el gato negro | artist interviews: August 2013

Why Artist Interviews?

Because society needs it.
At least I believe so.
I think society desperately needs to be more aware of creativity in general, in all its forms, and to encourage it more in young people.
I also think the world benefits from knowing a little more by glimpsing into the inner creative process of artists, and their way of interpreting things.

Though the word creativity may be broad and can be many things, interpreted in numerous ways, I still think we all know what it is to create, to express.
I often ponder what it is to be an artist - and I think it covers a broad range of things, from dreaming to science to intuition. It's alchemy in motion. I think for something to flourish and move forward one must be willing to accept the flexibility creativity offers. And it is so simple to create, so simple it's become hard for most. Perhaps it's become cliched to say, but to create is to acknowledge the wild child in you, the simplicity of moving through life's shapes and feeling. When you were a child you made up games, perhaps stories and freely expressed yourself. To create is the same thing - it is to play, and to delve deeply into our imaginations; and now that you're older, the imagination must be understood for what it is and the underlying power it carries to transform life. We all have this magic.

I am so passionate about art, the alchemy of creativity, and artist's ways of seeing life that I've somehow had no other choice but to express this passion through some sort of blog with lots of other artists' voices, because I know I'm not alone.
In my mind, I've always envisioned some kind of creative revolution, so much that I can't let it go, or perhaps I should say, it can't let me go. It's haunted me for years, and has a strong hold on me. I've become enamored with it, and I feel I must express this somehow - though it may be more of an idea, a concept, a kind of artistic utopia, it's enough for me to be motivated to fight for this, and to be compelled to express this passion somehow.
This blog is an attempt to fulfill at least a part of that passion, that vision. For the vision is malleable, mercurial, and takes many forms. I only want for people to be inspired in some way.

I think imagination, creative intelligence and creativity are the antidotes to cynicism, existentialism, philistinism, twisted views on life, and emptiness. They are the rain to the garden that must flourish. They are the heralds of the world's Spring.

We must extinguish the cold fire of ignorance, in all its forms.

I think Oscar Wild and Einstein said it best:

- The art does not need to be popular; its the society that needs to become artistic.

- Imagination is more important than knowledge.

So, come join me and those willing to stay inspired?

The Ethereal Elegance of Tokiko Anderson's Art

Ethereal. Subtle. Soft. Warm.

These words come to mind when I view Tokiko Anderson's work. It's like experiencing an embracing kiss, or a soft word, or gentle caress. The warmth Tokiko's work exudes is healing in ways, and speaks to the soul. A comforting feeling glows within each piece, and I can't help feeling a gentle peace flood through me like the turning of the seasons, combined with a lightness and feeling - I can almost hear a violin played in the far distance like a passing emotion every time I contemplate her artwork.

Tokiko's work consists of personal stories, music, and everyday observations captured in simple elegance coupled with a magical, ethereal quality.

She speaks of her life in America, how at age 60 she began to learn to live with the flow thus affecting her art, and how the absence of lines in an artwork creates a vision beyond.

Deep in autumn

Long ago When fishes swam upper river against the current and

the deer rustled leaves deep into the mountain, the nature told us

The fall was deepening and the winter was near.

奥山に紅葉踏み分けなく鹿の声聞くときぞ秋は哀しき。

_________________

What medium do you usually work with?

house

I use watercolor 99% of the time. When it's about done I touch up with acrylic.

How long have you been drawing/painting?

Since I was 8 years old, so about 58 years, but there were times I didn't paint as much.

Tell us about what motivates you to do your art. Your purpose to create the work you create.

The more I learn the deeper it gets. I always wander what defines real art from the scribble. Realism or abstract or ugly art (Munch, Klimt) or simple line drawing, however artists express their world within it had to be attractive, catch attention, interest.

Where do you draw inspiration from?

Things I see in my life everyday. That is waiting to be noticed but never demands attention. Things in the shadow but still wanting to be recognized. They fit me well. I know it isn't the way of life I would advice anyone to live in. But sometimes we all want to break out from the society that demands perfection, competition and progress.

Pick up to three artworks of yours that are the most meaningful/personal to you.

And if that's not lovin' me

It was fascination I know

Mary had a little lamb

Pick one artwork of yours you’d like to talk about more in depth.

