Amy Guidry, Eclectix Interview 26

Amy Guidry

Artist Amy Guidry grew up and currently lives in Louisiana.  Some of her  arresting works have a wonderful Western movie  feel, with a surreal kick. Kind of like Clint Eastwood meets Georgia O’Keeffe, at the O.K. Corral. The clean, stark desert backgrounds have that white light that speaks so clearly of the desert climate – dry and expansive. For someone who doesn’t live there, she captured it incredibly. Other works place people in surreal yet everyday situations, altering and twisting our perceptions. One of  Amy’s series “New Realm” is composed of dreamy elegant, almost floating self-portraits – sometimes juxtaposed with not-so-pretty realities and emotions. 

Burden To Bear - Amy Guidry

From Amy: “My work stems from two loves- Psychology and Art. With Surrealism being the grand marriage of the two, I was naturally drawn to every aspect behind the movement. Using images conceived from dreams and free association that I catalog in several sketchbooks, I stitch together whole series from countless thumbnail sketches. Themes I explore involve the human psyche- who we are and how we interact with each other, including our relationship with other animals and the natural world. “

Vulnerable - Amy Guidry

My favorite art memory from my childhood is…  playing with oil pastels- such a big change from the crayons and markers I was used to.  I loved the vibrancy of the colors.

Amy Guidry

My interest in art/painting started …  since childhood.  I can’t even remember working on many of the drawings saved from my childhood since they were done at such an early age.  All I knew was that I loved to draw and apparently mass-produced so many my mother couldn’t keep them all.  I would blow through an entire package of paper in no time so there were always packs of paper kept on the ready for me.  I started off with crayons, obviously, but as I became more advanced, I really enjoyed charcoal, graphite, and pen & ink.  Then I became more interested in oil and acrylic, the latter being my preference today.

Adaptation - Amy Guidry

I am often inspired and motivated by…. dreams.  As of late, I’ve been getting a lot of my ideas from dreams or free association exercises where I just block out everything else that clutters my mind and let my imagination wander.  Usually at night when I’m just starting to fall asleep is my most creative time.  I’ve read about this and in my experience, it’s true.  When you relax and stop worrying about all your to-do’s for the next day, you mind is better equipped to tap into your creativity.  I’ll sometimes just think of a concept, or even just a word, and see what images come to mind.  Even imagining what my next painting will look like conjures up some useful ideas.  I keep a sketchbook nearby for these moments so I can jot down anything that comes to mind.

Complacent (cropped) - Amy Guidry

If I could spend the day with any artist (dead or alive) it would be… probably Salvador Dali.  And we would…. well, first, I’d love to hang out in his studio just to watch him work and pick his brain.  I’m curious about his process.  Other than that, it would probably be interesting to attend a party with him- “interesting” being an understatement.

Fleeting - Amy Guidry

The tip or art technique (a specific tidbit of craft, advice or mechanical expertise) that has helped me the most is ….  to learn more about marketing/business.  I read anything I can get my hands on about the subject, scour the internet, listen to podcasts, etc.  As a full-time artist you are now a small business owner.  One of my design professors said that artists fail not because they are bad artists, but because they lack business skills.

Hieronymus Bosch's "Temptation of St. Anthony."

If I could own one piece of art, out of the world’s collections, it would be … oh, this is such a hard question!  I think I’d have to go with Hieronymus Bosch’s “Temptation of St. Anthony.” (above)  His work is so rich with narrative as well as detail.  For me, he is THE pre-Surrealist and actually, if you were to ask me to name some of my favorite Surrealist artists, I include Bosch in that list.

Wild West - Amy Guidry

 My favorite piece of my own art is…. another tough question- it’s like picking a favorite child.  I guess I would say “The Wild West” (above)  because… of the challenges it posed.  I was working on a different series of work at the time when the concept for “The Wild West” came to mind.  I sketched it, made a few notes, and put it away for several months, maybe close to a year.  When I felt ready to work on it, I knew that it was going to be a challenging piece technically speaking, but also conceptually.  I’m always looking for ways to improve in both of those aspects, so that usually involves getting out of my comfort zone.  I had to play with my technique a bit, I also started using gel medium which was a first, and I wasn’t really sure what my collectors and galleries would think of the change in subject matter.  My work has always been surreal, but I upped the ante on this series.  The response has been really good, though, so I would say this painting is a “favorite” in that it reminds me of that personal journey.

Everything's Coming Up Roses - Amy Guidry

My ultimate project or fantasy is … collaborating on a project to promote global awareness of animal cruelty and promote the humane treatment of animals.  Also I’d love to be commissioned for a piece to raise awareness of the plight of stray animals and increase pet adoption- which would have to be done on a massive scale through a large organization like the Humane Society.

