(standard)INTERVIEW

There is a blog called (standard)INTERVIEW which I like to read from time to time. The blogger always asks the same set of questions. They are simple questions but strike me as what a painter would ask a fellow painter. All the artists chosen are abstract painters of varying degrees of renown. The answers are generally straight forward and stick to practical concerns. I especially like to hear about how other painters spend their time in their studio. Reading how many of them work around full time jobs and still produce good stuff is encouraging as well.

As I am completely unworthy of being selected as an interview subject but am dying to answer the questions, I thought I'd (standard) interview myself. Hey me, go easy on me.

Can you briefly describe what you do?

I make abstract paintings and drawings pulled from my everyday surroundings and put through a long digestive process. I mostly use acrylic paint on canvas but I've been doing a lot of watercolor paintings and ink drawings in the last year. I've also been combining paintings on paper with computer generated images printed using my home inkjet printer.

What drives you to make work?

I would say there are two main things that compel me to create. Since I was a child, I've always felt the need to externalize my reactions to my surroundings. I've found that visual art is the best and most satisfying way to express what I need to express. Also, the control it gives me is something I don't get in any other aspect of my life. In my studio, I am not only able to decide what the solutions should be I am also the one who decides what problems need solving.

Can you tell me something of your day-to-day working practices?

I teach full time so I am relegated to working nights and weekends. I try to go to my studio at least four times a week, mental and physical health permitting. I like to jump back and forth between works that are slower and necessitate pauses, reflection, and a lot of looking and (usually) smaller works that are more spontaneous and immediate so I can turn my brain off and just go. I have quite a bit of down time at my job so I spend time looking at, reading about, and sometimes writing about art via the internet. I live in a small city in Japan and am physically far removed from the contemporary art world so the internet is a viyal link for me. I find after spending all day think about what I'm going to do once I get into my studio it's best to get a few things out of my system as quickly as possible. Sometimes they end up being good works but often it's just a way to get some bad ideas out of the way.

How long have you been working in that way?

Since leaving school and having a workspace of my own. I have always tried to balance the more primal, intuitive work and the more contemplative work. Although, I must admit the results are often better when I don't think too much during the actual making. Maybe I should rethink my approach.

Which artists have had the greatest affect on your work?

I've always admired the playfulness of Paul Klee. Although it's hard to see in my work Ellswoth Kelly is an important influence on the way I think about turning mundane observations into deeper abstract meaning. I had a teacher when I first became interested in art named Michael Smith. He was a huge influence on the way I approach painting and still is. I think we share a lot of natural tendencies toward making art. I was very lucky to have had him as my first painting teacher.

What, outside of visual art, informs your practice?

The three main things, outside of visual art, that occupy my waking thoughts are music, clothes, and sports (boxing, hockey) in that order. They all come to bear on my work. Oh and sex, but that goes without saying, right?

How would you like people to engage with your work?

I would like them to recognize something familiar; something from their personal experience expressed in a surprising way. And to give me money.

Have you seen anything recently that has made an impression?

I went to Art Fair Tokyo and saw almost nothing memorable. Then I went to the Yamatane museum and saw drawings on paper of cherry trees in bloom by Hayami Gyoshu done in the 1920's. Stunning!

Do you have anything exciting on the horizon?

 I am going to Florida in May with my wife.