Austin Art Talk

"Getting in the habit of noticing is what is essential to actually being an artist. You have to first off get in the habit seeing things and noticing. It's not only visually seeing, it’s hearing, and listening, and tasting and using your senses. Wake up and think, what am I going to notice today, because the work is around you. The input that you need to do the work, there is no shortage of that, if you are paying attention."

Reading the book while listening Darden’s voice and the musical score that accompanies it was really powerful and moving for me. His vulnerability is evident and appreciated and his artistic struggles relatable. Sitting down to talk in person we spoke about his life as an artist and how he got to where he is today along with many other questions. How do you gain access to something bigger than yourself and with more depth? What’s it like to write songs with kids, homeless teenagers, and soldiers? How do you embrace everything even the parts of life that are hard? Have a listen and see if we found any answers. And please have a look or listen to his book!

Childhood/songwriting

The Habit of Noticing: Using Creativity to Make a Life (and a Living) by Darden Smith

Text from amazon

"Now, in his most adventurous and deeply personal project to date, The Habit of Noticing is Smith's collection of stories that serves as a personal manifesto on the value of art and creativity in daily life. A guidebook for those seeking to bring more creativity into their daily life, Smith dives deep into his inspirations and influences, the importance of commitment and endurance in tough times, and the beauty that comes from finding meaning in your work and your life"

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• Darden Smith - website

“We have literally been depicting animals since we could make artwork, since we could paint on the walls of caves. It’s pretty much across every culture and civilization in history, animals have been part of artwork that’s been created. I just found that so fascinating and when I was thinking about how to put what I was doing down on paper. That felt like the cornerstone idea of why I am doing this and why these animal portraits can be important and part of this, a part of humanities portrayal of animals in artwork.”

He describes his love of photography as a kind of obsession that started in high school and grew into college even though he ended up studying business. By not specifically pursuing an art or photography degree, he was forced to find his own way and solely create a vision of what he wanted his career and work to look like. He used his resourcefulness and determination to learn what he could from various sources and worked hard to build his business and develop his skills by creating a lot of images and by experimenting. After moving to Austin he worked as an assistant and second shooter but soon found himself wanting to go out on his own.

Since that time he has built a successful career with advertising portrait work and directing and is now venturing into the fine art world with his arresting studio images of animals. His work has entered the cannon of depictions of animals that humans have been creating since the days of cave paintings. Just as he has perfected his skill in portraying people he now has proven his ability to capture an animals personality, beauty, and soul just as well. The viewer can connect with these subjects on a deeper level as they bring their own emotions and memories to the unspoken conversation we have with art as a mirror of ourselves.

Randal is a consummate professional and is obviously a very skilled image maker, aritst, and business person. I really enjoyed this conversation and am excited to share it and help spread the word about his new book. It’s quite an accomplishment and is worthy of the praise it has received. We talk about the book but also the balance between being and artist and running a business and he shares some bullet points and recommendations for aspiring artists towards the end. Have a listen to the interview, share some feedback, and be sure to check out his work at randalford.com.

Photography origins

Proceeds for the sales of the book benefit Project Survival's Cat Haven.

Thursday, November 15, 2018

Come see over 25 large format pieces of Randal Ford’s work at one of Dallas’s most respected photography galleries, PDNB. We will have bites, beer, wine, and spirits from Deep Eddy. Randal Ford will also be doing a signing early in the evening. Open to the public.

Thursday, December 6, 2018

Come see over 25 large format pieces of Randal Ford’s work at The Davis Gallery in Austin, TX. Randal Ford will also be doing a signing early in the evening.We will have apps and drinks as well! Open to the public.

