Interview with Edward Walton Wilcox

q)Let’s start with the basics; what's your full name, where do you live, and how old are you?


a)My name is Edward Walton Wilcox, I live in Los Angeles, California and I am old enough.


q) Do you have any formal training?


a)Yes, I do actually; it started when I was very young. My parents recognized my interest in art at an early age and placed me under the tutelage of some amazing painters. Then of course later on there was my university training.


q) Did the place you grew up in influence your image making?


a)I grew up in West Palm Beach, the town just over the bridge from Palm Beach, and though they are separated only by the intercoastal waterway they are worlds apart. That little island of Palm Beach was a lifeline for me as there was little culture found in West Palm at that time.


q) How do you come up with your concepts?


a)Much like the Romantic painters of the 1800s my work is mostly psychological metaphor. That is where the taste for the gothic comes from. It is a reaction to the mechanization of our age. I feel there is a massive de-humanization happening in our industrialized world today and one defense is to constantly remind the viewer that we are highly emotional and spiritual beings.


q) Describe your creations in a clear, concise and understandable sentence. What do you call them?


a)My paintings in facture are very traditional, usually birch sub straight with three layers of gesso sanded between and a final titanium white ground. My wood carvings I refer to as altar- pieces as they are most often a reference to gothic reliquaries.


q)What other mediums would you like to explore in your image making?


a)I suppose I’m pretty set in my use of traditional materials. As for other mediums I would like to try, I think casting some of my pieces in bronze would be interesting. I have a specific concept in mind for that medium.


q)What is the best time in the day for you to work on a project? Is there one, or is it more about the environment -- maybe the right mood?


a)I have to say I hate beginning a piece when I know an interruption is eminent, If I know for instance that if I’m expected somewhere that day I SIMPLY DO NOT START. Otherwise my head is in front of the easel while I am behind the wheel or whatever it is. As for my studio and my creative space, if I can’t see it, it doesn’t exist. Everything has to be where I can see it, …very messy.


q) What are your artistic influences?...and …generally who or what influences you the most?


a)Gothic art, Romance period art, again anything that speaks to humanity on a more spiritual and psychological level.


q) Who are some of your favorite artists/designers/photographers?


a)As far as favorite artists I would have to go with Northern European dead guys: Breughel, Rembrandt, Van der Velde. They were innovative, honest and they didn’t sugar coat anything. It was beautiful just the way they saw it.


q) What is your next project?Exhibition?Collaboration?


a)My next solo show titled “FANATIC” will be at The Merry Karnowsky Gallery in Los Angeles May 2010 through June.


q)What are your plans for the future?


a)There are so many things planned for the future that it is requiring me to build certain mental blockers. External plans for the work can distract me from the work!


q)What sort of music do you listen to?


a)It’s a bit of an eclectic mix, pipe organ fugues, Radiohead, David Sylvian, ...


q) Do you collect anything? If so what?


a)I do have a loose collection of curiosities, i.e. Christian monk skulls, various forms of taxidermy, and my gun collection, with its main focus being automatic weapons from Belgium


q)What do you do for fun?


a)I like to ride my vintage Triumph bobber through the Hollywood Hills and shoot at the road signs.


q) any advice you can pass onto aspiring artists/designers?


a)My advice to an aspiring artist is persist and burn all the bridges behind you because if in a weak moment you look back and see an avenue of retreat, you may just take it.


q) Your contacts…


a)www.edwardwaltonwilcox.com

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