California Artist Andrew Faulkner

Our friend Andrew Faulkner, great to be having this conversation with you from the other coast today. Thank you for joining us. It's so fun to be here, and it's great that we can do this, and it's nice for us as artists who work in our little studios to get a few of our thoughts and ideas out in the world. So I appreciate you doing this show. It's always fun for me to talk with you, Andrew, because you, you're continually evolving as an artist and as a human, and the work that you've done over time has really reflected that evolution. So talk to me about what you're doing now. That's a really important part of where I am now. I think you picked up on something really big for me, especially since when I think back to some of the work that I was showing years ago at the Portland Art Gallery, which was much more representational and I'm just heading into a more abstracted phase. So there will always be some representation of my landscape, which is I think I've committed to the landscape, but with abstraction, there's kind of a wide range you can explore. When you think of some of Rothko's color field paintings, to me, they're landscapes, but they're abstract. And so now I'm really exploring that line sort of line between abstraction and representation. So I am evolving in that way. Well talk to me about that. So when people think of landscapes, I think a lot of non-art perhaps are thinking water, well, I guess that's a waterscape, trees, trees, fields, things like that. When you talk about abstraction and how that can still be a landscape, but you're just abstracting it, what does that look like? I think about artists that explore color, like Joseph Albers who really explored creating depth with just color, not with shape and design and other artists. I'm trying to see what can function both as an abstract and a landscape painting. And the horizon line is kind of a big giveaway with a landscape painting. If you've got a horizon line, then I feel like the rest is up for grabs because it's recognizable as a landscape. And so exploring that theme has been infinitely interesting to me. And I'm not sure exactly why, maybe because I've always been drawn to the landscape, but I'm also drawn to the mystery of abstraction and what people, I like that people can interpret it in all different ways in their own way. And I'm getting excited just talking about it. I don't know why it's fun to think that something like this is sort of a mystery to me even. And so I'm exploring and exploring and it never gets boring. Oh, and I'm rhyming too. Wow. Okay. And it's 9:00 AM in I know you're like Dr. Seuss over here, the landscape, abstract artist. So many different facets to your personality coming in here. I love this idea that first of all, of exploration, but also the fun element of this, because oftentimes when we look at art, I think for some people there's a sense that art is very serious. We need to take it seriously because we're seriously going to put this serious piece of art on our wall. But when I talk to artists who really enjoy themselves and enjoy the work they do, of course it's serious. And also there is a sense of playfulness involved in the process and the thinking around it. It sounds like that's true for you. I believe that is very much true for me. There is a sense of whimsy in many of my pieces which people pick up on. A lot of people who come into open studios use the word joy when they talk about my work, which is such a huge compliment. And that's really how I feel when I look at the work. Now. I really appreciate work that is all different genres and some work that's very serious. But I also enjoy Hockney's very whimsical work, his whimsical use of color and shape. And I say I think that there's part of that that I like to, or it just comes out in my work, I think. Do you feel like this is something that you are giving yourself permission to do now more than you once did? I mean, for example, if you're starting out your career as an artist, and I know you have had a parallel career as an artist, but in a more commercial way in graphic design, you're feeling like, okay, well I need to make a living doing this and this is something that is my practice. And I am wondering if this idea that you've been doing it long enough now that you're thinking, okay, I have explored that element of my development as an artist, and now I'm going to explore this next element of myself as an artist. I think so too. And I think that Portland Art Gallery has a role in that because over my years sending work, there's never been a pressure of we want this type of work or what. They've always encouraged me to just send what I'm doing now or my best work. But I feel like in the last couple of years I've just gotten more of this hands-off like you do you and send it to us. And whether that's spoken or unspoken, I've been feeling that from Portland and other galleries, which is wonderful for an artist because that work that I'm doing now, which is really about expressing and kind of looking at this abstracting landscape and just pushing and pushing has been rewarded by people connecting with it more than the work that I was doing earlier, which I felt like I was creating paintings that maybe I thought people would like that were legitimate painting work, that were academically compositionally correct and et cetera, et cetera. And so it has really been an interesting 10 years of evolution from starting doing work, just exploring from the beginning of what work was resonating with me, but also work that I felt I should be doing. And now the more experience I get, the more I feel like I'm rewarded for exploring my own road versus and sort of ignoring what the trends are or what people are asking me to do. That's a really profound theme that you're bringing up, this idea of should, I mean, should of anything, right? You should in any occupation really, but particularly as an artist where you're, I'm sure there are things that are on trend and things that do sell more in galleries, and I'm sure there could be pressure to say, well, if you do these things with this particular type of formula, then it's going to be more likely to sell and therefore you'll have "success". And sometimes when I look at