Artist Study 6: Floyd Grey

 

‘13 March 24-30th,

Meredith Lawhead

Artist Study 6: Floyd Grey

Floyd Grey is from our lovely round two of questions. I figured after enough replies to the same question things might start to get a bit dull so this may have a few different questions than usual. I’m not totally sure where Floyd is from but I’m somewhat of a disconser- i don’t care enough to look it up. Because of this, his answers are a bit choppy and awkward (no offence  bro) but I will do my best to paraphrase. Floyd doesn’t mention how much art he did in high school but afterwards, he attended Dasein Academy of Art(so he may be from Malaysia?). In art school was where he most developed his skills and tried out different types of media. Much like his time in college, he recommends to try new techniques, media, etc. and look at what other artists are doing. This can help you find which direction to go first. Floyd’s financial standing is slightly more stable than those of other artists in that he lives with his parents which proves to be a good way to save money. He also says that you must only spend money on the right things. In that case, I guess that includes that new iphone. Crap. Well anyway, like many artists before him, art was only a hobby. After college, when it came time to look for a job he just went with what he could find. Now this doesn’t mean you can sit on your couch and hope that a job will come to you. Floyd went to many job interviews looking for a photography job. That didn’t work out as well as he planned so he began to develope his fashion illustration which he is still doing now. Floyd goes onto explain that most of his inspiration comes from the internet. This made me a little sad; I mean, of course the internet has basically everything you need to do anything ever but come on guys! Whatever happened to traveling and being inspired by,oh,  I don’t know.. REAL things.I’m definitely overreacting so I’m going to stop there.

Floyd works on an illustration per day, usually three or four hours, and doesn’t have much time outside of commissions. Finally, Floyd’s best advice has been that great artists steal and good artists copy. He sees no reason in creating a photo-like replica of something because if you’re doing that, why not just take a photo?

I do agree with this statement to some extent. Copying something to the point ( if you have the skills to do so) doesn’t give you the same effect that making something new is. Being just a highschool student however, my goal has been getting to that  point where if it needed to, I could replicate a photo or image. My intent from that point, on the other hand,is NOT to then copy all the things that I think are pretty, but to establish a strong artistic base so that from that point I have the skills to go in whatever direction I want.

Now that I’m done explaining myself to no one in particular for absolutely no reason at all, I would give Floyd Grey  four stars as an artist. I enjoy that his art has somewhat of a simplistic classiness about it. Like the other artists I have interviewed, Floyd has a solid skill base. On a final note, although his work is very easy, interesting and fun to look at, I feel like it lacks that extra push that would make it amazing to look at. Anyway, there is my overly judgy artist study for week six. Until next time!

NYC SOHO Galleries

   So this weekend I made it down to Manhattan to check out the SOHO galleries. Unfortunately, my dad and I didn't have time to check out Chelsea but we got some great photos of work from SOHO, MOMA, and some student works from SUNY Purchase and Parsons studios so Enjoy! I don't have the artists for all of the works we saw but I will include them when I can! None of this art belongs to me or is anything I made!

John John Jesse:

Malcolm Liepke:Francis Liuingston:Pretty sure these are Robert Liberate:Here is some of the unknown art from students and other:

Artist study 5: Andy Cristoffi
Decided to start my crazy artist study early this week so here we go! Andy Christoffi, an artist who is still young enough to be attractive( just had to put that out there), is the lucky contestant of the week. Like all the other boring artists I've annoyed, Andy has always been drawing. He claims that developing your art skills only takes a crap load of practice and says, “It’s not like riding a bike where you never lose the ability once you learn it, you need to practice everyday and that’s the only way to improve.” On the topic of media, he has been practicing his bold line work and when he realized that he wasn't so good with colors he simply looked at other artists work and then practiced some more! He only quickly touches on the topic of how to develop your skills and get noticed, but the point is clear: If you can’t live without art, then don’t. Do all you can to throw your work in peoples faces until you have enough work to sustain yourself on art making alone. If you try hard enough you can succeed but what helped him after high school was finding a good teacher in college to make him step outside his comfort zone and give him a new look on things. Since his start in illustration he has learned that the best way to sell art is to shift your ideas to what people want. “This sounds restricting but If you embrace it you soon realize that the boundaries and rules you set for yourself can be quite silly.” Since he is still in his 20’s, he has mostly been influenced by other artists and his huge collection of art books. Although deadlines and Andy’s day job mostly direct his day, he still takes art very seriously as a second job; finishing pieces after work and on free days he spends pouring over sketches and illustrations, plowing through commissions one step at a time.  His final advice is to not wait for luck. the more skill and effort you put into your work the luckier you will get.
I also found that this interview was not as helpful as some of the other, more experienced artists who are well into their careers. Since he very recently got out of college (literally, summer of 2012) I feel like he doesn't have as many bumps and bruises as the the rest of the gang who can go on for paragraphs about financial troubles, commissioning experiences and long hours. I just want to get everything straight here, I’m not dissing Andy! Just pointing out that since he is in the beginning of his career, his advice wasn't as expansive as some other folks I have interviewed I am going to give Andy three stars. Although Andy’s work doesn't seem like it has reached it’s full potential, I really love his cross hatching technique and the blend between media that he often uses. It’s also at least five years better than my work so who am I to judge?

