Tag Archives: interview

“My Moleskine” magazine

Artist Amy Guidry with her painting, "Trophy," at the Louisiana State Museum

I recently did an interview with Michael Rakov for the Russian arts magazine, “My Moleskine.”  I’m happy to announce that the interview is now online- in Russian, of course- http://www.mymoleskine.ru/2011/08/okorok-ili-grudinka/.  I can say that trying translations through Google and Yahoo Babel Fish produced different results, each being a bit off.  So, I do have the original interview in English to post here (minus the introduction written by Mr. Rakov, since I don’t have that in English):

1.    How did you start making art? Maybe there are any funny stories that were associated with it? Tell us about it.
I started drawing as soon as I could hold a crayon.  On occasion I would be allowed to use more “advanced” (which also meant messy) art supplies such as oil pastels.  I was fascinated by their richness and the colors produced.  I would draw all the time and literally produced so many drawings my mother had to throw some of them out.  I would go through an entire package of typing paper in a week.  As I got older, I was interested in other media such as graphite, pen and ink, and charcoal.  My work became more detailed so I utilized more pen and ink and sometimes charcoal pencils since they allowed for more precision than sticks of charcoal.
As a child, I was always creating through various means, so it was something that came to me naturally.  I knew even at a young age that I wanted to be an artist professionally one day.  I was about eight years old when I decided that my “job” would be to paint for museums, not realizing that museums do not actually pay you to paint all day and then just stick your work on their walls.  By the time I was in college, I decided that I needed to study graphic design and work in the more commercial realm of art.  I, like many artists, believed that it was impossible to earn a living as an artist unless you worked in the design field.  I did this for over eleven years, but eventually I could not deny my initial desire to paint.  I started reading anything I could find regarding running a business, marketing, sales, etc.  I devised a plan to reach my goals and followed a timeline to keep myself on target which is how I became a full-time artist.  I think about art constantly- from the moment I wake up until I go to sleep- I think of paintings that I’m working on, or paintings that I will do in the future, or I’m thinking about exhibitions I have coming up.  It’s a lot of work, but I love what I do.

2.    What is the basic idea in your works? May be there is philosophy or anything like that? For example, Impressionists wanted to stop impression of moment this was them basic idea. What do you want to tell people with your work?
I tend to work in series, so that each is a collective body of work pertaining to a particular subject matter.  That being said, each series serves as a platform for tackling social or political issues.  Some series are broad in scope, while others hone in on one issue.  Art is my way of communicating with the world, raising questions, and presenting ideas.  Though I can’t tell people what to do, I hope that my work will at least inspire them or encourage them to reflect on what they can do to help make a difference in the world.

3.    Your creativity looks like Surrealism, Am I right? But Surrealism is play of senses, meanings etc. What meanings do you play with?
Yes, I have been influenced by Surrealism from a very young age.  In addition to art, psychology was another interest of mine so I gravitated to Surrealism quite naturally since it was the grand marriage of the two.  My style has become progressively more surreal, and I am always looking to challenge myself both technically and conceptually.  As a result, with my latest series “In Our Veins,” I have been working with ideas that come from my dreams and free-association exercises, which were both utilized by the original Surrealists.

“In Our Veins” explores the connections between all life forms and the cycle of life through a surreal, psychologically-charged narrative.  Many of the concepts included in the series deal with life and death, survival and the exploitation of other species for one’s own survival, the connections between all life forms, and the delicate balance of nature.  This includes the interdependence of the human race to each other and to the rest of the animal kingdom, as well as the planet itself.  One cannot exist without the other, therefore it is of the utmost importance that we care for each and every living thing.

4.    What day was the most crazy of your life? What were you doing during that day?
Well, if this is art-related, I do have one story.  I was working on a rather complex painting in hopes of including it in an exhibition I had coming up.  The painting took me longer than expected, so the day before I had to bring my work to the gallery, I was still working on it.  As the hours wore on, I started to realize I was going to have to stay up to finish.  I was exhausted, so I drank two Diet Cokes (which I never have caffeine, so these had a strong effect on me) in order to stay awake and paint until 3am.  Then I went to sleep for about four hours, got up and finished the painting a matter of hours before going to the gallery.  Luckily they are acrylic, which dries quickly.  My paintbrushes were in horrible shape by the time I finished.

