Richard Watkins
Artist Statement
I find that I rarely see thing in everyday life and not wonder what it would
look like in a different way. This reflex is only a match that lights the
burning fascination I have with creating images to share with people. I have
a tendency to let my imagination run wild. My greatest joy is when I can catch
it on a medium and invite someone into the way my mind works. My work thrives
on this. As an artist I want to grow in various ways. Being tied down to one
medium, one way to express oneself, one category, as an artist is something
that I have aspirations not to become. I have the intention of reaching people
through the way their interiors look, the way they feel when they look at
my work, and through whatever else I come across that interests me.
Anything can switch on my need to draw or design something. From things lying
around in the house and outside to events in my mind and my everyday encounters.
How I go about my work depends on my inspiration. If I want something to stand
out I use black ink, pen, or charcoal on a variety of papers. My favorite
material to work with is charcoal and conte sticks. I enjoy blending, erasing,
and application of layers are what I favor about the materials. Why I select
what I do is as random as the ideas I have. For example, a rubber band on
concrete could give me an idea for a piece. Then I decide what materials would
best suit my cause. Do I want the feel of a study done by pencil, a bold charcoal
drawing with lights and darks, show emotion though color or go the opposite
way and use a combination of everything or something I have never used before.
My current work is half commissioned based and half self-expressive. I often
sell Greek pictures to members of fraternities and sororities, or do a piece
for someone who has seen my work and has an idea of what they want me to manifest.
My personal works are comprised mostly of college assignments that include
still life, landscape, models, and graphic design, although I have branched
out with my recent work that would be categorized as abstract expressionism/surrealism.
A number of artists have influenced me in my work. Wassily Kendinsky’s
theory on the use of color and his depiction of “compositions,”
which were planned out works of art and “improvisations,” the subconscious
approach has inspired my thoughts. Pablo Pikasso’s cubist style, Piet
Mondrian’s compositions, and Franz Kline’s gestural black strokes
are also some artist I have a liking too. I hope to find an artist to spark
a multi media interest within myself using photographs, found objects, and
materials that I commonly use.
A summer painting class that I took demanded a page of hands a day (25 to
30 a week). After I got sick of looking at anybody else’s hands as well
as my own, I realized just how important hands are. People use hands to do
everything from building, creating, drawing, writing, and driving to show
emotion. Hands are also one of an artist’s most valuable tools. So as
of late hands have become important parts of my work. I recently expanded
my materials to watercolors, colored pencils, and pastels. I have found that
I tend to like warm colors, which challenges me to do something in a cool
color. My work is a slide show of my thoughts, and with every thought comes
the reverence to do something safe and easy or complex and out of the ordinary.
I personally like the blend of both.