodsare rather short. I get distracted. I spend a lot of time in contemplation. Izoom in and out of engagement with the work.

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

My studio is a 400 square foot garage in the back yard. There is a 10 by 3 foottable down the middle where most everything ends up, a rolling cart for apallet and, near the door, some shelves and a small cabinet also with piles onit. There are piles on the floor as well. On rare occasions I clean. The chaosand the order IS the studio. It is ideas building and flowing and a grandexcuse for a mess.

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

A blank canvas is an opportunity to play. At this point I am not much burdened with what I mean to say. I lay down paint as if it mattered but knowing I will cover it up. It’s an unfettered beginning. I start a new piece with a synthesis of ideas derived from art I see, visual input from walks, abstract notions of chaos and order. I may be aiming toward a certain color or light, a relationship to the edge or a desire to use tape. I don’t think it through much. The big angst is the falling in and out of love along the way. I will fall in love with a color combination layered just so or the way the edges are happening or a texture and t hen I think the painting is done. I’m elated and then some time passes, a day, a week and I can’t understand why I thought the painting was any good. So I paint some more, fall in love again and most likely repeat the same elation and humiliation/defeat. It’s such a crazy ride.
Currently what engages me is an unfinished, vibrant, and clunky beauty. To get there I need to keep the path open ended. I need to have as few rules as I can bear.

Small pink window, tea, ink, flashe on paper, 7 x 7.5", 2010

What are you having the most troubleresolving?

The value of art. The value of my voice. The value of metaphor. The value ofthe repeated gesture. These things have tremendous value and worth but thanagain not so much. I’m very interested right now in small, abstract tantricimages. I am interested in the backgrounds they used and manipulated, therelationship of the image to mantras, and their ability to jump beyond theircultural context.

I’m having trouble resolving meaning.

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

Working on canvas I usually stick to oils. I think incorporating other materials takes a plan, a calculation. I have to think about what I can do under and over a material. I don’t know what I am going to do next so don’t know if the other material will work. Working on paper my material selection is opened up. I have used tea, flasche, gouache, watercolor, inks, latex, spray paint, sandpaper – anything but oil.

What does the futurehold for this work?

A couple of my new paintings are in a December group show and I will have myown show coming up in February both at Gallery IMA in Seattle. It will be a combinationof paintings form 2011 and drawings from 1999.

In the studio I could head different directions within the vein I am currentlymining. My goal is to keep redirecting my focus, my activity and attention, tothe background.

Is there anything else you would like toadd?

Thank you for this opportunity.

One´s part, oil on canvas, 36 x 36", 2011

TIZIANO MARTINI

2011-12-11T08:02:00.001-08:00

Untitled, oil, acrylic, aluminum foil

& dispersion glue on canvas,

40 x 30 cm , 2011

What are you working onin your studio right now?

In the firstpaintings of 2011 the subjects were often objects or buildings. I find themfascinating because they contain their own story. In another group of paintingsI relied purely on memories from places and events. I don't try to reproducethese recollections directly but endeavor to capture in my studio somethingthat reminds me of the experience. During the last months I have been consumedby recording the effect of time on my work so I have tried to set a kind oftimetable in my paintings. In my current works I am interested in what happens on thesurface and underneath as it wares away from a treated surface, to raw canvas,to nothing. I am also very interested in the deterioration process ofobjects, in this case the surface of the canvas and the durability of acontemporary art piece. I'm workingon a series of two-dimensional pieces, some of them on canvas, in which in arational and conscious act, I take advantage of natural and accidental eventssuch as weather, decay, and leaving deposits of earth.

Can you describe yourworking routine?

There is adifference between my life and the way I approach my work. In my daily life Itry to have a routine, this makes me feel good and organized. I like to dosomething physical in the morning. After breakfast I go jogging, preferably inthe woods, on soft ground. I need this contact with the nature. This helps meto concentrate during the afternoon when I work. However whenI work I try to avoid order in every possible way. I prefer uncontrollableevents or accidents. I try to avoid starting apainting from a point that I already know. A painting could start from asmall drawing inspired from a walk through a snow track or from a detail ofsomething I've seen. Forms from nature often influence me. Most of the time Idon't have to go very far to find a point of interest. I often find enoughinspiration a few steps out the door of my house.

Untitled, colour photography, 2011

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

The mostimportant thing for me is to have a relatively empty space. The melancholia of an empty space appeals to me. There areplaces where I feel very secure and others where I feel deeply vulnerable howeverI cannot say which of the two would be better. I find that the studio spaceindirectly influences the work. A space can change your perception andapproach. The space where you work can help to overcome the initial fear ofstarting, it can also give you the confidence to experiment. The studio spacecan give you a better understanding of your work and can also allow you to bemore critical.

This is aspecial period in my life because I am a guest in an artist residency programin Leipzig called LIA (Leipzig International Art Program). Here I have a very large space, there are white walls, largewindows and facilities to make the working process easier. Working here hasbeen easier in comparison to where I usually work in Milan which is quitehectic or in Belluno which is an isolated place and sometimes uncomfortable.There are no excuses here in Leipzig not to work and no reason to complain.

Untitled, oil, aluminum foil

& dispersion glue on ruined canvas,
40 x 30 cm , 2011

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

Ifind it hard to explain my painting approach because in the studio thingshappen very fast, often in a confusing and random way. The approach in my workcan shift rapidly from day to day, even hour to hour. I find it difficult towork for an extended time in the same way. Since I do not use photos,sketches or direct references my starting point is always like diving into icywater. I am interested in the painting process and in how the surfaces aretransformed by provoked accidents.

Ilike to work on different types of paintings simultaneously, with differentmaterials and dimensions, this keeps things fresh and spontaneous. I like tothink of my artwork as one continuous research more than a projection of mypersonality or personal life. I do not like the idea of an art work as arepresentation of myself or another person.