Intro music generously provided by Stan Killian

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• Randal Ford | American Photographer & Director

"Being a parent I can relate. I know what it’s like now to not be able to work on projects that I want to work on. And those are like real life obstacles, whether it’s a day job, or a sick family member, or a young child that needs taken care of. There are a lot of obstacles in our life that keep us from being creative. Whether they’re just excuses we make up for ourselves or they are real. We still need to be creative. That’s the breakthrough that I made. It seemed harder to do my work as an artist and be a mom. It felt easier to maybe just stop being an artist. Even playing around with that I tired putting it down for a month or so seeing if that was easier, and it wasn’t. That was a real breakthrough to know where my creativity came from and why I needed to create. It made me more of myself and it made me a happier person and it was an expression that I needed to get out. That’s nice to know that it’s not for other weird egotistical reasons that people feel like maybe they are or might be creating for. It was nice to clear the air and understand that I wasn’t creating for anyone other than myself to become fully myself."

Relating more to a painter than quilter, she loves to capture in her work, seasonal colors, the palate and soothing patterns that are the story of nature and her surroundings. The resulting quilts are practical, functional, long lasting, but also a piece of art, the makers hand in every stitch and composition. She is also inspired by the materials, techniques, processes, and traditional styles of the past.

The interview delves into many aspects of being a parent and an artist. After much success early on in the life of her business she had her daughter Ada. She realized she couldn’t maintain the same pace of work and had to really look hard at why and how she wanted to create going forward and balance that with just wanting to be a mom. As Ada has gotten older there have been more opportunities to make space for projects and teaching and she relishes those windows of time where she can completely focus on her work.

I’m very happy to share this conversation with my very good friend of eight years! I admit after watching her new Piecing A Scrap Quilt workshop, I want to make my own. With the release of the first of many video workshops, she is able to teach those who what to learn quilting and go at their own pace, but who would not be able to attend her limited in person workshops in Texas. Maura is very thoughtful and has a lot of things that she shares with me in the interview that I am thrilled to share with you. Please enjoy and be sure to check out her website and workshop at Folkfibers.com.

Some of the subjects we discuss:

Intro

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

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• Folk Fibers

"A single object can be these extremely different things depending on the context. When the lights are bright in the gallery a whole bunch of what that painting is becomes completely obscured, it’s not even present at all or barely visible or not even there. And when the lights cycle off it's the same thing, there’s a whole bunch of that painting that’s not there at all, but all those things that were hidden before are now visible. I like that back and forth and that feeling of transformation. And the painting itself being a static object but existing as a time based thing.“

His work has transitioned over the years from thick landscapes of impasto to subtle and ethereal geometric planes sometimes juxtaposed and merged with backlit atmospheric murals. The context and presentation of his work is often crucial to the experience and understanding of it. Lights cycle on an off like day and night, to reveal the dichotomy of his work which can include aspects of video and sound to create an immersive curated reality.

I’ve known Shawn for years and he is the nicest guy. And so very humble. His job as a teacher thankfully allows for untethered freedom in the studio where he experiments and crafts work that is gorgeous beyond belief. See his work in person if you can. You wont regret it.

Intro

Northern–Southern

12th on 12th Happy Hour

Final Visiting Hours

Shawn Camp Artist Talk

SHAWN CAMP / My heaven and hell are the same

October 20–November 18, 2018

Gallery Shoal Creek

Text below courtesy of Gallery Shoal Creek

"Having recently returned from an artist residency at the creative center in Stöðvarfjörður, Iceland, Shawn Camp presents new work influenced by the rugged terrain, glacial ice, and volcanic ferocity of the sub-arctic island nation. The experience took him in a new direction with a series of works on paper which reflect his ongoing interest in linear forms, geometric references, and reflective surfaces.

In response to the tumultuous interaction of landscape and sky, the paintings slow to a stand-still. At times dark and atmospheric, the imagery resonates a quiet ambiguity through reflective surfaces and delicate transitions of color. Linear forms are cut like broken panes of geometry through deep recesses of space, hinting at the changing states of matter formed by geological forces within the earth.

These new works investigate dualities and exploit the effects of context on our perception. They convey a sense of atmosphere and explore the mystery of light and our subjective experience of the constantly changing visual world. Through the use of refractive pigments, glazed and sanded repeatedly atop smooth, mirror-like panels, the experience of color and shape becomes elusive and indefinable."

