Spring 2010 Artist Statement

Wyatt Lance
Artist Statement
Spring 2010

Conceptually, a struggle and a celebration ribbon my themes together. My work addresses the war on the individual and human relations. Psychological direction and pull lends itself often in my work and that’s seen through the narrative that is built up layer by layer. It is by this fluid amalgamation that each piece is related and brings a voiced atmosphere to the table. To facilitate a level of deeper intuitive understanding beyond anything openly rational is my intention. To evoke a dialogue of thought and emotion with a visual language aligns oneself with the creationary foresight and mastery of the gods.

Figures, an integral part in much of my art, are reduced to relying on minimal assets of structure. These vary from shape revealing silhouettes or simplified details to describe form such as those seen in graphic art and comics, to sketches that lack gradients of their own and pull from their backdrops for coloration and description. Relying on less than individualistic representations of figures and spaces allows me to portray something that everyone as a viewer can relate to. Leaving spaces unfilled for interpretation pulls people out of their rational boxes and into the sandbox of free thought and flowing emotion. Colors play into inner psychology on many differing levels and as such, can be utilized to emphasize point and meaning already being described by forms.

Multiple medias always go into the mix when I’m working on a new piece. I draw resources from my manic sketchbooks that travel everywhere with me. These raw compilations are filled with sketches and textual quandaries that fuel my ideas and concepts. Digitally scanned into a computer, found objects also play an important role in my work for everything from fluid forms to rough textures. I work primarily in the digital studio when compiling a piece, but there are many stages to production resulting in a resolved image and those take place in every imaginable ground. My work is not limited to any single discipline. I’ll go anywhere I think there may be strong feelings evoked because its always worth it, both on a personal level, and when it becomes evident through a piece. These associations become evident through individual narratives and are then further enhanced when a body of work is seen together. Brush strokes and textures within my digital paintings play to different emotions and feelings as well, which significantly adds to the existing notions and embodiments of empathetic transfer already within the artwork. As long as the dialogue has ports within the minds of onlookers, a connection can be made and the journey can be shared.