The little Interview with Andy Kehoe

From Jessica: I am really excited to have Andy Kehoe as the next person in the Interview series. It is really important to me to cover a wide range of artists that I admire and see what they are up too. I fell in love with Andy's work not too long ago and was super excited to see his new pieces!

What is your background in art?

As with most artists, it's something that's been in my life as far as I can remember. My brother and I were always doodling, and drawing all sorts of things, from teenage mutant ninja turtles to penning our own slightly disturbing comics. Then I took a long and horribly expensive tour of art schools and tried my hand at animation, multimedia, 3-D animation and finally ended on illustration at Parson School of Design in New York. Never did I even consider that I'd be showing my work at galleries for a living.

 

 

 

Is your work based on folklore or mythology? 

I'm very intrigued by both folklore and mythology. Though I'd probably these pieces have more to do with folklore. They are both attempts of people to explain the mysteries of being alive in a world that doesn't make sense. But most myths were considered true at some point in history and had a lot to do with Gods and other super-natural beings. Folklore comes from the stories of normal people and no one considered them as fact, but they did hold a lot of truths of society during those times. It's more about people dealing with everyday issues and fears and less to do with mighty men squaring off with all powerful Gods.

 

Andy's Studio

 

 

 

 

 

 

What inspires you to create your pieces?
Inspiration is pretty easy to come by. Of course, art, music, movies and anything creative always inspire me. Anyone that puts love and care into their craft inspires me. And all the craziness of this world is an endless source of inspiration, good and bad, that can find it's way into my work.

 
Do you have a set schedule for working or does it come on a whim?

I usually wake up and deal with emails and other normal world issues first. Then I head over to my studio and work on paintings until I feel satisfied for the day. When I'm in the middle of a show, this usually entails a good portion of the day is spent painting. Even when I get back home for the day, I'm answering more emails and print orders and working out ideas for future paintings and shows. It's great working on my own terms, but it's also a job that I can't really leave at work. It is my life and I ultimately bring work home. But I do take Sundays off and that's the one day I set aside and try not to think about work at all. 

 

Are you apart of the Portland art scene or friendly with any other Portland artists?

I'm starting to meet more and more Portland artists everyday. I share a studio with an artist, Evan B. Harris, and that's been really great. I had been doing all my work alone, cooped up at my apartment and those long stretches of solitude were pretty tough sometimes. Life gets pretty strange when you're stuck in your own head all day everyday, so it's great to have someone else around to bring you out of it.

 

Current Work

 

 

 

How would you like your work to evolve?
I'd like to just keep building my work up piece by piece and story by story. Every series of paintings I do seems to add more and I'm always excited to see where it all goes next.

Are you a full time artist and if not what else do you do?

This is all I do which is amazing! It's a weird way to make a living because there's nothing really certain about it. Maybe I'll get good show next year, maybe not. Even if I do get a show, there's no certainty of people liking my work and no certainty of making any money off of it. But at the same time, everyday can hold a new and exciting opportunity... it make getting up everyday quite an adventure. 

Currently reading/ watching anything?

Been listening to audio books in the studio. It's something that Evan turned me onto and it's been awesome. I don't have much of a chance to read a book when I'm hunched over a drafting table all day, so this is the greatest alternative. It's weird to have someone essentially read a story to you... not something I'd experienced since being a kid. I was worried that it would distract me from my work, but it gets the creative part of my mind active and prevents my mind from drifting off. Listened to a book called "Devil in the White City" that was pretty damn amazing. Currently in the middle of "The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle" which has been very interesting to say the least. I've also been re-watching Deadwood, which is one of my favorite shows. 

 

Comments

[elizabeth]

great interview Andy, your work space looks inspirational.

I am gonna try books on tape now. My last art history teacher had Devil in a white City on our book list--guess I'll go check it out--(better late than never)