Chris Madsen

by: Mandy

One day, a successful business man in his thirties picks up a camera.  Something inside him clicks (no pun intended), and a desire is awaked from deep within.  As a result, he turns his world upside down in pursuit of his new found passion for photography and visual art.  In short, he wipes his slate clean.  He decides to leave a company in which he has a partnership.  He sells his house.  And he doesn’t even know if he’s any good.  This isn’t a quirky movie plot.  This is Chris Madsen’s life. 

Kita and Mandy were lucky enough to sit down with Chris in his office at the Utah Arts Alliance, where he creates visual art pieces from his photography shoots, and runs his new business, Square Pixel, LLC.  He talked about the variety of techniques he uses to get his signature dark and cinematic looks.  We also chatted about what drove him to make such a drastic change in his life, and how it’s paid off.  We both agreed when we left that the man has guts of steel. 

 

Mandy:  You’re a photographer.  What kind of photography do you do?

Chris:  I would describe my photography as conceptual.  It’s hard to describe because I don’t think my work is like anyone’s work.  It’s a little bit conceptual, a little bit dark.  I try to create images that will tell a bit of a story.  They all have pretty strong feminine qualities to them.

Mandy:  Yes, I noticed most of your work is of females.  Is there a reason for that?

Chris:  99.9% of my work is female.  I get a lot of inspiration from early Renaissance images.  Just the curvy, beautiful women.  Also, everyone seems to appreciate women, even women.  85%, if not 90, of my sales are to women.  I don’t have very many men buyers. 

Mandy:  When did you first know that you were interested in photography?

Chris:  I picked up a camera for the first time in my life about three and a half years ago.  Something just clicked inside, like this was what I should be doing.  I was partners in a company that I left, and eventually sold out my stock in.  Got rid of my house, moved into an apartment, got a studio, and just kind of redirected my life.  It was kind of late in life, but something just finally clicked.

Mandy:  Were you into art in general?

Chris:  Not at all.  I had no interest in art.  I mean, I had gone to school for graphic design, so I guess layout, but I had no real interest in art as a whole.  I was never really into it.  It was a major turning point in my life.

Kita:  What made you pick it up then?

Chris:  I think it was in the days of MySpace, when you could look at any photographer’s profile, and they always had tons of pretty friends.  So I thought, “Oh, if you have a camera, then chicks dig you.”  I thought it would get me a lot more dates, which has not worked still, to this day.  But I’m pretty happy doing what I’m doing.

 

Mandy:  Did you have any goals when you first started?

Chris:  Well, when I first started, I had no idea.  I didn’t know anything about photography.  So after a while, when I realized that I really enjoyed creating these scenes, my goal became to get something into a gallery.  I probably had been shooting for less than a year, and I actually got the opportunity from Derek Dyer, the director of the Utah Arts Alliance, to display in one of their galleries downtown.  So I took, I think, three pieces and ended up selling one of them.  A pretty large one.  This guy was a passerby.  He was just walking downtown, by the gallery, and purchased it.  So that really sparked something in me to know that someone, somewhere, picked up a piece of my artwork, paid for it, and is hanging it in his house, looking at it every day.  You always kind of wonder what they’re thinking.  So those were my early goals.  Now, my goal is to make more, if not all of my living doing art.  It’s gotten to be maybe 20-30% of my income, and my goal is to make it 100%.

Mandy:  What else do you do?

Chris:  I’m a freelance graphic artist.  Mostly websites or retail packaging.

Mandy:  So from the time you take a picture to the finished product, do you do a lot of editing?

Chris:  Well, I shoot a couple of different styles.  I shoot digital, and they tend to be very heavily photo-shopped.  I can’t paint, but for me, I can sit down and create a scene the way I want to see it.  So even the term “photographer” is one I use very loosely.  I’m not so much a photographer as a visual artist.  I do a lot of other things, like Tintype, and/or Wet Plate Collodion, which is a technique from the 1800s.  I do Van Dyke Browns and cyanotypes, and I also shoot film, which, there is no editing process to. You get what you get.  So, I kind of jump back and forth with technologies.

 

Kita:  On a typical piece from beginning to end, what would you have to do to get it ready to show?

Chris:  You have a photo shoot. There can be a lot of time in that if you have to travel somewhere.  My process from there would be to come back and go through the images.  There may be several hundred from a shoot.  And what’s different from a commercial photographer, or someone who is shooting glamor, I’ll shoot five hundred images and I’m really only looking for one or two to work with.  I’m not creating an entire series. I’ll go through and find the ones I like, and I’ll start editing them.  I can typically spend four or five hours on a single image. You can end up with two hundred layers on a Photoshop file.  I really kind of just geek out at that point.  I’ll have my music on and just really get into it.  And sometimes you get hours into it, decide you’ve created some garbage, and delete it.  That happens pretty often.  So once you have the image created then it’s basically just getting it printed and framed.

