Art Market Blog - Interview with Artist Brad Bannister In order to give you all an insight into the world of the artist I interviewed the very successful abstract painter Brad Bannister.
style, with as many problems as strengths. But as
for now, as soon as I finish my next series, I will make
the rounds once again to get good representation at a
solid gallery that can handle nonobjective paintings.
What projects are you working on at the moment?
My next series of paintings is in my head at present.
I will begin to get all my plans onto canvas in the Spring.
It is always exciting to work now. I don’t have to deal
with much frustration. When I begin, I know I can hit
a very good level of execution, and I will get to capitalize
on the surprises that always come up in the more
spontaneous parts of my working methods. This next
series of canvases will range from about 16″ x 20″ up
to 60″ x 48″ and 60″ x 84″. I am using a mixture of
techniques that I have mastered over the years, but I
will be ordering them in some new ways.
I have always preferred to produce a painting that
has some symmetry with the more powerful movements
found in a logo or an emblem or a sign. My interest
in textures, color and contrasts give the works a
lot of presence, but I am producing work that can
be seen in different settings very well. And over the
years I have tried to push toward a style that gives the
viewer an impacting experience whether they look at the
work from two feet or fifty feet. For me this makes
the work more dynamic and interesting than if it
can only be appreciated from one particular distance.
Lighting is a big item for me - I always try to produce
work that holds up under different lighting situations,
whether daylight, incandescent, halogen
mixtures, even partly fluorescent.
What has been the most significant event in your artistic career?
The most significant events in my artistic career have to do with
learning how to see a work of art. Without that kind of visual
learning I could not have progressed in seeing or creating art.
The best ways I have learned this ability is by conversation with
mature artists and gallerists who took the time to talk about
a work of art with me.
Most of those experiences were about the works of
other artists, but sometimes with my own work at an
exhibition or an informal visit to my studio. When
people who have a real understanding or well
developed taste for composition talk freely about
how they experience a work, it’s an education.
If that kind of expert or master enjoys questions
and discussion of their opinions, then it gets even
better. In developing this vision and my creative style I
preferred hearing the opinions of many different
experts because I could analyze by comparison
with my own experiences and that of several others.
What advice would you give to anyone aiming to become a full time artist?
