This week feature highlights a Dallas-based artist who doubles as an Attorney "by day". Chris's show opens tomorrow at RISING Gallery.
Name/Location
Chris Panatier, Dallas, TX
Education
B.A. Texas, J.D. Texas
Current City/Hometown
Dallas, TX (Born Bartlesville, OK)
Tell me about your work in one sentence.
I'm trying to learn to capture the glow of life that a photograph can't.
Describe your normal day.
I pursue so many activities that I don't really feel I have a day that I'd describe as normal. So I guess normal for me is defined by constant change. An ideal day for me contains all of the following: coffee, exercising my dogs, exercising myself (some sort of potentially dangerous activity is best: rugby or mountain biking), yard work, listening to music, drum practice, sniffing my Texas Mountain Laurels, spending time with my wife and oh, painting. I'm pretty compulsive about doing a whole lot of things without being so severely obsessive that I'm featured in the DSM IV (the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders). Yet.
What are your passions?
See above. Add to that breakfast tacos.
What are your goals?
I want to raise a happy family and also to become the best painter I can.
Who are your creative influences?
I'm influenced by all sorts of artists, both visual and non visual. I feel a lot of passion in certain music that I listen to and redirect that into my paintings. I'm currently blasting my brains out with anything and everything by Mastodon, the single most important metal band currently in existence. Visually, I love the delicate beauty and tone of paintings by Michael Borremans, the mood and sometimes unsympathetic subjects of works by Adrian Ghenie, the luscious and almost edible flesh painted by Jenny Saville, the provocative and in-your-face works by Angela Fraleigh and oldies like JMW Turner. Those are the ones I currently thinking about a lot, but there's no end to the talented artists whose work I'm awed by. I read everything I can on guys like Damian Hirst and Jeff Koons because they are entertaining. I haven't decided what I think about them as artists. I read everything by the artist/writer/critic Matthew Collings. I have a love-hate relationship with "Big Eye" art made popular by Anime and Mark Ryden.
Are there any other relevant experiences that shaped who you are today and what you do?
I am a lucky person. I was raised by a loving family and just want to try and do good things in my life and take nothing for granted.
Is there anyone that you really look up to as an inspiration?
Mastodon is the only band I'm aware of that refers to their music as "art." Normally such a thing would sound pretentious, but they are sincere. They are constantly working to better their music. I began painting in oils about 2-3 years ago. Before that it was just acrylic. Acrylic unfortunately played to my largest weakness at the time: impatience. When I started in oils I had to learn patience and that allowed me to slow down my overall process and to focus on other details of the craft. Mastodon has shown incredible resiliency and patience as they try to perfect their art. Watching them progress has reconfirmed to me that good quality art takes a while (not just to do a piece necessarily, but the overall development of ones skills and vision).
What motivates you on a daily basis?
Figurative works often go through an awkward phase as they are developing. The motivation for me in doing a piece is to get it beyond that phase. There's a point when your piece goes from smudges of color on canvas or panel to looking like something. That's a great feeling. My guilty pleasure is coffee. I rarely do it in moderation and so I do actually feel guilty.
What's your working style? Do you work for 12 hours straight nonstop, or do you take lots of breaks?
I paint when I can. Usually this means nights and weekends. For my upcoming show I did 27 oil paintings in about 7 months. This was a pretty blistering pace for me, but it allowed me to fall into a zone. I learned more about oil painting and painting in general than I had in all my life.
What are your websites/social networking links?
-website: www.panatier.com
-I'm on facebook too.
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