5.    Do you do sketches?  If you do, What kind of notebooks or special paper do you prefer for that?
I do a lot of thumbnail sketches, which are roughly 1-inch square sketches giving the basic idea of a concept with just a few lines and shapes, no detail.  I tend to do these types of sketches as an idea comes to mind, so some of them are done on scraps of paper, while others are in a journal or a standard sketchbook.  I will sketch on anything in order to remember my ideas at the time.  When I do larger sketches, I like to use newsprint paper because it’s cheap and also tracing paper.  The tracing paper is useful because I sometimes only want to change one thing in my sketch, so I trace what I’ve already drawn, minus the part I want to change.  Then I can compare the two and see what I like best.  Sometimes I may have to draw the same sketch three or four more times because of all the changes.

To learn more (and see more!) visit www.AmyGuidry.com

New Interview

"The Pack" by Amy Guidry; acrylic on canvas; 20"w x 10"h; (c) Amy Guidry

I did an interview for Meaning-full recently and it is currently posted online!  For those of you that don’t know me personally, this interview gives a little more insight into my work, my process, as well as a little more about me.  And there are lots of images, so be sure to check out the second page of the post in order to read the interview.  Just go to http://meaning-full.com/05/meaning-full/painting-amy-guidry/.

There’s also a link to my site from the interview, but in case you don’t know, my work can be found at www.AmyGuidry.com.

 

Interviews, websites, makeovers, Oh my!

Artist Amy Guidry discusses her work with viewers at Gallery 549

Sorry for the delayed post! I’ve had a lot going on as of late, some of which I would like to announce right now. I recently did an interview for Pop Culture Radio with Chris Wakefield. The interview is now online and has a bit of something for everyone whether you are an artist, a collector, or just an admirer of art. You can listen to the entire interview at this link: http://popcultureradio.net/radio-interview/amy-guidry/.

Also, for some even bigger news and I do mean big- if you’ve been following along you know of this several months long undertaking- my website makeover is finished and the results are now online! The overall design is a bit different (new and improved!) and there are some new added features. For one, the images are now large. And I mean large! Many of them have a zoom-in feature as well. While you are there, be sure to sign up for my e-newsletter. You can also now sign up for my quarterly postcard which features one of my latest paintings on the front and a quick list of exhibits on the back. Many people just like to collect the postcards for the paintings since they also get my newsletter. Sign up for one or for both, they’re all free. Check it out at www.AmyGuidry.com.

Interviews

Detail from "Survival of the Fittest" by Amy Guidry; (c) Amy Guidry 2010
Detail from "Survival of the Fittest" by Amy Guidry; (c) Amy Guidry 2010

There are currently three sites posting my work, two of which include new interviews. First, as mentioned in an older post, my work was selected for inclusion on the beinArt Surreal Art Collective site. If you are unfamiliar with the site, it is an online collection of surrealist works by renowned artists (many are my personal heroes) such as Ron English, Laurie Lipton, and Kris Kuksi. I’m really excited and honored to have my work included among such great artists. Check out my profile at beinArt.org-Artists-Amy Guidry.

Two recent interviews are posted online as well. First, I had an interview with Guy Sangster Adams of the U.K.’s “Plectrum- The Cultural Pick.” It’s a great interview and Mr. Adams had some wonderful comments about my work so check it out at Plectrum-Exhibition/New Work Preview and Interview:Amy Guidry.

The second interview was with Silvia Moreno-Garcia of the Canadian zine, Innsmouth Free Press. Another round of interesting questions, which you can check out on their site at Innsmouth Free Press- Interview:Amy Guidry.

