Marcelle Murdock

Artist Q&A with Marcelle Murdock

“Sigil of Gemini”, oil on canvas, 30 x 40 in | 76 x 102 cm, 2010

Why did you become an artist?

I didn’t become an artist, I just never stopped creating. I was always drawing, painting and discovering new mediums as a kid, which continued through my teen years to this day. Whenever I can learn a new medium I continue to challenge myself and try new techniques. Painting for me was always my main medium and I would spend hours of my days and nights painting, which was not only enjoyable but also a form of therapy for myself and I simply never put the paintbrush down. Creating isn’t a hobby, it’s an absolute need whether it brings me somewhere in my life or if it’s just for myself personally.

How is your work different than everything else out there?

I feel there are two main aspects of how my work is different than a lot of work I see around. The first is that I have a background in photography and photoshop, so when I create a painting I’m also treating it the way I would a digital photograph with the type of lighting I paint and the way I view the full frame. The second is the main difference which is that I don’t base the work on myself nor do I base most of the aesthetic on my personal taste either, I try to completely match the painting techniques and imagery to the style of the person I am painting a portrait of.

Marcelle Murdock, portrait by Marie Nyquist

What’s different about your current body of work?

Each of my portraits are really to honor the style, aesthetic and energy of the subject I am painting. The ideas for each … Click here to read more

Lee Harvey Roswell

Artist Q&A with Lee Harvey Roswell

“Lil’ Piggy Goes to Market”, oil on wood, 14 x 11 in | 36 x 28 cm, 2020

Why did you become an artist?

Becoming an artist seems fated to me. I’d established an early propensity towards creative activities, most specifically drawing. By the time I was a young adult making a conscious decision to be an artist I had already developed my art into a habit. So, there was never a question of why am I doing this in this formative years. Since then I suppose I’ve asked myself the question, and given myself answers, but the answers never fully cover the matter. As therapy, as a skill set I can make a living off, and as a way of contributing to a better world are all fine reasons, but beyond all that, I feel that I create art because I was meant to create art.

How is your work different than everything out there?

Well, it’s certainly not an all-consuming matter being different. If an artist finds “their voice” they will inevitably be different from others. Sure, there’s a lot of living working artists in the world today, more than ever, but creative expression is so diverse really. I can say I have been working in my craft for a good many years and people have come to recognize each work as a Lee Harvey Roswell, speaking in terms of “the new Lee Harvey Roswell,” or “it was like something out of a Lee Harvey Roswell”. So, in that I am the only artist out there making authentic Lee Harvey Roswells.

What’s different about your current body of work?

The most obvious difference in my new work is thematic. I’d already been pushing a dark take on life, and now with the pandemic, unemployment, … Click here to read more

Jerry Kirk

Artist Q&A with Jerry Kirk

“A King, A Clown, and Businessman”, acrylic on wood, 36 x 60 in | 91 x 152 cm, 2019

Why did you become an artist?

It was never a question of why. I began making art the moment that I was old enough to hold a crayon in my hand and never had a thought to being anything but an artist. I’ve been making art and have been an artist my entire life.

How is your work different than everything out there?

My work is different because of the variety of styles and themes that I incorporate. Unlike most artists who find their niche or one style and stick to that I like to follow my muse wherever she leads. From neo-realistic landscapes to expressive figurative and narrative paintings my work is basically all over the place. To work in one style pursuing the same theme or genre over and over would bore me so I choose to do it all and by doing so, I believe, grow and evolve more as an artist. The media that I choose to work in is also a variety – from painting to drawing to digital. I also write poetry. My art is about expressing whatever my soul desires in any way that I can. I think that this sets me apart from other artists and makes my art different.

What’s different about your current body of work?

Lately I have been pursuing expressionistic land and streetscapes along with politically and socially themed narrative paintings. After 30 years of living in one place I recently moved to a different state and this new local is infusing my land and streetscape paintings with a different look and feel; more expressionism than realism. The current social … Click here to read more

Lily Qian

Artist Q&A with Lily Qian

Why did you become an artist?