pieces that I have a sense or kind of a continuation of a very long series that are objectively very successful, I also get the sense that maybe at the edges there could be more playfulness, there could be more exploration, there could be more evolution. And I wonder if some people feel locked into the sense of should and feel locked into the things that they believe are going to be more commercially successful. I feel like the life of an artist is fraught with insecurity that just, it's baked in. And so I have my own insecurity, and I think every artist questions what they're doing, why? But I think that my old age is one of my few advantages being older because there is a certain wisdom that comes with where you are in your life and there's less and less to lose with taking these chances. Whereas when you're young, you're just so, as an artist, often afraid of making mistakes, have people laugh at you, whatever. And there's a huge vulnerability when you're a young artist because it's different. Even as a graphic designer, when I was making presentations to people, I felt very vulnerable being judged in what I was presenting, but I was providing a service and solving a problem. When you're an artist, you're not providing a service or solving a problem, really. You're showing people a bit of yourself, you're inside. So there is a vulnerability, but I believe with age, and some people are old souls and are born with that sense, but for me, it just, over time, I've kind of acquired that inner confidence and wisdom that could only have happened by experience. Bringing forward this idea of vulnerability is I think really helpful for individuals who maybe don't have a background as artists. I mean, I guess we all have some level of creativity in our daily lives, or at least most of us, I would say experience the act of being creative, but actually being an artist where you create something and then you put it out there, and then other people, they're kind of inherently judging what you're putting out there, whether they like it, whether it'll fit in their home, whether there's something that they find of value that they're willing to spend money on. And that vulnerability is something that you're right. I mean, I'm a doctor, people come see me. If they have strep throat, I'm going to give them antibiotics. Hopefully they're going to feel better. We're done. And that's very different than you bringing forward an abstract piece and saying You're solving a problem. Yes. I mean, I suppose theoretically you could be solving a problem if your picture fits on their wall, Joy in your life, problem solve. There you go. Well, I mean, that actually is a really important thing that in way, in a way, art does solve a problem. Because if the problem is maybe a space that needs to be filled or calls to be filled, or even the problem is a sense that you would like more joy in your life or you would like something visually appealing in your life. I mean, so there is a problem solving of a sort, just not quite the same way. I think people come to art in all different ways. And I think that another thing that I've learned as an artist is because we do these big open studios events in Sausalito, and so people come filing through. And I think the first few open studios were kind of brutal because I would hear people kind of whispering to themselves, what is that supposed to be? Or I hate these colors or whatever. And I'd be standing, I didn't have a artist label, so they didn't know who I was. So I mean, it didn't happen very often. And also there's some people who will just tell you outright, it's like, I'm sure you're a very nice person, but I really don't like your work. People don't realize that your heart is really on your sleeve. And so they're maybe just trying to share their opinion, and maybe that's an exaggerated memory of something. But I think that people, they have come to art in all different ways. And so I've become much more neutral in terms of, or I don't overthink so much people's comments or reaction to my work because like you said, people, there's a cost to it. I find that people, when they make a commitment to purchase a piece, they're also feeling that they're saying something about themselves. And that's kind of a commitment too, This idea that you're standing in a space and somebody is looking at something of yours, and then without knowing that it's you, presumably they're willing to say, oh, I don't like that. Or to your face, I am sure you're a very nice person, but I don't like your art. I can't imagine doing that. Well, I don't think that, I mean, I'm over exaggerating that comment, but I think people have said insensitive things to me, and they're not trying to insult me or anything. They just are having a visceral reaction. Or I've also had interior designers walk into my studio at Open Studios halfway and then look around and walk right out without even, they're just, this is not what I'm into. I'm guessing maybe they're really into just abstract art or whatever, but after you experience that long enough, you realize that everyone's coming from different, I don't like everyone else's art either. So it's develop a little bit of a thick skin about that stuff. Maybe a parallel would be people say, well, you, you're a public figure, so you must be used to people if you're a politician, let's say, or let's say you're a singer, so you're a public figure, so therefore you know what you've signed yourself up for. You're an artist, so you're putting this on a wall, so you must be fine with people judging you, which those things aren't really, they don't connect because I think what you forget is, sure, Andrew Faulkner, you may now have a thicker skin, but ultimately you're still human. So isn't that always true that you'll always be this human who has putting their work into the world? Yeah, I think so. I think there's just so many things. Also, I think that my work is priced much higher now than it once was. And so I think that people are put off by the cost of art sometimes that it should be, and it's not what they expect. But again, I don't want to labor on this point because I would say the vast majority of people who come in at open studios are just happy to see art and are complimentary. And I think I