ASK THE ARTIST: 12 QUESTIONS & A JOKE,
is an opportunity for our gallery supporters, friends and clients to get to know our artists a little better. It’s a fun way to get a glimpse into the personalities of the artists and at the same time connecting the artist with their art.
Hope you enjoy!! Ida Victoria
Brent Lynch has enjoyed a distinguished and award-winning career in the arts for over 35 years. His early works ranged from large-scale murals to books, magazine and record cover illustrations. He was commissioned to produce numerous paintings for publication featuring national and international events including sports, tourism, opera, dance and theater productions. His innovative and unique work was recognized worldwide and honored with many prestigious communication arts awards for illustration and design.
The power and energy of Brent’s figurative and landscape works are a result of his need to draw and compose from life. Whether life drawing in the studio or painting in the field, it is the immediate, raw connections with the subject that is the cornerstone of his work. For over three decades, Brent has been inspired by the Mexican people and their land. He continually strives to capture the energy, light and spirit of the Baja with his dynamic use of color and daring compositions. Brent’s original and published works are found in numerous corporate, government and private collections.
“In the last decade, I’ve purposely slowed down to paint some decent pictures and not to miss the moment. After a whirlwind trip through the noise of the arts and the world at large, surviving it, its’ a gift to have the opportunity”. -Brent Lynch
Q If there was a favorite work of art you could hang or display in your home, which would it be?
BL’The Raft of the Medusa’ by Jean Louis Gericault…he kinda’ nailed the human condition
“The Raft of the Medusa is an oil painting by the French Romantic painter Théodore Géricault, that was completed when the artist was 27. The work has become an icon of French Romanticism, depicting a moment from the aftermath of the wreck of the French naval frigate Méduse, which ran aground off the coast of today’s Mauritania on 2 July 1816. Géricault chose to depict this event in order to launch his career with a large-scale uncommissioned work on a subject that had already generated great public interest. The event fascinated him, and before he began work on the final painting, he undertook extensive research and produced many preparatory sketches. He interviewed two of the survivors and constructed a detailed scale model of the raft. He visited hospitals and morgues where he could view, first-hand, the colour and texture of the flesh of the dying and dead. As he had anticipated, the painting proved highly controversial at its first appearance in the 1819 Paris Salon, attracting passionate praise and condemnation in equal measure. However, it established his international reputation, and today is widely seen as seminal in the early history of the Romantic movement in French painting. Although The Raft of the Medusa retains elements of the traditions of history painting, in both its choice of subject matter and its dramatic presentation, it represents a break from the calm and order of the prevailing Neoclassical school.” – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Raft_of_the_Medusa
Q If there was one dead artist that you could hang out with for a day, who would that be? Why?
BL Rembrandt for certain…he is God. Arguably the greatest technician of painting and way ahead of his time in regard to how he viewed the world around him. The problem is that his paintings do not translate well in books so most people have never actually “seen” a Rembrandt, as far as I’m concerned. When I was 18 I had my first encounter of his originals at the Rijksmuseum and was blown out of the room!
Q If there were a magic power you could use in your art making, what would it be?
BL To produce powerful images while sleeping.
Q If we were going to talk about your art, where would you want to start?
BL Lynch is a storyteller.
Q What quality in others makes you want to slap them?
BL Arrogance and presumption, they’re one in the same.
Q Art is so subjective, what kind of art is unappealing to you?
BL Bad art.
Q What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given as far as your art, inspiration or career?
BL In my youth while in art school an instructor once said, “If you don’t like the giant roller coaster, chances are you won’t like making a living in the arts.”
Q What is most important to you…the subject, the process or the final work?
BL Process, everything else follows.
“Every year since the early ’80’s, I have visited the Cabo region. In the beginning, it was to surf the Pacific and windsurf the Sea of Cortez. On those early trips, I began to bring along my paint box. There wasn’t much down here in the way of tourism then, but there were powerful landscapes, small charming towns, farming and fishing communities…it was a painter’s dream. It is a real change from the cool blue winters of the Northwest. Here is where my palette changes and perhaps I do too.” -Brent Lynch
Q If your work was edible, what would it taste like?
BL Wow, tough one…oily.
Q What is the one thing you need in your studio to work, other than your art supplies?
BL Good light!
Q What is your most favorite piece of your artwork on display in Galeria de Ida Victoria now, and why?
BL “Espiritu Santo.” Once in awhile if you’re lucky, an artist simply takes dictation…this image (an osprey fishing in the shallows) actually happened in front of me while sitting with a bowl of ceviche and a beer on Tecolote Beach in La Paz.
Q In the era of the internet, why do you choose to continue to work with galleries?
BL People must see original artwork first hand. It is not enough to view a painting photographically. Photography in itself and at it’s best is art, just not painting. When you see a painting on the net it is the poor cousin of the original. At the very least galleries serve this most important function…they also perform many services in the promotion of an artist.
ABOVE: Brent painting in the gallery during an Art Walk.
LOWER LEFT: Brent doing a demonstration painting at an event (Alegria was the model).
LOWER RIGHT: Brent doing a slide show presentation on his career in the arts.
Q Now the best part, tell us a joke.
BL It’s not really a joke but worth telling: A very upset and frustrated art critic once asked Jackson Pollock “what do these (your) paintings mean?!” Pollock answered…”when you look at a bed of flowers do you ask, what do they mean?”
Why do I love Brent Lynch’s work?
The first time I met Brent Lynch and saw his work was in 2003, at an event at the former Golden Cactus Gallery in CSL, that I attended with my parents before I even moved to Los Cabos. As a recent graduate of Parsons School of Design with a degree in Illustration, I was immediately drawn to Brent’s works because of not only their bold color and composition, but because of the storytelling going on in each piece. As an illustrator, being able to tell a story with one powerful image is always the goal, and this guy nailed it every time! It was great to meet him, and to know that this award-winning illustrator/fine artist with such an impressive career was such a down to earth, cool dude too. My parents bought a couple of his pieces at that show, and they have always been some of my favorites of their art collection. When Brent came to see me a couple of years later at the gallery, I was almost intimidated to ask if he wanted representation, and was blown away when he said yes!! It has been an honor to represent Brent and his works of the Baja Peninsula. He is not only an amazing artist whose style is instantly recognizable and appreciated, but he has been a source of information, advice and an advocate for me and the gallery. When Brent talks to me about this business of art and gives me advice, encouragement or even tells me that I should handle something differently, I listen. He’s kind of like my gallery Dad. I am proud to have an artist of his caliber in the gallery and with his knowledge and years in the business, he definitely raises the bar around here.
-Ida Victoria
It’s hard to choose my favorite Lynch, they are all fabulous. But if I have to choose one, it would be DOG DAYS AT CERRITOS. To me this painting has such atmosphere, and the palette is so gorgeous with the muted pinks, blues, purples highlighted by touches of bright color on the distant umbrellas from the fading sun. To me, this is such a serene image that tells the story of winding down as the sun fades after an active and fun day at the beach.
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