I was fortunate to have had a bohemian childhood. At a young age, I was encouraged to draw, read, and take dance classes. I was born into an artist family: my father was the Dean of the oil painting department at Beijing University and my mother was a ballet dancer and an award-winning costume designer. My father told me he wanted me to be an artist because it’s something I will always have no matter what happens in life. I became interested in illustration, design, and children’s books because it’s about creating art for everyone.

What’s different about your current body of work?

I always begin a project with drawing by hand first. I have a diverse range and enjoy working with a variety of materials from ink, watercolor, charcoal, and digital. For a long time, I was interested in studying people through portraiture and figurative works. My current work is a departure from the figure and more about exploring ideas and storytelling.

What’s coming up for you?

When I’m not busy with an illustration assignment, I’m creating new work for my portfolio. My next goal is to write and illustrate children’s books. Currently, I’m working with Christian Dior Couture on special fashion illustration assignments. Since 2017, I’ve partnered with Others Trade for Hope to design and develop handmade textile goods to support a small group of female artisans and their families in Bangladesh. It’s important for me to give back, and find a place where my work would also inspire others to fuller and happier lives.

To learn more about Lily and her work, please visit www.lily-qian.com/illustration.… Click here to read more

Machiko Edmondson “Double Bluff”

Machiko Edmondson’s Unattainable Desire

In her first virtual solo exhibition taking place at Robert Berry Gallery from June 26^th through July 26^th, 2020, London-based artist Machiko Edmondson has once again created an expansive look into the beauty and consumer cultures we currently live in. Just imagine, you can have a larger than life, never-aging fashion model being ever present on your living room wall for decades to come.

For her new body of work, Edmondson has painted new hyperrealistic faces through a rigorous studio practice and a renewed interest in offering the viewer some narrative into the lives of these stylized portraits. The artist has combined a subtle mixture of images to create these new portraits, while also using some actual figures for the first time in years.

For the untrained eye, Edmondson’s works appear to be larger than life photographs of women with the type of ideal beauty that one would see in all the beauty magazines targeted to young woman to promote style and luxury through the acquisition of consumer goods: clothing, makeup, hair products and jewelry. When in fact, the artist is actually promoting a disdain for the entire industry. The viewer who takes the time to get up close to the paintings will discover the immense amount of brushwork, blending, and laborious effort that went into making these paintings become something much more.

The artist states, “the works become paintings of unattainable desire,” and it is this bluff that is at the heart of the exhibition. In the era of identity becoming dominant, Edmondson strips these figures of what makes each women an individual, and ironically furthers the notion of unobtainable beauty. These idealized women have a level of beauty that is simply not possible in a reality without significant photo editing and … Click here to read more

John Ruby “Impressionable”

John Ruby’s Textured Appropriation of the Late Greats

In his first virtual solo exhibition taking place at Robert Berry Gallery, Chicago-based artist John Ruby has appropriated imagery of the world’s most iconic musicians, and puts a renewed importance on the rock-and-roll side of Pop Art.

For his new body of work, Ruby is creating digital recontextualizations of famous images of John Lennon, Bob Marley, Amy Winehouse, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin, David Bowie, and other late greats. Ruby’s inspiration behind the rock and roll motif seems to be one from the vantage point of an artist who clearly loves music. Many artists listen to classical music when creating, but this artist clearly loves the electric guitar and all the culture surrounding it. Every music fan has their idols, and Ruby certainly was inspired by what he grew up with in the 70s and 80s.

The show is the first online only show at Robert Berry Gallery, which seems to be the new trend in the art world given the current state of the COVID-19 pandemic, and virtual exhibitions are quite a step forward over the already stale “viewing room” that have been making their way into the online strategies of other dealers. Not having physical limitations allows Ruby to exhibit these fantastic new paintings during a time when collectors are craving new works to fill up all their free time between Zoom calls and emails.

Virtual only might be a concern for some, but what is very apparent from the detailed images and video clips uploaded onto the gallery site, is the deep textured surfaces which look to be colored string woven across the surface of the canvas. One can clearly see that there is a handmade painted acrylic impasto as the structural foundation of … Click here to read more