October Artist of the Month: Alex Scott

In October, curatorial committee member, Kris Schenkel, selected for the honor of Artist of the Month his fellow artist, Alex Scott.  Alex has been a lifelong artist and maker.  Many of his pieces draw on imagery from his childhood.  He is also an incredibly consistent maker and professional artist. It is rare to see him without a pen and paper.  Studio Manager, Catherine Norcott, took some time to chat with Alex and Kris about this month’s exhibition. Catherine (CN): Alex, tell us a little about your work?Alex (AS): I do sketches first.  I like to use pens and colored pencils.  I look at creating.  Then I use canvas and paint.  I’ve been working on making The Cat in the City, that’s what I’m working on. When I finish my art, I make a title and measure the canvas.  That’s what I work on at Arts of Life.I made animals, all kinds, and all kinds of characters.  Look!  See that I made these sketches and designs![[{“fid”:”408581″,”view_mode”:”default”,”fields”:{“format”:”default”,”field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]”:”Man holding up a sketchbook with drawings of bugs and other critters”,”field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]”:”Alex Scott showing off his sketchbook”},”type”:”media”,”link_text”:null,”attributes”:{“alt”:”Man holding up a sketchbook with drawings of bugs and other critters”,”title”:”Alex Scott showing off his sketchbook”,”height”:366,”width”:652,”class”:”media-element file-default”}}]]CN: Kris, as curator, what are some things you’d want people to know about Alex’s art?Kris (KKS): He uses many different shapes and letters in his art.  He has resourceful and unique designs that he puts on canvas and paper.CN: Alex, can you speak more to how you use letters and words in your work?AS: The Alphabet!  I use letters and words too.  I wrote these words with names and characters, for example, this is the bird picture.  [AS shows a page from his sketchbook filled with words and illustrations all featuring the letter ‘B’][[{“fid”:”408575″,”view_mode”:”default”,”fields”:{“format”:”default”,”field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]”:”White desk with colored pencils, several sketchbooks and an orange binder”,”field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]”:”Alex’s desk with his many sketchbooks”},”type”:”media”,”link_text”:null,”attributes”:{“alt”:”White desk with colored pencils, several sketchbooks and an orange binder”,”title”:”Alex’s desk with his many sketchbooks”,”height”:366,”width”:652,”class”:”media-element file-default”}}]]CN: And where do you look for new ideas?  AS: I look at books.  I look on the computers.  These characters, they are from storybooks and my sketches.CN: Do you have particular artists you look to for inspiration?AS: Yes!  I look at all the stories, like my first word book that my mom bought me.  It had words, numbers, shapes, and colors.  It was the best first word book ever!I watched the Moomins, the TV series from the ‘90s based on comic characters by Tove Jannson.  I look at other ones too.  Roy McKay.  He made great characters!  P.D. Eastman, I remember Sam and the Firefly.  I look in the dictionary for ideas too.  CN: What’s it like to be Artist of the Month?AS: I feel excellent!  My new pieces are hanging up and I keep making new sketches.  People come in and look at my art.  They think it looks great![[{“fid”:”408573″,”view_mode”:”default”,”fields”:{“format”:”default”,”field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]”:”A painting of three narwhals with green and blue waves”,”field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]”:”The Three Narwhals by Alex Scott”},”type”:”media”,”link_text”:null,”attributes”:{“alt”:”A painting of three narwhals with green and blue waves”,”title”:”The Three Narwhals by Alex Scott”,”height”:366,”width”:652,”class”:”media-element file-default”}}]]CN: Kris, why did you pick Alex to be October’s Artist of the Month?KKS: Alex’s work is unique.  I like his style and his use of color.  It is something that you don’t see often.  I really like his color palette, because of all the bright colors.  They make me happy!