What are you having themost trouble resolving?

Thereare so many problems to solve when I work. I often don't know where or how Icould start a painting. The problem is whether or not to include some sort ofnarrative. I ask myself, 'is it still important that a painting has a kind ofsymbolic value? Is the image still the protagonist of the painting?' Perhapsthe most important thing for me is to have an immediate and tactile experiencewhilst painting. I try to limit my involvement with the painting and to avoidgiving the painting any personal references. The work is the result of aprocess.

Installation view, Crash & Cut Up, studio Cannaviello, Milan

Do you experiment withdifferent materials a lot or do you prefer to work withincertain parameters?

I use severaldifferent types of materials, every new color and material gives me alternativepossibilities. This constant exploration of materials allows for the unexpectedto happen. I could probably use alternative mediums like video or performanceto create my artwork but I don’t know much about those mediums. I use paintingbecause it is the medium that I am familiar with.

For examplein a recent work I used a kind of textile called non – woven. I found thispiece near my village in Italy, in the mountains. This piece retained all kindsof natural residues for more than a decade by being exposed to the elements andtime. Nature transforms the surface, the result being a layering of informationthat has very painterly and abstract aesthetic. This piece is also veryfragile, pieces of earth are constantly coming away from the material and thesurface will continue to change with time.

Untitled, soil, sand plant debris,

fine particles & acrylic primer on non woven,

mounted on wooden stretcher

each 290 x 190 cm , 2011

What does the futurehold for this work?

Ifeel a little anxious about this subject at the moment because I am in asituation where my work could take any direction, something very unexpectedcould happen, this feeling both scares and excites me. I would love to be lessconcerned about this subject. I need to continue to experiment and to furtherquestion my work. I think it's important to be open to falling into the unknownand not being afraid. I'd like to push my work even further beyond its limits,for me a medium becomes interesting when we abuse and mistreat it.

Isthere anything else you would like to add?

Thank you very much for giving me the opportunity to talkabout my work!

Untitled, oil & acrylic on canvas, 70 x 50 cm , 2011

BECKY YAZDAN

2011-12-03T00:08:00.001-08:00

Looking for diesel - found a sleeping coyote,

9 x 12 ", oil on clayboard, 2011

What are youworking on in your studio right now?

I just started a series of largerpaintings. I have been working small for the last few years and felt it wastime to return to working on a larger scale. I love the intimacy of holding apainting in my hand and being close to the surface and paint, but have missedthe more physical experience of working larger.

Can youdescribe your working routine?

I work on several paintings at once.I have a rack of unresolved paintings, a wall of work in progress, a wall ofpaintings that are marinating (resting to see if they are finished or not) anda wall of completed work that I am still thinking about and working from.

The first part of my day at thestudio is spent drinking coffee, looking at the work and moving things around.A painting that made it to the wall of completed work may end up back inmarination or back to the purgatory of the unresolved rack. Starting is often thehardest part and if I just can't face the paintings I will clean, organize, andprepare new surfaces until I find a way in.

studio view

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

My studio is in one of the fewremaining old buildings near the waterfront in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. I'vebeen in the space for 6 or 7 years and have watched as the old industrialbuildings are taken down and replaced with shiny new condos -- the Old DutchMustard Company came down brick by brick, and now the Con Ed plant across theway is an empty lot. Living and working in this neighborhood plays a key rolein my work. On my walk to the studio I see the East River and Manhattanskyline, the Williamsburg Bridge and the new high-rise buildings. The DominoSugar Factory looms empty and and dark, and its overgrown yards are litteredwith piles of pipes and random pieces of garbage. I work with ambient memoriesand these visual stimuli act as a structure on which to hang my ideas. Whilepainting I often meditate on the passage of time and the resultingdeterioration. Williamsburg is a living, breathing example of this constantcycle of destruction and creation and it mirrors my creative process --building up the canvas then scraping everything away to try to get at sometruth or understanding of a larger system at work.

Swarm , 14 x 18 ", oil on clayboard, 2011

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

When I start a painting I don't haveany idea what the end result will be -- I follow the painting's lead. They oftenbegin with a color or shape idea that is related to a memory of something Isaw, read about or experienced. This can be something as simple as what I hadfor breakfast or as difficult as the loss of a loved one. If things are goingwell the associations will continue. Some paintings happen very fast, andothers take years to resolve. They often don't make sense to me until wellafter they are completed. The titles of the paintings are words or phrases thatcome up while I am working and they are an integral part of the process.

What are youhaving the most trouble resolving?

It has been challenging to return tothe larger canvases. If I am working with difficult subject matter I feel veryexposed.

work in progress wall

Do youexperiment with different materials a lot or do you prefer to work withincertain parameters?

I am predominantly an oil painter,but occasionally other materials make their way in -- scraps of fabric, thread,a page from a book, etc.

What does thefuture hold for this work?

I can't wait to find out!

Is thereanything else you would like to add?

Thanks for asking me thesequestions. Writing is an important part of my practice (that I have beenneglecting) and it feels good to get my ideas organized.

Di Suvero Swing,

8 x 10 ", oil on clayboard, 2011

IAIN NICHOLLS

2011-11-24T02:48:00.001-08:00

Fall rise, acrylic & oil on board, 18 x 18", 2011

What are you working on in your studioright now?

Ihave just finished the last of a group of small acrylic and oil paintings onboard which I am about to show at Transition Gallery in London opening December2^nd. I have done 25+ since August and am happy with 10 of them ofwhich the painter Phillip Allen who is curating the show will choose hisfavourite 5. Two other painters, Mark Joyce and WilliamGharrie are also showing work. It should be agood one.

Can you describe your working routine?

