Interview with Keith Jones Pomeroy

New at the Yellow Wall Gallery!

I'll be posting interviews with our current gallery artists on this blog.
It's my hope that from these interviews you'll learn more about the artist's artwork in the gallery, their practices and philosophies on art, and maybe what they like to do in their spare time...
an opportunity for you to learn about the artist beyond the gallery walls.

Here is the first interview with artist Keith Jones Pomeroy.
His collection of paintings, "Communion", will be in the gallery until January 16, 2011.

* When did you first discover that art would be important part of your life?
I have always enjoyed art and started drawing and coloring as soon as I could hold crayons. As a kid, I always wanted to be an artist when I grew up. It wasn't a very original idea, but it has been a passion that has remained constant throughout my life.

* How long does it take you to create a painting?
It depends completely on each piece and the time I have to commit to it. If I'm working consistently (3-4 days a week), it probably takes between 2 weeks- 2 months/painting.

* How do you get motivated to make artwork?
I just enjoy the creative process, I like seeing forms take shape and get refined on a blank canvas. I get excited to see subject matter that I care about come to life through painting.

* What music are you listening to these days? Reading any books?
Christmas music! I tend to listen to Xmas music from Nov.-Jan. and love the whole genre, from Bing Crosby to current artists redoing old favorites. I'm currently reading "A Theology of Liberation" by Gustavo Guitierrez.

* What or who are your influences to paint? (artists, philosophers, scientists, etc)
Michelangelo (for pure ingenuity, structure, beauty of the human body), Rembrandt (his use of light and dark), Van Gogh (for blending emotion with texture, color, and depth), Monet (color).

* How do you go about choosing a subject for your portraits?
Choosing the subject is a mixture of personal connection and aesthetic appeal. All of the people I've painted have touched me in some way, and I feel connected to them. But I also think that all of them have strong character that is very visible in their appearance. It sounds somewhat cliche, but it is as if their "inner beauty" is manifested in their bodies.

* Discuss one of your pieces that is currently in the gallery. What were you thinking when you created it?
The piece of the water with the sunset in the background was an incredible challenge. At the time I painted that, most of my paintings were portraits and I wanted a change of pace and something more difficult. The depth of water and fading into the light was quite challenging, but something that was really enjoyable. I spent a lot of time re-evaluating the piece and redoing large sections until it got to a place where I felt content with it. Though this wasn't a person I was painting, I still felt connected to the water, to the colors in a very different ways than a portrait.

* Why do you create art?
I paint because it gives me energy, it rejuvenates and refreshes me, it connects me to other people. I enjoy the whole process, the creation and end of a painting.

* How long did it take you to grow your mustache so you can wax it like that?
The current stache is about 2 months old.

* What inspired you to grow a mustache that you could eventually wax?
Facial hair is under-utilized much of the time. It's a shame that people are content with just carefully trimmed goatees. Be creative, man!

* Do politics, religion and/or faith play a part in your artwork or art-making process?
I love the idea of art being something that communicates a variety of things. I place a lot of importance on aesthetics, on having feeling communicated through the art, but I also love the idea of symbolism being strong. As of now, I haven't incorporated too much of that in my paintings. I think spirituality has strong threads within my work, partly because that is an integral part of who I am, but also because I feel connected on a deeper level with my subjects.

* What took you to the places that you have depicted in your paintings?
Most of my portraits are from people that I met in Thailand (in Chiang Mai, in a refugee camp in Mae Sot, and at a tribal village in Musekee) while working there with a study abroad program during 2008-09. There is also a portrait from Honduras, where I worked at an orphanage for a summer in 2004. The water paintings are from Lion's Head, Ontario, where my family has vacationed my whole life.

* Did you receive a degree in art? What is your day job now?
I would have loved to have majored in art, but at the time the art program at Messiah College (my alma mater) was not flexible and I wouldn't have been able to study abroad. So I studied Sociology and took a lot of art electives.
Currently I work as a Program Manager for the Agape Center at Messiah College. In brief, I connect students with service-learning (volunteer/reflection) opportunities.

* What do you hope your audience will gain from viewing your paintings?
I like the idea that people can feel like they "know" the person portrayed in the painting, that something of their character would be communicated in the painting.

* If you could be anywhere in the world right now, where would it be and why?
Salzburg, Austria. They have awesome Christmas celebrations, have a bit of snow now, and great food. I love those things at this time of year!

* Anything else you would like to say about yourself or your artwork?
I love painting. Thanks for the opportunity to share a little about that love!