Featured Artist of the Month : Felix Concepcion Sep. 2024 | TheArtList - Art & Photo Calls for Visual Artists and Photographers.

Felix Concepcion

New Jersey, USA

Originally from Brooklyn New York, where I lived with my three sisters, my mother and sometimes my grandmother in a railroad apartment. There was very little time to just sit and draw, it was a very active household and we also had chores and schoolwork to worry about. Growing up we had very little in terms of finances, so my mother would take us to The Museums of New York every other weekend. I loved looking at the vast variety of animals in the Museum of Natural History and the beautiful art and antiquities of The Metropolitan Museum of art. Walking from gallery to gallery, admiring all of the sculptures of ancient Rome, Greece and Egypt, The wood carved mask from the various countries of Africa and South America. Especially the paintings of the old masters from the early renaissance to the modern era. I graduated from the High School of Art and Design with a major in Animation. I completed two semesters of Multi-Media at the Art institute of New York, where I learned about film making, directing and sound editing and mixing. Unfortunately, due to financial hardships and a major family loss, I had to leave college and worked in several retail stores. Luckily, I found work at many major Art supply stores, where I was able to converse with other creative co-workers and customers. Learning about different various mediums and styles of art. Eventually my retail journey lead me back to The Metropolitan Museum where I was reintroduced to the art works I fell in love with as a child. I currently Reside in Nutley New Jersey with my Husband Rodney Sexton and our three dogs Iggiy, Bogie and Gracie.

How and when did you start creating art?

The first memory I go back to was of a drawing of a mermaid I did when I was 5 or 6 years old after I just finished watching Fantasia. That memory after so many years, perfectly encapsulates everything that began my fascination and desire to learn how to recreate these magical creatures. After a while I began to imagine what my own stories and characters would look like and who they were. Watching animated films and cartoons on tv, I was mesmerized who animation could possibly bring all of these characters to life.

What media and genres do you work in?

I started with acrylic to help get a sense of painting and how they work. While working at A.I Freidman, a talented oil painter named David Trowbridge gave me some pointers and tips on using Oil paint, and I have been hooked ever since. Over the years I have watched YouTube videos on how to use oil paint and tips for using different media and “How to Paint’ videos. To help further develop my skills in using oil paint and open my appreciation for the different movements in painting like abstract, landscape, surrealism etc.

Who or what are your influences?

I draw inspiration from various places of the creative world. Whether it’s from a song, comic book, cartoon, video game, a children’s picture book or even just wandering museums and seeing what catches my eye. Sometimes I draw inspiration from my doll collection, and yes I’m a forty-year-old man who still loves toys; but I see them as works of art themselves. I read art books and biographies. I have seen elements of Van Gogh, O’Keefe, and xxx in some of my early work; but I have strived to move away from those influences to find my own voice and point of view. My husband is a significant influence on the direction my work has taken recently. Many times while working on a piece, I would ask his critique about what he sees, while he is very good at understanding and interpreting my intent, he challenges me to articulate my point of view. He asks me what I envisioned and then tells me how my intention is coming through or might work harder. Many times at first it doesn’t click immediately because he usually challenges what I want to achieve instead of giving me the answer, but after sitting and contemplating about what he’s says, I often see a brand new perspective and possibility into what the pieces can become.

What was your inspiration for
Starry Night ‘95
?

I remember a home video of my father and his cousin on the roof of their apartment complex in Brooklyn, and it had a beautiful view of Manhattan. When I would go visit him, my cousins and my sister and I would go on the roof and look out into the city and the neighborhood. I wanted to recreate that feeling with this piece

Describe your creative process?

Many times it starts with music. Many times the harmonies and lyrics would spark ideas for a potential character or concept for my next painting. Depending on the piece I would either work on several rough sketches of ideas and concepts into my more complex pieces like “Starry Night 95”, “Uraya De Creaccion” and “ Ven A Ihibira?”, while pieces like “Perfume”, “Pale September” were completely spontaneous.

What are you working on currently?

I’m working on various paintings in different styles, but my real passion is a series of painting inspired by ancient Taino mythology and folklore from Puerto Rico.

What are your near/long term goals as an artist?

Like many artists, I would love a solo art show and hopefully one day be part of a museum’s permanent collection. For my Taino mythology series I would love to turn it into an animated film or series one day.