#ckirk

CKirk

WHO ARE YOU? WHERE ARE YOU FROM? QUICK SELF INTRO

*ckirk and I currently live in Dallas, Texas.

WHAT DO YOU DO TO EXCERCISE YOUR TALENTS IN LIFE?

*I draw and paint mainly, but recently picked up the hobby of woodcarving.

WHERE DO YOUR INFLENCES COME FROM FOR YOUR ART?

*Influences come from everywhere. Many times ideas will pop in my head suddenly and are usually based on feelings or personal experience. Sometimes influence can also begin to grow from outside sources as well. Then there are many times when my work is simply an attempt to do good portraiture. When that is the case….there is not much deep ideology that goes into it.

HAVE YOU ALWAYS LOVED ART? WAS YOUR TALENT SELF TAUGHT?

*I have always loved art. I started out drawing Spider Man and the Incredible Hulk from my comic books when I was 5 or 6 years old. I am self-taught for the most part, although I did have a drawing class or two.

WHAT KEEPS YOU CONSTANTLY DIVERSIFYING YOUR WORK?

*Painting is a learning experience for me. I always try to make current piece look better than the last piece completed. Sometimes it works out and other times it doesn’t. I think it is an attempt to grow as an artist and to be able to compete with all the other great art that is available.

Also I have found that there are many different painting techniques and many different ways to draw. I often have used different mediums and medium often decides the “Look” of my work.

WHAT ARE SOME THINGS YOU DO IN ORDER TO GENERATE YOUR ARTISTIC IDEAS?

*Really that’s a difficult question to answer. Often times things just pop in my head when I’m least expecting it. The only thing I can attribute to it is the fact that I look at my own art quite a bit to find flaws and see what I did right. I think being obsessed with your work will lead to doing better work.

WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU’RE IN A CREATIVE RUT?

*Generally nothing. Though creative ruts are not easy, I believe them to be necessary for growth and regeneration.

WHEN DID YOU KNOW YOU HAD A TALENT FOR WHAT YOU DO?

*My drawing ability was nurtured very early on by my family and teachers. I think I began drawing before I even started school, but can’t be certain of that.

WHATS PLAYING ON YA RECENTLY PLAYED SECTION ON YA IPOD?

*I don’t have an ipod.

IF YOU HAD 3 WISHES WHAT WOULD THEY BE?

*I don’t know, but I am sure the wishes would all be selfish.

AT WHAT AGE DID YOU SAY THIS IS WHAT I WANT TO DO FOR A LIVING? HOW DID YOU KNOW FOR SURE?

*After about a 13 or 14 -year destructive wild streak, I decided turn my energy back to art. I think it was in 2003 or 2004…so I would’ve been 23 or 24.

IN YOUR OPINION WHAT ARE YOUR STRENGTHS WHEN IT COMES TO YOUR ART?

*Drawing is my strength I think. Drawing and the way I obsess while working on a piece. I also think that the drive to continually produce better work is an attribute.

WHAT ARE 5 FACTS ABOUT YOU THAT MOST PEOPLE DON’T KNOW?

*I’m almost ambidextrous. I don’t drink alcohol. I love opera and classical music. I underwent pro-wrestling training years ago. I want to carve tobacco pipes from briar.

HOW DO YOU COME UP WITH THE NAMES FOR YOUR ART WORK?

*I don’t know. Sometime it’s a head study so I call it “Head Study 1”. I usually keep my titles simple and self exlainitory. Sometimes an overall feeling I get from the work comes into play.

DID YOU GO TO SCHOOL FOR WHAT YOU DO?

*No.

WHO ARE SOME OF YOUR FAVORITE ARTIST AND WHY?

*That’s hard to say. I generally don’t pick favorites of anything and there are so many artists (Past and present) who I admire. A few that I am really blown away by are: Lucian Freud, Jenny Saville, Chuck Close, William Kentridge. There are so many more that I haven’t named.

IF YOU COULD HAVE A THEME SONG PLAY WHILE U WALKED WHAT SONG WOULD IT BE? WHY?

*Another hard question. Either Wagner’s “Ride of the Valkryies” or George Clinton’s “Atomic Dog”.