Amy Guidry

The last song I choose to listen to was… “Just One of Those Things” by The Rat Pack.  Technically Pandora chose it for me on my Big Band station, but I did give it a thumbs-up.

Synergy - Amy Guidry

The last book I couldn’t put down was …. wish I had a more exciting answer here, but “The 12 Million Dollar Stuffed Shark” by Don Thompson.  It’s an interesting look into the art market- the how’s and why’s behind art auctions.  Though I have to admit that reading about people that buy art solely as an investment/trophy is a bit depressing.  I try not to focus on that too much and just glean whatever information I can from the book.

Freedom - Amy Guidry

 My favorite word is … probably my cat’s name, “Baby.”  Seems like I use it a lot.  I work alone in my studio all day and he’s usually the one to come greet me or follow me around, so I’m always talking to him or I’ll sing his name.  That’s probably too much info…

Fragility - Amy Guidry

I can’t live without … my husband and my animals.

Symbiotic - Amy Guidry

It’s not hip, but I really love …. hmm, well, these days I think it’s hip to like things that aren’t hip.  That said, I guess it’s probably still not hip to like watching exercise/diet infomercials.  On the occasion that I find an infomercial on tv about exercise equipment or diet junk, I’ll actually watch it.  The more outlandish they are, the better.  I find them entertaining, especially when they have someone giving a “testimonial” and crying.  It’s all so fake, I can’t help but watch.

Was It A Dream - Amy Guidry

My favorite motto (or quote)  is….  “Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm” – Ralph Waldo Emerson.  I actually wrote this down on a post-it note that’s been stuck to my easel for a few years now.

Complete - Amy Guidry

Link to Amy’s Website and Portfolio

 

 

Dan Harding, Eclectix Interview 23

The artist, Dan Harding

” Textures play a big role in inspiring me. Whether it’s a piece of wood with some cool pattern to it or just the way dried out grass looks. “

Sunburn - Dan Harding

A New Jersey based artist, Dan’s art is scary, gooey and magnificent in all it’s gory details. The flesh on his creatures  melt and drip down their skeleton armature, while bones jut sharp through the transparent and sometimes frail, skin. Bodily fluids glisten and congeal with a masterful realism, flesh rots in a mottled, bruised and peeling despair and reptilian scales form in unexpected transformations. One can feel the creative and imaginative trance Dan must immerse himself in while working, luminous layers of color and radiation flow into his fantasy brain children.

Maw - Dan Harding

My favorite art memory from my childhood is… One of my favorite things to do when I was a kid was to stay up late on Friday and Saturday to watch Fright Night and Chiller Theater. I would have a pad of paper so I could draw while I watched all of these great horror movies. I’d try to draw what I saw and at the same time was inspired to create my own monsters. That was a blast!

Untitled - Dan Harding

My interest in art started …. As far back as I can remember I always loved to draw. I always had some paper and a crayon, pencil or whatever. One of the first things I remember drawing were these little stick figure, battle scenes. I could go through an entire pad of paper in one sitting doing that !

Dan Harding

 I am often inspired and motivated by…. Aside from horror movies, textures play a big role in inspiring me. Whether it’s a piece of wood with some cool pattern to it or just the way dried out grass looks. I get a lot ideas from that and it definitely gets me excited to start sketching a bunch of concepts or jumping right into a painting.

Pestilence - Dan Harding

If I could spend the day with any artist (dead or alive) it would be… And we would….  It would have to be Frank Frazetta (below) and we would definitely sit down and paint. To watch him paint would be a dream come true! Plus a huge learning experience. I was lucky enough to visit his museum in East Stroudsburg, PA and see his work up close. The man was brilliant!!

The Snake's Hug - Frank Frazetta

The tip or art technique (a specific tidbit of craft, advice or mechanical expertise) that has helped me the most is ….  Don’t try to fix a mistake with more paint. Sounds funny but after I heard that things got a little easier (lol). I remember saying “all of this looks really cool except for this one spot” and instead of wiping out that section, I’d try to work it out with more paint and wind up ruining the whole damn piece! When I first started using oil paint, I did that a lot. It’s way less stressful and a lot cheaper to ” wipe it out”. I “wipe it out” by putting some thinner on a rag and gently scrub, removing the part I don’t like. Being careful not to use to much thinner so I don’t get drips on the parts I want left in there.   I can’t tell you how many pieces of canvas and masonite I’ve thrown away or painted over, before I discovered this. For me, it always killed the idea too.

 

Pickman's Model - Dan Harding

If I could own one piece of art, out of the world’s collections, it would be … Again, it would be a Frazetta. I know there is so much amazing art in the world but none of it had the affect on me the way Frazetta’s “Death Dealer” did. (below)   When I saw that for the first time I was so blown away! I knew then I wanted to become a better artist. Though, if I had that I’d get nothing done because I’d be staring at it all day (lol).