Artist Study 4: Nico Delort

Artist Study 4: Nico Delort
Since Nico Delort didn’t answer all of my questions this martist study may be jsut a bit all over the place. Starting right into it, Nice was very lucky stability wise at the beginning of his career. His parents financial support and all the freelance work he could manage kept him afloat in his early year until he became more established.He notes that he was unable to turn down work no matter how soul crushing it may have been. Luckily he has reached a point where he doesn’t have to chose between a terrible project and putting food on the table. This has allowed him to move away from generic art and help establish his own style which has proven to be successful all on its own. Unlike some other artists I have talked to who recommend a very strict schedule, Nico tends to live life day by day: Each night he writes down goals for the next day, making sure to squeeze in some free time for reading or taking care of his dogs. When he wakes up he gets started and depending on the number of goals, some days can be more fun than others. Since this is starting to sound like a match dot com and, I might as well throw in that he likes the long walks on the beach,the sunset and playing instruments (that last one wasn’t a joke). As for getting your art “out there and recognized,” he recommends choosing several social networking sites and going from there. Even though consistent styles and regular updating sound fairly helpful, I feel like it may be too good to be true. Networking sites are a fine way to kind of throw your work in peoples faces, it seems like you must be very lucky and very talented to get many results and that selling work is a whole other story, but hey, I’m not the professional artist in the room so what do I know? Nico seems to stray from the path that other artists have taken once more, explaining that he doesn’t have much of a network of artist friends but does run into the same people now and again at shows and openings. Finally, Nicos advice is to never give up on your work and to keep improving!
This artist study was a really nice and refreshing one to do. I haven’t talked to  a whole lot of artists and have only read bits and pieces of interviews that I have not yet written a study on but from what I’ve heard so far, Nico’s answers seem to be a bit, I don’t want to say less professional, but less rigid or, developed than the other artists I have encountered. I guess it only goes to show that there are many different styles and ways of doing things.
As for rating Nico’s work, I would give him five stars. I really enjoy his style and the detail that he uses makes each work seem more important: I mean its obvious that he spent many many hours on each piece whereas with some artists it is not so clear. He also makes it obvious in his work that he has a strong skill base and a very firm grasp on composition and has settled into a fascinating technique.

Although Nico didn’t answer all of my questions, more of his answers and interviews can be found here: http://www.youthedesigner.com/2013/01/31/detailed-ink-works-of-nicolas-delort/

                               http://openlabartists.tumblr.com/post/31012216159/nicolas-delort-on-etchings-ink-stories-and

