March 2011 • Milwaukee, Wisconsin
This month I had the opportunity to interview Tim Nyberg, exhibiting artist at Caggio for March/April. His show opens today (March 25th - April 25th). In this candid interview with the prolific Door County-based artist, I got a fascinating behind the scenes look into Nyberg's background, thought-process and artistic journey. Nyberg's perspective-- distinct, no-nonsense and always humorous-- is sure to charm readers and gallery visitors alike.
Q: Is this your first time exhibiting at Caggio?
Yes, and first time exhibiting in Milwaukee. I was pleased to discover Caggio prior to a gallery night last year - unfortunately, our trip was cut short due to the massive sink hole-producing storm and we were never able to attend - just look through the windows. I contacted Joe and Kaitlin and they were able to visit my gallery in Door County. They looked around and invited me to exhibit at Caggio.
Q: Is there an overarching theme behind this body of work?
As with my illustration work and with my writing (I've written/co-written 27 humor books to date), my bent has always been towards humor. Even in my abstracts and non-objective work you can see elements of whimsy in my color palette and in my use of shape and line.
My attitude while painting is always one of fearless experimentation. Acrylics are very forgiving - you can repaint within minutes - and the paint overs of "failed" paintings always provide a rich underpainting/more interesting canvas for new works.
I guess you might say that the theme is "exploration" as that's pretty much what I'm doing every time I pick up the brush.
Q: Are you from Wisconsin originally? You seem to prefer rural landscapes. In regard to Lake Michigan is there a story there? It's an iconic and powerful piece; Talk a little about your connection to or feelings about Lake Michigan.
I'm from the Twin Cities, Minnesota. My wife, Julie, is from Door County. I've been traveling with her and our family to Door County since 1975. The landscapes traveling across Wisconsin - tree lines against stark white snow fields or rural farmlands have always caught my eye - as have the barns (which I have usually preferred to capture in my photography rather than in paint). When I started to focus on panting (about six years ago) I began seeing all of these vistas as wonderful compositions. My landscapes try to capture the essence of what I've seen - albeit in an impressionistic, sometimes cartoony, manner.
Being from Minnesota, I'm quite familiar with bodies of water, but none is so impressive as Lake Michigan… I'm again drawn to the large planes of color and texture provided by the water, waves, beach grasses, and ever-changing skies.
Q: What is the significance of the lone structure oftentimes present in your landscape paintings?
As with my interest in the barns, or "quiet giants" as I refer to them in my photography, I love the simple geometric shapes and large flat planes. The contrast of these juxtaposed against the organic shapes and texture of trees, fields and skies is visually interesting to me.
Q: You're based in Door County, Wisconsin, but making a move to Minnesota soon. How will this move impact the evolution of your landscape paintings?
Well, we won't be moving until our house sells (anyone want a really cool house in Door County?), but the area to which we are planning to move is scenic and historic Stillwater, MN - right across the St. Croix River from Wisconsin. So, it's minutes from the rural landscapes that feed my artist's soul. Also, being near the Twin Cities (chock full of creative energy and a vibrant arts community), I'll have more opportunities to rub shoulders with other artists of my ilk. Door County has a lot of artists, but my type of art is almost taboo in this land of lighthouse paintings (I have done one) and watercolor artists.
Q: How has your successful commercial career influenced your fine art? Any surprises there? You approach painting and build compositions with a designer's eye. Shaken Not Stirred being one example. You bring together styling, composition and a unified palette in a way that is understandable and highly marketable.
I've been a commercial illustrator and graphic designer for over 35 years (Yeah, I'm that old.). When I began painting again with our move to Door County in 2005, I was interested in blurring the line between commercial and fine art. I've always contended that there is no difference other than this: In commercial art someone is telling you what to interpret and when it is "done" to an acceptable level. It's been very freeing to be able to call all my own shots.