Kita:  So how did you learn those older techniques you do?

Chris:  By just making stuff up.  I probably do so many things wrong, but it works for me.  I would buy books, YouTube videos; ask a lot of questions to people who were in the industry.  But a lot of it comes down to making it up.  For me, there’s not a typical editing process.  I would say there are maybe one or two things that I tend to do consistently, but most things I’m constantly just making up.  

Mandy:  You mentioned women already; do you have any other main inspirations?

Chris:  Well, I think women’s curves are beautiful.  I think a woman, her body can be so mysterious, but I wouldn’t say that my inspiration really comes directly from women.  It comes from a lot of stuff.  It comes from movies, music videos, when I’m editing, the music I’m listening to, the person that I’m working with, and what I’m seeing in them as I’m working with them.  So inspiration comes from so many places.  I’m inspired by a lot of other artists.  I spend a lot of time looking at other artists’ work that I admire.

Mandy:  Do you ever collaborate?

Chris:  I’ve used pieces for inspiration, or I’ve used pieces in the images, like jewelry, like Carrie Wakefield.  But as far as an actual collaboration where we sit down and work on the piece together?  No.  I’d be open to it, but one thing about my process being so scattered and inconsistent is that it does make it harder to do that.

 

Mandy:  What do you think about the art scene in Salt Lake?

Chris:  I think Salt Lake as a whole is a very fickle and unsupportive place.  I think the art scene is definitely improving.  I’ve noticed it from having a lot of friends in local bands and all the art stuff here, people just don’t support like they do in other places.  When I’ve been to gallery shows in other states, people are pretty excited about it and want to support it.  In Utah, you have those people, but not as much.  Also, Utah is a very clique-y place. You have this little group of artists here, and that little group of artists there, and they don’t really communicate.  They don’t share ideas; they’re not as friendly with each other.  There are a lot of big egos in Utah.

Mandy:  What would you say is your biggest obstacle?

Chris:  I think every artist will wrestle with wondering if he’s creating good enough work.  You become very self-critical as an artist.  You’re putting your work out there to basically be ripped to shreds by the public.  Basically, the better you get and the more known you get; the more people want to tell you vocally how much they hate you.  In a way, you know when you start having more and more haters, you know you’re making some waves.  It still doesn’t feel good when someone doesn’t like your work, because you’re putting your heart and soul into it.  I think every artist deals with that.  And then financially, I’d love to travel more, and shoot bigger concepts.  I’d love to have more gear.  It’s definitely not making me rich.  But it is helping me with my income.

Mandy:  Are the people in your life supportive?

Chris:  I actually have a lot of people in my life who are very supportive.  And actually it’s really nice, because I was in my thirties, late thirties even, when I decided I was going to be an artist out of nowhere.  And my family has been very supportive, and I have a lot of supportive friends.  I was lucky enough to have met Derek Dyer with the Utah Arts Alliance, which is where my studio is.  It’s a very supportive environment.  You’re around a bunch of creative people who care about art.

Mandy:  What would you be doing if you weren’t doing this?

Chris:  I have no idea.  I worked in manufacturing before I did this.  Before that, I worked in construction.  I’d probably just be designing.  That’s okay, it’s not a bad thing to do for a living, but it doesn’t inspire me like art does.

 

You can check out more of Chris’s art here:

Burningpaperhearts.com

Facebook.com/squarepixelllc

Upcoming Events:

October 18, 7-10 pm  – An October Evening multi-arts show – Salt Lake Masonic Temple, 650 East South Temple, Salt Lake City facebook.com/anoctoberevening

November  1, 5 pm-12 am – First Friday Las Vegas – Downtown Las Vegas Arts District firstfridaylasvegas.com

 

If you'd like us to interview a certain artist, or have something else to say, leave a comment below!

Arthur Lee Land

by Kita

Talking to Arthur Lee Land is interesting, to say the least. I imagine that if one could somehow sneak a peek into a mad genius brain, it would be a similar experience. With a mind that seems not only to never stop working, but also to never stop creating, he’s not far from it. A musician based in Lyons, CO, he’s taken his show on the road.

