Artist Study 2:John Park

In my interview with John Park he says that he has always been interested in art but as other kids slowly stopped doodling he kept it up as a hobby and didn't really think anything of it until his senior year in high school. He recommends to find artists to admire and try to pick apart their art making process the best you can to help develop your skills. What helped him was practice(obviously) and sketching all the time. Once he started to really focus on his art for his senior year, trying to get a portfolio put together was the main factor that focused his work since many colleges only want to see observational art: not drawing from a picture or imagination. and finally after high school he got a lot of direction from his professors.   When I asked him how he has dealt with job instability it really riled him up: he stated that no job is ever one hundred percent stable especially in this economy and you just have to do your best to be smart with your money. He says, “ Of course there will be days of feast and days of fast but that’s the job.” He also emphasized how important it is to know how to live with the budget of the job and really down size your expenses but fear of instability is no reason to give up because all jobs are unstable weather you’re a doctor or an artist. In his Blue Canvas interview, a quote that I found was, “Do the most that you can possibly do, and then do some more.”   After he got his point across we moved onto things that have affected his art career. Choosing to attend a four year art school (Rhode Island School of Design) was really the start of his career and where he first got a chance to meet other serious artists. Since then, the biggest change has been moving to LA. John spent a couple of minutes explaining that moving to such a flourishing art community has been so amazing, being able to feel so close to upcoming tattoo artists, graffiti artists, animation artists. Feeling engulfed in such a vibrant art area has really made all the difference, and also being able to see new concepts such as the pop surrealism movement which is a huge movement that is going on now has made all the difference in his career.   Next we covered his 180 degree turn from when he started as an artist up to now. As he said in question two, he started to give his art direction in his senior year and then throughout college toward observational drawing: focusing on technique and learning how to improve his skills. Even though drawing accurately felt like more of a chore than making art, it all was worth it when he felt like he has built up enough skill to be happy with his skill level and master it enough to be able to go anywhere from there. That is when he decided to turn around and go the opposite way. Now he works more abstractly and expressionistic-ally and almost always just draws from memory.    My biggest concern is not being able to get my art to the right markets, or rather, to people who actually buy art (so much for Ithaca!). John remarks that there is always the internet as a good place to make some money but that should be all you do. “Get a good relationship with galleries.” Find one that really suits you artistically and become friends so to speak. Then it is easier to branch out from there. By the way Park explained it, it sounded like the best actions would be to establish relationships with artists and galleries and eventually the art community will open up and it will be easier to navigate.   During his time at the Rhode Island School of Design, he wanted to give himself a classical education. This lead him to take anatomy, figure drawing, figure painting, and figure sculpting. After school John taught at Concord Prep High School for 14 years. John claims that teaching was the best job he ever had and if you’re a good teacher, you learn more from trying to teach. This idea of his got me thinking. I just expected him to say “if you're a good teacher you learn as much from your students as they learn from you” and i always had trouble connecting with that phrase. I mean, what if your students are ass holes and don’t want to learn? I guess you can always learn to teach better but really, if someone doesn't want to learn how much can you make them? Anyway, the way that John Park said it just clicked for me in a way that regular teaching cliches haven’t.   These last few questions may be the shortest but I have tried to save the best for last. Where do you get your ideas from? This question is a pet peeve of mine. All artists ask it at one point or another and every time they get the same answer no matter who you ask: Everywhere. This question is so difficult for us artists to wrap our minds around because it isn't an easy answer. It requires one to think for themselves and try to find their own answer. The hardest part about this question is that if your ideas aren't as good as someone elses, there’s not a damn thing you can do about it besides work harder.   If you could change anything on your art career path, what would it be? “Nothing. I wouldn't change anything.” Johns response to this was nothing new or super exciting and if it had just been in an email I might not have even thought twice about it. It was the way he said it, with complete certainty. His voice was much more eager and assertive. If I had one word to describe it I would use inspired.   John’s Final advice was to never let the money worry you. Being constantly worried won’t help anything and not worrying about it is the hardest part of the job. “There is no guarantee on any job so be careful.” As I mentioned in the beginning, this interview was very special not only because the experience of calling and connecting with an artist is still new and exciting, but because I enjoy his work so much. John Parks work is very unique because he doesn't paint for the finished product as I feel like most people do. He paints more for the viewers enjoyment of the process. I would give him five stars as an artist because I adore his style and the way he blends classical art with contemporary art. His paintings are also so unique and unlike anything out there that I have ever seen. Finally, I could look at one of his paintings all day and not be bored with it while other paintings lack layer upon layer, Johns work focuses in layering giving you so much to take in.