Blake McArthur – Interview With The Artist

www.blakemcarthur.com

When did you first become interested in art?

When I was a child, I remember playing a board game called Masterpiece, where the playing pieces were cards that depicted some famous paintings. I loved playing the game, not because the game itself was that much fun, but because I enjoyed looking at the game cards.My favourite game pieces were the pieces from Picasso, Dali and Pollock.

What style of art do you use most?

I do completely non representational art. I don’t really like to call it abstract, because it is not really intended as an abstraction of anything in particular, however I suppose that it might fit into the category of abstract expressionism. To me, the beauty is in the colours, shapes and textures themselves.

Has your style changed from when you first began as an artist?

I have only been painting for about a year and a half, but my style has definitely changed in that time, and continues to evolve.

What medium do you use?

I work pretty much exclusively with acrylics. Most of my work is acrylic on paper, however I have started doing more on canvas. I find that my style is more suited to paper, however I much prefer the “feel” of finished canvas pieces.

What made you choose that medium?

I started painting based on support and guidance from a professional artist whose work I had been collecting. He painted using acrylics, so when he started mentoring me, acrylics were the natural choice. Cleaning up with acrylics is a snap, which is a real plus in my book.

Do your ideas come from life or imagination?

My ideas come entirely from my imagination, although the urge to paint is usually sparked by something from life. I always listen to music while I paint, and often find that the music I’m listening to tends to guide my hand.

How do you choose your images and colours?

I usually find that my urge to paint is sparked by something that I see in life, and I use that as the basis for my colour selection. For example, I may see a beautiful sunset while I’m walking my dog, and then when I get home, I’ll have the urge to paint, and will use the colours from the sunset. As far as the image itself, I find that I don’t usually choose the image – it chooses me. I allow myself to get wrapped up in the music I’m listening to, and it guides me along the way.

Who is your favourite artist?

There are so many fabulous artists that it’s really impossible to name a single favourite. Also, if I were to be pressed to name a single artist, it would probably be one from one of the many art sites that I visit, rather than one of the more famous household names.

What is your favourite piece of work by yourself?

The favourite piece of my own is a piece called Salvation. I don’t think that I can describe what it is about that piece that I like, I just like it.

How much time (on average) does it take to complete a work?

On average, I probably spend between 1-2 hours on each piece. I always finish a piece the same day that I start it.

How well do you take criticism?

I view criticism as being necessary for me to grow as an artist, so I welcome constructive criticism. The key word is constructive – in order for criticism to be of value to me, it has to provide some insight into how I can improve. For example, telling me that the colours are too muddy, or that the composition is off balance, is constructive and useful, whereas comments such as “it sucks” provide no useful insight at all.

What do you do to overcome a ‘block’?

I need to be in the proper frame of mind to paint. Although I’ve had periods lasting several weeks where the mood to paint has never struck, I haven’t been painting long enough to reach a point where I’ve felt truly ‘blocked’, and I’m not really sure what I’d do if that were to happen. I am usually inspired to paint by something I’ve seen in life, so I suppose that if I felt ‘blocked’, I’d try to put myself in situations where I’d likely see something spectacular that would re-ignite the spark.

How do you know something is ‘finished’? Is it easy to walk away?

The work itself seems to tell me when it’s finished. I have often second guessed that intuition, and continued working on a piece, only to find that I end up ruining it. Deciding when to consider a piece as being finished can be very difficult indeed.

Have you had exhibits in galleries?

I just finished my first exhibition – a 2 week solo show at Gallery Lacosse in my home town of Winnipeg (Canada), which I considered a great success. The opening reception, which included live entertainment by a 3 piece jazz ensemble, was well attended, and resulted in a couple of sales.

Have you any exhibits in galleries planned for the future?

I have a group show with two other local artists planned for 2 weeks from now in another local gallery called “cre8ery“.

What are your plans for the future?

I don’t have any specific plans at this point, other than I would like to start working with some larger format canvasses. I’d also someday like to experiment with oils.

What advice would you give new artists?

As a new artist myself, I’m not sure that I’m really qualified to give advice. The one thing I would say, though, is don’t be afraid of what people are going to say about your art. Art is a very personal thing, and there will always be people who don’t like your art – hopefully there will be enough who do like your work to make it all worthwhile.

Have you done any courses to help you?

I have not had any formal training yet, and I’m not sure if I want to start down that path or not. In reading various discussions on art sites, I sense that formal training can potentially result in some rigid thinking which may stifle creativity. I’d certainly like to learn new techniques, but I also don’t want to have training subconsciously drown out my inner child, which is currently what controls my approach to painting.

What do you do to market your work?

My work is currently represented by Gallery Lacosse in Winnipeg, but other than that I am not doing much to market it. I am self employed as a web application developer, so my business consumes most of my time. When I do have time for art, I would prefer to spend that time creating rather than marketing. I’d love to be able to make a living from selling my art, but I realize that isn’t likely to happen. I have my work displayed on several art web sites, but I don’t have any expectations of serious sales from that. I’m wrapping up some major projects for my business, and hopefully when they are done I will have more time to be able to devote to marketing. I’d also love to find additional gallery representation, particularly in other geographic areas.

Do you use social networking in your day to day life?

I started using Facebook this year, and have a Facebook fan page for my work. Blake McArthur Abstract Art

Are you available for work (commissions)?

I would definitely entertain the idea of doing commissions, however it would depend on the request.

Have you got hobbies?

I actually consider painting as my primary hobby. I also enjoy playing billiards, but haven’t played much recently.

Where are you based?

I am based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, right in the middle of North America. I was born here many years ago, and have lived my entire live here.

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Tags: Abstract Expressionism, Abstraction, Board Game, Famous Paintings, Finished Canvas, Game Cards, Game Pieces, Imagination, Masterpiece, Mcarthur, Natural Choice, Non Representational Art, Picasso Dali, Playing The Game, Pollock, Professional Artist, Scorpio, Shapes, Support And Guidance, textures

This entry was posted on Saturday, October 31st, 2009 at 01:01 and is filed under INTERVIEWS. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.