Intro music generously provided by Stan Killian

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Links:

• Shawn Camp - website

"I had never been to a glacier. I had this vision of them being these giant massive things that were just there. I never really thought about how much of a living organism they are. Growing and retreating, melting, and expanding and changing. When we went on hikes on the glacier the pathway changes constantly because of the nature of the glacier and the route. With climate change these things that have been around for thousands of years are disappearing. This object I thought was a permanent structure has this really ephemeral, impermanent quality."

Completing two residencies in Iceland in the last year allowed him to explore different materials and experiment in a studio, while also exploring the ephemeral landscape of that distant place. The tactic that he chose was to pare everything down to the most simple and basic forms as a way to filter all the elements under consideration into a cohesive approach.

The current results of his work and travel, around the issue of climate change, is the exhibition Serene Disturbance, on display at grayDUCK gallery until October 28, 2018.

Iceland residencies

Serene Disturbance

Dameon Lester

grayDUCK Gallery

Opening Reception: Saturday, September 15, 7-10pm

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• DAMEON LESTER - website

"We are all connected. We need to be a village for each other and raise and support each other through everything. Being in the art community what I have found is that I've finally found my tribe. I found my tribe in the people that understand the emotional roller coaster ride of being an artist and the constant self questioning and pushing. It’s that hunger in us to constantly be better."

Once she started creating art again three years ago, her drive to work hard and push herself to be the best kicked in, and it has greatly enhanced the rest of her life in the process. She found that creating art was a way that she could have freedom and time away from the demands of her life and it also made her feel more whole and facilitated a lot of personal growth, and self acceptance

She acknowledges what a blessed life she has and wouldn’t be here if not for the courage of her parents who left Vietnam at the end of the war and made a perilous journey to the US. Starting with nothing they built a successful life and worked very hard. Vy’s parents sacrificed a lot and that has inspired her to make the most of her life and to be of service and help people. She chose to work with children, who she learns a lot from, and sees as being very truthful and masters of the present moment in their youthful innocence.

It’s inspiring to see how hard Vy works and what her parents overcame to bring her to the US and then raise her to be an amazing human being. Even though she works as a physician and has a family she’s figured out a way to also be an artist who prioritizes relationships, connection, and vulnerability.

Art has been very fulfilling and has enhanced everything else she does in her life. It has helped her get through loss and grief. And it is helping her to process and understand her cultural identity in the world. The dialogue continues between her and whatever medium she chooses as she strives to express her life and figure out how to translate feelings and emotions into works that others can connect with.

Her 3 jobs

Vy Ngo – Dreamscapes

On view through October 6th

RECSPEC Gallery

New works by Austin, Texas based abstract artist Vy Ngo.

With a future that feels so uncertain for many, “Dreamscapes” is a show about how our historical past and memories can shift with time and emotionality into a world unrecognizable even to ourselves. Through exploring the depths and layers of those unfamiliar landscapes, it gives hope in discovering the evanescent beauty of all things and that focusing on the present moment will only bring more infinite possibilities

Intro music generously provided by Stan Killian

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Links:

• Vy Ngo - website

"These images like murals are images that can speak to people and that people can identify with. You don’t have to be from a certain background or certain city or community or ethnicity or political belief or religious belief. These are my visual memorials to the epic and endless struggle of the human experience."

Vincent has never wanted to be anything other than an artist and he vowed and pledged an oath to himself and his work right from the beginning. Never would he sway from what he felt in his heart that it was most important to say, no matter the consequences. He has stayed true to his vision for almost two decades and has used his struggles in life and in the studio as fuel to propel him forward.

His integrity, clarity, and work ethic come from his parents and family who are the common people that have helped to build their communities and America while enduring discrimination and the systemic limitations built into our society that do not favor people of color.

At the very beginning of his life as a small helpless baby in an incubator Vincent was holding on for life, but his grandmother saw then what is obvious now to the rest of us. He has something to say and he has the ability, the determination, and the courage to say it in his own visual way. As he developed his skills, discipline, and interest in art growing up, he really found his calling when he started to paint murals with his mentor Alex Rubio.