I tryand find any excuse not to paint! So I get up early in order to accommodate myexcuses, and get these ‘necessary things’ out of the way: I go to the shop forthe paper, drink coffee, watch breakfast television, read Facebook and anyEmails and reply (in detail) to any (thank God I have kept away from Twitter!),eat some toast, have ‘just one more coffee’ etc. etc. until there really isn’tanything left to do except go and paint.

I paint in the garage at home so when I do goto paint I start straight away. There is no sitting around, no chatting (there’sno one to chat to), no drawing or preparation as that gets done in the house atother times and I know roughly how I’m going to get going, so I just start.With these small paintings I paint very quickly and intensely in about one anda half hour bursts. I usually get about 3 of these intense painting bursts donea day, give or take.

Idon’t know why it’s always one and a half hours at the moment but it is. Biggerpaintings take longer but that’s nothing to do with them being harder to do. Withbig paintings the paint application involves a bigger area which takes longerto fill, and you only see the whole of the painting by pausing and steppingback so the whole process takes longer.

Marker on acetate, 2011

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

I ama very untidy messy painter. Once I get going I can’t keep stopping andstarting to keep my stuff organized and orderly as it breaks up my thinking. Iseem to always have a tin of brush restorer on the go as I lose brushes in themess and when they reappear they are hard! I am my own worst enemy but I have triedto change and keep tidy and it just isn’t me. There is no natural light in thegarage but that has never bothered me as my paintings don’t rely on subtletymuch (not to me anyway). Also, it’s a good test if the paintings can stand outsurrounded by mess and lit by strip lighting. This doesn’t mean they shouldgravitate towards being bright and garish – more that they somehow are morealive, a special arrangement of the matter they have come from, i.e. the mess whichis all rounds them.

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

I getideas from anything I might see, think about, read, watch on television, and I distillall this into drawing, mainly in my sketchbook, most often at night – watchingtelevision. These days I need a specific idea to start a painting from andthese come from the drawings. When I say ‘idea’ this is a very loose term. Itcould be just a colour or pattern or a real thing I want to paint, a memory orsomething stupid, anything really, but mainly from the drawings.

Iused to paint like I draw – just making it up and seeing where it goes, but nowI need an anchor point or two. With drawing it’s just about doodling until anidea takes shape, then making this idea clear, then that’s it – the drawing isfinished. There are no changes other than additions because it is biro or inkpen, so I can’t fuss over it erasing like you can with pencil or paint. Anymistakes have to be made into a positive influence to the drawing somehow andthis often sends the drawing off on a different tangent. Drawing isn’t a problem;it’s just using my imagination, getting ideas out, playing with them to makesomething new and making them clear. This would be enough but paint and colourare special and addictive. Once enough drawings are done to generate ideas forabout a dozen paintings, I start painting.

WhenI paint, like drawing I just want to get my imagination working, playing withideas, going off on tangents etc. I don’t want to refine and polish what I know,but I do want to paint with the least resistance possible and still end up withsomething I haven’t seen before, that surprises me, and puzzles me and that Ilearn from. But what stops me doing this,the resistance, was (and is) the making of the painting: the adjustment ofcolour, the relationships of shapes, the edge of the painting, dealing withpainting as being flat but a real space., etc. etc.

Someartists ignore these problems, but to me dealing with them and trying to getpast to a new thing is the whole point. In trying to do this painting isstopped from stagnating and ending up in a dead end, and becoming at best the paintingequivalent of a tribute band.

It’s only been in this last year or so that Ihave started getting somewhere I think. I have started relaxing a bit, thinkingof each painting not having to be perfect, the be all and end all but just as oneof a series. This lets me be more playful because if it fails its OK, there isalways another painting. I have began painting on large boards with 5 or 6‘areas’ of painting which each have their own start off idea but with no fixededges. This lets me just concentrate on using my imagination, playing with theideas etc. I can work on all these areas of painting at once and they sometimesmerge or split so it’s a very fluid process.

Alongthe way I photograph the work if I am not sure of something and try changesusing the computer. But these are only big changes, or collaging separatepaintings together or dramatic colour tests. Eventually the areas of paintbecome clearer in what they are trying to say to me and more separate from eachother. I then cut them up and work on them as separate paintings and only then considerthings like the edge, how the space is working etc. But these final decisionsare painted in a much less panicked way as most of the paintings main idea(s)and its structure is there. Recently I have gone back to making paintings withedges on fixed sizes again and it feels a lot less frustrating now.

before & after

What are you having the most troubleresolving?

Readingmy description of this process of painting sounds like all things are resolved andsorted. They aren’t! The hardest thing to resolve and which I am a long way offdoing, is to try and develop an approach that allows me to paint anything, anysubject or idea, without having to be detached; so I am painting from the heartas well as the mind, with equal measure.

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

Posterpaints were the first paints I used and my earliest memory is of painting infront of the fire a ‘mural’ on some wallpaper of the local park for my sisterwho was at university and I was off school poorly with the mumps. My sisterstill has it and the ‘mural’ is actually only about 2 foot long, but me being 4or 5 I can’t have been much longer either, so it still seems in my memory tohave been huge! The poster paints were in small glass bottles by Rowney andwere pre-mixed. You can’t get them in glass bottles now but I still love usingpre-mixed pots of poster paint for their smell and their squidgyness which youcan’t get from acrylic and gouache – although I use those as well now. I useoils with Turpentine and Jacksons Glaze Medium which gives a lovely glow to thepaint without it being like a varnish and makes it flow better and dry quicker.

Ipretty much just draw with black biro and ink pens but recently I have beendrawing on large A1 sheets of acetate with permanent marker pens and using nailvarnish remover as an eraser. This is great as you can draw on both sides andreverse the image and draw but also rub out and leave a trace of the rubbing,and also rub out perfectly if you want, so it’s a bit like painting but alsolike ink drawing.