Composition-wise, I don't have to create areas for headline or text as I often would with illustrations, so I'm free to build compositions that "just feel right". I really don't plan ahead - what goes where and why - I'm kind of a seat-of-the-pants artist. I've had other artists explain what I'm doing compositionally in gallery talks - and funny, it's all news to me. I'm not a fine artist by training. I guess I just build compositions "correctly" intuitively.
Some of my recent works, such as the "Shaken Not Stirred" you mentioned, were created specifically as a series (in this case, "Bistro Beverages") for use as greeting cards, prints, and as licensed art (for use on merchandise). They all pick up on the style and techniques that I've developed in the past five or six years experimenting with acrylic on canvas. It's definitely (and obviously) a return to commercial art, but I feel they still stand on their own as fine art, or (as I prefer to label them), "fun art" paintings as well.
I suppose being a commercial artist, I am a bit more attuned to creating for the consumer. Yet, I create art that first satisfies me, my sensibilities and is pleasing to my eye. A piece is "done" when I think it's done and I like what I see. Hopefully there are others who will appreciate what I like as well. Having had a gallery has allowed me to witness peoples' responses to various pieces and then adjust my work accordingly.
Q: Do you find tension between the discipline inherent in design, and the freedom attained in painting? How do you reconcile these two worlds?
I believe that my work in design and illustration undergirds my sensibilities as a fine artist (Did I mention that I hate the term "fine art?"). I mentioned above that I appreciate the freedoms to explore that painting has allowed me. If there is any "tension" per se, it may be self-imposed: Attempting to create art appropriate for licensing and also with integrity as a stand-alone art piece - I don't think they have to be mutually exclusive.
Q: You've stated that you will probably never settle on just one style, or one subject matter. Can you talk about your journey as an artist, and how certain time periods in art history have meaning for you and have influenced your work? I see particular influences in your work-- from Cubism, to Color Field, to Abstract Expressionism. Artists that come to my mind are Picasso, Rothko, and Kandinsky.
It's been SO long since college art history classes, and I've never really hung out in the fine art realm. Certainly there are influences of other artists in my work… How can there not be? I believe that EVERYTHING that enters our mind is stored away and may manifest itself at a later time. For instance: When I first started painting, I was not familiar with the artist Modigliani. When I saw his art on a calendar, I noticed the resemblance to what I was doing. So, I researched his work and did studies of his compositions. It helped pull me away from the cartoon-like images that I was doing. While Modigliani-esque influences still may show up in my current figurative work, my portraits no longer resemble Modigliani's people at all.
Q: Marsh has a Rothko-like transcendent quality, reminiscent of Color Field painting. Anything you'd like to share about this piece?
I like Rothko's color fields - they remind me of the simple land/sky relationships in the rural farmlands. So, once again, I started exploring in a Rothko-esque direction. Every exploration helped me become more familiar with my medium (mostly acrylic on canvas).
Q: Your work has been described as "whimsical" and "thought-provoking." You talk about your painting's emotive qualities reflecting life. What is the unifying theme present in your paintings?
Every piece of art should elicit some emotion in the viewer. When I began painting I chose themes to paint to, many of which would have been successful as editorial art (therefore thought-provoking). Other pieces had a definite whimsy to them and were painted specifically to make the viewer happy. Now, with a firm grasp of the medium, I don't usually set out thinking, "I'm going to paint happy, pensive, angry…." The paintings just kind of evolve before my eyes and seem to create themselves. I'll often paint to music (both canned and live) interpreting what I'm hearing. When I listen to music, I see colors and textures in the notes and in the tunes. These music-inspired pieces often result in abstracts/non-objective paintings. If there are lyrics involved, an objective image may appear.
Q: Is there a particular painting in this body of work that you feel best defines this theme?
I certainly have favorite pieces and am always kind of sad when they sell. It feels like giving away my baby (for this reason, I call my customers "adoptive parents"). But, I think my work is best understood when viewed as a mishmash collection, from faces to landscapes, abstracts to objective art. It's in looking at a cross-section that you will see how they all work together, compliment each other and build off of each other. I'm hoping that the Caggio show will include enough variety to give the viewer the opportunity to observe how they all relate.
