Written by Matilde Casaglia – Art Editor – matilde.casaglia@positive-magazine.com
Artist: Josh Byer http://www.saatchionline.com/joshbyer
Josh Byer is a painter, an actor and an author. He lives in Vancouver where he did his Bachelor of Fine Arts, Major in Film at the Simon Fraser University.
– Are you planning to organise an exhibition soon?
I’d love to do a carnival-themed series. Something inspired by the penny arcade. Perhaps join forces with Circus Circus in Las Vegas.
– How do you relate your three art expressions with each other?
Art, like autism, is a term used to describe a wide variety of disorders.
– Which one of your paintings was first sold in your career?
When I was four, I filled my brother’s Radio Flyer wagon with drawings and went door to door, selling them for a penny a piece. The first picture I ever sold depicted a forest. Above the trees was Pac Man, eating dots in the sky.
– Which technique do you use to make your artworks?
If I have an idea, I’ll just begin. If I don’t, I’ll draw the grain of the page. Build a pattern out of what comes up. Eventually, I ask “what does that look like?” Then, I start manipulating the existing pattern. I make it conform to its associative form. Once that’s underway, I start to search for the narrative of the piece. It usually emerges. If it doesn’t, I keep rendering. And rendering. And rendering.
– What would you suggest to a young painter to start his/her career with the right step?
Art is a game. Play every day.
INTERVIEW with Josh Byer – Art is a game. Play every day.
Josh Byer is a painter, an actor and an author. He lives in Vancouver where he did his Bachelor of Fine Arts, Major in Film at the Simon Fraser University.