Goings On

"Untitled (Heads)" by Amy Guidry; (c) Amy Guidry 2010
"Untitled (Heads)" by Amy Guidry; (c) Amy Guidry 2010

Many probably view summer as a time for a break… eventually I may get to that point. I’ve been switching gears from one show to the next and have a few blog appearances. And I’ve sold two older works that were the “last of their kind,” so to speak. If you’ve been following along, you may recall that I’ve just wrapped up a show with the Schepis Museum. I have three more events coming up, though, and they are right around the corner. First, my work will be in the 2010 Art Melt in Baton Rouge, LA at the Louisiana State Museum (July 15th is the Preview show). Next up is the 30th Anniversary Exhibition at Wally Workman Gallery in Austin, TX (August 7th from 6-8pm). Then I will have work in the “Hot August Night” event at The Oak Street Gallery in Hammond, LA (August 20th from 6-10pm).

My work has recently been featured on several blogs and I recently did an interview for Innsmouth Free Press which will be up in August. Check out my work on Chainsaws and Jelly at http://www.chainsawsandjelly.com/2010/06/artist-amy-guidry.html and on One Surrealist a Day at http://onesurrealistaday.com/page/90 and Don’t Panic at http://sputniked.tumblr.com/post/704226904/untitled-heads. And be sure to check out my work on my website at www.AmyGuidry.com.

In the News

"Cocoon" by Amy Guidry; SOLD; From the New Realm series; Copyright Amy Guidry 2009

I’m excited to have a birthday coming up, so that means my family will be coming to visit. Plus, I’ve asked my mom to get several copies of the Sunday paper for me, so she will have those in tow. It’s actually last Sunday’s edition of the Times Picayune, which is the New Orleans newspaper. So in addition to the birthday excitement, I’m excited to see a tangible copy of the interview I have in the Slidell section of the Times Picayune. Kathleen DesHotel wrote a wonderful article about my work and has many full-color images of my paintings. The b+w images continue on the inside of the paper, but at least I have several in color on the front! The interview couldn’t come at a better time since I have a show coming up on the eastern side of the state in Hammond, LA. If you’re a “regular” you will already know this, but for those newbies, my show is a solo exhibition of my New Realm series at the Oak Street Gallery. The opening is August 21st from 6-9pm.

I can’t wait to see the actual paper in person, and according to my mother, the article seems to be longer than what’s featured on the internet. However, you get the gist of it (sans photos…I know, what were they thinking?) online at nola.com- http://www.nola.com/picayunes/t-p/slidellpicayune/index.ssf?/base/news-21/124786059728520.xml&coll=1

As soon as I have a copy, I will be sure to post pictures and the link in my Press section of my website.  In the meantime, if you would like to see more of my work, visit http://www.AmyGuidry.com

20 Questions…Okay, Not Really 20, But A LOT

Page Excerpt from Craig\'s ComicAs promised, I did an interview with my comic book artist brother, Craig. You may (or should) recall a recent post of his work on here. Okay, I’ll stop blathering now and get to the questions with this interesting artist…

Q. What’s the premise behind your comic?
A. Well, the idea came from a sketch I had done a long time before starting the comic. I just drew a couple of anthropomorphic lizards with primitive/tribal clothing and always kept them in mind. The idea for the comic’s story is inspired by my ideals concerning the planet and its inhabitants, human and non-human. I want the story to be extremely visually interesting and epic.
The lizard-man shown is one of many…a society that is in competition to dominate the life and land that surrounds them. The story will show that this is not an easy task because there are protectors of the forests who will not let their land be stolen.

Q. Do you have a title for it yet? A. Nothing as of yet…I think I just had the idea, being “lizard man,” for the character and went from there. Personally, I think “Lizard Man” would be a horrible title…the book is about more than that.

Q. Will there be any text? Is that a first in comic history or are there other comics that are sans text?
A. I had the determination to NOT put any text whatsoever in my story. I’m almost positive that I can accomplish my goal to create a comic that is all visual and interpreted through framing panels and choosing the right way to convey thoughts of the characters with expressions.
I’m not sure if there are any (successful) comics that contain no dialogue. It’s definitely not a trendy way of presenting a comic book. I feel that my idea will work well without text because of it’s content. It’s animals and a tribal society that has a language we wouldn’t understand. So rather than write text and the reader just pretends he/she can understand what they say while hearing lizard gibberish in their minds, I’ve just omitted the language barrier completely.

