Introducing, Travis Moore, an artist with a dream of creating brightly colored artwork of celebrities, sports figures and well-known entertainment spots using his own unique perspective then selling those paintings to the actual celebrities. 

Find out more about what drives Travis Moore to create celebrity-like art and get a sneak peak at one of my favorite pieces by Travis, “The Wait of the World” which was created using only a Sharpie, plus a whole lot more.

Q.        Travis, I remember the first time I met your artwork.  It was right before the opening of the Sharpie Show at Crewest and I was numbering artwork.  I came across this huge canvas titled “The Wait of the World” with the most unbelievable detail.  It was amazing to see so much detail all done using a Sharpie. How long did it take you to create that piece?

About 100 hours, off and on for days.  Get up, Take shower, work on art...

Q.        What was your inspiration for creating Wait of the World?

The inspiration was my life up until then; my thoughts as they flow during the creation process.  The Wait of the World is a stream of consciousness piece, so I just let that take over...and I record it on canvas.

Q.        Describe your artistic process when creating Wait of the World.

So the process is let my mind and hand go. Usually I go through several sharpies, different sizes... I just work as much as I can until I need to take a break... then try and pick back up.  I begin to get a sense for the negative space as I go along and hopefully something begins to emerge....

Q.        It must take a lot of patience to have created a piece like that.  Besides patience, what are your other strong points as an artist that help you create?

Originality is what drives art.  I feel like my style is original, but familiar. Drive is essential in the race for artistic recognition. I feel like I am driven, sometimes almost relentlessly to be heard.  I am a perfectionist when it comes to a vision I may have for a piece, I want to replicate what I see in my mind.

Q.        In your bio, you mention “the power to create”, tell me about how the power to create has you feeling?

 I believe as an artist you have the ability to create, and that makes me feel empowered.  I have the ability to create something tangible that then has the power to touch someone else, so through my artwork I can speak to people and that makes me feel ecstatic.

Q.        How have you evolved artistically thru the years?

I have become more concerned with the meaning and feeling behind the piece.  I want to make people laugh, or think, and in the future I plan on installations that take it to another step as far as concept goes. 

Q.        Tell us about what you like about Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns, Jackson Pollack, Roy Lichtenstein and Leroy Neiman?

Each has a distinct style to their work.  I also love their use of color, sometimes to shock, or evoke emotion.  Each changed the way that the public saw art, they shifted the paradigm. They all represent the ultimate integration of capitalism and art. Some of the things I strive for with my work. I also love Van Gogh, Gauguin, Dali, Leonardo, Keith Haring, and more recently Damien Hirst, all for some of the same reasons…Self promotion, use of a factory, seeing the world through a different set of eyes, and conveying it in a piece.

Q.        If you could create one piece right at this moment, what would it be and why?

I want to do a huge project that probably could be accomplished via a grant. An installation of decommissioned firearms, wrapped in cash, in a coordinated effort with the city of Los Angeles, their police agencies, and with the toys for guns, or money for guns program, here locally.  I would want to take the guns that are brought in and taken off the street to create 3-D artwork that can then be displayed with a huge opening, with invites to raise cash for the charity, then the artwork is auctioned and portion of the proceeds gets put back into the charity and a commitment is made to make it an annual event. This is a way to give back and use Art and that Creative Power to help others, make our city safer, expose people to Art, help people provide gifts for their children… in essence using art to high-light a problem and then use art to attempt to help solve that problem.

Q.        Tell us, how do you think art gives back to the community?

It offers another outlet for those in the community to express themselves, make a career, or attempt social change through its influence.  Art is the basis and gauge of culture.  Most galleries offer a glimpse into the artists’ minds for free, and that helps to draw people back into the community, helps commerce, and it inspires the community as a result.

Q.        Where would you like to see the art scene in 5 years from now?

I would like to see more buyers in the marketplace, a deeper understanding of the scene by the average person… that starts with education, and that starts with funding… We as artists must try and create social change and fight for the next generation’s right to be artists… the more people recognize artwork the more they care about it…Not all of this can be accomplished in 5 years, but I think that Artists can begin to take a more active role in the scene and begin to play a more direct role in the process.

Q.        Tell us about your piece you have for the years Top of the Dome.  

I completed two small skulls, one that is inspired by things you ponder as you are getting older…It is called Life Death, Whatever… it is Black Sharpie in the white skull, great positive negative piece, lots of detail…Was a free thought piece like The Wait of the World,  I  love to just let it all flow together, and to guide the piece after it has already begun to take shape.

The second piece is called Rock is Dead, Long Live Rock  It is collage paper on the plaster skull, completely covering the piece with pictures of all the gifted rockers gone too soon.  It really shocks how many there are, some sadder that others, really makes you start to think about your mortality… Plus so much music, I love to try and connect different forms of artistic expression, the more the better, makes the connection to the piece and the experience more meaningful and intense, which in turn means memorable, thus successful…

Check out Travis’s new work “It is called Life Death, Whatever” and “Rock is Dead, Long Live Rock” at Top of the Dome VI at Crewest (www.crewest.com).  Opens Saturday November 7^th, 2009. 

 

To find out more about Travis Moore, visit him online at:  http://www.paintingsbytravis.com/