Exploring in the mind and habits of an artist in twenty-five questions
by Stephanie Cassidy | July 28, 2020
Sometime around second grade I drew a willow tree and said, “Yeah, that’s what I want to do” and was surprised that it looked like a willow tree.
I don’t think I ever said I wanted to be an artist to my parents. I was just painting, and no one ever said, “Stop” or “There are better things to do.” My dad did comment one day, “Where did this talent come from?” And later he said, “If you want to be an artist, you better work harder at it.”
This is tough as there are so many artists I love: Matisse, Picasso, Monet, Hofmann, Pollock, Clyfford Still, De Kooning, Leger, Miró, Diebenkorn, David Park.
This is another tough question. I see something good in so many artists that I can’t think of anyone. I feel I relate to many different styles
Again, so many art books I have and love, but a book I have on Matisse is special. Then there’s Johannes Itten’s The Elements of Color[2].
Usually I pick up an honesty that is radically mixed in with a new and lasting beauty.
Yes, I have a sketchbook going all the time. When I’m not painting, I draw everyday, looking for new compositions and motifs, some kind of “notes” on how I might paint… sorting out the process.
The Met[3] in NYC and the Prado[4] in Spain.
So many, but the Matisse Picasso[5] at MoMA a few years back.
A movie director.
Ronnie Landfield[6].
To keep my mouth shut… and the importance of originality.
Probably when I was a teenager, the Cubists and Fauves, then later the Bay Area Figurative School along with all the AB-Xers, plus the Color School. It’s hard to say why those resonated with me.
Movies.
Sometimes, but it’s always on recently. I’ve kept the music low because I started feeling that it made me lose my concentration.
The last gallery? It’s been so long now. I think it was the Louise P. Sloane[7] opening at Spanierman Modern on March 10. Afterward, I went to teach at the ASL. No one was there, and I realized this COVID-19 is a big deal.
So many… is it obnoxious to say myself?
I couldn’t live without paint of some type.
I work pretty much everyday, but… life gets in the way.
Longest time? I think about two weeks. But that’s why I keep a drawing book going. You can always draw, even if broke.
Uninspired? Do something I think is awful and not give a shit.
It’s searching. And I’m not always that sure what I’m after, but I try to find something that looks new or just attractive to me, even if it looks “wrong.” I love the Miles Davis quote, “There are no mistakes.” And there’s just more searching.
Honesty and the willingness to go beyond past successes.
A one-man show in a major museum in NYC.
It’s helped level the playing field. I can put up my work with no censorship from the various establishments.