Q. So far all the artwork you’ve shown me is b+w, will you be sticking to this or adding any color?
A. I’m not at all against using color…I like to paint with vibrant colors, but I feel my comic is bolder with the dramatic contrast of pitch black and bright white panels and the “gray” tones that emerge from lighter pen strokes.

Q. What other comics and/or comic artists influence or inspire you?
A. I am a fan of a select few comics…I enjoy fantasy art and creative ideas in general, but haven’t really developed enough of a comic book knowledge to compete with “true” comic book fans. I am a fan of such comics as WATCHMEN, V FOR VENDETTA, MOUSEGUARD, HACK/SLASH, THE WALKING DEAD, HULK: PLANET HULK, some of the PUNISHER: MAXX series, and the original TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES omnibus (which is B+W, as well), HELLBOY, WE 3, I really like Todd McFarlane’s artwork itself, and Jhonen Vasquez’s work.

Work in progressQ. What do you think it is about comics that have such a huge following? They’re highly popular, more so than some books even?
A. Well, I think that comic book artists/writers/creators and the characters and stories that are popular are so probably because they deserve to be. I am a huge fan of movies…and was extremely excited to see certain comic book adaptations hit the big screens as of late. I enjoyed the Watchmen adaptation a lot, as well as V for Vendetta, 300, 30 Days of Night, Batman : Begins, and especially The Dark Knight. It works only when you get a director with some talent and credibility. There are a lot of hack directors out there who may as well have filmed the flushing of a toilet rather than attempting to make a decent movie.
As far as audiences is concerned, I think a lot of people may read certain comics or see the movies without really have an genuine interest in the creativity and hard work involved. A certain character may be popular and children may drag their parents to see the latest Spiderman film, while the children are attracted to the images shown, they probably have not read a single Spiderman comic and the parents are mildly entertained.
I just like it when people who appreciate art and comics and have knowledge of those kinds of things are the ones who see the movies/read the comics and can use discretion when stating which films are good and which are not, as well as which comics deserve their success and which are popular for a character with a flashy costume and no depth story wise.

Q. Who would win in a fight? Superman or Batman?
A. Hmmm…a question that I know has been pondered over by many-a-nerd. I can say this…Batman definitely has more money than Superman. But when it comes to blows, I’m afraid that Superman would most likely win. I think they’ve done a comic with that…I’ve never read it if they have. It’s not really a fair fight if you ask me…but at least Batman doesn’t have to work some crappy job and dress like a nerd.
I think if it were about “smarts” then Batman would win. He’s the best detective around…his costume is cooler…the story is dark and interesting…overall, I prefer that Batman win. I don’t think he would, though, since Superman is the “man of steel” and can stop a bullet, locomotive, and anything else. Maybe if Batman had some kryptonite it would be fair…I’m sick of this question.

Q. If you could be a comic book character, who would you be and why?
A. I would probably like to be Rorshach from Watchmen because I think he is a great character because he’s a loner with convictions who doesn’t tolerate the world and its inhabitants’ selfishness and greed. He is a very violent character…but only against those who in all honesty deserve to be treated in that way.

Q. What is your favorite comic?
A. Probably “Bone,” which is what I’m currently reading. It’s funny and epic and is like Calvin and Hobbes meets Lord of the Rings. The art is amazing…it’s cute little cartoon characters in detailed forest scenes with creative characters and plotlines. The story is huge and I’m only about halfway through it.

Q. Do you have any info on future comics your’e working on that you’d like to share or is that top secret?
A. I’ve got some ideas…one was a story about mice, but not like Secret of Nimh mice. More realistic.
Another idea was a dog that is abducted from its home and put in an animal testing facility. That actually does occur in reality.

Q. For all your female fans out there, are you single?
A. Yes. Not married or crazy…or both.