 Show, here, is quite literal. Watching Arthur perform is breathtaking. On the one hand, his music is a vast mix of African drums, jazz, bluegrass, pop, folk, and something entirely his own. Praise can hardly do the genius justice. His passion for the music started in childhood, and it’s easy enough to hear that it’s never died out. It’s a unique sound that delights the eardrums. But the eyes won’t be left out of this delighting. A live looper, he recreates the experience of a twelve person band, all by his lonesome. Watching him dash about the stage to add a little rhythm here, or a bit of guitar there is an entirely novel way to see music unfold before your eyes.

 With a large personality, Arthur is a natural stage person, but he also invests himself into being nothing short of a good person. He uses his success to help promote www.ablechild.org. AbleChild, a nonprofit organization, has been established to raise awareness of the psychiatric labeling and drugging of children, and the risks of mandatory mental health screenings. He’s an easy person to talk to, with a big smile, and an open mind.

 All-in-all, my talk with him was a fantastic experience. Beautiful music, a fascinating mind, and an interesting story, Arthur Lee Land will be a name you’ll want to remember. And hey, SLC folks, you’ll even have a chance this Friday to check it out for yourselves! Read on for more info.

 

The Interview:

Kita: What first interested you in music?

Arthur: Drums, I guess. I used to put pillows on the couch when I was five years old, and play on them with chopsticks while watching music programs.

Kita: And when did you start getting into playing professionally?

Arthur: Probably when I was in college. Right out of high school, first into college. That’s when I was in my first band. That’s when I started playing professionally.

Kita: What were your goals at that point?

Arthur: Oh God, that’s an interesting question. I’m not really sure. Probably to play, make a living, and travel. And to master my craft, and it got more that way after I got kicked out of my first band. I was really inspired to be as good as I could be.

Kita: Are those still really your goals now, or has it changed a lot?

Arthur: I think they’re still there, as well. I think that the craft part about it is. Being able to get in the zone with playing has always been somewhat of a goal too, and somewhat elusive. So that would be more a playing thing. Being able to have the freedom to express music in the most natural, unconstricted way would be a thing that’s always been there.

Kita: When you’re performing, you do a lot of live looping. How did that come to be?

Arthur: I think that just happened when I was playing solo gigs, about twelve or thirteen years ago, and I mentioned to a guy at the Guitar Center that it was a bummer not having anything to play against when I was playing guitar solos, and just having the one instrument, and not having a band. He said, “Well, you should get a looper.” I didn’t really know what that was at that point, and they told me, so I got one and started experimenting with it. It just was a whole evolutionary process. When I went to West Africa, I heard all these drums, and I just thought, “Wow, if I could just have that sound, without having to have a twelve piece band, that’d be really cool.” So that’s how it all started evolving.

Kita: Did you have to really study all the instruments you use in that, or do you just kind of wing it?

Arthur: Well, a little bit of both. I have to definitely study aspects and understand the role and the function and how they work.  Then being able to understand the roles has allowed me to kind of put on the hat of playing that particular instrument while I’m doing it. You just have to think like that. Even if I’m playing the guitar, but playing a trumpet solo, I need to think like a trumpet player. You know, play in the ways they would play in. So they all have their own situations and I’m very conscious of that.

Kita: What has touring been like for you?

Arthur: Well, the music part of it is fun. The other parts are sometimes very challenging. There’s a lot of challenges that happen, in terms of car and RV mechanic stuff, and scheduling. But I like traveling, and I love to play. You know, it’s just part of the dance.

Kita: Do you struggle with the business and the art side of things?

Arthur: It’s kind of a never ending dance there as well, that I’m involved in. I think the dream and the illusion is that you’d rather not have to worry about it, but I don’t know if that’s ever a reality.

Kita: What’s the biggest struggle for you then?

Arthur: Probably just the business stuff. Scheduling, booking, things like that.

Kita: What’s your favorite part of everything?

Arthur: My favorite part is definitely playing and seeing people light up. There’s the part of playing and being in the zone and expressing your love of music that way, and then there’s also the love of being of service, and seeing how your songs and music can have a powerful impact on people. Being able to impact people in a positive way is a very fulfilling element.

Kita: Does that mean you prefer performing to creating?

Arthur: I think they’re kind of hand-in-hand. I’m doing both all the time. If you’re talking about making a studio recording versus performing live, than they’re two very different things, but I like them both equally. They’re two different elements of the overall art form.

Kita: So do you get stage fright at all?

Arthur: Yeah, sometimes. For sure. And I don’t think that ever goes away, either.

Kita: How have the people around you reacted to everything you’re doing?

Arthur: I think those closest get the worst and the best parts. Those on the outside tend to just get the best aspects, or just get to project what they want to see on you, and really just see what they want to see. And then it’s just a dance for those closest, of being in a relationship.

