★ MEET N‘ GREET ★

Kelly Lynn Jones interviews Drew Beckmeyer

I am really liking the direction your work is heading in.  I feel like the lines are looser and there is more of a free/painterly quality.  How do you feel about your current work?  Are you making any conscious effort to go in a particular direction or is it just happening naturally?

Its always been a little hard for me to judge my own work.  We have a very turbulent, love/hate relationship that crosses quite a range of emotion and self worth.  Things definitely are feeling much looser, which is opening up a lot of avenues that i havent quite had the time to fully explore. But, i definitely feel better about the path im on than the one i was on maybe a year ago, even though im just taking some initial steps on it. In terms of a direction, there isnt really a set goal in mind or style or anything like that, and it seems like you probably need those things to have a direction to go in.  that being said, the changes are more based around me being out of school, being forced to not only be my own critic, but also to keep myself engaged and curious.  

When starting a new piece, is there a plan?  Or does it just happen and you start to paint.  I am interested to see what your process is.

Sometimes there is a plan.  i do thumbnails sometimes and thats kind of the extent of any preparation that goes into it.  usually the more simple pieces are derived from these thumbnails and stick fairly close.  the more complex drawings i make tend to be kind of aimless and somewhat experimental.  Also they take a lot longer.  conceptually, i tend to think about ideas for several weeks before working on the drawings. so in that sense, there is definitely a plan or a set of themes that stay pretty constant throughout. 

You often have a slight narrative within your work.  I also noticed many of your figures are either half clothed/naked or in a swim suit, does this have any meaning for you or just something that happens?  They almost feel like semi-heavenly human/creatures/angels, well thats how I perceive it.  Any thoughts on this?

I wouldnt say that you are too far off in any of your interpretations, and i do have a lot of thoughts about all that.  its all done consciously i guess. my work has always kind of been done in an attempt at understanding things i dont understand. (i realize that sounds super unspecific).  I tend to use filters or a contradictory set of symbols and shapes to formulate a half-realized visual language that in my head, helps me to decode the aforementioned things that i dont understand. and hopefully, in turn, could help someone viewing my stuff decode what the drawing is really about.  the most common symbols i use tend to revolve around spirituality, washing, communal behavior, and fanciness.
Nudity for me, or half nudity, isnt really about a naked body and all the stuff that that brings with it. its more about anonymity and stripping these characters of their characterness, so that it becomes a little more clear that they arent meant to represent a human counterpart.  

When I went to your show at Tinlark Gallery, I noticed you working large scale as well as working sculpturally.   How is approaching a sculpture differ from a painting?  What type of information do you discover when working three dimensionally?

honestly, i really dont know if ive ever done anything that could accurately be called a sculpture.  i feel like that might be really insulting to people who are actually good at making sculptures. in that particular instance, the sculpture was kind of a key to reading the paintings in the room.  i was trying to make something that brought together all these elements that existed somewhat separately in a logical way.  it was an experiment that im not entirely sure paid off.  i would like to do more stuff in a similar and hopefully better vein, but i first need room to do it.  i did learn that. i need more space.

How do you keep your fine art work separate from your illustration work?  What is the fine line between the two for you?

i dont do a ton of illustration stuff, so personally they feel like completely different things, and are definitely made with very different intentions. right now, the hard part for me is making stuff that can be viewed as two separate entities.  my work from a couple of years ago essentially was all one art/illustration thing, mainly because i was still figuring everything out, but since then the two have been increasingly separate.  my illustration work generally doesnt bring me a huge amount of pleasure or pride, and when the work does come its more about trying to harness some of the experimental stuff i do in my regular work and make it clearly narrative and a little easier to swallow.  and i think thats totally appropriate for that venue, but as far as art goes, id rather have my work take a little more time and dissection to fully appreciate. 

You have only been out of school for a year, how is it so far?  What are some future plans you have in the works?

this year has been ok.  good mostly. highly unstable, but nothing all that bad happened.  i havent had to get a day job, which was a goal. i guess "confusing" sums it up pretty well.  i think im going to apply to grad schools under the assumption that i wont get in this year,  possibly go to europe, and hope that new american paintings opens some doors in december.

What is inspiring you currently?

my bike, highlights, the brothers karamazov, the lord dog bird, stencils, why?, in dubious battle, and not being embarrassed to wear shorts anymore.

What is something you couldnt live without?

some form of music player

Do you plan to stay in Los Angeles for awhile?  Does living in Los Angeles influence your work at all?

i think ill be here for a while.  maybe forever, but i kind of hope not.  change is hard on me.
for me, LA has a reverse influence where i romanticize everything it is not, and curse the city's existence on a daily basis. its all talk though.

Is there a book you can recommend that you think is amazing and everyone should know about it?

 tender is the night

Thank you Drew for being part of Little Paper Press with your limited edition print.