There’s so many different artists that greatly influence my artwork. Everything from ancient Egypt, Italian Renaissance, to currently undiscovered artists on Instagram; all of my personal experiences and successes among friends contribute to my motivation, creativity, and even just positivity which fuel that fire are interjected into my artwork. Some of that energy may seep out into a passionate conversation about ideas with some of my advising team & friends, and some of it might just flow into excitement about a new series of paintings & drawings!
An overload of influence has been presented to me! I’m lucky enough to reside near the only North American museum of Salvador Dali, and the tropical location of Dale Chihuly’s Collection in St. Petersburg, FL.
For Thanksgiving 2018, my brother came to visit our family from Buffalo, NY! We went to Siesta Key Beach, Lido Key, and had dinner at some great restaurants in the surrounding areas! On the last day, we all decided to drive up to St. Petersburg and see the legendary creations by Chihuly & Dali. We were all amazed at every turn!
I have great pride in the art books of my library, one of which has been in my possession the longest, The Secret Life of Salvador Dali. I remember reading it a few times front to back when I was in grade school. It opened my eyes to a new way of viewing concepts and logic in a time where I was growing and eager to learn more as a young artist. Ever since I learned more about Dali’s work, I always attempted to study his process closely. That type of exposure led me to admire his work above most artists. This visit to the Dali Museum presented me with so many ideas! I was in the presence of artwork that I’ve always studied, learned about, and used as a reference for so much time.
Dale Chihuly uses light in a very unique way to manipulate it through his glass work, almost as a vehicle to transform its projection on to whichever surface it rests on. This gives another dimension to his work, beyond the beauty of the strong bold color association which the glass possesses. His custom color schemes are combinations that seem selected of genius levels, which portray an emotion or mood in each installation, as if his glass is intended to be one with organic nature.
In more ways than one, it reminds me that fine art is not dead in the slightest. I was beginning to think that 2018 presented us with such quick ideas of art, and the simplest forms were the most exciting and popular to some people. Although, that style may be the most consumed & digested, it shouldn’t ever rise above some of the more time-consuming ideas, concepts, and productions that require such a unique presence of an artist’s mind for his / her creation.
This was such a great experience! Get out there! Go get inspired! Get motivated, and encourage others to be productive!