That was his first real education about people, life, and how the world works. He vowed to never loose sight of or touch with the community that he was learning to portray and give a presence and a voice to in those murals. We see now in his works the truths and realties of life’s struggles and a mirror of ourselves and the human experience that we night not always recognize on our own or want to look at. Potential moments of truth and something greater than just one person or one artist.

In his studio Vincent feels the most freedom in his life and the main limitation is having the time to manifest all of his ideas. Beyond painting and drawing he feels he is just a novice so there is much to learn. The work is an outlet to try to make sense of the world outside of the studio and success is simply having the ability to do what he wants to do. Be an artist and keep reinventing himself and keep exploring how to see and show things differently, or as they really are. When he has an intense feeling and idea for new work his biggest challenge is how to then translate that into a painting or drawing that will potentially give the viewer of that work a similar feeling.

Vincent and I met in 2011 at The Serie Project thanks to the amazing Sam Coronado. Over the years our paths have crossed again but with the excitement around the inclusion of his paintings The City I & II at the Blanton Museum of Art, I knew the time was right for an interview. And what a great interview it is, not because of anything I did, but because of Vincent’s humble, generous, and wise perspectives on life, being an artist, and staying true to your ideals. Please enjoy and if this episode or any other I've produced have helped or added value to your life please consider supporting the podcast so it can continue and grow. Thanks!

Sam Coronado

The Beginning is Near (Part I)

CLOSES →October 28, 2018

On view at The Blanton Museum of Art

Here's a link to the museum website dedicated to a discussion of The City.

http://blantonmuseum.org/valdethecity

The Beginning is Near (Part II)

Fri, Sep 7, 2018 → Sat, Nov 10, 2018

David Shelton Gallery

The lights are on. The mics are live. The cameras are rolling, yet no one is sure where to begin.

Gestural brushwork composes the scene. Moments of pause. Speakers at podiums, flanked by microphones and floral arrangements. Each is silent. Some mournful. Some pensive. Others meditative or distant. Collectively uncertain of where we go from here.

Dream Baby Dream (2017–2018) is Part II of Vincent Valdez’s allegorical trilogy The Beginning Is Near. The series follows on from Part I (2015–2016), two large oil paintings, The City I and The City II, that address the structural oppression, hate and violence Valdez sees as inscribed into the sociocultural landscape of the United States. As he completed the final canvas of The City I, news broke of the death of Muhammad Ali (June 3, 2016). A week later, between bouts of painting, Valdez watched television coverage of people following the hearse carrying Ali’s body, the funeral service and the eulogies honoring “The Greatest.” The diversity of the speakers and the compassion and conviction of their words resonated with Valdez, but months later, during the culmination of the 2016 presidential campaign, he found new meaning in the spectacle surrounding Ali’s death. Returning to the footage, Valdez sought to reconcile Ali’s life and legacy with the dawning apprehension, anxiety, division and disillusionment that echoed across the country from screen to shining screen.

From an essay by Ian Alden Russell, August, 2018

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Links:

• Vincent Valdez - website

“I don’t remember what artist said this but I’ve always liked this. She said ‘There are no dumb ideas.’ And I always keep that in my head. Maybe you are not going like it when you get to that point of is this done or isn’t or who cares. You have to try it. You have to see where it goes. That’s why we’re artists. Were allowed to do that. Nobody is telling us you can’t do that. There might be people saying that but they are wrong. You can do this. You can do whatever you want. That’s why you’re an artist.”

She has a love of materials, the tactile experience of making things by hand, collecting curiosities, and above all nature. The way aspects of the natural world are anthropomorphized and juxtaposed with pop culture and science creates some of the narratives and psychology that she explores. From puppets and soft sculpture, to large dark and theatrical paintings with animated characters and dolls, to small delicate nature based works, and many styles in between, she has never let herself get locked into or lost in any one style of art.

After living in Austin for over two decades she moved back to Maine to retire with her husband where she continues to cultivate her interest in the ocean. Some of her current work partly incorporates drawings made working directly from objects she has acquired along the shore of the island where she lives, such as seaweed, shells, lichen, and rocks. She sometimes builds up the surface of a piece by starting with a watercolor painting and adding strips and cutout shapes from mylar stained with ink, and found objects including plants dipped in beeswax.