Kita: What about the larger arts community? Have they been supportive of you?

Arthur: Oh yes! Totally. It’s great to be in a community. It’s been an awesome thing.

Kita: Do you like collaborating with a lot of people?

Arthur: Yeah, I do, although my thing is very solo, I like to have people sit in, I like to play in bands, I like to sit in with other people. Yes, collaboration is definitely something I love to do.

Kita: From the time you were that little kid banging on pillows with chopsticks to now, what have been your biggest growth points?

Arthur: It’s been a real evolutionary process of mastering my craft, playing in other peoples bands, studying all these instruments, and then, also, writing songs and recording. Always performing, and then moving into the looping thing, which brought all sorts of other elements of my gifts and strengths together, and that’s still continued to evolve. So it’s a real evolutionary process all the way around.

Kita: Have you ever done any other forms of art?

Arthur: I did some drawing, some mandala drawing. I’ve done some photography, I’ve done collages. I got into drawing for awhile when I was a kid and in high school. I took some art classes two years ago, and that was pretty fun.

Kita: Do you think that’s what you would be doing if you weren’t doing music?

Arthur: I don’t know about that. It’s definitely not nearly the same.

Kita: You’ve become pretty successful. When you first started, did you see that happening? Would you have predicted that at all?

Arthur: I think so. I mean, I know when I was probably seventeen years old, in work study class, the teacher called me out, and said, “What are you going to do with your life?” I stood up, and said, “I’m going to play rock and roll!” And I walked out. That’s what my classmates told me at my thirty year high school reunion. So, I guess I knew.

Kita: What, for you, is the typical songwriting process?

Arthur: We wrote a lot of the songs on this new album at this little creek canyon park, called Left Hand Creek in Boulder. I would just start playing and singing a melody, and then Carol would write off that, creating a verse or a chorus, and then we would record that, and move onto something else, and then she would rewrite, and I would tweak, and that was generally the process. Sometimes, she’ll have the lyrics already, and I’ll write music to them, or sometimes I’ll have music and just give it to her and she’ll write lyrics to that. But, we often write together.

Kita: So do you find being outside is a big inspiration then?

Arthur: Yes, sometimes. Yes. We do a lot of writing outside, come to think of it, in different places.

Kita: If you could go back in time and tell yourself one thing you’ve learned from everything you’ve done, what would it be?

Arthur: That the music business is about relationships, about people.

Friday, October 11th, at 7pm

Tickets are on sale: http://www.inticketing.com/events/348502
2631 East Murray-Holladay Road, SLC

You can even download a free track, and get more information about Arthur and what he's up to at: http://www.arthurleeland.com/

Avalon-Rain

    

   This week Aubrilynn searched a little closer to home for her artist to meet up. Closer to home, meaning.. They grew up together in Taylorsville, Utah. Under the same roof. She interviewed her multi-talented, and always hilarious sister, Avalon-Rain. Avalon-Rain discovered her passion in drawing when she was at the ripe young age of 14, in the gentle hands of public middle school. There she explored various styles of drawing.

    Her first steps into artwork were into the world of anime, an always popular choice with young teens that have a knack for the world of two dimensional artwork. Since then, she has grown and developed her own style of artwork and picked up other hobbies such as crochet and Shrinky Dinks. She specializes in adorable miniature octopi, some that are comparable in size to quarters. Anything miniature is adorable. Right? Yes.

    As a commission artist, Avalon-Rain lets other people’s characters come to life through her artwork. She has also recently been commissioned to do artwork for a poetry book, similar to the artwork in Shel Silverstein’s poetry books. Follow her blog for more updates on her artwork and giveaways.

Aubrilynn: Tell us a little bit about yourself: What got you interested in art?  Have you taken any art classes?

Avalon: My interest in art, really stemmed, with growing up with my dad working in a tattoo studio. Just constantly having people involved in art in my life. And not really having the same kind of outlets that they did, I took to drawing more than anything. Eh, kind of. I took beginner’s art class my senior year of high school, and a pottery class at The Red Kiln.

Aubrilynn: What is your preferred medium and why?

Avalon: Digital, purely for the fact that I can undo unwanted strokes. Because I am heavy handed, and that doesn’t work well for pencil. I can make cleaner pieces, that’s the best way to put it.

Aubrilynn: Do you have a favorite artist?  If yes, what draws you to that person’s work?

Avalon: I have a few favorite artists… As far as well known artists, the animator Don Bluth is where I draw a lot of inspiration from these days. I like his ability to create real expressions, despite simple character designs. Like the way that Thumbelina wrinkles her nose. Until recently, Disney princesses didn’t wrinkle their noses.. Gustav Klimt: His expression of the human form is very unique. His pieces are usually not in regular human positions. They’re usually not even positions that a human can get into, but it explains so much more than what five pages of writing could describe.

