An Interview with Brent Wear

Birthplace/Origin/Year:
Born 1973 in Kansas City, Missouri.

Time in Portland:
Just over ten years.

Education:
Parsons School of Design (New York, NY) and the University of Kansas, Lawrence.

How long have you been making art and why?

Really since I was a kid. Both my parents make art, so I was surrounded by materials and plenty of inspiration. My parents encouraged my art making, although I’m not sure they realized I would do something crazy like make a living off it. The reason why I make art is still kind of a mystery to me - I just reached a point where I couldn’t stop, and here I am.

Someone once told me you were the ‘Bird’ artist of Portland. How do you respond to that, since you have created such a familiar iconic family of characters in your paintings?

Ah, the birds. I have a sort of love/hate relationship with them. Sometimes I get mad at them, I blow them up, put them in the middle of a tornado, or some other form of destructive situation. The funny thing is, they aren’t birds at all, they are actually vessels for other creatures. The little round ‘cute’ ones that is. They are toys, benign and somewhat familiar. I use them almost as a point of reference, as a guide to hopefully draw the viewer in and hopefully have a more profound experience. But in answer to your question, I don’t really like being thought of as being the ‘bird’ artist of Portland. Lots of people paint birds in their own way, especially in Portland, where bird related art is everywhere. Bird art has been happening since humans started to make images. I just happen to be fascinated by them, so I include them in my work quite a bit. But I do hope people notice that there is quite a bit more going on my work than just the birds.

Your show for May at Launchpad Gallery doesn’t have any characters, it’s an abstract show. Are you going in another direction or exploring more depth of your backgrounds?

I am, definitely. Or perhaps I’m going back to my roots as a painter would be more accurate. There were a lot of contributing factors involved. But the clearest reason for the show was that I simply needed to make abstract paintings again. A lot of the character-driven work I do starts as an abstract painting, and then I add the characters into the environment. For awhile, I thought adding the characters would somehow make the paintings more interesting, but the frustrating part was that often the background was upstaged by the characters. Another factor was my movement to more illustrative images that were telling a story. I wanted to separate the two realms and just make paintings for the sake of painting without a plot or composition in mind. But to be totally honest I felt I was starting to lose the joy of making paintings. Last year was an especially difficult time for my art in which I had a conflict with another artist over content, which was a horrible, exhausting and soul crushing experience. It made me really rethink what I was doing, and whether or not it was working, or if it was worth it at all. It was a very confusing and frustrating time for me and I second guessed myself a lot. So in another sense, and possibly the most important one…..doing a series of abstracts is helping me heal up wounds and to move forward with a confidence, closure, and a fresh take on what I’m doing. In other words, it’s really good for my soul right now.

Your studio is within ear shot of March Fourth Marching Band. It must be quite an experience to paint with a full band next to you. Has it had an impact on your work?

Absolutely! I love being near such a creative high energy troupe as March Fourth. Most of the other inhabitants of The Egg (the warehouse where my studio and Launchpad Gallery is located) run away when M4 shows up to rehearse. Sometimes I actually show up to work then, because it’s fun, and I can shut my studio door so it is not too deafening. Not quite like seeing them live, though. They have also made an appearance in my paintings, and I have become good friends with many of the members. I am also taking drum lessons right now so in a few years, who knows? I still have a lot of learning to do!

What motivates you to create art?

I see it as a way of conveying emotions and feelings I can’t express in words or any other form. I just happened to have honed in on painting. It crosses the language barrier, and that is important to me. I wish more people would learn to appreciate the importance of having art in their lives. Life would be pretty dull and I would dare to say impossible without it.

In a week, how much of your time is spent making art?

If I could evenly spread it out it would be about 6 hours a day. But for me it comes in fits and spurts, so I just try and make myself available to paint. Some days I have a marathon paint session that lasts into the wee hours of the morning. Other times I just have to go for a walk or bike ride. But, I’m a workaholic, and still learning to take days off where I don’t go to studio under any circumstances.

When did you first want to be an artist, or when did you first realize you were one?

I was pretty young would say in junior high. I was an awkward dork, and the only thing I was really good at. So i have always taken solace in my art. I think it really only hit I after I had a few shows under my belt and had my work out exposed for the world to see. But it snuck up on me, though I think in the back of my mind, the desire to call myself an artist was always there.

Do you find yourself more attracted to work that is not like your own, or work that has similarities to yours?

I actually find myself myself looking more often at photography than painting, even though I can’t take a decent photo for the life of me. But, I’m also drawn to work that would be considered in a similar vein to my own. But really I like and admire all kinds of work, much of which looks nothing like what I make.

Where do your creatures come from? And what’s up with the super long white pants?

I don’t know. Sometimes I actually think I have some sort of mental retardation that comes out in the form of helicopter birds, cupcakes, and animals pretending to be other animals. And then there is Bird Pants Man. He came to me not long after I started making the toy birds. It was in a way inspired by my grandpa, who would wear his pants above his bellybutton. So it was the magical combo of grandpa with a bird protruding from the waistline. Solo yeah, that’s kinda where the creatures come from.

Did you go to art school, and if so, are you satisfied with the experience vs. teaching yourself or being classically trained? (Vice versa for those that did not attend art school.)

I did attend art school, though I never graduated. I had some great instructors, and some that were awful. I don’t regret going and I would never discourage anyone from going. My one regret, however was that I wish I had taken a few years off before I went. I felt like I was too young and lacked the focus to get the most out the experience.

I’ve heard you speak of publishing a book with your art? What are your current plans?

I am currently working on a narrative picture book that will feature a lot of my iconic characters. It is sort of a series of misadventures that somehow all end up working out ok (pretty autobiographical, I might add). As soon as I recover from this abstract show its back to work on the project; although I can’t put a definite date on when it will be finished, my hope is by the fall. But it will be done when it wants to be

You are a hat and moustache man. How many hats are you wearing right now?

I have cut down to one today due to the lovely weather, but I’m a two hat guy in the winter. And sometimes I will wear a stocking hat well into May, and sometimes June. Usually an intervention occurs and I put on a summer hat. But yes, hats are a problem for me, and I collect them. The mustache is a new thing for me, but I am enjoying it thoroughly. But not as much as the hats, which is probably a good thing.

Thanks Brent. Keep rocking. Good luck on your show!!

The artwork of Brent Wear will appear at Launchpad Gallery during the month of May. Opening reception is Friday, May 2, 5 PM - Midnight

Images of and by Brent Wear

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 29th, 2008 at 8:25 am and is filed under Interviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.