was just going on about this because we were talking about evolving as an artist, and part of being free as an artist is being free from the judgment. And so I feel much more free from judgment of others than I did when I was starting out. And I didn't take it as sort of belaboring a point. I mean, I think one of the things that I've noticed is I'll just say as time has gone on, as I've gained experience, and you're right, sometimes people can gain experience over a shorter period of time and more intensely. So it's not necessarily always because of age, but what I've come to understand just as a human on this planet is a lot of times there's not really a right answer. There's lots of right answers, there's lots of possibilities, lots of directions that you can go in. And for me, that's been really kind of freeing because then I can say, well, let's just pick this path. Let's go forward in this direction and let's see where this goes. And I'm guessing that there must be something about that with regard to your own evolution where you're like, okay, well, I've tried this, this, and this, and let's try this other thing. I think so. And I think that I also am rewarded by exploring and trying things that are risky. Or I did a series of work about a year ago called Electric Light, which has almost had sort of neon light, and I just thought people were going to hate it because it was based on sketches that I had done for digital paintings that were just very bright, rich, saturated color, which they were done on the computer. So this was very fun and exciting work. But my prior work had been very earthy and Earth Tone esque, so I was just thinking, but people probably won't like it, but I just have to get this whole series out of my system. But it was very well received. And then as part of my evolution, I did a series sort of combining my earthy Tuscan inspired work with these electric light pieces. And I came up with a series that I showed at the Portland Art Gallery in my last show. And it was really interesting hybrid of the two things, but it was all this kind of rewarding of exploration and taking some chances. Yeah, and that is also an important point, is that if you put something out there and you do have people who can respond to it in a positive way, then that does give you kind of permission to continue to do things that are different for you in your art. A lot of people talk about also their process and how their process, so there's sort of the conceptual process, but then there's also working with materials. Have you changed anything about the materials that you've worked with or the way that you work with materials now? I have been adding a lot of cold wax into my oil paints, and that has, I mean, my work has always been textural, but this has added an interesting texture of thick and thin, shiny and dull texture. It's all work. If you look at my work on Instagram, you really can't see any of that work, so you have to see it in person. And you may have noticed in my last show at Portland that my work was a little bit more textured, and I'm not talking about tons of blobs of texture paint, but as you, much of it is applied with a pallet knife to use large brushes and pallet knife. And so I like to sort of have reads of a painting. If you're standing back, you see the color and composition, but then you experience these kind of moments of texture and color when you're up close that are different from back. So you get kind of two reads for it. So I'm really liking adding cold wax into my oil paint. Andrew, are you noticing that people who buy from the gallery in Portland are buying different types of work than are buying say on the West coast from the gallery that you are represented out there? Actually, no. I thought that, and I think Kevin at Portland has always said, just give us your best work. And I think I've been thinking people in Portland will like x, Y, Z. Well, it turns out that people come to the gallery aren't just from Portland, they're up and down the east coast. But I think that my work has kind of a coastal vibe that could be on either coast, and maybe there's a little bit of a stronger sense of light and bright that's associated with the West Coast. But that's a good question because I think that I stopped sending work to Portland that I thought would be good for the Portland audience. I have no idea. And it seemed like my work that was kind coastal or west coast also was well received in Portland too. So I think that's a good question. I mean, I think Kevin's always encouraged me, just send us your best work. And I finally realizing that there's not, that the buyers on the East coast are not that different than the buyers on the west coast or in the middle of the country. But just talking about that gallery in particular, What has it been like for you as an artist who's not located close enough to Portland to be sort of physically in the Portland Art Gallery community? Because I know that a lot of artists, they're able to come to the openings every month or pretty often because they are in the New England region. And then we have a few artists like you who are in California, or we've had others who are in the western part of the country and some in the southern part of the country. And I think it's just a different experience. It's not good or bad, but I'm wondering what your experience has been. I feel very much part of the Portland family, even though I'm not there, and I have a sister who lives in Portland, so I'm there a fair amount. But I think for me, what it's like, I mean, I know that Bibi and Margo who are in my building are also with the gallery. They would agree that it's fun to be sort of a guest artist. But when I'm there, I feel like I'm sort of part of the family, so very welcomed. And often when there's an opening for my work, a lot of the Portland Art gallery artists show up and say hi. So yeah, I don't think it feels that different. Then being in the local gallery, I think there's a little bit more back and forth with my local gallery just because kind of talking about more local events that are coming up and more studio visits with local collectors and stuff like that. So yeah, I would say, I mean, I feel like a welcomed guest at that gallery. One of the reasons