Aubrilynn: Do you have any other art forms you favor, besides drawing?

Avalon: I crochet, and sculpt… Does Minecraft count as a medium?

Aubrilynn: You do commission art, please elaborate..

Avalon: So far, it’s mostly been trades.. We barter and I draw them what they’d like me to draw. Which usually results in hilarity before any real product. My inspiration can be very fickle. It’s usually done on Tumblr and other social sites.

Aubrilynn: Do you necessarily market to a certain audience for what you’d like to draw?

Avalon: Mostly to people who roleplay, which I guess is a very specific niche, I guess. But people like individuals who can represent their characters well. And I like to pretend I do.

Aubrilynn: Where do you gather most of the inspiration for your works?

Avalon: Ugh, that’s really hard for me. Primarily, I’m a character artist.. Backgrounds make me sad. And so my inspiration usually comes for the character I’m drawing. If I’m reading something, I can kind of picture what that character acts like or moves like. And that’s what I try to express.

Aubrilynn: Being that you do character art, would you ever want to work with an author?

Avalon: I’ve been commissioned to do the illustrations for a poetry book, from an author in Ogden.

Aubrilynn: Do you feel like your style has evolved over the years? Describe the different levels of evolution.

Avalon: Oh certainly. And definitely within the last year, I feel like I’ve made leaps and bounds in creating my own style, and becoming more comfortable in it. I mean, one of the beginning levels is to copy other people’s styles. I mean, you don’t know how they feel or how they think. Like most kids, I started with cute, silly, “I think this is a dog.. Squares with some ears and legs.” And then, unfortunately, I did fall into an anime phase. But I got over it quicker than most people. And then at the beginning of high school, I realized I prefered western cartooning styles. And that’s exactly what I wanted to do, cartooning. A “cartoonist.”

Aubrilynn: Have you ever stepped out of your comfort zone and discovered a whole new genre of art?  How did it turn out?

Avalon: Yeah, I really have. I mean, for a while, my comfort zone was very simplistic, short bodies, big heads.. Fairly standard. And then, ugh, I decided I wanted to be able to express more through body movement itself. And not just facial expressions. Because so much of what people are feeling is expressed through body language, which is hard to express in that noodly stature.

Aubrilynn: Do you have any other interesting hobbies or maybe a fun story about an experience involving your artwork?

Avalon: Shrinky-Dinks, I have an absurd love for creating things out of Shrinky-Dinks. Once, in a great while, I will post on Tumblr or Facebook that I will draw whatever people want me to draw. Which results in fancy dinosaurs and sushi riding roller-coasters. Recently, I’ve become comfortable enough in my style and ability to participate in Artstreams, in which myself and quite a few other artists.. Basically devote the day to create art for people who cannot afford commissions. Or have not ever had the luck to win a giveaway.. I have a giveaway ending at the end of this month. It’s pretty genre specific, but if anyone wants to enter, they can. I won’t exclude.

Aubrilynn: Gimme the deets on yo’ giveaway.

Avalon: It’s kind of a celebration of my second blog, and that I’ve finally become comfortable with my own art. For a while, it was exclusively personal, I never drew for other people. I’m giving away character art, I’m also doing some animation.. Very simple animation, three frames.. Additionally, for people who are willing to give me their mailing address, I’ve offered to throw in the crocheted octopi and jellyfish I make. If someone goes to my blog, they do need to be following my art blog or my character blog.. And they can reblog or like the post that’s involved.

Aubrilynn: What, in your opinion, is the hardest step in creating a work of art?

Avalon: The hardest part, isn’t so much part of the work itself. It’s being content with it. I think, as an artist, it’s very hard to look at it and decide it’s up to par. Which is why, up until recently, I haven’t felt comfortable creating art for other people. Because it never feels as though it’s good enough. And I still struggle with it.

Aubrilynn: Are you happy with what your style has evolved into?

Avalon: I’m happy, but there’s always room for improvement. And I would be very interested in, not only expanding on my own style, but also taking figure drawing classes, and things of that nature. And, someday, mastering scenery. So, more so, I’d like to expand my style, rather than improve it.

If you would like to contact Avalon-Rain for commission art or if you’d like to view some of her art you can find her at fameoftime.tumblr.com or avalon.rain@yahoo.com. Her user name in several forums is HELLOISE, which is where the signature comes in.

Warning, there is mature content on her blog, totez n00dziez.