Meet Brian Phillips, a third year Penrod artist! We sat down with him to find out more about his artwork and involvement in Penrod. You can find his 2D Mixed Media art in booth Yellow 77 on Indiana’s Nicest Day!
Image provided by Brian Phillips
Can you tell us a little bit about your art? My art is created with collage and acrylic paint. I start with a sketch, add a layer of paint and then start adding detail and texture with collage. I create my own collage papers by combining images, textures and maps onto archival paper. So I may take one of my photos of bricks or buildings from a trip to NY and digitally combine it with a street map of Indianapolis and some splatter paint, for example. Then I chop it up, organize it and use it for color. Sometimes I will create depth with layers of mat board. Often times I will try to create emphasis or movement in the composition by allowing an element to break out of the rectangle.
Where do you find the inspiration for your pieces? Dogs are the perfect subject for me for several reasons. I come from a family of dog lovers. I grew up surrounded by dog books and lots of different breeds of dogs throughout the family. My first collage and acrylic painting of a dog was a gift to my grandmother. I like the human emotions that dogs express. I like to express movement and emotion in my work. I like my art to tell a story and for the viewer to interpret what they think is happening. I try to avoid “say cheese” portraits of dogs.
Where can we find your works? I have a studio in the Stutz building downtown. I’ve had shows in the gallery there and participated in both of the Stutz open houses in April and December. I’ve also participated in Broad Ripple and Talbott Street art fairs in the past. My work has been displayed in Chatham Home on Walnut street in the Mass Ave district.
Is this your full-time job? I just put my youngest and third child on the bus to kindergarten this fall and I now work five days a week, so it’s getting closer to full-time. My studio is on the fourth floor of the Stutz building and I have an extraordinary view of downtown Indy. Though I try to keep my collage into trays of color, my studio is often a mess with papers strewn about and scaffolding built to take time lapse photos of my creations.
What are your future goals for your pieces? I’m adding more patterns into a lot of my work. A striped dress for example. I’m also planning to incorporate more line work into some of my collage pieces as that is a strength that stands out when I draw from the nude model.
We want to welcome Indiana native Greg Potter to Penrod Arts Fair! This will be Potter’s first year being involved in Indiana’s Nicest Day. “I have heard so many stories about Penrod and about how art lovers come from all over the state and the Midwest,” said Potter. “People should come to Penrod because they will see some of the finest art in the state and possibly the Midwest.”
We sat down with Potter to find out a little more about his artwork. You can find him on September 10 at booth Yellow 54.
Image provided by Greg Potter
Can you tell us some information about your art? I try to approach art from a humorous and thought-provoking side because when you see my paintings, (for instance, a hippo with a shark fin) people usually laugh, and they ask, “Why did you paint this?” I tell them, “Because hippos kill more people than sharks!” Or when they see my brontosaur with wings, and they ask why? I tell them because birds evolved from dinosaurs…or so they say. With my art, just like any other art that you will see in the festival, it might remind people of a given time and a place from their past or present. In the same way, I like people to come up with their own meanings for my work.
Where do you find the inspiration for your pieces? These ideas just come to me naturally. I often think about some type of animal that can’t fly and I put some form of way so that they can fly. It is like humans, we have always wanted to fly and we were not able to do that up until the twentieth century.
How long does it take for you to do a piece from start to finish? Around two to three days but I always go back to the piece one, two, even three times and change something that I don’t like. Sometimes I rework the whole thing completely. Once I get the idea, I tone the canvas and I sketch the image.
Where can we find your art? I have displayed my art in the Young Collector’s Exhibit at Gallery 924, the Water and Zoom Exhibits at Meridian Street Gallery, and the Obsolete Artifacts at Raymond James Stutz Gallery among others. I have also taken part in art fairs such as the Indiana State Museum, the Monument Circle and the WAMMfest. In June, I usually exhibit my art at Benjamin’s, a locally owned coffee shop in Franklin that does a great job in promoting local artists. You can also find my work on my website www.theartaholic.org and my Facebook page: The Artaholic. The Art of Greg Potter.
Is this your full-time job? I am a veteran, I was twenty years in the service, and I have a small retirement from the army. Painting has been my full time passion because you cannot retire from art. My studio is in my home in Franklin and it is an absolute disaster! However, I have excellent light and that chaos often triggers my creativity.
What are your future goals for your pieces? To have a solo show anywhere in Indianapolis, and continue to score small venues around the state bringing joy and happiness to patrons.
