Andrew Baines ||
Q&A || September 2012
Can you give us some background to how you became a visual
artist?
I have always wanted be a
visual artist from a very young age and tried to chase my dream after leaving
school by I attending the SA school of art part-time and doing commercial art
during the day but I became sidelined by commercial art and the need to
survive. My commercial work was very
successful and took a lot of soul searching to let go of... I knew eventually I
would have to, if I wanted to chase my initial dream. In my early 30s I took
the plunge and have never looked back!
When did you start, why did you start?
In my early 30s, I gave up my
commercial art cold turkey and through everything into my visual art! It took several
years of struggle before I got to a point where I could survive comfortably.
Other artists that inspire you? - Do they change overtime/ year to year?
The obvious inspirations are
Magritte, Jeffery Smart and artists like Warhol & Dali due to their
incredible self promotion abilities! Every year I discover new artists that
inspire me...not only visual but street artists, musical & commercial
Where do you get your inspiration for each work from?
Nearly 50 years of sweat and
tears
Where do you paint and what is your ideal routine/ daytime…
or night owl
I wake up every morning at
6am and head straight out into my backyard studio, where I paint until 3pm. I
then go on the computer for an hour or so and market myself, contact people,
organise future installations, research. After this I read philosophy and auto
biographies for a short time before heading in front of the box, where I
channel surf the TV, trying to absorb the global culture for inspiration! And
every second morning I either walk or run along my beach.
How did you arrive at the title of this current show?
“Museum of my Mind” is a
broad title for just about any concept I’m working on!
What is your painting process, shadows / lighting and
perspective seem to be a key process, can you tell us about this?
I love the contrast between
light and dark, and the visual and emotional impact shadows have in helping to
convey a mood or concept. I begin with my darkest colours then continue to
highlight until I’m happy with the mood.
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