Edward Walton Wilcox, Eclectix Interview 25

Edward Painting, 2011

“We are spiritual creatures that our lower animal is at constant odds with, or so it seems.”

Twilight Circus - Wilcox

Edward’s art is a spiritual experience, imagery with such luminous light and aura to it that it refuses to be captured in a photograph. His colors are sepias, ambers and the warmest golds of sunsets – against the dark, murky depth of  our world’s underbelly. Seeing his work in person hooked me – classical masterpieces of mood, physics and unearthly delights. Edward is not only a master painter but an accomplished sculptor as well – he shares some of his thoughts here with grateful Eclectix.

“Wilcox uses glazes, paint removers and a sepia palette to construct glossy memento moris such as substance-abusing young blonds and Neutras flambés. Playing off the lurid Gothic Romantic style, Wilcox says his works, like the movement he references, rebuke and seduce…”  from Mindy Farrabee, Los Angeles Times

I Keep the Devil in a Small House Just Outside of Town - Wilcox

My favorite art memory from my childhood is…  My first, most impressionable memory has to be my kindergarten art teacher – Mrs. Tatem demonstrating to me how when painting a portrait you must always begin with the eyes of the subject.  Then you simply fill the surrounding area with the rest of the figure!  I liken that strategy to my fathers equally fascinating advice for carving a wooden Indian.“Simply carve away anything that does not look like an Indian.”

Sleepwalker - Wilcox

 My interest in art/painting started …  It was probably my learning disabilities that led me to an interest in art.  As a small boy, my parents did a stellar job convincing me that I was a genius and that my severe dyslexia and slight autism were signs that my mind worked in special and mysterious ways. I had an acute grasp of creative processes probably due to the fact that by comparison I didn’t understand much else.

Monocle - Wilcox

I am often inspired and motivated by… things I do not understand, by that I mean emotional responses such as fear or dread, love and death, sentamentality and faith.  Concepts that we all experience yet are not always rational.  We are spiritual creatures that our lower animal is at constant odds with or so it seems.

The Tethered Beast - Wilcox

If I could spend the day with any artist (dead or alive) it would be…

 And we would…. Well actually, I already have. When I worked for a gallery on Palm Beach years ago I had the amazing opportunity to spend the day with Robert Raushenberg and John Chamberlin. I will never forget the scene of those two getting high in the back of the Mercedes and playing the harmonica all over town.  Robert had polished off half a bottle of Jack before noon,  he was like the Hemingway of painters.

The Roman Gibbet - Wilcox

 The tip or art technique (a specific tidbit of craft, advice or mechanical expertise) that has helped me the most is …. a lack of fear when approaching a new challenge, knowing that there is no wrong way in art!

Ivory Tower - Wilcox

If I could own one piece of art, out of the world’s collections, it would be …

Brueghel’s Winter, Return From the Hunt (below)

Brueghel

My favorite piece of my own art is… I would probably have to say the ”Adam and Eve Altarpiece”. (below), because…   It was an ambitious work of sculpture that took years of tinkering. The subject matter as well. The perfect metaphor for the plight of humanity. Man’s ability to choose, whether it’s right or wrong, everything has consequences.

Adam and Eve - Wilcox

My ultimate project or fantasy is … to build a totally functional High Gothic wind mill with living quarters.

Man Tinkling - Wilcox

The last song I choose to listen to was… Last Night by Moby

Salome - Wilcox

The last book I couldn’t put down was …. Complete Works of Breughel

The Secret I Keep in the Red River Grows - Wilcox

My favorite word is … Taciturn

Girl from Wiesbaden - Edward Walton Wilcox

I can’t live without … My beautiful Family

Der Blu Hare - Edward Walton Wilcox

 A lot has been written about your style and the vintage patina your works have. What is the best link about the technical process you go thru to attain it?

http://youtu.be/KusZFszRZwc

Laughing Stock - Edward Walton Wilcox

What inspired or led to this “look” to your works? How did it evolve?  My exposure to some of the mansions of Palm Beach as a child was perhaps the beginning of the journey.  Then several trips to Europe followed and sealed the deal.  I site the whole “beauty of decay” thing. Nostalgia, they say, is a denial of the present and its attributes.  Perhaps its a common myth that we all like to share, that the past was somehow better than things are now.  Da Vinci was accused, as I am, of being a bit of an antiquarian, in the sense of making things appear older than they are. I find comfort in the practice somehow.

Edward Walton Wilcox

Upcoming Exhbition: “Guns & Roses” , opens Nov. 12, 2011,  at Fabien Castanier Gallery, Studio City, CA

Edward’s Website Link

Der Sinkken Yacht - Wilcox

LINK to the current Eclectix website – art news & exhibit listings

A Step-by-Step Art Shack From Laurie Hassold, “Bone Hut” Progress Shots

The completed "Bone Hut" sculpture

Laurie Hassold fashions unbelievable assemblage sculptures of organically inspired creatures. She is a wonderfully rare original artist, full of energy and an art professor to boot. To view some previous works exhibited at Eclectix in the AllGurlz show, click here.

