Did drawing or painting come easy to you as a kid? Do you remember what made you want to start drawing and painting?
Did you ever think your paintings would allow you to travel the world?
I think it did.... I think putting pencil (crayon) to paper and making drawings and liking/having fun making what I saw on that paper encouraged me to make more and more drawings and then paintings, etc.
How often do you paint? How many paintings do you work on at a time? How long does it take you to do a painting? Have you ever had difficulty finishing a painting?
If someone is terrible at drawing or painting, do you think it is possible to teach them to be a better artist or do you think being an artist is an ability you’re born with? Do your children have an artistic ability like you? I think that both drawing and painting can be learned. I do believe that certain people are more genetically predisposed or encouraged to tune into the right side of their brain. Most activities we do/perform in life are left brained activities, memorization, mathematics, school, computerbased activities. There isn't a whole lot of right brain nurturing going on. Being technically gifted is such a small part of what makes a piece of art cool. Composition, color usage, subject matter etc. all play a big role in making a piece of great art. I have a Son (Blaize) and a daughter (Lorna) and they are both extremely artistic and have been ever since they've been able to hold a crayon or mold a piece of play-dough. They have a huge art table that is constantly covered with supplies right in the middle of our family room though. They are most definitely encouraged to make art, music, etc.
No, I've been so lucky between art and skateboarding to have had the opportunity to see so much of the world.
I go through spurts, I'll draw probably everyday in one of many sketchbooks. I'll paint for weeks at a time every night. I'll usually go like this; 3 weeks of painting and then 2 of just drawing and start that cycle again. A painting sometimes will happen in a night, other times it takes weeks or months, it really depends on the piece. I'll typically work on 2- 4 pieces at a time, sometimes when working on a large scale I'll work one piece at a time, but usually I'll have multiple pieces going so while one is drying I can work on the next. A lot of my paintings have really layered backgrounds so there can be quite a bit of dry time on one piece, having to let a layer dry before I can lay down another. As for having trouble finishing a piece...yeah I have had trouble with pieces before, some of the ones that have given me the most grief have wound up being ones that I like the most and coincidentally sell the quickest. When you are working during the day, are you looking forward to painting that night? Do you make plans to paint at night or is it more spur of the moment type of thing?
Have you had any formal training in Art? Yes, I went to school to earn a degree in Fine Arts.
I usually do look forward to "paint nights" and yes I do plan them. I have a family and day job so I need to be diligent about saying "hey I'm in the studio tonight" otherwise I can find a thousand other tasks that need my attention.
Swimmer’s Ear 17