An Interview with the Artist
"I Am For You, Jean-Luc "
"Tempestuous Bouquet"
"Amorial Pastel"
Tim Sullivan
Q: You began as a science-major, a chemist; did this line of study "force" your creative thinking into the more abstract, feeling-oriented pursuits later on? Why?
A: I always had competing interests, ie: poetry versus quantum mechanics, but I did not believe poetry, art and the humanities had value in a career way. Or, that I had any particular ability or "vision" to reveal. Later, as I learned more about myself and my predilection for people oriented or feeling oriented activities I began to see I would be happier and more fulfilled in that area.
Q: Tell me about your encounter with "The Artist's Way"
A: Picking up the Artist's Way was a reaction to a challenge (as I took it to be) by a friend with whom I felt a certain competitiveness, or a certain emotional tension. It was more a reaction than a choice. Anyway, reading it touched something in me, and I began to paint. Just like that. Reading it helped re-organize a portion of my self-image to include the notion of "artist". I now had "permission" to be creative.
Q: Many artists seem to move between a couple of stylistic approaches; I see your "lighter", single-medium pieces, like "Butterfly in the Lilies", and then your mixed-media works, with collage and texture; are these representative of distinct creative motivations for you?
A: Yes. Most everything I do is an experiment motivated by an impulse from within. I have other "series" of works, not represented in the web collection so far, that follow other creative impulses. For example, I did a series of charcoal "sketches" of multiple-aspected faces on paper. And more recently a series on colored multiple piece construction paper with watercolors applied using squeeze tubes. My style is expressionistic more than anything, I guess. Part of my approach is the innovation of technique to meet the demand of the creative impulse.
Q: You mention in your artist's statement the satisfaction of facilitating a "communication" with your viewer; What aspect of the viewer's consciousness do you most like to stimulate, for example, their self-image, their outlook, their hopes or their fears?
A: I want to go beneath the surface persona to the deeper core, the essence if you will; the yearnings of the soul or the murmurings of the spiritual heart. I believe my use of bold colors and dramatic line and shape helps in that regard. If I am coming from that place when I paint, then I simply trust it is captured in the painting -and if the viewer opens themselves to the experience, that is what is communicated.
Q: Inter-dimensional travel also seems to be a focal point for your work; do you correspond specific color or texture with particular dimensional realms or experiences?
A: Inter-dimensional could also be termed INNER-dimensional. The "travel" I suggest with that metaphor of inter/inner dimensional is akin to what Carlos Castenada describes in his books about the teachings of Don Juan. I am referring to the notion of "shifting the Assemblage Point". This is similar to changing channels - perceptual channels. A painting may be seen as a visual key or "shock" facilitating a perceptual shift for the viewer. What may then arise in their experience is a new flow of feeling, or emotional texture, or even an inner vision replete with animated images. They may also have vivid dreams following the viewing of such art. I am interested in dialoging with folks who have such experiences. It is a way of continuing the creative process.
I believe there is a correspondence between color and the deep core, or essence. Between specific colors and corresponding essential states and dimensions. But I will not elaborate here. I prefer to just work intuitively, and then let the viewer resonate and see what they experience. That bypasses the usual intellectual process, which is really necessary here, for both the artist and the viewer. I prefer to trust the flow.