Q: This collection of work focuses on landscapes, objective work-- with emphasis on wine and beverages-- and portraiture. Many pieces from Bistro Beverages are included. Can you talk about what led you to pursue the Beverages series?
We all have an affinity for our favorite beverages. From a glass of wine to a hot espresso - they help us relax and make us feel good. The Bistro Beverages were created as a series from the get-go. In my gallery in Door County wine prints and originals have always sold well, so I embarked on other beverages. I had in mind that I would license the images some day for merchandise and mass-market prints, which I am now doing through MHS Licensing in Minneapolis. I try to evoke a mood in each that reflects the drink being pictured. So, through these, I've made the full-circle trip from illustrator (commercial artist) to fine artist and back to commercial work. Hopefully I've blurred the line successfully.
Q: In each category of your art, there is a distinct mood. Can you talk specifically about your landscapes? Blue House Gold Field expresses a dreamlike simplicity; your landscapes in particular strike me to be layered with emotion and meaning.
"Blue House Gold Field" was an earlier piece. It's really simple because that's how I was painting then. It has Rothko-like fields of color and a simple geometric shape representing the house - no windows or doors. It does have some painterly qualities in the brushwork. I've always been a fan of texture in my work, usually achieved by pencil or pen scribbles or fingernail scratchings in the paint.
My current landscapes are much more complex in their construction, often with stylized tree shapes, scratched lines, graphite arches, and spritzes of Windex creating smears and pitting in the painting's surface.
I love the serendipity of spraying down a painting with Windex (or other not-so toxic green cleaner) at various stages of dryness. I let it sit, pit and/or drip for a moment and then wipe it with a terrycloth towel. Sometimes it ruins what I've created, but generally makes the painting much more interesting in the long run.
Q: One of your techniques involves "paint overs", or painting over existing pieces. How did this come about and did any of the pieces in this collection begin this way?
Happens all the time. I've got over 300 paintings around me at any given moment. It stands to reason that as I evolve in my art, I'll look at older work and not think that much of it any longer. Or, I'll like the composition and the subject matter, but no longer the style, so I'll update the painting incorporating my current (ever-evolving) techniques.
The underpainting usually shows through in little shapes of color left intentionally, or scratches that reveal the previous work. It's intriguing to me to see previous iterations, previous lives in a painting. This "ghosting" reveals a previous life. I think when you study people carefully, you can see these same complexities. It's what makes us multi-dimensional, interesting beings - each different from the other.
Q: In terms of pace, how do you approach painting-- coming from a deadline driven commercial background?
Working as an illustrator, I always have deadlines. Ad agencies are notorious for needing stuff yesterday. But, that suits me fine. I'm not one to sit on projects. In most of my commercial projects (whether design or illustration) I'm fueled by the creative surge at the beginning of the project and very quickly find myself bored and just going through the steps necessary to get the piece finished. I like the beginning and seeing the end results. In painting, the whole experience is more satisfying as the painting seems to build itself before me. But, I still work quickly - using acrylic allows this. I seldom spend more than three hours on a painting (unless I have returned to it to tweak it - or to rework it entirely).
When I paint to live jazz, I can do a painting in time to the music and create what closely will resemble the final piece in as little as ten to fifteen minutes - even working large (up to 42" usually). After the event I will revisit the piece and keep what is good and bring the rest of the painting up to that level - making it more of a finished composition. And, being a cheapskate, I seldom waste paint on the palette. If there's any paint left, out comes a new canvas and the palette remnants become the underpainting for a new piece.
Q: Talk a little about your process. Do you work from photos? Set up your own still lifes? Go on location? Paint from models? Recall memories or dreams?