"Drop of spring" - it portrays the time snow melts and when turned to puddle remained in the grove like a dew dropped from the heaven.

drop of spring

Your artworks have a very soft, magical aura about them with a lot of feeling. Tell us a little about your creative method or technique in order to achieve this warm look and feel in your art.

At my age(60+) I learned to live with the flow. When I paint I know when the picture fits me, I scrub, add colors and wash off till I feel good about it. See? I don’t take instructions. This had to come naturally but I trust when the time comes. Until then I keep scrubbing and washing repeatedly and let it happen. It used to take 3 weeks to a whole month. Once I let it happen to my satisfaction I can trust myself better.

beautiful blue Danube

River-boat

cherry pink & apple blossom white

Tell us something about you we don’t know, maybe something quirky or awkward or unique ;)

Something you think that makes you who you are.

I married to an African American. Unfortunately the marriage didn't last more than 10 years but when I divorced I decided to stay in US because I wanted to see how this country would overcome the racial problem and this is the country I chose, I learned and experienced how it is like to be poor and single mother and minority in US. But I can say I am an American as much as other Americans and my respect for the African American has unchanged or greater than ever since 1972 when I married and came to this country.

Is there anything you’d like to tell other artists and people reading this? Any words of inspiration to

encourage or stimulate creativity in society?

If you draw the line as a contour it would limit the depth. Without it the artwork would suggest there is another dimension beyond vision. I think that is what leads into the imaginations.

The house appears in my dream

Rose

over the mountain far to travel

山の彼方の空遠く幸い住むと人の言う
ああ我人と、とめ行きて涙さしぐみ返り来ぬ。山の彼方のなお遠く幸い住むと人の言う。

Over the mountains, far to travel, people say,

Happiness dwells,

Alas, and I went, returned in tears,

over the mountains, farther to travel, people say,

Happiness dwells

~ Karl Busse

Lady in the fountain

come dance with me

end of summer

19th avenue circa, 1880s

To view more of Tokiko's work please visit:

redbubble

Flaming Red Trees & Giant Crows: The Art of Glenn Brady

Artists, like the pioneers who break away from conventionality, often feel and know when a turning point in their life inspires them to move in a direction that's different than the established path. It's the problems and obstacles artists encounter that enrich their artistic expression, and the motivation to keep creating beauty that gives them a special place in the world. Glenn Brady reminds me of this, an artist who's fought with his creativity in order to express himself and the world around him. His work is spun from stories, situations and people that have left an impression on him, and his style is self-developed.

I'd rather have his paintings speak to you rather than have myself attempt to describe them as I often find myself not only with bright feelings, but also with mixed, and at times, admittedly, uncomfortable anxious emotions when I view his work - many stories and feelings intertwine in the making of his paintings; I always feel like I'm delving into a strange, rich, soft world.
He says of art:

i'm not really into art…i don't know that much about it…i know all the ’big stars of painting…but it really doesn't interest me like music does….i don't like a lot of the bullshit involved with it so tend to just keep to myself…..goya is superb…german artists from after the first world war….australian artists..

He may keep to himself, but when asked about himself he has a lot to say. He shares with us his passion for music, his experiences growing up, how being rejected from art college didn't affect his artistic expression, and the drunken haze of flowers and fields he often dreams of.

untitled

What medium do you usually work with?

i always use acrylics and pastels..either on pasteboard or canvas..
when i started i couldn't afford canvas so used to paint on calico and even old bed sheets bits of wood and fibro…

How long have you been drawing/painting?

i started when i was about 24..at first i was painting band t-shirts…always liked drawing…i also had a sort of ’wake up call in a way..that my life was just going one way with drinking and nothing else….i had to start now or i would just waste away…

crows, factories and me

Tell us about what motivates you to do your art. Your purpose to create the work you create.

i'm motivated by a few things….one is music…when i was 14 in 1980 i got heavily into punk…and am still in a punk band to this day…everyone i know to this day is from that old scene…the energy and noise of it never gets tiring…..plus i have so many heroes who play music that i wanted to try and reach the joy and passion that i hear in others..into my own work..

i'm also motivated by being self-taught……i was refused entry into art college twice..when i was 16 and at 18…..so a part of me is like ‘well fuck your colleges’…don't need a classroom to be able to ‘feel’….life is college…..
i come from the vast landscape of the Australian suburbs…a place that was half houses…and half factories…..nothing grew there but the same cycle of school, work, marry, drink,die….a slow lingering life full of ‘what if’s’?…………i wanted to escape that…but never can in a way….

morning, May 4th

Where do you draw inspiration from?

everything inspires me…i'm looking out the window at the moment and there's a storm coming..big deep blue clouds over the houses……walking around and watching people…sitting in a bar or on a train and wondering about those around me…..my childhood….adulthood..my time in institutions…..everything is fuel…..everything can be used…
i paint what i see and what i would like to see…like flaming red trees..or giant crows…etc etc….

woman who drinks in the park in the morning

Pick up to three artworks of yours that are the most meaningful/personal to you.

