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About
I am a Rhode Island-based graduate of Bates College who graduated in 1996 with a degree in Studio Art. I am not sure what the exact definition of “Studio Art” would be, but I assume that it has something to do with the creation of art. In a studio. Which is what I now do for a living. When I first started out, I painted lonely self-portraits, landscapes, and animals. I was strictly a nostalgic and technical artist. Not to mention an isolated artist who rarely did anything more exciting than watch cartoons and nap. And possibly eat pasta. At some point along the way, I remembered that I had wanted to be a cartoonist when I was in college, and I started tossing a little humor into the paintings. Flying people? Hungry sharks? Nude blue alien women getting picked up by UFOs? You bet. And for reasons that I cannot explain, meeting the stunning woman who would become my wife somehow led to the addition of penguins, robots, zombies, flashers, and poop. In fact, these elements have become such a dominant part of my work that people are actually shocked and horrified when I resort to my old ways and create a landscape where no pooping penguins are killed by topless robotic zombies. It’s pretty cool. I should also mention that I have published my first book, entitled Goodbye, Penguins. It came out in the fall of 2007, and tells the story of fifteen penguins who disappear one by one in humorously tragic ways. The book has been greeted with a surprising amount of enthusiasm, as has my 2009 book Zombies Hate Stuff, so expect many more illustrated stories in the future. The Process Evidently, as an artist, I am supposed to have something called a "Process." I am pretty sure that hearing about an artist's "Process" is about as cool as hearing that your dentist is going to replace all your fillings, so I will keep it brief: I start with a basic landscape or figure-study sketched in pencil. Then I add a light wash of watercolor. And then I try to think what would make the painting especially awesome. In most cases, this means creating a frozen, transient moment where either something has just happened, or something is about to happen. A few hours and many layers of paint later, a new piece is ready to be framed and sent out into the world like a bat out of hell. (I don’t know what that means, exactly, but it sounds cool.) Artist's Statement The only thing more mind-numbing than hearing about an artist's "Process" is having to wade through his or her oh-so-meaningful "Artist's Statement." Example: "...I suffer for my art. My art is my life-blood. Without it, I would wither and die like a tiny sapling deprived of sun and rain and nutrients. I am that sapling, and with art as my guide, I will grow and blossom into something greater than my parts, greater than my paints, and greater than this world that we live in...I will be: An Artist!" (Excerpt from "I Am a Big Whiny Moron with No Skills, Bad Breath, and No Prospects for Future Happiness or Employment" by some momma’s boy who still wets the bed.) Here is my statement: I paint what I want to paint. The lucky coincidence is that large numbers of people happen to like what I paint, so we all win. You get technically sharp paintings with a sense or humor and/or narrative, and I get to live with two dogs and a top-notch wife. Thanks! - Greg Stones Contactgregstones@yahoo.com
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