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Hey Crawlers!

With the new month of February we introduce to you another Artist, Kevin Brewerton!  This post is very special because it happens to be that Kevin is having an art show this weekend as well! (INFO) Get to know Kevin with the VAC and then hit up his show later this weekend! 

 

DSC_67191. Who are you and what do you do?

I am a visual, performing, and martial artist. I create art.  

2. In your words how would you define art? 

I am an expressionist in all forms. Although I don’t usually like to put myself in a category, as I prefer to have the freedom to explore without a label. That being said I do find myself gravitating to Abstract Expressionism. 

3. How did your relationship with art start?

Growing up I never knew the value of art. I was raised to believe that art was ornately framed pictures that hung on the walls of those who were rich.  Quite a beginning. As a teenager I didn’t like art. It confused me. I was much more interested in physical sports and dreaming about becoming a famous martial artist like Bruce Lee. Fortunately I was able to realize that goal by winning 5 world kickboxing championships. 

Studio_94. At what age did you realize that you were creatively talented?

That’s a tough question because at an early age I think that we just “do” without being conscious of what we are doing. But I can always remember sitting in class rooms in England, maybe 8th grade, doodling shapes and patterns on my work books. (I don’t think my teachers appreciated it)  But I think I’ve always been sketching and drawing shapes. Perhaps it was an unconscious yearning to paint. I suppose that feeling kept growing. When I’d moved to London to pursue a career as a fighter, from time to time I’d find myself leaving the gym after working out and ending up wandering around the Tate Gallery in my sweat suit. I’d be mesmerized by Turner’s land and seascapes or I would find myself both offended and intrigued by art that I just couldn’t understand. Why would anyone pay so much money for that? I remember thinking, pointing at a plain blue canvas- I think it must have been an Yves Kline!

5. What materials/paints do you generally work with?

Mostly acrylic and oil. However, I do like to experiment with different mediums. Tar is a very raw entity. I like the dense quality it brings. 

6. What art do you most identify with?

Any art that tells a story, Viscerally. I’m looking at art all of the time. Art that I can connect with. Art that is personal. Everything is art. Look around and it’s all art. The world is art. 

 

5th element (final)7. Describe a real-life situation that inspired you?

I’m fortunate to have had a lot of inspiring moments. However, one that particularly stands out was about 3 years ago when I received an e mail from a lady who was telling me that she and her husband had found my art. Her husband was also a painter, but had not painted in some years because he was virtually blind. She told me that they had studied a particular piece that I had painted, called, Unyielding, on their computer over and over. Because they were able to see the texture and thick brush strokes on the computer, the husband was able to see the art and and become inspired by it which led him to start painting again. They were writing to thank me. 

8. What is your artistic outlook on life?

I believe that art can change a persons life. I believe that art is the great mirror of humanity. I believe that art can be serious and intense, but also funny and ridiculous.

9. What superpower would you have and why?

I’d like to be able to fly. I don’t like the traffic in LA.

Screen shot 2014-02-05 at 10.28.01 AM10. If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be?

I like where I live in Los Angeles. It has become one of the great art capitals of the world. But that doesn’t mean that you won’t find me in Berlin or Barcelona. I believe they are also great places to create art. 

11. Name three artists you’d like to be compared to.

I wouldn’t want to sound obnoxious by comparing myself to certain artists. But I will tell you who I admire and whose influence I hope shows up in my work from time to time. 1. Picasso – for his ingenuity and for thinking in a different way. 2. Franz Klein- for his raw abstract presence on canvas. 3. Milton Katselas for encouraging me to take risks and dare to be an artist.

12. WHAT is your ‘method’? 

My method is no method, anything that works!  

Self_Portrait13.  What is your preferred subject and why?

I don’t have a preferred subject, however I do find myself returning to the fighter, now and again.  As a teenager I was formed through the kiln of a competition fighter- martial artist and boxing. Those themes keep showing up in my art in one way or another.

 

14. What’s the best thing about being an artist? 

leaving my mark in the world.  Knowing that I can have a  piece of art hanging in Hong Kong, Europe or a suburb in Pennsylvania. Knowing that I can be effecting someone at this very minute and making an impact on there lives. It gives me a sense of being timeless and universal.

15. What’s the worst thing about being an artist?

Cleaning the oil paint of my hands. 

16. What advice do you have for aspiring artists?

Create. Don’t let anything stop you. There is no right way or wrong way. Art can be anything. Say what you want to say. Have a point of view.

 

Check out more of Kevin’s artwork at his website http://kevinbrewerton.com !!  

Studio_Headshot_Punch2

 

Interviewed by: Nicole Muyingo

 

 

 

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