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Q. Where do you find inspiration for your work?
A. My focus is on the ideal rather than on strict realism and I find glimpses of this ideal in the way I view the world – distilling and refining what I see around me. Often one certain element in a scene or a work of art will spark an idea…or I’ll notice a particular moment with total clarity – like the way the negative space operates around a sculpture or the empty stage around a dancer. With this view, I find inspiration everywhere: design, fashion, cinema, nature, even just people-watching.
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Q. If you can, will you describe your work in three words?
A. Composed. Figurative. Realism.
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Q. Your work is so emotionally evocative, yet at the same time - it is simple, with one human figure and a monochromatic background. Can you share any insight on how you’re able to portray so much emotion + simplicity at once?
A. I’m always looking for a particular moment frozen in time – seeking to capture emotion without defining it. I feel that the expressive power of the figure is heightened by its isolation in space. Emphasizing visual impact over narrative context, I focus on the subtle orchestration of my subject within a framework of design.
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Q. Can you share with us anything about your creative process (as much or as little as you’d like)?
A. I generally begin a new body of work without any premeditated agenda - simply letting things evolve and painting what interests me most at the moment. I begin with sketches of poses, gestures, and ideas which I then use as the basis for a photoshoot. I work and rework these photos in the computer, essentially creating digital studies before I begin the actual painting.
As I compose my pieces, I always feel there is one arrangement of form and space that is right – and finding it is a very intuitive process. When I've got it, it's like the solution to a puzzle. My goal is to arrive at a composition which has an inherent abstract strength that enhances the representational content, while functioning independently of it.
Once I find the visual solution I’m looking for, I proceed very traditionally – making a detailed under-drawing on the canvas which I slowly flesh-out with repeated layers of painting and glazing. As I paint, I allow for the piece to alter from what I originally planned – working with the unexpected to enhance my expression.
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Q. Is there anything you’d like to share about this new body of work for the upcoming show? Anything that has moved into or inspired your consciousness that’s different for this body of work?
A. With this new series, I’m especially interested in the idea of the pause that exists before action and decision – the moment of pure potential in which all is possible – the freedom and intensity that combine in such pivotal moments.
Artist Spotlight: Q + A with Erin Cone
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