I've worked from one photo - a photo of my wife's grandpa and his first bus - a 1927 seven-passenger Hudson. But generally, everything comes from either my imagination or just pops out of the brush. Any "photos" that I might use are just images imprinted on my mind through living life constantly observing everything around me. I rarely sketch on the canvas prior to painting. I just have at it with a brush full of paint and hope for the best. Again, acrylic is quite forgiving.
Q: How has your process changed or benefited from sophisticated technology available?
The more recent illustration work that I've done (since the early 1990s) has all been on the computer using Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop and Painter (for a more natural media look). This has been important not only for the styles desired, but the ability to go directly to print (no photos, scans, negatives, etc.). My paintings have been a step "backwards" from that. To get paintings into print, I must photograph them (most are too large to scan) and tweak them in Photoshop prior to printing or incorporation into designed materials (books, magazines, postcards, etc.). I shoot with a Nikon D5000 which gives me good enough quality to get up to a 48" giclée print.
Q: What other creative outlets inspire you? You are known to paint to live jazz music; if you could talk about how this began, and if there is any connection between this genre of music and certain periods in art history that interest you.
I've always loved music - from Mozart to Moby - from Miles Davis to Steely Dan (notice the absence of Country Western). I love to work to music and write to music. When writing, I need instrumental-only as lyrics tend to jumble up my thought process. Our kids are talented jazz musicians and my wife, and I have a lot of friends who are musicians. Painting to live jazz started as an event designed to draw people into the gallery. It worked very well. Kind of performance art for the customers, and inspirational fun for the musicians and for myself. The creative energy was astounding. If a musician was particularly good at improvisation, they'd start improvising on my painting. I likened it to a dance we were doing together - each taking turns leading.
I don't necessarily pay attention to periods of art or music history. I just create based on what's happening around me, what I'm feeling at the time. I suppose you could say I like "letting the Spirit move me."
Q: What direction do you see your fine art going?
I don't know where I'm going - ever. I just get an idea and move forward with it until a new idea comes along - or until I become bored with what I'm doing. That's a perk of being self-employed.
Q: How would you define inspiration versus aspiration?
Inspiration fuels the moment and aspiration is what pulls me into the future. I'll never believe that I've "arrived." We are hopefully always learning, always evolving. [How's that?]
Q: Is this your first time exhibiting at Caggio?
Yes, and first time exhibiting in Milwaukee. I was pleased to discover Caggio prior to a gallery night last year - unfortunately, our trip was cut short due to the massive sink hole-producing storm and we were never able to attend - just look through the windows. I contacted Joe and Kaitlin and they were able to visit my gallery in Door County. They looked around and invited me to exhibit at Caggio.
Q: Is there an overarching theme behind this body of work?
As with my illustration work and with my writing (I've written/co-written 27 humor books to date), my bent has always been towards humor. Even in my abstracts and non-objective work you can see elements of whimsy in my color palette and in my use of shape and line.
My attitude while painting is always one of fearless experimentation. Acrylics are very forgiving - you can repaint within minutes - and the paint overs of "failed" paintings always provide a rich underpainting/more interesting canvas for new works.
I guess you might say that the theme is "exploration" as that's pretty much what I'm doing every time I pick up the brush.
Q: Are you from Wisconsin originally? You seem to prefer rural landscapes. In regard to Lake Michigan is there a story there? It's an iconic and powerful piece; Talk a little about your connection to or feelings about Lake Michigan.
I'm from the Twin Cities, Minnesota. My wife, Julie, is from Door County. I've been traveling with her and our family to Door County since 1975. The landscapes traveling across Wisconsin - tree lines against stark white snow fields or rural farmlands have always caught my eye - as have the barns (which I have usually preferred to capture in my photography rather than in paint). When I started to focus on panting (about six years ago) I began seeing all of these vistas as wonderful compositions. My landscapes try to capture the essence of what I've seen - albeit in an impressionistic, sometimes cartoony, manner.
