ART SCHOOL | Q&A with JEREMY SHOCKLEYLike snapshots of memories morphed into vivid drea

ART SCHOOL | Q&A with JEREMY SHOCKLEYLike snapshots of memories morphed into vivid dreamscapes, LA based artist Jeremy Shockley creates narrative works featuring rainbows, clouds and creatures. In his landscapes, curtains reveal a cast of strange and dreamy characters on stage–that like clouds drifting through the sky, momentarily meet and interact on canvas. Find out more about his art, his inspiration and what he has coming up the rest of the year by taking the leap below! Photographs courtesy of the artist. Introduce yourself?  My name is Jeremy Shockley.  I live in LA, specifically my studio is in El Sereno and I live in KTown.  I’m a painter and also work in artland, typically helping figure out large scale works and exhibitions.  I have a wonderful girlfriend named Nikki, a half blind angel dog named Willie, and five chickens: Debbie, Hairdo, Edna, Billy Jo, and Dink.When did you begin having an interest in art and painting as a career? How or why do you think you gravitated towards painting?I’ve pretty much always wanted to paint and draw for as long as I could remember.  It all started drawing Ninja Turtles and Predator on my grandma’s floor when I was around 4.  My parents let me paint my entire room.   My family was always supportive about making art…so I just always assumed it was a normal life path or something like that.How do you describe your work to people who maybe unfamiliar with it? What are your paintings about?It’s hard for me to admit it, but I guess they are kind of Surrealist.  I always hated surrealism, and then bam…I kind of just started doing it.  I like my paintings to convey some type of narrative or snapshot of a memory.  I like story telling, but prefer pictures over words.In your works, you often have beautiful landscapes intertwined with the surreal–from melting rainbows to ghosts the landscape literally being curtain. When did you begin to discover the subjects for your paintings? How did that evolve and come-about?The landscapes came about because I wanted a pretty backdrop for this cast of characters to live in.  It evolved into landscape curtains when I went into full acceptance of it essentially being a stage.  The characters are all some sort of amalgamation of my constant reading/listening to books on mythology and sci-fi.  I keep a running story in my head of these characters and landscapes, so I really just pick a scene and paint that.  It’s a pretty fun way of working.How has the places you’ve lived and its landscape influenced the work you create?I’m from Travelers Rest, South Carolina and it is as pretty as the name suggests. It’s in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains and a lot of my source imagery still comes from there.  I also love Los Angeles and its beaches.  Nothing is more calming that just painting an ocean.  In the last few years I’ve been traveling a ton, so I carry a travel studio wherever I go.  Keeps me sane and there’s always something pretty or just the right kind of ugly to paint.What was your last adventure or walk through your neighborhood that showed up in one of your work, thematically or just visually?I go outside of my studio and just stare at the sky a lot.  I’m a big fan of clouds and El Sereno skies are incredible in the afternoon.   I just did a painting about waking up right after a shipwreck.  It’s painted like your looking out from behind eyelids.  Had a great stormy day outside the studio for reference.  What IS your favorite thing to draw or paint? Do you have an UNfavorite thing to draw or paint?I like clouds and creatures mostly.  Softer and less structured things.  I hate painting hard lines and rigid things.  Metallic finishes are also tricky, but I’m working on those.When did you start picking up the paint brush and taking your works to the canvas? What do you enjoy about painting as a process?I probably started around 6th grade.   Up until then I think it was all notebook paper drawings.  I love drawing, but it’s so much more fun just covering a surface with paint.  I love a toothy surface that’s really unpredictable to drag paint across. What’s a typical day like for you when you’re in the studio?I usually drive to Carl Jr’s and get a bucket sized unsweet tea around 8:30am.  I start working as soon as I walk into my studio, so I don’t get distracted by my sweet VHS collection (thanks Richard Colman for that).  I put on an audiobook and work straight through until around 7 or 8 pm.  It always just goes by so fast.  What are your go-to art tools?Oil Paint, Linseed, Lavender Spike, a bunch of brushes. 3 palletes, an old piece of bamboo to lean my arm on, so I don’t drag in the wet paint, and some bent up old palette knives.What are you constantly inspired by? And who are some of your early and current art influences?I spend a lot of my time just looking at stuff and trying to figure out what colors it’s made up of.  Also, I love looking at old paintings, even like old ones at thrift stores.   I’ve always loved Constable, Guston, and Ansel Adams.  Recently: Forrest Bess, Albert York, Picasso, Bacon, Magritte, Monet, and more Constable.What do you do when you are not painting or creating new work? How do you find yourself unwinding?I hang out with our chickens and dog in our backyard.  All of Nikki’s fingers are green, and she made a lil nature paradise back there.  Also, on Sundays I go to Applebees in Alhambra and have a Bloody Mary followed by whatever terrible action movie is playing at the movie theater next door.What advice would you offer to an aspiring artist who might wanna follow in your footsteps?I’ve worked with a lot of successful artists, and they all seem to have one thing in common: they are always working.  I try to do the same.  I love painting, so I do it every second I get.What’s your best Art School tip that you want to share with folks? Some random wisdom you learned through your personal journey or just while making art?I went to a cheap in state school, after seeing they had big free studios.  The professors were also great.  It was in a small town, so pretty much everyone was always working distraction free in their studios. It was amazing, and I didn’t have any debt afterwards.  It didn’t have a big name, but we all came knowing how to make stuff.  Thanks Winthrop University.What do you think you’d be doing if you weren’t an artist? In an alternate universe, what would you have been career-wise?I also have a degree in Psychology.  I meant to be a Psychologist and even moved to NY to pursue research opportunities, but I got a job working for Tom Sachs and have been artbound ever since.What’s a question you never get asked in an interview that you wanna ask yourself and answer?What’s your favorite Tom Hanks movie?  Joe Versus the Volcano, obviously.  I watch it on VHS at least once a month.  There’s this scene where the luggage all pops up out of the water and the moon is crazy looking.  I honestly think it strongly influenced my art.What are your favorite style of VANS? Vans Authentic Chilli Pepper Red with Gumsoles.  Favorite shoes of all time.What’s coming up for you the rest of the year or into the next? I have a couple of works going out into group shows and still in the works for a show abroad in September.  FOLLOW JEREMY | INSTAGRAM -- source link
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