Artist Hassold at work on a piece, Credit:The OC Art Blog

Below is a peek at her new work  the “Bone Hut” ( formerly “Fossil Grotto”) and a slideshow of detailed step-by-step shots of it’s evolution. It will be on exhibit in the upcoming Art Shack show in Laguna Beach. Laurie graciously consented to a  little interview with Eclectix.

What materials did you use to create this piece? Bones, steel, resin and clay …

What is your personal vision, the thoughts behind Bone Hut?  There are implications of global warming, post consumerism, and the predatory nature of evolution which resonate as one’s eye meanders through this dwelling. Constructed of remains and human detritus of post-human extinction, the cave seems to be turning into some sort of altar, which may contain an item preserved from the former culture that hints at the appearance of the new occupants. This piece also explores dualities of Dead/Alive, Order/Chaos, Mind/Body. I’ve also started looking at it as an elaborate container for nothingness–obsessive ornamentation as an insecure, compulsive activity to validate one’s own existence. Ironically, all the neurotic layering in my work often ends up feeling incomplete to me–and ultimately the frenetic activity feels more like suffocation and death. This piece has given me new awareness into my process and the underlying motivation for my work, in that I feel the contrast between the empty interior and the overwrought exterior has become the message. It’s like an abandoned husk that once nourished some sort of life, but now stands dormant in a state of mute erosion. Of course, as a “husk” it has potential to become a dwelling for some new life form. In a way, it’s like a painter confronting the void of the white canvas–that limitless potential is as much about creativity and life, as it is about emptiness and death.

The hollow deadness of the thing gives me the same feeling I get when I go to the desert. My favorite spot is a dry lake bed in Anza-Borrego surrounded by the mountains… At full moon the dry cracked mud turns silvery gray and the black silhouettes of the surrounding mountains give you the feeling you’re being watched by some hulking timeless beings while standing in a bowl of moonlit sugar! There is no sound but the wind and if you lay on your back and stare up into the night sky riddled with stars, you start to feel like you are actually leaving your body and dissolving into the environment. For some reason I’ve always dug that feeling–of being insignificant in the face of nature. It transports me and literally incinerates my petty human problems.

Any fun/interesting/frustrating/mishaps/tidbits that occurred while making the piece? I started receiving gifts of little dead things…a dead rat from my cat Ninkie, a dead bird from a student at Orange Coast College, a dead mouse from a student at Santa Ana College, and many beef and pig rib bones from an IVC student who worked at Lucille’s BBQ!  Also–an amazing artist and now friend, Sarah Perry, whose exquisite bone sculptures have been a huge inspiration to me, invited me out to her 5 acre property in the Antelope Valley. When she beguilingly suggested I bring a huge “tub”, I knew I was in for a very interesting day. She had me fill my tub with all sorts of bones from all of the dead animals strewn about her property in various states of decay! While cutting apart and drilling through these bovine leg bones that were to become the “legs” for my piece, I discovered that the decomposition process was not quite complete– which was pretty stinky!

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More on the “Bone Hut”: The installation includes simulated “glow worm drips” like the ones found in Waitomo Cave in New Zealand.  You’ve probably heard about these fascinating critters, but if not, they secrete these gorgeous glowing strands of saliva which suspend from the ceiling of the cave and attract moths.  The moths fly into the strands and get stuck and then are reeled back up to the worms who eat them alive–yummie!  Also…I’ve placed a sort of relic inside the cave which has filigree spider-like legs and sports an adorned human brain.  If the cave was built with fossils from post-human extinction species, it is possible the bones of those species were much larger than human, so the preserved human brain in the center references scale.

The Art Shack exhibit runs June 13th-Oct. 3rd, 2010 at the Laguna Art Museum

Related Links:

The OC Art Blog: Sneak Peak at new artwork- artist Laurie Hassold

EclectixArt: A Look a Laurie Hassold’s Art

A Flicker Set on Art Shacks -

YouTube video of the artists and art at Art Shack.

(This entry was  originally posted on 5/20/10 and transferred here –  as we are discontinuing our other blog site)

Eclectix Interview 1: Cate Rangel’s Moody Seduction

Cate has always been enchanted by the female face and form. In her work, she seeks to capture a certain essence of a woman, whether it be her beauty, youth, vulnerability, sensuality, strength, or any combination of these. Most of her paintings are autobiographical in nature. They are not mirror images of her physical self, but emotional and psychological mirrors. Her inspiration comes from music, lyrics, vintage photographs, art history books, or even something as simple as a fleeting look on someone’s face. Her portraits are drawn from emotion, mood, and personal experience. 