Being from Minnesota, I'm quite familiar with bodies of water, but none is so impressive as Lake Michigan… I'm again drawn to the large planes of color and texture provided by the water, waves, beach grasses, and ever-changing skies.
Q: What is the significance of the lone structure oftentimes present in your landscape paintings?
As with my interest in the barns, or "quiet giants" as I refer to them in my photography, I love the simple geometric shapes and large flat planes. The contrast of these juxtaposed against the organic shapes and texture of trees, fields and skies is visually interesting to me.
Q: You're based in Door County, Wisconsin, but making a move to Minnesota soon. How will this move impact the evolution of your landscape paintings?
Well, we won't be moving until our house sells (anyone want a really cool house in Door County?), but the area to which we are planning to move is scenic and historic Stillwater, MN - right across the St. Croix River from Wisconsin. So, it's minutes from the rural landscapes that feed my artist's soul. Also, being near the Twin Cities (chock full of creative energy and a vibrant arts community), I'll have more opportunities to rub shoulders with other artists of my ilk. Door County has a lot of artists, but my type of art is almost taboo in this land of lighthouse paintings (I have done one) and watercolor artists.
Q: How has your successful commercial career influenced your fine art? Any surprises there? You approach painting and build compositions with a designer's eye. Shaken Not Stirred being one example. You bring together styling, composition and a unified palette in a way that is understandable and highly marketable.
I've been a commercial illustrator and graphic designer for over 35 years (Yeah, I'm that old.). When I began painting again with our move to Door County in 2005, I was interested in blurring the line between commercial and fine art. I've always contended that there is no difference other than this: In commercial art someone is telling you what to interpret and when it is "done" to an acceptable level. It's been very freeing to be able to call all my own shots.
Composition-wise, I don't have to create areas for headline or text as I often would with illustrations, so I'm free to build compositions that "just feel right". I really don't plan ahead - what goes where and why - I'm kind of a seat-of-the-pants artist. I've had other artists explain what I'm doing compositionally in gallery talks - and funny, it's all news to me. I'm not a fine artist by training. I guess I just build compositions "correctly" intuitively.
Some of my recent works, such as the "Shaken Not Stirred" you mentioned, were created specifically as a series (in this case, "Bistro Beverages") for use as greeting cards, prints, and as licensed art (for use on merchandise). They all pick up on the style and techniques that I've developed in the past five or six years experimenting with acrylic on canvas. It's definitely (and obviously) a return to commercial art, but I feel they still stand on their own as fine art, or (as I prefer to label them), "fun art" paintings as well.
I suppose being a commercial artist, I am a bit more attuned to creating for the consumer. Yet, I create art that first satisfies me, my sensibilities and is pleasing to my eye. A piece is "done" when I think it's done and I like what I see. Hopefully there are others who will appreciate what I like as well. Having had a gallery has allowed me to witness peoples' responses to various pieces and then adjust my work accordingly.
Q: Do you find tension between the discipline inherent in design, and the freedom attained in painting? How do you reconcile these two worlds?
I believe that my work in design and illustration undergirds my sensibilities as a fine artist (Did I mention that I hate the term "fine art?"). I mentioned above that I appreciate the freedoms to explore that painting has allowed me. If there is any "tension" per se, it may be self-imposed: Attempting to create art appropriate for licensing and also with integrity as a stand-alone art piece - I don't think they have to be mutually exclusive.
Q: You've stated that you will probably never settle on just one style, or one subject matter. Can you talk about your journey as an artist, and how certain time periods in art history have meaning for you and have influenced your work? I see particular influences in your work-- from Cubism, to Color Field, to Abstract Expressionism. Artists that come to my mind are Picasso, Rothko, and Kandinsky.
It's been SO long since college art history classes, and I've never really hung out in the fine art realm. Certainly there are influences of other artists in my work… How can there not be? I believe that EVERYTHING that enters our mind is stored away and may manifest itself at a later time. For instance: When I first started painting, I was not familiar with the artist Modigliani. When I saw his art on a calendar, I noticed the resemblance to what I was doing. So, I researched his work and did studies of his compositions. It helped pull me away from the cartoon-like images that I was doing. While Modigliani-esque influences still may show up in my current figurative work, my portraits no longer resemble Modigliani's people at all.
