Interview with Logan Hamilton - Painter - Greensboro, NC
Blog | Instagram: @thebrightflash
One of the only things we can be sure of in life is that the world around us is subject to continuous change. As I grow older and more aware of my surroundings I become steadily more curious about the environment I exist in. In the short 18 years I have been alive technology has advanced so rapidly that it is almost scary to think about. Being raised in the mountains of North Carolina and being immersed in the deep beauty of nature throughout my childhood has been a very eye opening experience for me. I was able to spontaneously wander off into lush forest and escape the technological haze that shrouds our adept civilization at any given moment. Seeing these polar opposites collide has proven to be a major source of wonder throughout my life. Technology is only one of the many topics engulfed within the cesspool of contemplation that is my thought process. Constantly over analyzing various situations in life can often leave one in a vicious cycle of introspection. This state of analyzation tends to leave me with an overwhelmed feeling from day to day. Being so curious about life as a whole makes art the ideal outlet for self-expression. I find myself consistently fascinated in the creation of art and hope to continue expressing myself through these artistic methods throughout the rest of my life.
HOME
Tell me about the first piece you ever remember making?
As a child I always had a huge fascination with dinosaurs. I would watch Jurassic Park on repeat and play with little T-rex toys until my family couldn't handle me fiercely roaring at my toys anymore. So I suppose the first original drawings I ever remember making were little Crayola drawings of various dinosaurs when I was in elementary school. I would completely make up new types of dinosaurs, name them, and then playfully try to convince my mother that they actually existed at one point in time.
Tell me about your work?
My work is often times a projection of my own emotion as well as my own imagination. The subject matter in my work varies depending on how I am feeling at the time or what is going on in my analytical head. I am from a small town that is basically surrounded by woods. Living there and growing up in a technologically advanced society has really made me contemplate the way we live our day to day lives. One minute I can look around and see people getting all flustered on the way to their day jobs that they despise. Then the next minute I could be totally alone running through the forest living like a wild animal. Having the two polar opposites in my everyday life made me really think about people as a whole not living their lives to the fullest. I wish I could just morph into a fantastical creature that doesn't undergo the daily stress of society. This thought process is what really got my creative juices flowing. You might see me painting wizards who are choking themselves or characters floating in space chugging cups of coffee to get the energy they need to be productive. I sort of see myself and others around me doing similar things. We sometimes are driving ourselves mad with this need to "succeed" in society and make copious amounts of money because we think we need it to be happy. But I'd be a hypocrite if I said I'm not somewhat money hungry myself. I struggle with the ongoing fear that I won’t be able to sustain comfortable living conditions for myself and a future family. I think everyone at least puts some thought into that. I would say that the imagery I produce is a projection of my complex thought process and analyzation of the world around me combined with the irrational fantasies that I hopelessly imagine myself being a part of.
What are you currently working on?
Lately I have been doing a bunch of experimenting with linocuts which has been quite intriguing for me. I'm still working on paintings and drawings that you would typically see me producing but I've also been doing a lot of new concepting that toy with mountainous environments, lustful thinking, religion, and the emotion that can be behind all that.
How is it different from past projects?
Mainly because I have just been working a lot more from observation as opposed to completely abstracted subject matter. I'm also using new elements that are quite controversial in our society so I'm excited to see how people will respond to that.
Tell us about your new interest in linocut printing?
I've always considered getting into printmaking because of the sole reason that I like items in large quantities. I also think that art should be for everyone to appreciate. Not everyone can afford to buy paintings that cost hundreds of dollars but prints are cheap to buy because they come in quantity and I'm into that. Linocut printing has been very interesting for me because I like the subtractive process. There's a lot more to think about when carving from a block as opposed to creating a drawing. Also, I see the process as beneficial to me in the sense that I've begun to think more about my use of negative space in all of the work I've been concepting. I see myself gaining knowledge as I'm carving my linocuts just because of the process as a whole.
What is your creative process like?
Every day I contemplate all kinds of ideas for new artwork. The world as a whole is constant inspiration for me. My head is always a sea of new ideas so I'm constantly making side notes and quick little drawings that I might use in the future. I usually work through the compositional aspects as I go along though. I like to have the general idea subject matter wise pretty much set in before I start the final piece but as I am starting a final work I might make compositional changes a number of times before I actually start to put down any of the medium I am using. I tend to over think a lot of things so sometimes I will get stumped and have to put a piece down for a bit in order to clear my mind. Usually I will have like four or more projects going at the same time.
Is there anything you are trying to communicate through your work?
I hope that people can get a taste of my own thought process when they look at the style of my work as a whole. The characters I create are all seemingly in a state of deep contemplation. I attempt to communicate this notion of constant anxiety throughout my works altogether but I'd say each piece has its own reasoning behind it that people may interpret in their own way.
What was the best advice given to you as an artist?
It would have to be a past instructor rhetorically asking me "Who wrote the rules?"
What do you enjoy doing in your spare time when you’re not making art?
I've always been deep into skate culture and everything that comes along with that. I shoot a good amount of skate photography and I also enjoy skateboarding myself. Nothing tops live music though. I'd rather go see a band I'm into live than anything else. There is just something about that output of emotion from myself and others during a live set that I am completely addicted to.
What is your goal for your work in the near future?
As I stated in the past I think art should be available for everyone to appreciate. I'd like to keep producing forms of art that can be sold for reasonable prices. Putting out digital prints, linocuts, stickers, zines, and things like that is something I've been thinking about a lot lately. I also am interested in doing more collaborative art. Coming together with others to create a cohesive work of art is a truly beautiful act in my opinion.
To me, the candle represents insomnia. I say that, but what I really think of when I make these candles is a lot more. I think of the countless hours that all of us have spent awake at night with a head full of thought. This is the sticker design that I created digitally based on the candle and what it represents to me.
