Bob Coonts, Beautiful Bizarre Artist Directory member provides some fascinating insights into his practice and experience as a surrealist painter, as he responds to the questions below:
- What do you think your art says about you as an individual?
- What do you do to help move beyond ‘Artist’s Block’?
- What materials/tools (including brand) can you not live without and why?
- What inspires your creative practice and why?
What do you think your art says about you as an individual?
I think my art really speaks about my being creative and being an individual. I purposely want my art to be different and contemporary. A lot of people and primarily illustrators have been the biggest influence on my work.
What do you do to help move beyond ‘Artist’s Block’?
I never experience artists block and I think, the reason why is very early in my career I was working for an advertising agency. My art director had just given me an assignment to work on an ad for an airlines account that we had. I went into the art room where my setup and desk was along with 6 other artists. I had a window and I had my head in my hands and looking out of the window. The art director came in the room and asked me what I was doing.
I told him I was trying to think of an idea for the project. He told me to think with the end of my pencil. While it was a reprimand it was the best advice I had ever gotten. I told my employees and students that story over the years, and I think it was good for them too. I still use that to this day. I always start everything that way. I do thumbnails, thinking with the end of my pencil.
What materials/tools (including brand) can you not live without and why?
Favorite tools for me that I use all the time are an exacto knife, a palette knife, a stylist and a production wheel for enlarging and reducing sketch’s and drawings and paintings.
What inspires your creative practice and why?
My creative process is just giving myself new projects to do. For example, my son who is not a trained artist but growing up around me has taught himself how to be an artist. He is 60 and just recently retired as a director of a pharmaceutical company doing drug research. He is a biochemist but now doing art. So, we are planning a Miniature art show, both painting and sculpture. The show will be open May 31 and June 1. We are holding it at My house and studio. I wish that you both could be here for the show.
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