At ARTIS PURA we are blessed to know and work with many amazingly talented artists. Without the arts how boring would our world look. In the spirit of collaboration and supporting what makes us human we are introducing a series of blog posts introducing you to these creative and inspirational humans.
One of our featured artists is 46 yr old Jonny Arnold. From Oxfordshire in the UK, currently Jonny is living in QLD with his Australian partner. Self taught, Jonny is predominantly a painter, using Oils and Acrylics. He has his roots in street art but over the last few years he has turned his attention to fine arts.
On any given day you can find Jonny in his home studio in the Logan area.
Finished and unfinished artworks surround him.. tacked to walls, on easels and stacked in corners everywhere. Old skool Hip Hop echoing from his speakers, he has only been working in this studio for a few months, so the amount of work shows his prolific need to paint and explore mediums and subject matters.
Laser focused, his passionate exploration of ways to lay paint down is what drives him, along with finding solutions to the challenge of capturing light,movement and narrative.
I had the opportunity to chat to Jonny while he continued to work on different pieces in his Studio.
You seem to have endless energy when in the studio, what motivates you?
'Music motivates me a lot. What motivates me more these days is making something that wasn't there. At the end of the day, you've made something that wasn't there in the morning. That's what interests me.
A constant learning curve, the further you go forward with your art, the more difficult it becomes. You feel like your certain standards must raise. The work you produce must be better than the last.
The reality of being an artist is a struggle to and fro. A constant battle with yourself. You want to put more into your art.. you want to capture character and also like.. i don't know..'
**he steps forward.. dabs more paint on the canvas before him..tilts his head and looks intently
"that's nice that" he says under his breath.**
How has the current world health crisis and lock-down affected your practice?
'I spend a lot of time in self isolation anyway, so its given me an opportunity , well forced me actually, to finish pieces.
I'm as riddled with anxiety as everyone else, about whats next than whats now. Not to do with art, but the wider world in general. Mostly I'm in my own little world anyway, but i have total faith in humanity, i think it'll change for the better to be honest. A lot of good people out there.'
What are you working on at the moment, and what can we expect from your studio in the future?
'I'm working on a new series of portrait studies of social media "selfies" people have sent to me . I'm fed up sometimes painting beautiful and i just wanted to paint real.
Ill be working on more figurative work. I always find it hard to find direction in my art, the more people i paint.. the more i want to paint.
Its a personal progression, you never know if your art is any good. I always have that imposter syndrome ..like I'm bluffing. But i'm getting more into painting the more i paint.
it's never been about the sales, i'm less focused on trends and more on the act of painting. In these times of trendy art and minimal works, its easy to forget about the painters.. the ones chasing paint around day and night. I think its important to tread your own path.
Its interesting.. you never know how you are being perceived in the outside world. Paint captures something that photography cant. It goes deeper. and to me, a good portrait does that.
Where can we find your work Jonny?
I have several pieces beautifully framed and available to buy at ARTIS PURA. Im also working with them running some painting workshops periodically. You can come visit the studio or see my work online.
Instagram : @jonnyred5
Facebook : Jonny Arnold