Art & Life with Mike Garcia

Today we’d like to introduce you to Mike Garcia.

Mike, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
I was born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona. During college I signed up for a figure drawing class in Tempe instructed by Matt Dickson. Him I met at his monthly Anti-Art School open studio, a popular portrait drawing event that unfortunately has ended some years ago. After a few years of serious study in classical art methods at Matt’s atelier, I met another local artist, Jedadiah Cracco, who suggested that we host life drawing open studios in the valley. Two years later, our open studio scheme is still going strong. We host events both at Changing Hands Bookstore (Phoenix location) and at Thunderbird Arts Center, and we’re searching for a third location now. I draw and paint almost every day–portraits for the most part, figures on occasion.

Can you give our readers some background on your art?
I paint portraits, mostly because I think I’ve got a knack for making faces. I choose subjects based on pretty insubstantial criteria–how the light and shadow play with each other, how vivid or muted the colors are. I’ll paint anyone who agrees to sit for me, though, so I’m not too picky.

I don’t paint with a message in mind, at least not at first. The idea is to translate the light/dark and color relationships of whatever is in front of me. The rest goes from there. If the narrative or image isn’t compelling enough on its own, then the painting may be in trouble. I’m dealing with a visual medium, after all, so that first impression counts. On the other hand, if the picture has a solid composition and sound drawing/proportional accuracy, the message will take care of itself. That manifests in brushwork, gesture, level of abstraction, even caricature (or idealization, if I’m feeling nice). That said, I do have feelings and opinions about whatever I’m painting, and that’ll inevitably come through. I try not to think too much about how to translate those emotions, because when I do the result is labored, tacky, and obvious, and it robs the viewer of the opportunity to project their own reality on the canvas.

What responsibility, if any, do you think artists have to use their art to help alleviate problems faced by others? Has your art been affected by issues you’ve concerned about?
Painters in particular may have seen their roles in popular culture diminished in some capacity, since avenues for viewership have changed radically in the twentieth century (the shift from using paintings to photographs for magazine illustrations comes to mind), but I think they still largely remain the same. A drawing or painting can entertain, illuminate, offer a respite from outside events, satirize or commend institutions and people, or do any number of other things. All of those roles are still important.

Although I stay informed, or try to, national or world issues don’t affect my work. Not consciously, anyway. I think if my pictures occupy any meaningful role, it would be that of the distraction-from-the-world-without variety. A handful of people have told me that my paintings spoke to them in some way. Usually they get a sense of warmth, which makes sense because most of the people I paint are my friends and family.

What’s the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
People can find my work on Instagram (@mikegarcia_90). I don’t have a website, but people can contact me at artistmikegarcia@gmail for commissions. I’m putting together some pieces for a show early next year. Information on where to see it will follow on Instagram in the next few months, presuming all goes well. I also run life drawing open studios, and information for that can be found on facebook.com/fuzzyheadspace. It’s a great way to work side-by-side with local artists and it supports the local Phoenix art community.

Contact Info:

• Email: artistmikegarcia@gmail.com
• Instagram: instgram.com/mikegarcia_90
• Facebook: facebook.com/fuzzyheadspace

Image Credit:
Mike Garcia

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