Artist Study 3: Steven DaLuz

Artist Study 3: Steven DaLuz
Being in my third artist study, I am beginning to think that that story of a lonely kid who didn't find art until their late teens, when they acquired also the magical skills of becoming a famous artist, is the artistic version of Cinderella. Steven DaLuz, although harbors the skills to blow people away with his art, is not one of those ‘ Cinderella’ kind of kids. Unlike the magical artist that all young kids are so dying to be, Steve has focused on art since middle school and believes that art is a lifelong journey of learning. Since a young age, he has been doing as much as he can to be a better artist from copying superheroes in comic books, magazines and even kids at school, to reading all the books there are to read and visiting work of “old masters.” He took art classes every year in high school and got his BFA from UTSA. Steve claims that next he would work for months with different materials until he found the right materials and techniques that “best expressed [himself] through art.” That is when he began to learn the most. When I asked him what would he recommend to someone to develop their skills, he says that it is very important to have discipline and to establish a great foundation in drawing skills even if one plans to move onto sculpture or digital art. He also says that an artist should spend a lot of effort learning various skills so that they can find the best process and materials for their style and then master it. DaLuz goes onto recommend a general knowledge of design principles, composition, color theory, MINIMUM. “ Ideas, and WHAT is expressed lies within the artist.” In the same response he mentions that drawing is just a tool for you artist tool box, and that ideas and themes of pieces cannot be taught and must be found on their own. He states that one should first find a good and proficient instructor,(preferably one that the student admires and/or respects) “BUT, they should not try to emulate that artist too much in style or manner.  Rather, they should focus upon gaining technical proficiency with the medium.” He recommends to keep your mind open and experiment so that you can find what medium and style is right for you. As John Park mentioned, Steve also recommends a growing artist to be proactive; get involved in art associations, take advantage of books, DVD’s, and any other instructional material he/ she can get their hands on.
    Has your brain exploded with crazy artistic information yet? Fear not, for we have survived the worst of it. Like any sane artist, he advocates to hit the ground running after art school but also to not expect a win right out of the gates. Expenses such as studio space, supplies, shipping expenses, framing, website, advertising, travel,and more are all going to be financial... inconveniences for a full time artist who is still green out of art school. What DOES Steve urge you to do? First of all, a part time job is key, at least until your art pays more than your waitress/ janitor gig. Plus, save up some money before going off and buying yourself a studio and a new pair of pumps. In general, you should have a consistent “body of artwork” of around 12-25 works BEFORE bothering galleries. Next in your lovely art path, you will go through three “career stages.” First, while you’re still emerging as an artist, you have to keep patient and stick to your guns until you get a good career going and are making enough money to at least scrape by without selling any organs. Finally, you will become “established,”and you all know what that means kids... Partay with my bro Picasso! Plus, being an art teacher is always possible with an MFA! I apologize for the off topic-ness.
    When I asked Steve about instability in an art career he explains that you can’t put all your eggs in one basket: there will be good months and there will be lean months. Not everyone will connect with your artwork and there isn't really a solution for that.Secondly, expansion is key! You can’t expect to sell in one spot without exhausting your resourc-I mean buyers! Try to show work in several different galleries. It is also sometimes necessary to shuffle work around. Steve mentions that some work in one city will sell better that in another city.
    Since most artists I have talked to are about in the same generation and have much of the same answer to this question, I think its worthwhile to share this response to how have your actions after high school affected your career: “In my era, it was a bit different than now.Any male over 18 was registered for the draft, and if you were not in school at the time, and in good health, you were likely to be drafted into the military and sent off to Viet Nam.  My good friend was sent there, so I decided to join the Air Force.  That decision postponed my art career for over 20 years.  Still, I found a way to create art part time, always fueling my passion.  There is no "expiration date" for being an artist.  I did not return to art school until I was 43 years of age.  For the past 7 years I have enjoyed full-time income as an artist.  I recommend that young students who are able to financially handle it--pursue your passion as soon as you can. Start early, and stay motivated.”
    To wrap up our little weekly interview, DaLuz says that when he started as an artist he focused on getting his work into galleries but now struggles with what he feels like he should be making and what the galleries want to sell. He NEVER intentionally creates work that resembles another living artists work but also explains that we cannot worry about being original. He has a regular schedule of spending a fair amount of time in the studio where he cannot be disturbed. Although he spends plenty of hours in his studio, he also seems to think about art all the time: going to openings after dinner and planning after breakfast.Like all the other artist I have talked to, he meets artists naturally and all over the place. Steve considers art a lifelong journey of which you cannot just “arrive” at with so many techniques and studies that you can expand to. Finally he wishes that he had started his long journey earlier and the best advice he has ever been given has been:"Save at least 6 months of living expenses before going out there to make it as an artist."
    Since this Artist study seems much longer and more like a list of responses than it should, I will get to the point. I really enjoyed this interview mostly because many of the responses were full of information and didn't leave me asking questions. I would give Steven’s artwork five stars because the technique he uses is like no other and the way he uses light is all his own. Those two things basically mean the same thing but I have a lot of homework left and the night is no longer young. Until next week, adieu.