3 artworks…..mm…well last year i painted 161 pieces…and this year up to about 74….
when i'm painting them…the one i'm doing is the most important thing….if its not going well then i become anxious and cant do anything else.
it's like my happiness hangs on the success of every painting that i do….i can't afford to fail….
so when one is done….i feel good about it for about 2 hours…then it fades and i start building another one in my mind…..i'm very critical of myself and many times feel that i never reached the pearl of the idea properly…..

you choose the paintings you want me to discuss..(:

haha! alright then :)

I’m intrigued by your tree paintings. You’ve painted jacaranda trees, summer trees, white blossom trees, banksia… maybe we can discuss your tree paintings :)
Do you paint them because of the uniqueness of each tree, or because you’re personally drawn to paint them?

trees are like birds….in the way that they, for some reason, are very expressive like humans…..a bent over tree will look ‘sad’..like an old man……one in full bloom screams ‘i'm alive’!……..
plus trees are very complicated with branches straight or curling..so many shapes…..so many colours….they grow amongst the concrete of the modern world…defiant without speaking….overcoming the landscape..and dying without a sound…

I’m personally very drawn to the red tree.

I really like the brightness of this piece, the blazing red against the lime green, and the simple child-like feeling I get. Also, could you tell us more about she and me under the tree, and me under the tree?

the red tree…..is something i wish i could see while i'm out wandering around…..instead of just the foliage being bright red..imagine the whole trunk and branches!…..

she and me under the tree

she and me……is about alcohol….my partner…and my own life….i've been drinking since i was 15..at times very heavily..only stopping when i'm in a psychiatric hospital for a period of time……
nothing suppresses and covers your mind and body like alcohol…..it is a rented security blanket……..i still after 30 years don't know how to cope with my depression and anxiety problems….and in a way i've given up trying…
i've woken up in alleyways, parks, backyards and once in a cemetery…..
plus my ’version of heaven would be an endless drunken haze in fields of flowers and trees with animals and music and rolling hills and green and blue lakes…..red rain and blue birds….

me..under the tree

I’ve noticed that in your work as a whole there’s a contrast of uplifting, subtle beauty and depictions of darker moments. What motivates you to express these aspects of life?

expressing dark moments and nice moments is what we all do….mine come out as paintings…others come out at writing and poetry…others with violence and abuse against others…
no one is flat-lining all day long….up and down and round and round we all go……i just forced myself to learn how to put that all down into pictures…..
it's in everyone to create…..we’re just taught not to at a young age by a constant bombardment to the senses with TV, movies, junkfood and worshipping celebrities…the wrong ‘fuel’ for the mind…
there's two worlds..the one that is all around….and the other one….the secret beautiful one…and once you find the door to that place….life becomes like it was in your childhood…beautiful, colourful, and worth living…

sewer nymphs 2

children tumbling down a hill

Tell us something about you we don’t know, maybe something quirky or awkward or unique ;)
Something you think that makes you who you are.

i've been called many things…some really bad…some nice….a sense of humour is something my dad gave me…to not take all this so seriously…to try and relax…
i've done odd, strange things…as my close friends all know….
i'm not into clothes or fashion…i don't like dressing up…or jewelery…i like to look plain and let my mind and mouth show who i am….
my mind leaps around a lot…..and a lot of it bothers me at times…..

Is there anything you’d like to tell other artists and people reading this? Any words of inspiration to encourage or stimulate creativity in society?

to other artists …..remember that you don't have to do things the way that they’ve been set out..there's always ways around everything…..art doesn't have to be new york, paris or berlin…it's where you're at today..the things and people around you…..life doesn't have to be shit job, kids, car, life in the suburbs…
every morning i wake up and wonder if this is the day that i will die…..so i try my best and get something done…..regret is a cancer on the soul…