BENGALURU:Felix Jackson, a designer and an artist, is known for his use of lines in his paintings. The artist who recently shifted to this city from Philadelphia, where he was working in a company called Vinylux, tells Express that most of time is spent drawing “sadly”: “I try to have some semblance of a social life, exercise, and spend time with friends, lovers. I’ve also started to learn tattooing recently.” His paintings will be exhibited as part of The Bold Exhibits at The Bold Creative in Indiranagar on May 28.
When did you think that you can make this your career?
Two years ago I realised I had to actively pursue some sort of creative work full-time and not just as a hobbyist.
How do you compose your work?
Composition is most important. Having a flow to my lines is also very important to me. Other than that, the rules differ... I’m a big believer in the accidental intersection of shapes. Sometimes I let a curve go on to see what else it meets and if that leads to something new. A little bit of accidental improvisation makes things fun.
How much drawing do you have to go through to prepare for a painting?
If I’m doing commissions for a client, I do a lot of rough thumbnails (small, loose sketches) before I zero in on a composition.After that I have to look at some references and draw them a few times to understand the form of whatever it is I need to draw.Whereas when I’m doing personal work, none of these things are usually essential. It’s usually a theme, word or poem that sets me off, and the imagery comes quite naturally from there.
Any role model?
Plenty! A few people I came across recently whose work I respect and admire - Amruta Patil, Somnath Pal, Anand Radhakrishnan and Devaki.
All of these people are professionals working full-time in some sector of the visual arts industry in India, be it graphic novels or in animation.
Any artist who influenced you in their use of lines? Any great paintings done in this style?
James Jean, a Taiwanese artist, is definitely a big influence. If you Google Hans Bellmer’s drawings, you will see that he was one of the big masters of the line, and also the flow.
Al Hirschfeld seems like an obvious reference. In recent times, Anna Koak’s work has fascinated me (instagram.com/annakoak/). Inka Essenhigh alternates between painterly and flat work, but they both contain the graceful qualities of her line. One needs to look no further than old Mughal paintings from India in fact, to find the charm that comes from a simple, confident line.
Saumin Suresh Patel is another Indian illustrator whose lines have a similar elegance. His book, Kaamotsav, is a series of erotic drawings, and I absolutely love the linework in it!
What is the best thing about being a painter and what is the worst?
It’s not as glamorous as other art forms, like say, performing musicians. Which is the best and the worst thing, really. You get to spend all day cooped up in a lonely studio, muttering to yourself.
And then emerge with something that’s hopefully worthwhile, because you’ve spent so long looking at your own painting, you don’t know what’s good and bad anymore.
On his two paintings
‘Sangam 02’ was one of the drawings I did during a live performance at the Triveni Kala Sangam at Mandi House, New Delhi. It’s a pure line drawing, done while watching a performance that a tribute to the late Kishori Amonkar, one of the leading vocalists in classical Hindustani music. The singing was led by her granddaughter, and one other disciple of hers. ‘Self-criticism through a lover’s gaze’ sounds entirely too pompous and pretentious for what is actually a pretty silly drawing, but it depicts a certain
amount of doubt that I have about myself, and the validity of the choices I’ve made. Insecurities!