What an nice adventure it was traveling by ferry out to Great Diamond Island off of Portland, Maine, to visit Marjorie while I was on vacation. She was recommend to me by a two previous podcast guests, Hayley Gillespie, and Madeline Irvine. Her and her husband graciously showed me around their beautiful residence, the island they call home, and they even took me out for a very fine waterside lunch on my birthday! Please enjoy this interview which ends with Marjorie and myself exploring the beach where she sometimes finds inspirations for her artwork.

Maine intro

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• Marjorie Moore - website

"For me it only becomes an artwork if it has the potential to have a lot of layers of meaning.

I have my themes that I always want to emphasize and I’m always looking for ways buoy those themes and so I’m on the look out. The aesthetics are never the thing that get me. It’s if there is something out there that I see that will speak to what I am already thinking about.

Memory plays a big part when I come back to my studio in what I want to infuse back into my paintings. So I know that it was a beautiful waterfall but its not about just a beautiful waterfall. Its about family, and trust, and memory of that beautiful walk. I’m probably the only one that knows that. But while I’m painting I’m definitely thinking about that and hoping I can infuse that kind of depth into my paintings."

Early on in her career the work was more narrative, portraying dramatic scenes and psychologically charged persons and props, that often were representations of herself. As someone who was very shy it was a way for her to explore and talk about miscommunication and other issues important to her at the time.

With the happiness of starting a family and raising children her work became more botanically inspired, complex, and thematic, based on her garden and the nature surrounding her home. Initially what she captured was more a recording of what she saw in person but then it matured into mostly creating from memory.

With clean and precise edges and colors that pop she continues to create works that are intensely detailed and beautiful with layers of meaning beyond the obvious, but definitely relatable and understandable. The subjects are relevant to her past and present life and also reflect her concern for the state of nature and man's effect on the planet.

Valerie also collaborates with her husband Brian Beattie who is a musician and producer. Together they create storytelling performances that use a “Crankie” to display a long linear scrolled drawing that is accompanied by music. Her current project is based on a historic home in west Austin that is being turned into a museum. See the details below for this most recent project and how to see it in person.

Her work

September 7th - 28th, 2019

Opening Reception

Crankie Performances

Saturday September 14th, 1:00pm EMAIL RSVP HERE

Link to all Crankie events on Facebook HERE.

Location

CAMIBAart Gallery is pleased to present Valerie Fowler and her exhibit “The Story of the Deer in the Road”. Viewers familiar with Valerie’s artwork will automatically recognize her expressive style, with its bend toward surrealism, and her sense of place, often a romanticized life in Central Texas. Her vision is uniquely personal, yet universal in message. She employs elements from the natural world as allegorical characters to imply storytelling with a mission to inspire contemplation concerning human interaction with our natural world.

The artworks in this exhibit explore Valerie’s personal visions of vulnerability and confrontation with death and threats to human existence in general, manifested in the form of a deer. The animal, ubiquitous in Texas and throughout the U.S., transgresses into human habitat such that its presence is a constant reminder to us that its own natural habitat has shrunk and is continuously being altered. This deer, a female, portrayed in various visions or settings, is, in turns, the protagonist in a story not completely revealed, an omen, or an alter ego to the artist.

In her own words:

Through implied narratives I relay my concern and love for our fragile home as I explore the mark we humans make on it. Stories, taken from my own interactions with nature, are integral. Over time I’ve developed personal touchstones and archetypes sourced from my native Texas environment, which hint at allegories.

About the Artist:

Valerie Fowler is a visual artist, a painter and mixed media artist, and most recently, a visual performer. Her past work includes painting murals for Whole Foods Market in Austin, Chicago and Ann Arbor; illustration and layout work for The Texas Observer; illustrations for CD jackets forlocal musicians, including a fully illustrated, 64 page book that accompanies the CD for "Ivy and the Wicker Suitcase", a musical project written, recorded and produced by her husband, and frequent collaborator, Brian Beattie. The "Ivy" project toured the East and West coasts and she and Beattie produced the full stage production for Austin's Stateside at the Paramount Theater in 2014. Fowler teaches art in her home studio and is also an art instructor at The Contemporary, The Art School at Laguna Gloria. Most recently, the Texas Book Festival chose Fowler as their 2018 Festival artist. Her painting Spring, Everything Changes; Fredericksburg, Texasgraced the festival poster and corresponding campaign materials.

