Featured Artist: Brian Statom

[Brian Statom]

Greetings All, my name is Brian Statom and I live in Shreveport, Louisiana.

I've always been interested in art, but majored in Technical Writing in college. So, it was some years before I got into painting. The wife and I were in a hardware store in the mid-90s. They were selling out of all their art supplies, as they were no longer going to carry them. They were practically giving their paints away, so I bought them out, went home, and built a studio. I am what you might call a "Sunday Painter". I work six days a week at my job and there is very little time left after that and family. And I am definitely a family man. They are my primary motivation and muse.


My styles vary from time to time, but I am essentially an abstract expressionist. Most of my paintings move from the abstract back into figuative subjects. I am also working on a a project with cell phone in a syle I call "Phontography". They are artistic photos taken with cell phone cameras. This is a continuation of Warhol's polaroid work. Within this project there are two main series: DK and Close of Business. DK is a collection of phontographs dealing with rust and other processes that break down metal, organics and society.
Close of Business deals with the economic situation and its effects on business. Many of these are images of closed establishments and business offices devoid of human life.

At present, I am happy doing local shows and working in my home studio. One day I would love to live in the country and build a larger studio. Possibly, sell on-line so I would not have to deal with galleries, but you know how difficult self-promotion can be.

I would love to hear from all levels of artists on my painting and photography. Not just on the business side, but on their creative thought processes. Are they easy to follow? Or does the abstract quality lose the viewer to the general ideas of the painting? Does the Title help understand or does it confuse the viewer?

I've been strolling casually down the art road for 15 years and I still find new areas to visit. Thank you for coming along for just this short spell. Your comments are greatly appreciated and critiques are always considered.

[Brian Statom]

Thank you, Jordan. I definitly take that as a compliment. Sometimes I feel that I am obsessed with people, watching, interacting, and performing for. Guess I'm just a people person. LOL.