As Isay I also use the computer to test out large changes to paintings withoutruining them. I also have a Nintendo DS and got the ‘Art Academy’ for it whichis a brilliant little paint program – lots of fun. It’s the only paint programI know of that has great painting sound effects! Unfortunately you can’t getimages printed from it so I will probably get an iPad at some point.

Ink on paper, 2011

What does the future hold for this work?

I wantto do lots of different things which I have been thinking about over the lastyear and will give me a break from my ‘usual’ painting, which I can then comeback to later next year ‘refreshed’. I want to make some sculpture on a flatboard like a model railway landscape using plaster of Paris, bandaging, clay,plastic – anything. Like a diorama to be able to do what I want with. I don’tthink it will be a thing in itself, viewed from any angle like a sculpture orinstallation. It might be just in a corner viewed from one angle. I might dolandscape paintings from it. I also want a digital projector to be able topaint more accurate areas on my paintings but without having to slow down andworry about accuracy. I want to use photographs, my own drawings and paintings,and I want to be able to use it to do things that are impossible any other waylike photographing a half finished painting, then projecting it onto itself andpainting itself into itself recursively, and distorting itself somehow inbetween maybe using the computer. I also want to try painting on the acetatesheets I have and seeing what happens there with reversing them and layeringand tracing etc. I have been painting all my adult life but I am still in thedark quite a bit about what’s out there in terms of materials and methods andhave been recommended a couple of books on the subject which I want to read.

Is there anything else you would like toadd?

It’sgreat to have been asked to write this. I don’t normally put all this down inwords and only occasionally talk like this to others, as do most artists Ithink. I hope it sort of makes sense!

Desert, acrylic & oil on board, 12 x 12", 2011

PETER SHEAR

2011-11-19T01:11:00.001-08:00

Untitled, 2011, acrylic on canvas, 12 x 9 "

What areyou working on in your studio right now?

I’ve been working much of the year on a cycle ofsmaller paintings, most between 8 x 10” and 11 x 14”. In between works on paperare being made and unmade.

Can youdescribe your working routine?

I have a working/not working routine. There areperiods of a month or two where I’m in the studio painting or drawing for somesubstantial amount of time every day and this continues until I reach animpasse and am forced to regroup. But what I really like is to be in the rut ofwork and it makes me nervous to not be making anything.

I’m relatively disciplined in my work habits butonly in order to have massive room to mess around, get bored, stare into theabyss and freak out. If I’ve worked the previous day I’ll go into the studioonce light is decent and see what I’ve done. Artists know this is a horriblething. Unless a piece needs immediate attention there’s a period of coffee drinkingand padding around, cleaning brushes, cleaning the cat litter box, reading alittle, spacing out on the internet, trying to get a feel for what I’m workingon. Maybe I try to ignore the work and just live with it. Maybe a paintingsuddenly reveals itself as complete if I can catch it off guard. This happens.

I like to listen to podcasts of interviews orlectures while I’m working. Sometimes music but mostly not— music is alwaysperfect and just totally convincing. My hand is too easily led by it. I likethe clumsiness of speech which is more in sympathy with my approach to painting.Voices are engaging in a way that keeps me somewhat detached from the work athand and that small remove allows for just enough criticality on my part.

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

I’ve never had a dedicated studio and havealways worked at home—right now I use a spare bedroom in an apartment sharedwith my girlfriend. It’s multi-purpose, so things accumulate, disappear andlater resurface.

When I first became ‘serious’ about art-makingas a vocation I was drawing with a charcoal pencil and all I needed was atable. When I began painting a little while later I couldn’t get used to aneasel and stayed on the table. My studio is strictly okay but my table isamazing.

All of the spaces I’ve worked in have been smalland I make small work, and this condition of working in living spaces hasaffected deeply the way I relate to paintings as objects in the world. I’minterested in making THINGS which address the smaller, uglier, intimate spaces whereour private lives play out. I relate differently to work on a smaller scale,and a small canvas or bit of paper is an incredibly sensitive recording device.That said I’m eager to make some huge paintings.

Careful, 2011, acrylic & glitter on canvas, 8 x 10"

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

Beginning with a blank canvas there’s usuallythe desire to finish a piece in one go, and I do try, and I do fail most of thetime. Maybe if a painting feels done I’ll hang it up and go to sleep that nightvery satisfied. And then over a period of hours or days the work dies on thewall, or just keeps repeating the same joke. But if it can get off the wall andwalk away, a painting is done; then it’s my job to interview it and see if itknows anything about the next painting. Vija Celmins said she knows a work is nearingcompletion when it begins to push back; I relate to that measure completely—asense of fullness.

Most of the time in the studio, however, I’m notdealing with beginnings but with work in progress. Sometimes images are allowedto evolve organically but more often I’ll paint everything out that isn’tworking. The discarded image is still there; the memory is still thereinfluencing the painting but it informs indirectly. For the genesis of images I’ve often restrictedmyself to the very familiar—lines, dots, simple shapes. As general andinclusive a vocabulary as possible. It’s become increasingly important to leavebehind an image to which no concrete meaning can be attached, only possibility.I’ll put some things down, have a look, paint around them and paint them out. Thereare all these intuitive, oblique strategies improvised to bring me possibly toa place where I can make a really great mistake and then things can get going.I’m not as interested in the hand of an artist as I am the eye; the ability to remainsufficiently present while painting in order to recognize that (suddenly!) acomposition is done, regardless of preconceived notions.

What areyou having the most trouble resolving?

I’ve often worried about the finish of a work.Finish or finished? First thought best thought? Myron Stout tweaks for years?Nozkowskian tectonics? All are interesting and feel pretty good. A range of suchstrategies is something we’re often led to believe is problematic within one’s workand I repeatedly remind myself that it isn’t true, that a fucked up mixturespeaks more honestly to an experience of being in the world.