About Robin Chotzinoff:

An all-purpose writer of books, songs, skits and odes-while-U-wait, Robin Chotzinoff has been telling stories from stages around Austin for the past decade. She is the author of People With Dirty Hands and four other published books, as well Project Time: the DIY Musical. She works both as a general contractor, helping clients make their construction dreams concrete, and a ghost-writer-for-hire, specializing in burnishing and tightening narrative voices. A long-time supporter and admirer of Valerie Fowler’s art, she is honored and excited to contribute to The Story of the Deer in the Road.

About Brian Beattie:

Brian Beattie, Valerie Fowler's husband and frequent collaborator, is an Austin based musician/songwriter/record producer. He's worked with Bill Callahan, Daniel Johnston, Shearwater, and Okkervil River, among others. He produced K. McCarty's landmark album "Dead Dog's Eyeball- Songs of Daniel Johnston". More information about Brian can be found on his website here.

This project is sponsored in part by the Cultural Arts Division of the City of Austin Economic Development Department and the Center for Women and Their Work.

Intro music generously provided by Stan Killian

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Links:

• Valerie Fowler - website

"You really need to define success for yourself, separately from the reactions of other people. If you are waiting to publish the book or get collected by museum X or all of those things that depend on other people, you need to reframe success for yourself. You can't control them nor should you really want to. You could hope that they would come along for the ride. Define success for yourself and then focus on making sure that happens. You can control that. You can get involved in that and make those things happen."

If you are looking for a technical discussion on Photoshop and cameras to choose this is not the one. We had a fairly philosophical conversation about many subjects including defining a mission in life, being present, nature, spirit of place, creativity, play, and how to find your own way as an artist and a human. I love how thoughtful and specific he is with his words and wisdom. It’s no wonder he is a sought after lecturer and teacher.

Please enjoy this conversation recorded in John Paul’s home gallery located in Cushing, Maine on a beautiful summer day. And be sure to keep up with him and enjoy what he shares by signing up for his Insights enews subscription.

The following biography is used courtesy of John Paul's website.

John Paul Caponigro is one of the most prominent visual artists working with digital media. His art has been exhibited internationally and purchased by numerous private and public collections including Princeton University, the Estée Lauder collection, and the Smithsonian.

John Paul dynamically combines his background in painting with traditional and alternative photographic processes using state-of-the-art digital technology. A form of environmental art in virtual space, his work is about the perception of nature and the nature of perception. His life’s work is both a call to connection with nature and a call for conscientious creative interaction with our environment during a time of rapid change.

Respected as an authority on creativity, photography, and fine art printing, he is a highly sought after speaker, lecturing extensively at conferences, universities, and museums, in venues as diverse as Photoshop World, Google and TEDx. He leads seminars and workshops around the globe.

John Paul’s work has been published widely in numerous periodicals and books including Art News and The Ansel Adams Guide. Author of the video training series R/Evolution and the book Adobe Photoshop Master Class, for over twenty years he has been a contributing editor to a variety of magazines and websites including Camera Arts, Digital Photo Pro, The Huffington Post, and Apple.

John Paul is a member of the Photoshop Hall of Fame, an Epson Stylus Pro, and an X-Rite Coloratti. His clients include Adobe, Apple, Canon, Epson, Kodak, and Sony.

Learn more – visit www.johnpaulcaponigro.com and get a free subscription to his enews Insights.

JP’s mission

My life's work is dedicated to inspiring conscientious creative interaction with our environment.

Authentic creativity is the key to unlocking solutions for the most pressing issues of our times.

Each of us has unique and valuable contributions to make during this important moment in history.

I urge you to make yours now.

And I'm here to help you.

Intro music generously provided by Stan Killian

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Links:

• John Paul Caponigro - Website