Murray State's Digital Commons

Collection Title

Ian Gresham ART 399 Portfolio

Author/Artist Name

Ian GreshamFollow

Files

Academic Level at Time of Creation

Senior

Date of Creation

Spring 5-6-2020

Artist Statement

I am an artist who primarily, medium-wise, works digitally in Photoshop, using a Wacom Cintiq 16 so that I may draw directly on the screen - allowing me to be especially precise when creating my work. Working digitally is mess-free, and allows me more flexibility than traditional oils and acrylics - so that I can either get rid of mistakes hassle free, or experiment without having to worry about the paint drying or the experiment turning out to not work in the end. I also just find it plain fun to use, the software is always changing and being updated, and there are a variety of different brushes to find online and experiment with (some of which can’t even exist traditionally) so that I may improve my workflow. In addition, the ability to change colors on the fly, and use the eyedropper tool to select specific colors from you piece, makes mixing colors and finding new ones simple and easy. I make the work that I want to make, and a lot of times I want to make work that’s off-the-wall, a little humorous, and (at times) just a little erotic without it becoming pornographic. Growing up as a queer man in the heart of the bible belt meant that I had to supress my views and my own sense of self - and creating this work allows to finally be, in the purest sense of the word, myself. In addition, working at a place known for it’s problematic views on queer people (Chick-Fil-A) gave me a new set of ideas and new perspectives to pull from for my work - using the sort of hunger (both literal and mental) that food and the cult of personality created by certain brands of food have, I’ve made work about me personally, the restaurant itself, and the effects it’s had on me and others (mainly customers.) A large chunk of my inspiration comes from music - as I’ll listen to it while working, and it’ll inadvertently influence what the final piece ends up as. More often than not, this ends up being Tyler, The Creator - as his often outspoken, synth laden beats end up influencing how my pieces end up, when I listen to him. Artistically, I’ve found myself drawn more towards queer artists like Ali Franco and Hugh Steers - Franco’s more erotic work has served as a good point of inspiration for some of my work that involves more erotic subject matter (humorous as they may or may not be) while Steers’ more heartfelt, heart-wrenching pieces resonate with me as a queer man.

Advisor/Mentor

Danielle Muzina; Mike Martin

Description

A collection of works from throughout my college career, from a variety of painting and drawing classes of varying levels and focuses. The medium varies wildly from piece to piece - as I go from drawing with charcoal, to painting with oils, to painting digitally. Additionally, the theme between pieces can vary wildly, as some of these pieces were made years apart. Something that pops up in a a lot of them, I find, is identity.

Photo Credit

Ian Gresham

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Recommended Citation

Gresham, Ian, "Ian Gresham ART 399 Portfolio" (2020). Professional Practices (ART 399). 94.
https://digitalcommons.murraystate.edu/art399/94