Culinary Curiosities

Can you tell us where you were born and a little history about your childhood?   I was born in Washington, D. C. and lived on the East Coast until the age of 6.  Although we moved when I was quite young, I still have wonderful memories of dogwood, snow, fireflies, salamanders, and the forest that was our backyard.  After moving to Southern California, I spent most of my free time swimming, roller skating, and drawing.  I was constantly doodling faces and experimenting with paint and clay… always creating something and making a mess.  That part never seemed to change!

Faye

Do you create ceramic or sculpture works nowadays?  I dabble in clay and crafts, but it’s not something that I show.  It’s more for fun.

Is there an event or experience that helped form who you are today?  My family, my incredibly patient husband, and being a parent have all had a tremendous amount to do with who I am today.  That and the school of hard knocks.  Surviving some pretty rough patches in my younger years and coming out in one piece really put things into perspective, especially after having my kids.

Santa Rosa: Santa de las Mujeres de Juarez

What was first piece of art that you remember creating?  The first thing I can distinctly remember painting was a rabbit hopping along in a field with Easter eggs, probably in the first or second grade.  I think my mom still has the painting!

If there was an artist, dead or alive, that you could spend 24 hours with; who would it be and what would you do?  That would be a toss up between Frida Kahlo and Toulouse-Lautrec.  I would love to just hang out and talk to them… they both seem like they were fascinating characters.

Dollypop

What materials or specific name brands do you prefer to use? And why?  Right now, I’m painting mainly with acrylics and use Golden, Liquitex, and Winsor Newton.  I prefer Golden for it’s consistency and vibrancy, but use different brands depending on color.

Is there a technique, procedure or tip that you have discovered, you could pass onto other artists?   Something I wasn’t aware of when I first started using acrylics was the wet pallet.   It saves a whole lot of wasted paint and time.

Cherry-’s Jublilee

For the less experienced painters, what do you mean by a wet pallet?  A wet pallet is a sealable tray that has a layer of absorbent material (mine has a sponge) that has been dampened, and on top of that is a semi-permeable membrane (I use pallet paper).  It keeps the paint workable for weeks at a time.

Reveries

A specific tidbit of craft, advice or mechanical expertise?  Be patient, experiment, and practice.  And don’t keep your brush water too close to your coffee!

Apocalyptica

What is your favorite word?   I’d have to say “peace”, since it’s something I’m searching for right now.  ”Fuck“ comes in at a close second though.

What was the last song you chose to listen to?  ”The Width of a Circle” by David Bowie.

Rae

Do you have some learning experience, good or bad, you could share involving dealing with a gallery or curator?  Keep an open mind and grow a thick skin.  I’m still working on both. Rejection can be tough to take sometimes, but you can’t let it discourage you. Learn how to take it in stride and move on. It’s just part of the biz.

Anastasia

Any advice you could pass on to other artists that might be relevant?  Be true to your art and to yourself. Don’t follow trends or pay too much attention to what others are doing. Just do what you love and do your own thing.

Living-Dead Girl

If you could pick one piece of art to own, out of the world’s museums, personal collections and galleries, what would it be?   I’m a huge fan of Andrew Wyeth, so really just about anything by him.  If I had to pick one, it would probably be “Raccoon”.

Escape

Link to Cate’s Website for her current news and art.

Lilith

 

(This entry was  originally posted on 1/29/10 and transferred here –  as we are discontinuing our other blog site)

Ten Women Gallery in Venice, California

Patricia Anders

Last summer I had the chance while in LA to visit the Ten Women Gallery in Venice. Wonderful newbrow artist Patricia Anders, turned me onto it. She has been kind enough to contribute her beautiful paintings and art dolls to many Eclectix exhibits over the years and is a member of this artist co-op, along with many other very talented women. This venue is overflowing with eclectic arts and crafts, many different mediums and styles are jam packed into numerous little meandering rooms.

At the time, they had an altered Barbie exhibit up, aptly titled “Barbie Redux” . There have been a number of altered Barbie exhibits over the years, but I have to say this was one of the best I have seen, more professionally executed than others. There were Day of the Dead Barbies, goth Barbies, princess Barbies, mutated and depressed Barbies, goddess Barbies, vampire Barbies and even a bat girl Barbie. The whole idea is great – what else to do with all those cast off Barbies that have inspired such love/hate relationships over time? And Halloween being in the mix made it even better.

Patricia Anders

The gallery has the feel of a treasure hunt, around every corner is another wall or niche filled with wondrous goodies. Some folk art, doll art, fabric arts, fine art paintings, mounted prints, photography, glassworks, sculptures of every imaginable shape, jewelry, functional art and more adorn the walls. Even the bathroom had a huge altered mannequin sculpture watching you do your deed!

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If you are in the LA area, try to make a stop here, it is a fun and stimulating visit. Ten Women Venice, 1237 Abbot Kinney , Venice, CA 90291, 310-452-2256

Click here for a complete list of artists and events, and more pix.

Or their blog here.

 

LINK – For more of Patricia Anders’ lovely work.

 

(This entry was  originally posted on 12/16/09 and transferred here –  as we are discontinuing our other blog site)