I also wonder a lot about the wide open spacesbetween intentionality and reception—I mean, this is an afterthought, not apainting-thought. My painting thoughts are less than verbal. But it’s such acurious thing—from time to time I get some image down that satisfies me in adeep and totally ineffable way, and then for what reason do I need other peopleto see it? To have a comparable experience, maybe. That’s how I look at otherpeoples’ work.

Do youexperiment with different materials a lot or do you prefer to work withincertain parameters?

At times the work calls for strict controls. Therewas a period from 2007-2009 when I first began using gouache and used itfull-strength from the tube, making quasi hard-edged, geometric paintings(lines were ruled out but not taped so it was like a one-shot performance,performing the edge). I was maybe setting out to establish a baseline formyself. Prior to all the right angles I was painting Joan Mitchells, or Joan deKoonings, really. That was a cool time because I had no idea what I was doingand no idea what they had been doing,and it was enough just to be influenced. The time of the right angles was likepolitical reeducation and in the end I became really fearful of doing anythingwithout a ruler. Lessons learned. When I did reintroduce more gesture I foundI’d gained some knowledge about control and economy of means that was initiallylacking. Early on I wasn’t making choices when they needed to be made.

Untitled, 2011, acrylic & glitter on canvas, 9 x 12"

What doesthe future hold for this work?

The nextwork. I’ve gotten myself to a place where the drawings and paintings are reallygenerative, and the bonus prize is that individual pieces have become lessprecious to me. I’m interested in the dialogue among works from the past year;some are rather severe and others are very chatty and outgoing. I didn’tanticipate the latter but am pretty curious. I’ll find out what’s going on.

Is there anything else youwould like to add?

Thank youfor creating a platform for this sort of exchange! Artists gain so much fromblogs like yours. It’s fabulous to be forming communities outside of a particulargeography—strange and new and absolutely positive.

PIER WRIGHT

2011-11-15T03:12:00.001-08:00

You possess the blowhole of a whale

Acrylic on Duralar, 7" x 5", 2010

What are you working onin your studio right now?

CurrentlyI am working through a series of mid-size paintings. It's been nearly 4 yearssince I've worked on canvas and it's a very different way of thinking from thecollage series I have been focusing on during this period. The"house" has been a significant lifelong metaphor, referencing myinterior architecture, frequently appearing in dreams and is the place in whichthese paintings occur. This series is simply about windows -- allowing theunknown a way in and me a way out -- about opening up and allowing a breeze topass through. On a slightly different note, I feel the process of painting is akind of breathing; we inhale and in doing so fill up the canvas, this can go onfor many years, and then we exhale and find ourselves making very sparsepaintings where maybe the gessoed surface is enough -- this belief in arespiratory cycle in the making of art fascinates me.

grid of the small collages on Duralar

I'll fly away

Acrylic on Duralar, 7" x 5", 2010

Can you describe yourworking routine?

Myworking routine changes during the course of the year. I have a gallery duringthe summer/fall months and that requires most of my time. During that period Iam able to work before I open the store and when I shut down, so that I occupythe studio in short bursts. The rest of the year I am able to focus my energiesfull time on making art. During this time I try very hard to get up reasonablyearly (not easy) as there is very little day light this far north and I willpaint until 5 or 6. It's a very simple life style repeated daily.

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

Studiospaces are so important. I have been here in Northportfor 10 years, in the past I would find a small work space in town for thesummer months and then move to the larger gallery space after it shut down forthe season. I live in the back of the business and this year I converted a roomupstairs into a year round studio -- it's a little too pretty for a studio andit would be nice if it were larger but it works just fine and I am very lucky.

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

Regardingprocess; oil painting is so different from the collages. It's as though a wholedifferent part of my personality steps up. In either case there is no finalimage in mind. With the paintings I start making lines and applying fields ofcolor, waiting for something to appear. Regarding the current series I didn'teven realize the forms were portals/windows until quite late. On the negativeside, I have over time found that the editor in me has very strong opinions asto how to finish a canvas. It was a revolt against that voice which led me tostart the collage series and effectively shut him up for years.

The process for the collage pieces is two part. The "work" is composingall the pieces. I will paint or draw on hundreds of sheets, this is sometimesgratifying but mostly tedious and it's a task that is ongoing. The series is inneed of constant fresh material to pull from. The enjoyable part is to makesomething out of the mess, there are literally an infinite number of possiblecombinations. I will have two long tables set up on which to work and haveabout 10 pieces going at a time. There is a third table where the pieces arepiled and sorted through. I simply go through the stack looking for interestingbits and pieces to build around. In the case of the small acetates (actuallyDuralar) each one usually takes about a month to come to fruition. Even afterthey are finished I end up keeping less than half. This series constantlysurprises me.

collage on Duralar, 43.5" x 24" x 5",2011

What are you having themost trouble resolving?

Ihave always been curious about light and now, from working on layers ofacetate, with transparency. This has led me to begin to study glass making. Ilove working with glass. My biggest hurdle is to find the most suitable processin which to translate my work (kiln firing, cold work, enamels, etc).

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

Ihave been working with a variety of materials, i.e. glass, acetate, canvas butI don't necessarily consider myself to be that experimental with the materialsthemselves. It's all about trying to find the best medium to express an idea.

From the "Window Series", 36" x 36", oil on canvas

What does the futurehold for this work?

Thefuture is wide open! I am amazed that I am painting on canvas again, I had sortof written that off -- and I'm loving it. I also feel working with the Duralarhas played a very important role in allowing me to push my boundaries so Idefinitely want to keep working with that series. And what can I say aboutglass, it's like a whole new world opening up.

Is there anything elseyou would like to add?

Iam sincerely glad that you've invited me to be part of this. Your blog hasintroduced me to so much new work, thank you.