Q: Marsh has a Rothko-like transcendent quality, reminiscent of Color Field painting. Anything you'd like to share about this piece?
I like Rothko's color fields - they remind me of the simple land/sky relationships in the rural farmlands. So, once again, I started exploring in a Rothko-esque direction. Every exploration helped me become more familiar with my medium (mostly acrylic on canvas).
Q: Your work has been described as "whimsical" and "thought-provoking." You talk about your painting's emotive qualities reflecting life. What is the unifying theme present in your paintings?
Every piece of art should elicit some emotion in the viewer. When I began painting I chose themes to paint to, many of which would have been successful as editorial art (therefore thought-provoking). Other pieces had a definite whimsy to them and were painted specifically to make the viewer happy. Now, with a firm grasp of the medium, I don't usually set out thinking, "I'm going to paint happy, pensive, angry…." The paintings just kind of evolve before my eyes and seem to create themselves. I'll often paint to music (both canned and live) interpreting what I'm hearing. When I listen to music, I see colors and textures in the notes and in the tunes. These music-inspired pieces often result in abstracts/non-objective paintings. If there are lyrics involved, an objective image may appear.
Q: Is there a particular painting in this body of work that you feel best defines this theme?
I certainly have favorite pieces and am always kind of sad when they sell. It feels like giving away my baby (for this reason, I call my customers "adoptive parents"). But, I think my work is best understood when viewed as a mishmash collection, from faces to landscapes, abstracts to objective art. It's in looking at a cross-section that you will see how they all work together, compliment each other and build off of each other. I'm hoping that the Caggio show will include enough variety to give the viewer the opportunity to observe how they all relate.
Q: This collection of work focuses on landscapes, objective work-- with emphasis on wine and beverages-- and portraiture. Many pieces from Bistro Beverages are included. Can you talk about what led you to pursue the Beverages series?
We all have an affinity for our favorite beverages. From a glass of wine to a hot espresso - they help us relax and make us feel good. The Bistro Beverages were created as a series from the get-go. In my gallery in Door County wine prints and originals have always sold well, so I embarked on other beverages. I had in mind that I would license the images some day for merchandise and mass-market prints, which I am now doing through MHS Licensing in Minneapolis. I try to evoke a mood in each that reflects the drink being pictured. So, through these, I've made the full-circle trip from illustrator (commercial artist) to fine artist and back to commercial work. Hopefully I've blurred the line successfully.
Q: In each category of your art, there is a distinct mood. Can you talk specifically about your landscapes? Blue House Gold Field expresses a dreamlike simplicity; your landscapes in particular strike me to be layered with emotion and meaning.
"Blue House Gold Field" was an earlier piece. It's really simple because that's how I was painting then. It has Rothko-like fields of color and a simple geometric shape representing the house - no windows or doors. It does have some painterly qualities in the brushwork. I've always been a fan of texture in my work, usually achieved by pencil or pen scribbles or fingernail scratchings in the paint.
My current landscapes are much more complex in their construction, often with stylized tree shapes, scratched lines, graphite arches, and spritzes of Windex creating smears and pitting in the painting's surface.
I love the serendipity of spraying down a painting with Windex (or other not-so toxic green cleaner) at various stages of dryness. I let it sit, pit and/or drip for a moment and then wipe it with a terrycloth towel. Sometimes it ruins what I've created, but generally makes the painting much more interesting in the long run.
Q: One of your techniques involves "paint overs", or painting over existing pieces. How did this come about and did any of the pieces in this collection begin this way?