Death Dealer 1 - Frank Frazetta

My favorite piece of my own art is…, because… “Skull” (below) - because it was at that point I started to let go of what I thought I was supposed to be doing (to get a job doing art) and just start to paint what I wanted. I learned a lot doing that piece and it re-inspired me, after feeling frustrated with my art for a long time.

Skull - Dan Harding

 My ultimate project or fantasy is … Probably something in SPFX. (Special Effects) I’ve always loved creating creatures and to have an opportunity to do that – whether it’s concept drawing or sculpting – would be awesome!

End of the Line - Dan Harding

The last song I choose to listen to was… Sulfur from Slipknot.

Serpent - Dan Harding

The last book I couldn’t put down was ….

“Dispatch” from Bentley Little. Lots of really cool imagery in there.

Hey Man - Dan Harding

My favorite word is … Hey!

Famine - Dan Harding

I can’t live without …  Air… and cheeseburgers.

Meathead - Dan Harding

It’s not hip, but I really love … Smoking (lol)

Switch - Dan Harding

My favorite motto (or quote)  is….

“A man who limits his interests, limits his life”.  Vincent Price

Burnt - Dan Harding

Your “monsters” are some of the best out there, any insight into how they evolved?  I really just paint things that are fun or interesting to me and love doing it. Monsters have always been a part of my life and getting more creative with them over time is a natural progression for anyone I think. You get better the more you do something. I have a long way to go but I’m happy with the direction my art is heading.

Link to Dan’s Website  

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

Annie Owens, Eclectix Interview 18

“ …That’s not to say natural inclination equals natural ability.  Talent is something that is achieved by commitment…” 

Artist Annie Owens ( above with “Donut” ) grew up and currently lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. She spent a fair amount of her childhood, watching classic horror movies with her musician brother. After receiving a degree in film and raising a daughter; she co-founded Hi-Fructose ( my personal fave art mag ) with her partner Attaboy, a superb artist as well. Both have shown and visited with Eclectix, in our brick and mortar days – their warm enthusiasm and support for newbrow art is always a welcome spark of hope.  Annie paints and draws girls, young women and crooked little houses in an achingly beautiful way. The blackest black of her ink work contrast nicely with a muted, pastel color palette. Her style is an unexpected and welcome mix of elements. Hints of Asian watercolor masters, adept in fine, graceful and precise brushstrokes, flow into clouds of watery backgrounds. Moody and troubled dark misfits express disillusion, angst and apathy. And rubbery limbed, cartoon influenced figures pose in daily snapshots of childhood adventures.

Careless Falconry - Annie Owens

My favorite art memory from my childhood is … Drawing mushrooms in my grandparents living room. What prompted the mushrooms? Oh I don’t know, I was 4. I must’ve seen them in a coloring book or something. They were a fun easy shape to play with.

Nevermore - Annie Owens

My interest in art/painting started … When I was 5. I don’t know why. I think people have natural inclinations and drawing was mine just as music is to my brother. I’d paint and draw even I didn’t ever have a reason to show what I’ve done. It’s built in and I think it’s that way for a vast majority of artists out there. You can tell it’s just in their nature. That’s not to say natural inclination equals natural ability. Talent is something that is achieved by commitment.

Fishbowl - Annie Owens

 I am often inspired and motivated by …  My fiancé – no kidding. Also, I am often inspired by the atmosphere that comes out of old photographs of people and places. It’s the way light falls that really gets me. I wish I could recreate the mood of an old photograph without necessarily wanting to recreate the photograph itself. Does that make sense? Sure does…

Littlest Ghost - Annie Owens

If I could spend the day with any artist (dead or alive) it would be … Salvador Dali  And we would... Go to lots and lots of parties! No, I’d spend the day with Sally Mann (below) the photographer. Check out her work, it’s truly inspired stuff. I could do a whole essay on her alone. She always has something to say about her work and when she is criticized she always has an honest answer. I really admire her and her work for so many reasons. She edits her pictures to weed out any potential bullshit cutting a body of work down to a pretty specific point. I aspire to that but that’s a long way for me!

Sally Mann

The tip or art technique (a specific tidbit of craft, advice or mechanical expertise) that has helped me the most is …. Pre soak my paper in the bathtub and lay flat even if it is already pre-sized. Dramatically reduces curling. Ink with watercolors instead of water gets a really nice line. I learned that from KRK Ryden. I hope he doesn’t mind me outting that secret!