ALICE BROWNE

2011-11-13T01:55:00.001-08:00

Obstacle No. 4, oil on canvas, 40 x 35cm, 2011

What are you working onin your studio right now?

I’vejust made a load of new work and am now preparing some more canvases, fiddlingaround with a few larger paintings which are in progress and thinking aboutmaking some paper sketches. The new workI’ve just made has really challenged me, I’ve been exploring subtler coloursand working more on linen.

Can you describe yourworking routine?

Iget to the studio early and start painting once I’ve settled in. I work prettyquickly so unless I get stuck I usually work on at least 5 paintings a day. Alot of my studio time is used stretching and priming canvas, which I take a lotof care over…though I do sometimes get quite bored of doing it!

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

I’verecently moved to a larger studio so I’m very aware of the effect it’s had – Ican stand a greater distance from larger works which has given me a bit moreconfidence to work on the whole surface at a time, rather than painting just onbits which usually are their downfall. The particulars of my space don’t reallymatter – I keep all my materials in cardboard boxes so they are transportableto any space with a white wall and good natural light. My studio building isclose to the Olympic Park which has been constantly changing for the last 2years I’ve been here, I’m sure this must have influenced my work in some way.

Dune, oil on canvas, 40 x 45cm, 2011

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

I’vealways got paintings on the go, but usually the bulk of my work is done inbursts - depending on when I have freshsurfaces to work on. Whilst preparing canvases I’m usually churning over thingsin my head, exhibitions I’ve seen, things I’ve read, places I’ve been to. Imight make some works on paper at this time just to think about colour and getmoving on something.

Whenthe canvases are ready I start applying layers of colour and seeing what sortof depths appear between the layers before bringing in some kind of ‘problem’or ‘obstacle’ which changes the space. I love to introduce something out ofcuriosity and be surprised at what it does. Its important to me to not feelrestricted by fear of embarrassment at making some thing which looks rubbish,which is why I work on so many things at once. Its ok for them to fail.

Somework well in this way and are finished quickly and others take longer toresolve and usually get layered over many times. Titling is the final thing,which I do whilst looking at photos of the paintings on a computer as thisfeels a more natural place to apply word to image. They often come from afeeling I have about the work, or reference something which is interesting meat the time. They are also usually words which have good rhythm and stability.

What are you having themost trouble resolving?

Largerpaintings…I often get impatient waiting for them to dry and make a mess workinginto wet. I also worry that my work appears a bit erratic as the outcomes canlook very different. But this is partly what keeps me excited about it.

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

Iexperiment with new materials if there is something I would like to achieve andslowly work it into my studio practice. Recently I’ve been experimenting withdry pigments, making my own oil and watercolours but its taken me 2 years ofthinking about it!

Made, oil on canvas, 40 x 35cm, 2011

What does the futurehold for this work?

Iwant to continually question and play with my practice. There are endlesspossibilities because I’m always looking around and feeding new things into thework. I enjoy engaging with the contemporary debates and history of paintingbecause it has always been so central to my experience and love of art, thoughI’m also interested in how my practice can engage with other media whichinspire me such as sculpture and video.

Is there anything elseyou would like to add?

Nextweek I’m going to be taking all my recent work to Limoncello Gallery to make aselection for my exhibition ‘Certain Obstacles’ which is open 24 November 2011– 14 Jan 2012. I really can’t wait to see how it works in the space though I’ma little nervous too.

ALAN CROCKETT

2011-11-11T00:58:00.001-08:00

Little Boboo, 2010, oil on panel, 14 x 12"

What are you working on in your studioright now?

First I must saythat I work part of the year in my studio in Columbus, Ohio and part of theyear in my studio 8 ½ miles up Elk Creek near the small town of Happy Camp,California which is located in the heart of the Klamath Siskiyou NationalForest. I spend summers and part of thefall in California and the remainder of the year in Columbus. This summer andfall (in California) I have made seven paintings that range is scale from 36x48 inches (2), 32 x38” (2) to 18 x24” (3). I find that when I am in my California studio I almost always allow mywork to challenge the work I have done in Ohio. I think that this is partly due to the fact that in my California studioI am not surrounded by the work I have done and therefore, in some sense, Itend to re-invent myself. The last twopieces that I have been working on are titled: “Painter’s Dream” 36 x48” and“Emergence” 32 x38”. They are somewhatantithetical. “Dream” for example isloose, free, and open with the feeling of being rather freely arrived at. The white of the canvas; it’s beginningpoint, plays a dominant role and allows the colors of line and shape to have analmost pre-ordained quality. “Emergence”on the other hand evidences a summer’s worth of struggle, ideas, found and thenerased, destroyed, re-incarnated. Verylittle of it’s beginnings remain except, I thin k, the original spirit withwhich the piece was begun.

Can you describe your working routine?

I am addicted topainting. I paint and draw virtuallyevery day and additionally keep what I call a “painter’s journal” whichincludes drawings, images from various sources (newspapers, magazines, comics,my own photos, etc.), quotes that I find meaningful or inspirational, my ideasabout art, life; in short anything that I feel is or might be a part of what Ineed to say as a painter. Often I willpaint in the morning before going off to teach. If I do something awful I will think about it all day, looking forwardto where it’s undoing may take me. If Ido something “good” I will think about it all day, wanting to see where I willgo with that. Usually I will beginpainting again around 9pm and work late. The next morning a visit to the studio will tell me what sticks, whatdoesn’t and it’s back to work. On dayswhere I can just paint, that’s what I do. I should also note that drawing plays a significant role for me. I often make dry pastel drawings on 22 x30”Arches paper. These drawings ofteninform the paintings and vice versa. Ialso make small 9 x11” watercolor collages that often inspire my painting aswell. I find myself just as committed tothe drawings as to the paintings. Ioften move from drawing to painting or painting to drawing during the course ofa day.

