Mount Royal University Video Interview: Questions 3 & 4

 
3. Who are your major artistic influence/inspirations?

4. What do you attempt to accomplish when you begin a painting?

3. Who are your major artistic influence/inspirations?

I have three major artistic influences and naturally, they are all women:

1. Tracey Emin is a controversial artist out of the UK. I love her work because it is autobiographical. With Tracey, you don’t know where the person ends and the art begins. They are one and the same. I identify with that. She’s also consistently pushing the boundaries of what is acceptable as a work of art. For example, a few years ago she locked herself in a museum and painted, stark naked, for fourteen days straight. She called it: “Exorcism of the Last Painting I Ever Made.” I find that so inspiring. I ask myself: “What would I paint if I locked myself in a room for fourteen days?”

2. Lady Gaga is a walking work of art. Again, there seems to be no separation between the artist and the craft. She’s outrageous and willing to take extreme chances. She’s also self-made. She worked tireresly for years to perfect her craft. I can appreciate that.

3. Angelina Jolie has been one of my muses ever since I saw her in her early 20’s in movies like Gia and Hackers. To me she was the epitome of cool: The mystery, the beauty, the tattoos, the “rebel” behavior. It all appealed to me. These days she is just as fearless as she used to be but her "Fearlessness" has shifted to her family and her humanitarian work. I find her fascinating and extremely inspiring.

 4. What do you attempt to accomplish when you begin a painting?

I aim  begin a painting without any preconceived ideas. I find that having an "end result" in mind, really limits my creative freedom. I live by the philosophy that: "The process of creating evolves into ideas." 

Sometimes I will use an image as a starting point to organize colours and composition on the canvas, but hopefully what I will get in the end is something entirely different. I encourage the work to travel it's own course.