As I waited for James to answer his buzzer I could not help but wonder what kind of studio he had. I've been to a few studios here and there and it has always been a treat to see the art and magic in each place.
"Come on in, take the door on the left," answered James directing me down a separate entrance way from the rest of the building. It was as if I was entering a VIP-style place.
'Knock' 'knock'.
"Hey, what's going on, man?" asked James.
As soon as I walked into James' studio I saw an immense amount of artwork decorating his wall space. Every wall was filled to the tee with works of art, each in its own style and grace. I had asked James what his style was and he said, "I get bored of one style, so, you could say I have no style." This reminded me of when Bruce Lee said, "The ultimate style [of kungfu] is no style".
Anyways, I was amazed at the diversity at which James could paint in. Now, I usually get right into the questions and ask the artists about their artwork and such but James and I had a really nice chat about Vancouver, California, coffee, jazz, you name it, we talked about it in the first couple hours. I was having a blast learning about a jazz group that James was a part of. He even gave me a CD to listen to of which I think is pretty snazzy jazz.
We spoke about how his friends and colleagues thought he was crazy for going down to California to sell his art during the recession when, in fact, he did so well that he sold out on his first exhibition there; He might even open a studio/gallery there.
I told him about how I saw the art market and how I felt about strength in numbers in terms of group exhibitions and he agreed with me on that.
So, after the couple of hours, I got down to business and asked a few questions about his art.
What would you say your style of art would be?
"I get bored of one style so you could say I have no style. Art is about giving yourself over, and the inspiration, everything, comes from everywhere and in all mediums."
Is there a series of art you are known for?
"My watercolours. I started them in 1996 and since then have painted around 9,000. In a good year I can do between 600 to 700, besides oils.
Where did your watercolour series come from?
"From New York. I was at a cocktail party and there were some interesting characters there, so, I decided to sketch them on a napkin. When I went back to my hotel room, I started drawing these as charactertures, and when someone would come over they would say, "oh, I know that person...that's...so and so from the party and he/she slept with that person who did that to them and so fourth. Then, people would make stories out of them through picking a few of them at a time. Word spread and that's how my watercolour series became so popular."
Where/who did you learn from?
a. "I went to Sheridan College in Toronto and then the Ontario College of Art. I dropped out right before graduating. Then, I went to the States and learned from Leon Golub, William Ronald, and other painters and sculptors. I also learned from Harold Town of Painters 11."
Do you have any special or favourite techniques?
"Oh gee. I studied Rembrandt and was amazed at the lighting he used in his paintings. He was above his time where he would paint 30, 40, multiple layers in one area of a painting to give it lighting. So, I guess you could say I like to light through layers. I did copy of Rembrandt's Self portrait with robe and sceptor from memory just to see how the eye perceives things.
Do you have something juicy that others don't know about you?
"Oh, God, so many things. I had an accident years ago that has given me chronic nerve pain ever since. The pain allows me to keep painting which I love to do so, I guess there's balance there. I believe it's a test to keep going; a challenge on my path in art."
After the interview, I was amazed by the stories and information James had just told me. He also told me that he has painted every day for the past 30 years except for 2 days and that was due to being sick.
One of his teachers, Harold Town, had asked him how many hours he paints each day, years ago, and James had answered, "3 to 4 hours."
Harold Town mentioned, "An artist must paint every day, and more than just 3 to 4 hours." Since then, James has painted every day except for those 2 days and about 16 to 17 hours per day.
I asked him why he paints so long during a sitting and he told me it's all about the flow. Do not disrupt the flow or you'll lose the painting. Something I can relate to...
He also has 20 paintings on the go, usually, and rolls from one painting to the next on his green rolling chair.
So, this was my afternoon with James Picard, a very cool chat and experience.
The Man with Spiky Hair:
I am an keen art lover who interviews artists and posts them on http://www.capuletart.com/ to share with everyone. I am also an art broker in Vancouver who creates art shows, exhibitions, and other fun events to help promote and publicize art.
link: http://capuletart.com/
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