Another thing thatis a part of my practice is to revisit and revise previously “completed”pieces. It is not unusual for me to, ineffect, work on a piece over a period of years and even when I don’t revise mywork it will typically take several weeks to come off. The smaller paintings, say 20 x16 18 x24”etc. seem to take me just as long as the larger work and in some ways are evenmore difficult for me to make.

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

My Columbus studiosits behind our house with a very short walkway that I call the Avenue ‘dStudio. To the right is my coy pond with7 very large old coy that beg for food whenever I approach the studio. Thisalways puts me in a rather joyful mood. The studio is spacious and well litboth with skylights and artificial lighting. Many current paintings are hung on the wall and stacked about withinview as well as a few old paintings that remind me of potential paths to re-examine. A cut out dog from a painting by my oldfriend, Roy DeForest (he did the cutting) is pinned to the left of my workingwall. Many more pieces are in the painting racks. My drawings are also hung about and usually acurrent drawing is pinned to the drawing table near the north facing windows.

When I enter thestudio, the piece I am working on instantly confronts me. I have large tables with shower glasspalettes to the left and right of me. Paint tubes are cluttered about; brushes, palette knives, auto bodyputty knives, etc. are in cans at the ready. Actually the somewhat cluttered atmosphere of the studio is myfriend. I will, for example think to usesome ultramarine blue but in going through the clutter of paint tubes find anIndian yellow that suddenly seems even more appropriate to use or instead of aNo. 4 filbert brush find a No. 20 flat just by chance that will totally changemy ideas about where or how I need to take the work. An older painting in view may prompt me topull out a painting journal from around that time and then I may find myselfplaying with some aspect re found inthe current painting I am working on.

My California spaceis quite different. As I have mentioned,I have no old paintings to remind me of who I am as a painter. The space itself is rather small but soon toobecomes cluttered with paint tubes, cans, paint rags, and so on. Even though it is a small space I can dopieces up to around 60x68 inches. Oftenhere I will unstretch the canvas and work with it stapled directly to thewall. This too changes the feel of thesurface and also allows me to be a bit rougher in the way I may scrape awaypaint. The incredible beauty in thenature that surrounds me here also creeps into my work and stays with me evenwhen I return to Ohio. I guess growingup on the west coast, the unique quality of light and color, the feeling ofbeing a bit outside of the New York Art world has always been a part of how Iwork, how I feel, how I think about art. It is, in a sense, a feeling of the freedom to be irreverent. That the type of work that I do in our cabinnear Happy Camp is, for the most part, either not understood or misunderstoodalso seems to affect my work in a very positive sense.

Shedding stones, 2011, oil on canvas, 60 x 68"

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

Typically I willselect a scale that I want to work in, say 60 x72 inches and apply severalcoats of gesso to the surface scraping each coat in such a way that I can get asmooth surface on which to begin the painting. This process takes me several days. Finally, when the support attains a sort of perfection, I begin topaint. I begin by using oil paint mixed with solvent and Galkyd Lite so that itis very liquid and flowing. Typically Iwill begin by drawing with the paint in a way that, in effect, defaces thepristine surface I have previously crafted. I usually begin a painting or drawing influenced by some other piece (apainting or drawing) that I have previously done. Sometimes I feel a need to keep going withsome idea or feeling that a previous piece has dealt with. Invariably however, I find that my ideas getin my way, they hold me back rather than propel me forward. It is through erasure, destruction that Iseem to be able to find new possibilities, new paths that lead to each paintingor drawing being a new adventure.

Usually, through theprocess of painting very little will remain of where I began with a paintingand yet, in some way, to contradict myself, the traces of what was left behindare very much a part of where it is that the painting needed to go. Quite often something will arrive on thecanvas that seems so fresh, so real that I want to stop. Typically however, I won’t. I’ll lose it andhave to begin again but now with a surface that has become bruised, soiled,perhaps even ugly. Maybe I need to putmyself in this place so as to allow the painting to arise out of resistancerather than acceptance. I almost nevergive up on a piece but allow it to come out, as it has to come out.

Pastel drawings

What are you having the most troubleresolving?

Probably everything. I wonder at times about the very act ofpainting; its necessity or validity in our work. I worry about the fact that my work seems tobe a bit allover the place and yet, it really does, in the end, seem to relateto itself and to who I am as a person and an artist. I need the work to come to some point ofwhat I call “prefiguration, a place that is somewhat known and yetunnamable. I want things to be suggestedwithout being absolutely definable; is that a face, a foot, lips, a thoughtbubble, a map, a hat, all of the above, none of the above and I just can’t anddon’t want to say.

Small paintings too often give me a hardtime. I can’t just make a smallerversion of something that exists at a larger scale for example. I seem to have to allow myself to go abouttheir making in a somewhat different manner. Part of this is perhaps that I am very much more aware that what I’vedone in one part of the painting is having a rather direct effect on all otherparts of the painting. In a larger pieceon the other hand, I can allow for spatial disconnects to be a more evidentpart of the work; something that I want all of my work to possess. When I read a current art magazine I oftenthink, “I’m so out of the conversations about art, so irrelevant” and yet, whatcan I do, I just have to do the things that I have to do. I must say too, in all honesty, I am terriblewith the art business part of being an artist; I don’t like contacting galleries,etc. and, truth be told, I even hate to see my paintings go when I do sellthem. But of course I do want to sharemy work, to feel that what I’m doing is meaningful not only to me but to othersas well.

