Neil Gaiman & Jim Jarmusch talk about art!

What do artists think about making art?

In Neil Gaiman's book Smoke and Mirrors he talks about how he writes. "The place they arrived at in the end was not the place I was expecting them to go when I set out. Sometimes the only way I would know that a story had finished was when there weren't any more words to be written down."    

 

 Jim Jarmusch whose first major film, Stranger Than Paradise was produced on a budget of approximately $125,000 and released in 1984 to much critical acclaim, says "Nothing is original. Steal from anywhere that resonates with inspiration or fuels your imagination. Devour old films, new films, books, music, paintings, photographs, poems, dreams, random conversations, architecture, bridges, street signs, trees, clouds, bodies of water, light and shadows. Select only things to steal that speak directly to your soul. If you do this your work (and theft) will be authentic. Authenticity is invaluable; originality is non-existent. And don't bother concealing your thievery - celebrate it if you feel like it."

If you would like to see some of our completed work that is for sale go to www.wilsonhughesgallery.com or visit us at the gallery. We appreciate referrals. Please share this email with your friends. The next Art by Night is Friday, April 3rd from 5 to 9 pm.  

 

John Wilson & Suzun Hughes  

Wilson Hughes gallery - contemporary fine art & craft

Creativity...what is it?

My creative process revolves around three things: the material; what it wants to reveal of its self; and how I can transform it into the thing that it wants to be. When I was younger and heard statements by sculptors that all they do is discover what is inside the material they have at hand I would think WTF are they talking about. I mean a block of stone is just that; a block of stone and a lump of clay is just a lump of clay. Then I started sculpting and discovered what they meant. I use structural steel for my most challenging, and to me most interesting, pieces. Now how much soul can a W12X50 I-beam have after all? A lot! For example there is my sculpture on the Roanoke River Greenway called The Mutated Snail. After I found the I-beam, it sat around my studio for several months. Finally, one day I said, "well let's see about doing something with this beam". 

I started cutting on it and soon the figure of the snail started emerging. After adding a few extra pieces it looked to me like a large mutated snail. With some grinding and paint it was finished and ready for a showing. Exactly how that happened, I don't know except the snail emerged from that piece of steel. 

I won the City Purchase Award at the Roanoke City Art Show and the Snail is now enshrined in its present location near Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital.

My sculpture Found In The River has been selected by juror Doug McClemont, a writer and curator based in New York, to show at the 2015 Biennial Exhibition at Olin Hall Galleries in Salem, VA. Also one of my designs for the City of Lynchburg Artful Bike Rack Competition, Sir Speedy was selected to be constructed and installed early this summer in front of the Sun Trust Bank in Downtown Lynchburg, VA. Thanks for taking the time to read this. 

John Wilson

If you would like to see some of our completed work that is for sale go to www.wilsonhughesgallery.com  or visit us at the gallery. We appreciate referrals. Please share this email with your friends. The next Art by Night is Friday, April 3rd from 5 to 9 pm.

John Wilson & Suzun Hughes  

Wilson Hughes gallery - contemporary fine art & craft

How long did it take to paint that?

People often ask how long it takes to create a work of art. Usually it is an innocent question from someone who does not create, sometimes it is a criticism implying that the work is so simple that anyone could have painted it. The truth is that it is almost impossible for me to calculate how much time I spend working on a painting. The physical act of painting is a lot less than the amount of time I spend thinking about my painting, dreaming about my painting, and looking at my painting in progress. The honest answer to the question is that it has taken me my whole life to create this painting - it is the sum of everything I know, have learned, and have experienced.

I am also happy to let you know that Seeker has been selected to show at the 2015 Biennial Exhibition at Olin Hall Galleries. The show opens on March 13 at 6:00 pm with the Juror Lecture and Awards Announcements by Doug McClemont. Reception at 6:30pm. The show closes on April 5th. For directions see www.roanoke.edu/olingallery. I look forward to seeing you. suzun
 
If you would like to see some of our recent completed work that is for sale go to  www.wilsonhughesgallery.com or visit us at the gallery.
John Wilson & Suzun Hughes 
Wilson Hughes gallery - contemporary fine art & craft