I'm interested in this is because in my work medically now, I mean I work fully remotely. I see patients remotely. My team is fully remote. Our leaders and our clinicians and our staff are from all over the country. And yet I feel very close to them. And we will get together in person sometimes, and it's great to do that, but it doesn't lessen my experience of being on the team with this group. And in some interesting ways, I'm thinking there must be a similarity in being an artist and working with galleries in other parts of the country that there are still ways to maintain connections, even if you're not physically coming to an opening every single month. And I think it depends on how much the gallery wants that connection. And I think that that's important to Portland. And it's fun. I follow a lot of the Portland artists on Instagram and have chats with them now and then. So I really feel like I have a sense of what kind of community Portland's trying to build with their artists and their art community. So yeah, I think that the technology definitely helps. You have this whole background in graphic design, and one of the things that really catalyzed your transition from graphic design into painting was actually a workshop experience and that we've talked to different people who have had sort of a pivotal moment that have caused them to make a different life choice. Talk to me about that. Talk to me about that pivotal moment in your artistic evolution. Yeah, it really was very much that life change was very much down to a week long intensive painting workshop in Hawaii that I took with this artist, Nicholas Wilton, who's quite well known, I think more well known on the west coast, but he has tons of followers. He's taught, he teaches online classes with this group Art to Life and does workshops. And I had followed his work prior for years before this workshop, and I really wanted to do this, commit to this thing, which was expensive, and it was a week off work and et cetera. I was a full-time graphic designer at the time, and I asked my wife, Amy, what do you think about this is kind of expensive. And she's like, I've been trying to get you to do something like this for years. You really need to do this. So she pushed me, and so I did it and it was so great. And this painter, actually, he's not a landscape painter, he is an abstract painter. But the workshop was really kind of a review of the basics of position, color, harmony, texture, mark, making all these things that I had been doing in my personal work, but I hadn't. I just needed kind of a reset. And after that week, and Bibi one of the Portland artists was in this workshop also, I decided this is something I should really pursue. And Bibi and a few other artists have become friends who are on that trip, said, you're doing this, you need to quit your job. And I wasn't ready to do that. But I got with Bibi's help actually. I got a couple of days a week sublet at the ICB in Sausalito and just started painting one or two days a week. And I would tell my clients that I was in meetings all day on Wednesday that I was painting away. And so I think that people recognize in me something I didn't see in myself, which is this kind of artist and I have a degree in art. But then I translated that into a graphic design career for 30 years. And I had been doing personal work all along, but I never envisioned that I would take it to a full-time career. So I think over a year period, I phase from one day a week to two days a week to three days a week. And it just after about a year started to really get some traction. Now I think, how could I have not done this? It was definitely the right move, and the world was telling me that this had to happen, but I couldn't have forecasted it. Well, what are you excited for in this upcoming year? I am continuing to explore these abstract landscapes. I'm just about to do a show out here this month called Pastoral Light, which is kind of a modern twist on the pastoral landscape and exploring the light in expansive views of pastures and fields, but really focusing on the light and color fields and not as we were saying as much on the trees and the specifics. So that is kind of another step of my evolution. And beyond that, I've got show in Portland in August, and I'm sure I'll come up with something crazy and kooky for that. And yeah, keep doing what I'm doing. Well, I can't wait to hear about the crazy and kooky, Because you're going to remember that I know, because when we're going to be like, when's the crazy and kooky, but way, I'm going to expect a full report when I see you at the Portland Art Gallery show to say I should never have said That. No, it's just see it as a fun opportunity. It's A challenge. Yeah. And really, I mean, you could, anything that you say that's crazy and kooky, if it's crazy and kooky to you, I'm going to be like, fantastic. I agree. So I am giving you the space to be who you are, Andrew, so Thank you. Yes. Not that you need me to give it to you. You fully have it just in your own right. But crazy, kooky will all be looking forward to it for the future. Sure. Well, Andrew, it's been really a pleasure to reconnect with you virtually, and I'm looking forward to seeing what the next phase looks like for you. And I encourage people who would like to learn more about the works of the esteemed Andrew Faulkner to go to the Portland Art Gallery website or to go to the Portland Art Gallery in Portland, Maine, and hopefully we'll see people who have become fans of your work at your upcoming opening this year. Yes, I hope so too. Thank you, Lisa. I really appreciate your thoughtful questions. Well, thank you. And I do encourage you to come to the Portland Art Gallery and to see Andrew in person, see his work in person, because there's always so much wonderful, so much of a wonderful difference. Online is also great, but when we were talking about the depth of the wax and the different shades and the different layers, I think that that's something that coming in person is going to be the best way to see that. So there's the call to action, everybody who's watching, and Andrew, your call to action is crazy and cookies, so we'll see what happens there. I should Never have said that. I don't know. Thanks, Lisa.