WHAT KIND OF PAINTS DO YOU USE?

*Currently I’m using oil for my upcoming 2012 collection, but I have been know to use spray paint and acrylic as well. I want to give water color a try.

WHERE DO YOU SEE YOUR ART WORK IN 5 YRS?

*I’m sure it will still focus on the figure, but hopefully it will be much, much better than it is now.

WHAT HAS BEEN THE MOST INFLUENTIAL ARTISTIC FILM YOU’VE EVER SEEN?

*I really don’t watch art films.

WHATS THE BEST TIME OF THE DAY FOR YOU?

*I’d say 15 minutes after I wake up or right before I go to bed.

WHAT ARE SOME THINGS THAT GO THRU YOUR MIND WHEN YOU PAINT?

*Generally the only thing that goes through my mind when I paint is possible solutions for “Pulling the painting together. For me, painting is like a puzzle that has to be solved. It keeps all my other thoughts at bay and that is probably why I do it.

IN ORDER TO RELAX WHAT DO YOU DO?

*Smoke pipe tobacco and watch movies.

IF EVERY WERE TO STOP RIGHT NOW; WOULD YOU BE HAPPY WITH ALL THAT YOU HAVE?

*I really don’t think it man’s nature to be happy with what he has. I don’t think I’m much different. About the only time I am satisfied is when someone or something reminds me to be grateful for what I’ve been given.

WHAT KIND OF ARTIST WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOURSELF TO BE?

*Figurative.

WHAT IS YOUR FOCUS IN YOUR ARTWORK?

*The Figure.

IN 2011; HOW HAS YOUR ARTISTIC TALENTS IMPROVED IN YOUR EYES?

*Over the years, I’ve learned a lot or traditional techniques as well as less traditional methods from looking at other people’s work. I have become much better at portraiture.

IS MUSIC A GREAT INFLUENCE WHEN IT COMES TO YOUR ART WORK?

I usually listen to music while working, but I really can’t say how much it influences me. I used to paint in complete silence. I don’t know.

EVERYONE HAS SOMETHING THEY WANT TO IMPROVE WHATS YOURS?

*I would like to improve my art.

WHAT SUPER POWER DO YOU WISH YOU HAD AND WHY?

*I don’t know. Any super power would be great. Maybe blowing shit up at will.

WHEN IT COMES TO YOUR ART WORK; WHATS YOUR FAVORITE MEDIUM?

Charcoal… although I am finding oil to be a medium that can be used in a very similar fashion.

IN YOUR OWN DEFINITION WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE CREATIVELY DRIVEN?

*Having ideas pop in your head, but refusing to leave them there.

IF YOU DIDN’T FULFIL YOUR PASSION FOR WHAT YOU LOVE TO DO; WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’D BE DOING?

*Probably something self-destructive.

HAVE YOU DONE ANY ART SHOWS? HOW WAS THE OUTCOME?

*Yes I have done many art shows. Sometime the outcome is good and other times it’s bad. It really just depends on the gallery you are working with and your own attitude as well.

IN YOUR OWN OPINON WHATS SCARY’ER PEOPLE’S SNEAKY INTENTIONS OR THE UNKOWN FUTURE?

Both are pretty scary.

ANY LAST WORDS?

Sure. Thanks for asking me to do the interview. It was fun.

TWITTER?

*On occasion.

WHATS YA TWITTER?

* http://twitter.com/#!/CKirkArt

WHATS YOU’RE WEBSITE? OR CONTACT?

* http://www.ckirkart.com/

Interview by Melanie Deare

Ckirk's life reads a bit like a plot to a good cult movie. For more than a decade he rambled across the country consuming legendary amounts of booze, drugs, sex, misadventure and jail food. Yet in 2005 he sobered up, settled down, married and turned his insatiable appetite towards becoming a successful artist. After taking the Dallas art scene by storm, he turned his focus toward a broader global audience. His works are featured in publications (both in print and online) worldwide. Then like any gripping plot line there's a twist - in 2010 he turned his back on the public eye in an attempt to allow himself to grow as an artist in private. A year later he's back and a new chapter begins...