Issue Five- June 2019:

By Mercedes Barreto

What marked the beginning of your craft in regards to being an artist?

I have been drawing since before I can remember.

My mother noticed that I was drawing circles before the age of 2, which was apparently very unusual, and by the age of 4, I was drawing more complicated subjects, like a woman looking at her reflection in a mirror.

I was very quickly drawing hyper-realistic images, but it wasn’t until my orchestra teacher saw my artwork and suggested I try a stream of consciousness drawing that I started to find my own voice as an artist.

I remember her being both impressed & disgusted at the result.

This was exactly what I was going for, and my work has continued down that path ever since.

Who or what influences you when you paint your artwork?

I love drawing surreal situations in the Medieval / Renaissance styles. My favorite artists are Hieronymus Bosch and Pieter Bruegel the Elder, as not only are their styles beautiful but the subject matter they chose to depict allowed them to free their minds to go down some really dark and otherworldly paths.

I also share their affinity for cramming in a huge amount of action into one piece.

I love art that you can look at over and over again and keep noticing new things.

My dreams inspire a lot of the subject matter in my paintings, and usually reflect my past and how I perceive the world around me. When I was little I drew religious images because I was fascinated with the Renaissance and the 18th century. Those subjects still find their way into my paintings but are now surrounded by hanging meat representing the chaos and death religious extremism has caused, pink elephants and Bacchus representing my struggles with alcohol, and nature being destroyed by human greed and ego.

What would be the ultimate objective to achieve or reach in a given time span?

In addition to being a visual artist, I am also an Emmy award-winning composer.

My ultimate goal is to create films using my art and music as the soundtrack. As much as I love painting, I have been looking for something more that allows me to fully express myself every way I know how, and I believe that is animation.

It is hard for me to separate music from art as they come from the same place inside me. When I am painting I listen to music and take on its emotions, and even the rhythm with my brush strokes. When I am composing, I picture scenes that the music could be set to.

How do you see yourself and your craft faring in two years? Five years? Ten years?

In 5 years, I expect to be churning out music videos and exhibiting them in galleries.

I would love to collaborate with different storytellers to animate their ideas and set them to music.

Goals are extremely important, but one of the things I love about life is you never know what is around the corner, who you will meet next, and what opportunities will be placed in your lap. I just want to make sure I have all the tools available to me to take on those opportunities when they arise.

What is the one word you would use to describe the artwork that represents you wholeheartedly as an artist?

One word that describes my work best would probably be “dreamscape”. My art is filled with my impressions of the world around me – chopped up, digested, warped by my own past experiences, then carefully rendered on the canvas.

I’ve always had very intense, lucid dreams, even night terrors a few times a year which have a lasting impression on me. I might be crazy but it makes for some interesting art.

If you could have your art showcased in one gallery in the world no matter the place or time, then what gallery would that be?

I would love to have my art shown in a gallery in the Netherlands. To have my work even shown in the same vicinity as Bosch would be a dream come true. I love the idea of biking around to galleries and taking in the architecture and canals.

My ideal gallery showing would be a projector showing my animated films, live musicians performing the soundtracks, and my paintings hanging on the walls.

If you could send a message to art followers suggesting that they see your work and visit your art site, what message would you send and why?

Follow my art and classical music at JMO-Arts.com, and stay tuned for music videos produced, animated, and composed by Jordan Montgomery.