Happens all the time. I've got over 300 paintings around me at any given moment. It stands to reason that as I evolve in my art, I'll look at older work and not think that much of it any longer. Or, I'll like the composition and the subject matter, but no longer the style, so I'll update the painting incorporating my current (ever-evolving) techniques.
The underpainting usually shows through in little shapes of color left intentionally, or scratches that reveal the previous work. It's intriguing to me to see previous iterations, previous lives in a painting. This "ghosting" reveals a previous life. I think when you study people carefully, you can see these same complexities. It's what makes us multi-dimensional, interesting beings - each different from the other.
Q: In terms of pace, how do you approach painting-- coming from a deadline driven commercial background?
Working as an illustrator, I always have deadlines. Ad agencies are notorious for needing stuff yesterday. But, that suits me fine. I'm not one to sit on projects. In most of my commercial projects (whether design or illustration) I'm fueled by the creative surge at the beginning of the project and very quickly find myself bored and just going through the steps necessary to get the piece finished. I like the beginning and seeing the end results. In painting, the whole experience is more satisfying as the painting seems to build itself before me. But, I still work quickly - using acrylic allows this. I seldom spend more than three hours on a painting (unless I have returned to it to tweak it - or to rework it entirely).
When I paint to live jazz, I can do a painting in time to the music and create what closely will resemble the final piece in as little as ten to fifteen minutes - even working large (up to 42" usually). After the event I will revisit the piece and keep what is good and bring the rest of the painting up to that level - making it more of a finished composition. And, being a cheapskate, I seldom waste paint on the palette. If there's any paint left, out comes a new canvas and the palette remnants become the underpainting for a new piece.
Q: Talk a little about your process. Do you work from photos? Set up your own still lifes? Go on location? Paint from models? Recall memories or dreams?
I've worked from one photo - a photo of my wife's grandpa and his first bus - a 1927 seven-passenger Hudson. But generally, everything comes from either my imagination or just pops out of the brush. Any "photos" that I might use are just images imprinted on my mind through living life constantly observing everything around me. I rarely sketch on the canvas prior to painting. I just have at it with a brush full of paint and hope for the best. Again, acrylic is quite forgiving.
Q: How has your process changed or benefited from sophisticated technology available?
The more recent illustration work that I've done (since the early 1990s) has all been on the computer using Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop and Painter (for a more natural media look). This has been important not only for the styles desired, but the ability to go directly to print (no photos, scans, negatives, etc.). My paintings have been a step "backwards" from that. To get paintings into print, I must photograph them (most are too large to scan) and tweak them in Photoshop prior to printing or incorporation into designed materials (books, magazines, postcards, etc.). I shoot with a Nikon D5000 which gives me good enough quality to get up to a 48" giclée print.
Q: What other creative outlets inspire you? You are known to paint to live jazz music; if you could talk about how this began, and if there is any connection between this genre of music and certain periods in art history that interest you.
I've always loved music - from Mozart to Moby - from Miles Davis to Steely Dan (notice the absence of Country Western). I love to work to music and write to music. When writing, I need instrumental-only as lyrics tend to jumble up my thought process. Our kids are talented jazz musicians and my wife, and I have a lot of friends who are musicians. Painting to live jazz started as an event designed to draw people into the gallery. It worked very well. Kind of performance art for the customers, and inspirational fun for the musicians and for myself. The creative energy was astounding. If a musician was particularly good at improvisation, they'd start improvising on my painting. I likened it to a dance we were doing together - each taking turns leading.
I don't necessarily pay attention to periods of art or music history. I just create based on what's happening around me, what I'm feeling at the time. I suppose you could say I like "letting the Spirit move me."
Q: What direction do you see your fine art going?
I don't know where I'm going - ever. I just get an idea and move forward with it until a new idea comes along - or until I become bored with what I'm doing. That's a perk of being self-employed.
Q: How would you define inspiration versus aspiration?
Inspiration fuels the moment and aspiration is what pulls me into the future. I'll never believe that I've "arrived." We are hopefully always learning, always evolving. [How's that?]
