Open Studio- A Tale Of Two Artists

Ian Ross is just applying the first brush strokes on a very large, blank canvas.  I ask him for an interview and he agrees to one, still standing and painting.  As we chat, it's apparent this young artist is used to conversation while he's working.  In fact, Ian often paints "live" in clubs and public spaces.

Painting "live" is a kinetic, free-wheeling approach to his art that involves not just the painter, but the people around him.  While he paints, a nearby camera that Ian has set-up beforehand, records the action until he has completed a work.  Ian then distills the video into time-lapse and posts the shortened pieces on YouTube.   He says it takes about three hours on average to finish a painting, which then gets condensed into a three-minute video.  Ian tells us the nature of his art- both the act of painting and the videos- "is fast, immediate", just like graffiti.

While he doesn't condone vandalism, he has a huge respect for the taggers and graffiti artists that leave their usually unappreciated creations on the sides of buildings and walls.  Ian's work is largely influenced by Doze Green and Damon Soule- artists with 'street art' roots.  Ian admits the closest he got to 'committing graffiti' was a project that involved painting the side of a building that a friend's windows looked out upon in San Francisco.  They got permission from the owner of the building, and Ian found himself "strapped up and suspended like a monkey" up the side of the building, which he then transformed into a three stories high by ten foot wide painting.  Ian also finds inspiration in nature, which he learned to appreciate while growing up surfing and biking in Marin-

"The organic feeling of my work is inspired by nature.  I grew up in Marin, riding my bike on Tam.  I am passionate about open spaces."

He's just as passionate about art.  Ian claims he knew he wanted to be an artist as early as kindergarten.  It's in his genes too;  Ian's mom, dad and younger brother are all artists.  Ian worked primarily with clay, graduating with a BFA degree from Long Beach State, and continued working in ceramics before switching to painting five years ago.  Ian's paintings are visually compelling, with bold, dramatic lines sweeping in and out of space.  He tends to use earthy colors and paints with "no intention".  He has several paintings going on at one time, often letting them sit for days or even months before working on them again.  He says while they are in his "possession", they are often not finished.  Ian clearly values the freedom his work allows, mentioning that painting will stop if the surf is up.  With a smile, he says-

"I'm allergic to routine, I never have the same day twice."

While he is undeniably happy about his chosen profession, there are aspects of his work that don't exactly thrill him.  When asked what he dislikes most about being an artist, he mentions the "professional aspects...making a living".  He says it feels unnatural "selling his work, selling himself".  Luckily, Ian's girlfriend, Caitlin Hevia manages a lot of that for him.  Ian lives with Caitlin, Caitlin's friend McKenzie, his dog Talach, and Caitlin's cat, Kingsley. 

The canvas he's been painting during our interview, is now full of image and color.  Paintings are propped up in his yard, and they line the pathway to his studio, which sits in the corner of his casual backyard garden.  One painting has been placed in front of his door, and earlier, someone had told him it looked like the door had been painted.  He stops painting for a moment and turns around to face me, and says that might be a good idea...maybe he will start painting doors.  But for now, the doors can wait as he turns his attention back to the canvas.  He's free to do them later.

The first thing you notice when you walk down the driveway to Millicent Tomkins' studio is an archway with a spray of climbing flowers, growing up and over it.  It is like a frame, drawing you into a beautiful world, like a painting.  This, you will learn, is totally appropriate when you view Millicent's art.

Millicent doesn't stop for a second.  She walks around her studio, precisely tilting a painting so that it hangs exactly straight.  She thoughtfully moves stacks of papers to the side of a bench, so that I may sit for our interview.  But she does not sit.  People arrive, and she engages them immediately in conversation.  They walk around admiring the paintings, and Millicent follows them, pointing out details- a poem written in ornate script around the beautiful wood frame of this one; a sly allusion to Bosch in the corner of that one.  It's clear that she revels in detail, allusion and surprise.  And her paintings are full of them. 

The dozens of works, which hang on the wall of her large, airy studio, give you the distinct impression of looking out of framed windows.  The paintings, many of them on wood panels, resemble medieval religious icons, but with renaissance themes.  Several of the paintings contain exact miniature replicas of works by Michaelangelo and Caravaggio.  Many contain columns, frescoes, tiled floors and richly detailed Oriental rugs.  The colors are highly saturated- and  in some, the images so finely drawn, they look like photographs. You peer into the painted frames, looking at the painting within a painting, and then surprise- you see it!  There is the San Francisco skyline across the water; the sweep of a golden California hillside; even Mt. Tam!  Millicent explains-

"I see my art as homage to our modern world, and to art from the past in a continuity of space and time."  And in a reference to the great European painters that are sprinkled through her work, "My painting allows me to keep good company with all the greatest artists in history, here in my studio."

If Ian's work is without intent, then Millicent's paintings are completely intentional.

Millicent says music also inspires her; she herself is an accomplished singer and pianist, and both her daughters are professional musicians.  Leslie, who lives in New York, plays the viola and Berkeley resident Tanya, is a cellist.  One corner in Millicent's studio is filled with family photos and mementos.  It is clearly a treasured space, as she points out family photos and newspaper clippings.  Millicent tells me about her annual trip to the Moab Music Festival in Utah where both daughters perform.  She presses a program from last summer's concert into my hand, to take with me.

Her love of music has also led her to her latest art projects; painting on harpsichord lids.  The large one she is currently working on, sits on a table in the middle of her studio.  The painting is an adaption of Joseph Vernet's work, "A Calm Sea in Moonlight".  It is extraordinarily beautiful painting of a ghostly ship in a bay, silhouetted in front of a cloudy, moonlit sky. 

More people trickle in, and Millicent breaks away to greet them.  Then her daughter Tanya walks in, and Millicent gives her a big hug.  Finally she takes a seat; sitting next to her daughter, they begin to chat.  I decide to leave them alone, and wander outside into her very English-style garden.  There is a profusion of flowers everywhere- roses and clematis, bursting from the ground, climbing the walls and lining the borders.  Here and there, I spot a flowering plant I can't identify.  But the profusion is not untamed; it is ordered and peaceful, full of detail and precision, and the occasional surprise.  It is not unlike her paintings.

Details:

Open Studio is a free, self-guided art tour sponsored here in Marin, by the Marin Arts Council.  It is a yearly event that is also held in other cities nationwide.  It's a great way to see how artists live and work, and an especially nice way to view their art away from the more rigid confines of the art gallery.
Open Studio continues next  weekend, May 10 and 11 in North and West Marin.
                                    
For commissions, purchases or to contact the artists-                                                                           

Ian Ross: ian@ianrossart.com or Caitlin Hevia: red_birdie@earthlink.net
Website

Millicent Tomkins: millicenttomkins@earthlink.net
Website

 

Comments

[Pamela Ross]

Ian is my son and obviously I am very proud of the way his life and his art is evolving. This article about his open studios and the photos are really wonderful. For a visual artist to get an article of this quality (with great photos too) is really a testament to MoreMarin.com and especially the More Culture! section.

I would like to thank the person who interviewed Ian, and then wrote such an insightful story. Your byline should appear with the story. Well done!

Thank you, Pam Ross