There Was a Crooked Girl Who Walked a Crooked Mile - Annie Owens

If I could own one piece of art, out of the world’s collections, it would be … Well… I think I already own it. It’s a felted black light poster of this crazy treehouse that was printed in the 70s, early 80s. (below) As a kid I couldn’t afford it, I’d just stand in Spencer’s Gifts and stare at it till the store clerk made me and my brother leave. I just won a slightly beat up original on Ebay for $20 (!) The seller obviously didn’t know what he had. It was listed with “old and funky” as a description. Of course there are repros out there and recently someone even repainted an oil rendition. You can get those prints easily but originals are really rare and go for top dollar nowadays. I know I’m geeking out right now. Anyway, I love this thing.  

Vintage black light poster

My favorite piece of my own art is … “Three Evil Kings”, because… It’s an old one, a direction I left behind but it reminds me of a time when things weren’t so complicated. I like the innocent but mysterious attitude and simplicity of it.

"Over the Miskatonic" (study) - Annie Owens

My ultimate project or fantasy is … To buy an Airstream and drive across the U.S., with my darling, my dog, some cameras, some paper and some paint. The idea would be to made a pictorial travelogue and then make some paintings based on what we see.  My daughter would “run the store” while we were gone. We’d stop in the desserts and swamps on the route, hitting every treehouse along the way. {I’m crazy for tree houses.} During our drive, I would find the ultimate cheap fixer-upper cabin somewhere in Appalachia or West Virginia, buy it, turn the interior into a rad mid century dream a la Steve McQueen, while the outside would stay wild except for a little vegetable garden. It would be our get away home.

Grinch Face Girl - Annie Owens

The last song I chose to listen to was …“New Day on an Old Lake” by Michael Giacchino from the “Let Me In” soundtrack. Heartbreaking.

It Needs You, Hates You, Wants to Destroy You - Annie Owens

The last book I couldn’t put down was … Probably another horror anthology. A beat up little paperback called “American Supernatural Tales” one of a zillion horror anthologies in my collection. This ones got authors like Algernon Blackwood, Robert Bloch, August Derleth, Shirley Jackson, Ray Bradbury, Hawthorne…

Annie Owens

I can’t live without … Well figuratively (not realistically), I can’t live without the occasional Napoleon with all real ingredients. It’s my favorite pastry of all time. Realistically, I’d have a hard time imagining life without my sight or without Daniel.

Piece for "Inle" Exhibit - Annie Owens

 It’s not hip, but I really love … “Rush” {the band}

Sketch - Annie Owens

My favorite motto (or quote)  is… An old friend just recently reminded me of this by Geisel. ”Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.”

The Raven - Annie Owens

 As co-owner of Hi-Fructose, how do you and Attaboy work out curatorial disagreements? We put up our dukes! Haha, we have meetings and debates. When it comes to content in the magazine, we both have such strong opinions but for the most part we’re almost always on the same page in terms of who, what and why. It’s eerie how often we’ll be thinking the same thing. However, on occasion one or both of us will bring something to the table that garners resistance from the other, that’s when we take up position for a duel to the death! It’s a compromise sometimes which is beneficial for the magazine in terms of variety in the end.

Ten Yard Stare - Annie Owens

People often have problems working with their mates, how do you handle it? Any tips or suggestions? We were and are still, very solitary people by nature when it comes to personal projects. Personal relationships being kept to a very small handful of people. When we first started HF, our relationship was still pretty new – 2 years just about. And working at an adult trusting relationship brought as much challenge to us as it does for any couple generally speaking. Add to that a business partnership for our personality types and you get a very steep learning curve! We are rock solid and I’m really proud of us. But the basis for this business/love thing isn’t any different from any other marriage – love, respect, friendship.

Higher, Levitate Me - Annie Owens

Link to Annie’s Website

Samara Rises - Annie Owens

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

(This entry was  originally posted on 3/9/11 and transferred here –  as we are discontinuing our other blog site)

Transferred comment -

From David:

Happy to say I was able to attend the show at Copro last month! Great work Annie! Thanks Eclectix for this interview.

Sunday, April 17, 2011 – 11:54 AM

El Cerrito Art, 34th Annual Show and Sale

Floral Mandala by Barbara Rockhold

Previewed the local El Cerrito Art Association’s 34th Show before the opening reception tonight. A large show full of all different media, styles and eclectic emotions. Lots of traditional realist imagery, some very masterful, a sprinkling of satisfying non-traditional with a few Eclectix artists in the mix as well. Definitely worth a long walk thru and some are worthy of extended ponders. Favorite picks from the exhibit preview are below, just a few, there were so many. With the photography and the watercolors, getting pictures was mostly impossible due to the framed glass reflections, hence my picks are unfortunately edited… 

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If you live locally try to make it out, the exhibit is only 3 days long, ending October 3rd. Help support your local artists, most the art is for sale at really great  prices.

For more infoclick here.

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

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