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How did you grow up and what were your first steps to becoming an artist?
I was born in Erie PA and moved to south Florida when I was a kid. I grew up in a golf community filled with old people and their parents, Needless to say, there were hardly any kids around. So I spent most of my time drawing. Since I was a little kid I always drew faces. They were cartoons of course and they always had big eyes. When I was around 14 I discovered Patrick Nagel. He was the artist from the 80’s that did the cover of that Duran Duran album Rio. I loved to copy his drawings. I guess somewhere deep down that stuck with me, and now the subject matter just seems natural. That continued through middle school and high school. I was known as, “the artist.” Whenever the school needed a poster, or a playbill I was the one that got asked to do it. In fact my senior year of high school consisted of English, Economics, and 4 art classes, so it only seemed natural to continue my education in art. I went to Ringling School of Art and Design from 1990-94. But, I seriously started painting only a few years ago. In 2006 I had my first solo show at The Peacock Room in Orlando, FL. I think I had about 17 paintings done for that show. I was still experimenting with materials and paint. Trying to figure out how I was going to work with oils, and what subjects I was going to tackle. I was still developing a solid idea of which direction I wanted my style to go. For that first year, I pretty much tried not to pay attention to any other artists. I’ve never been one that collected art, or went to art shows, or spent any time in an “art scene” so I didn’t really know what was out there. I just painted what I thought would be fun, and what felt right. Later, as I began to do the business of finding galleries to show in I came across some great artists that still inspire me to do better. I love the technical skill of Sas Christian, and the atmosphere of emotion created by Lori Early.
What is your process?
My paintings usually start with a color idea, along with an emotive concept. I start with a drawing on a white panel. I build up oil glazes that are very thin. After each glaze the painting gets sprayed with a layer of clear acrylic. I’ll apply around 40 glazes until the painting is complete. I build all of my own frames, and paint them in a similar technique. Almost always, at around layer 25, I feel like I ruined the whole painting; that I messed it up. Then around layer 30 it magically comes together almost finished. I don’t really know how that happens.
What inspires you?
I’m inspired by the littlest of things. I’ll notice lighting in a movie, or a haircut in a magazine. I’m always looking for color combinations. The main influence for the next painting is the painting I'm working on at the moment. I'll mix a color, or see a shadow, and say I want to try that next. Sometimes I have an idea and I just file it away in the back of my brain as if I'm not ready for that idea yet. When it’s time the idea kind of bubbles back to the top on its own.
How would you describe the mood and feel of your characters-women and your art?
There is definitely a somber tone to many of the pieces. I think that the color choices add a lot to the mood that I’m trying to create. Everything really evolves throughout the painting process. When the feeling/mood starts to change I go with it instead of trying to force it back to the original idea. I always start with a finished painting in my head though. It gives me something to shoot for.
Most of your characters look sad. Must be the eyes. Why is that? Who are these women?
I like painting women the most. There’s a sense of fragile confidence, and a range of other emotions right behind their eyes that I love to play with. I try to create a back-story in my head of how these people got to this place. It’s like a snap-shot in time. I like to play with the idea of isolation.
What's the story behind the "With This Clattering And Din I Am Calling You, Come On Darkness"?
This is a newer piece. I like this concept, and I’ve been playing with it for years. While I’m painting I ask myself a bunch of questions, trying not to specifically answer any of them. As the story goes in my head, “Is it a party, a carnival, a ceremony at dusk? You can’t quite see what’s going on behind those trees. Is she escaping that place, or protecting it?” I try to keep all of the questions in play. It’s like trying to keep a bunch of balloons in the air not letting any of them touch the ground. I ask myself different questions with every piece. I feel it lets the viewer create their own visceral narrative.
Does music play any role in your art?
I love a few bands so much that it’s really hard to explain. My biggest influence is a band called Neutral Milk Hotel; simply the best words ever. They paint these amazing pictures in your head. This is an example from a song called Oh Comely, “The music and medicine you needed for comforting. So make all your fat fleshy fingers to moving, And pluck all your silly strings, bend all your notes for me. Soft silly music is meaningful magical, The movements were beautiful, all in your ovaries. All of them milking with green fleshy flowers, While powerful pistons were sugary sweet machines”. I use a lot of lyrics in my titles. I also love Camper Van Beethoven and Built to Spill. It’s almost like these band’s songs are my closest friends.
What would you do if you weren't an artist?
I started out as an artist, in fact my parents actually pushed me into going to art school. When I finished I was totally burnt out. I left it behind and did all kinds of other stuff. I had a production company called “Eat Cake Productions” and directed a bunch of original plays. I also directed a 16mm film called “Five Miles From Heaven” that we ran the festival circuit with. I loved doing all of those things. That is probably what I would do. I guess I like telling stories. The great thing about painting though is that there is no compromising your ideas. I guess I’m kind of a control freak.
Do you have a favorite piece of your work?
That’s a hard one. It’s like, “Which one of your children do you love the most?” I love them all for different reasons, even the red headed stepchildren. I usually like whichever one I’m working on at the time, then I hate it, then I like it again, and then after a while indifferent. I paint each one trying to reach an indescribable feeling inside. It’s like taking a drug always trying to capture that perfect high again… or it could just be the paint fumes.
I hope this week brings you many moments of happiness and wisdom and if not, at least a brief slice of inner peace in such a busy and fast paced world....
your friend, Justin
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