Scott Goodwillie Interview with Art Collector Magazine



What style/medium of paintings will you be doing for this show?  
        I work almost exclusively in oil on canvas or panel depending on size. There will be however a piece or two which are charcoal and conte on toned paper, it’s an enjoyable change of medium sometimes. For most of my career the human form has captured me as the most fulfilling way to tell an emotive story as well as the most challenging. In certain works I also take pleasure including depictions of my Italian Greyhounds. They get into the most acrobatic positions just sleeping on my studio couch that I have to do these quick sketches in which they appear to be flying sometimes! And they work cheap.

Are you providing a range of different sizes, or are you focusing on a particular size or format that your collectors prefer?
     There is quite a range actually. Small paintings generally focus on an individual while larger ones are more elaborate.

What inspired you to do this new body of work?  
     First thing to tell you is that I am a recovering Joseph Campbell addict and as such, world mythologies and how they developed has always been my first love. The inspiration for this series centered on the relationship I had with my long term model, Nicomis. All the embellishments I have depicted in her hair were of her own creation. Over the course of four years she added something every day and her hair extended to her ankles. Watching her for the first time walking down Broadway in Manhattan was like observing a reluctant goddess. A shy person by nature she had made herself a work of art whom everyone wanted to interact with and many wanted to touch. She agreed to model for me and we developed a friendship over the next few years discussing arts’ spiritual attributes, the role of myth and religion through out history, intercultural relationships and racial politics. Also pertinent was the importance and spiritual relevance of hair embellishments in certain African cultures. While only a few of the paintings in this series are included here, my focus has continued to involve the human quality of the god or goddess portrayed. With all the neurosis, self doubt and exhaustion this societal position must encapsulate, I like to portray real people in these narratives. The large piece ‘Tale of the Reluctant Goddess’  (not pictured here but in the show) lends the title to the exhibit.. .Featuring a new model as the new goddess, not too thrilled to take the mantle - which in turn was inspired by a Nepalese ritual of the Kumari in which a young girl is chosen to portray the new manifestation of the goddess Durga. Upon her first menstruation she loses the title and a new girl is chosen to replace her. Pretty heady stuff!
     The story of Diana is updated to reveal a hunt of a more contemporary nature. The tale of Leda and the Swan confuses me because she is queen of the warrior nation Sparta and yet is taken advantage of by a god disguised as a swan. In my painting she has taken her pleasure and had her way with him with serious consequences and has now decided to stitch him back together. I also figured I would give a male twist on the myth with ‘Lenny and the Swan’.


What do your collectors tell you they particularly like about your artwork?
     The imaginative twist and visceral subject matter some of the work has. Basically a blending of traditional technique with a contemporary surrealist outlook.

How would you describe your audience?   Adventurous.

Would you help me describe your paintings to new collectors? What phrase best reflects how you want to be described?


If there’s one thing you would like collectors to know about you, the artist, what would that be?
     I am obsessed by both the Zen like act of painting as well as watching the subject matter play out in my mind. It’s actually like a film in slow motion in which the actors move around until the placement feels perfect. It’s at this point when the image is ready to be committed to canvas.


What would you say has been the major turning point in your commercial career?
     Without a doubt, when the Frye Art Museum honored me with a survey of my work from the past 15 years. It was great seeing all the paintings together at once, kind of like a family reunion! Sometimes as artists we can question why we do what we do, and in seeing how people react to a specific painting or a body of work, it gives a feeling of emotional currency, that yes it does matter.
 
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