Watercolor Collage

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

I experiment withmany different tools, paint mixtures, palettes, you name it. I love to create new brushes for example bytaping an old brush to a long weed tree branch so that when I make a mark orline I am not only standing 3 or 4 feet away from the painting, which affectsnot only how I see and experience what I am doing but my touch, control and soon are dramatically affected as well. Autobody putty knives of various dimensions are great for mark-makingand smooshing paint or scraping away unwanted passages. Gloved fingers and rags of varioustextures can also be used to both applyand remove paint and make marks, lines and shapes. Often such experimentationwill amount to nothing; will be erased and replaced by a more traditional paintingmark. One never knows what is or isn’tgoing to work. With my watercolorcollages I cut up old drawings in whatever shape I want and use the nowinterrupted line or shape to lead me in new directions that may create imagescuffles and face-offs. This is the sameattitude that I use to propel my paintings toward the unknowable as well.

Night journey, 2010, oil on panel, 12 x 16"

What does the future hold for this work?

Because my practiceinvites adventure, the challenge as Beckett would have it to “fail, fail again,fail better” I must keep going off the trail to see what I may find, andperhaps even who I am. It is personaland real for me and so I feel that it may reach out and ask the viewer toexperience its playfulness as well as its challenges.

Is there anything else you would like toadd?

Henry Miller once said: “without puns andpuzzles there is no serious art, that is to say there is nothing but seriousart.” I want my work to be unabashedlypleasure giving, to be fun, irreverent, playful, filled with psychic spills,lot’s of oops, slips and anything else that gets me to some place I’ve not yetbeen.

KATIE BELL

2011-10-17T00:49:00.000-07:00

MarbleMountain, 38.5 x 51.5",

Acrylic and vinyl on stretchedfabric, 2011

What are you working on in your studio right now?

Recently I just moved to a new studio, so I ambeginning a number of projects. I amworking on a series of small paintings on plaster, tablet-like panels. I view these paintings as a testingsite. I am thinking about ideas andcombinations of material through them. In addition to the smaller works, I have started a large wallinstallation that combines a number of materials in a woven-like structure thathangs off the wall. I don’t know wherethis project is going yet, but it is starting to form organically- reacting toeach section that came before it. Besides these planned projects I am also making miscellaneous studies-drawings, small sculptures, and collage. Today I have this idea to make a fish tank with no fish, more of aviewing tank for material. That is asfar as I have gotten, but we will see where it goes. The fake material of fish tanks interests me-the fake wood, rocks, and plants that make up the environment. I find it strangely similar to the fakematerials that we surround ourselves with in homes- linoleum, vinyl, syntheticsthat are supposed to be stand-ins for the actual.

Brooklyn studio part of the Marie Walsh Sharpe

Art Foundation’s Space Program

Can you describe your working routine?

My working routine has also recently changeddramatically. I moved to Brooklyn, NewYork and started a new job as well as a studio residency program. I am working during the day as a carouseloperator, so I work in the studio at night. It often takes me a few hours to warm up; I usually just have to meanderaround a while before I get in the zone. I go to the studio almost everyday even if it is for a short time, Ifeel like I just have to check in visually. In terms of how the work progresses, I am always working on smallstudies and the plaster paintings. Thelarger wall installations I usually work on one or two at a time. It is good for me to have a lot of differentthings going so there are various types of activities. This way when I come to the studio there isalways something I can do depending on if I feel like sitting on the floorworking on something small versus climbing on a ladder and drilling somethinginto the wall.

TheRemnants,7 x 11ft, Acrylic, wood, carpet, plaster,

andwindow blinds on wall, 2011

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

My studio space is very important to mywork. I have a lot of stuff that Isurround myself with when I am working, so it is crucial for me to make thespace feel like home. My studio has alarge pile of material in it that is the source of all of my work. The stuff in the pile is like my pallet, abatch of raw material that is a source of inspiration as well as the actualstuff that goes into the work. The piledictates how my studio is set up because it is kept separate from where thework is made. Material gets extractedfrom the pile, and then it is taken away form the pile to be furtherexamined. I have 2 walls in my studiothat I make large wall installations on and then the other walls I hang upsmaller work as well as drawings and studies. While I work there is always music on- allkinds of music, but always loud.

paintingson plaster tablets

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

Things evolve in various ways for me. The initial base is that I am always lookingfor new material for my pile. Thematerial is found, bought, parts, pieces, bits, old, and new. There is no criteria except for material thatinterests me and that I want to look at further. Most of the time the material stays in thepile a long time before it goes into a piece. So, my process begins with this pile of stuff. I often take something from the pile I wantto work with and then begin to make drawings. Once I have some sort of idea, I being to construct. Most of the time the piece rarely sticks toany sort of plan, it changes dramatically throughout the process.

What are you having the most trouble resolving?

I have an interest in incorporating knittedfabric into my work. I make a lot ofknit fabric on a knitting machine and haven’t yet figured out a way toincorporate that language into my work. Right now, the knitted work stays very separate from my other work. So, I hope eventually to figure out a way totie it into the work in a way that makes sense.

TheSamples (Installation View)

Dimensions vary, Plaster, acrylic, and foam, 2010

Sample2, 13 x 18", Plaster, foam, and acrylic, 2010

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

I experiment with different materials often;really every piece is a new experiment. The parameters I see in the work are its relationship to the wall. I am interested in how the work relates tothe 2D world of painting. Even though mywork is very sculptural, I see the work in a stage-like viewing space where theviewer is coming at the work from a specific direction rather than the workbeing seen in the round.

What does the future hold for this work?

The future of the work is very unknown tome. I think this year living in Brooklynis going to really influence my work in new ways not yet known to me. I suspect that the work will continue toexplore the boundaries between painting and sculpture as well as my interest inhome building materials relating to abstract painting. I see my work having everything to do withabstract painting except the paint and stretcher bars. I hope to explore this idea more.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

Ijust want to say thank you for this interview, it was fun talking with youabout my work and process.

TheBurial (Installation View) Dimensions Variable, 2011