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Spraygraphic Interview with Artist Carson Murdach
By Spraygraphic | March 27, 2009
Spraygraphic Interview with Carson Murdach
SG: Please tell us about yourself?
CM: I was born and raised in Tacoma, Washington. Received my BFA in Steel and Bronze Sculpture from Washington State University in 2000. After that I supported myself by working in professions such as foundry worker, metal fabricator, bus driver, tour guide, even working in Alaska as a Naturalist and Bear Guide. In 2004, I moved to San Francisco to attend California Collage of the Arts and received a MFA for Painting and Drawing in 2006. Since graduation I been working the “hustle” and trying show my work.
SG: Where do you currently live and work?
CM: San Francisco, I work for the a number of San Francisco Museums as a Preparer/Technician and Conservation Assistant.
SG: What mediums do you work with?
CM: Oil on canvas, Graphite and Gouache on paper.
SG: Describe your working process when creating a new work.
CM: I have some reference pictures and drawings, etc., but mostly I work from my imagination so the work is invented as I go. I paint the sky according to how I feel and what colors I have chosen for my palette. Next, I put the ground or mid-ground down, and then, I figure out who or what gets to play in this field that I‘ve just made up. Decisions are instinctive but not without consideration. I incorporate both a wet-on-dry and wet-on-wet technique.
SG: What kind of things do you do when you get blocked or find it hard to create something?
CM: I work on at least 5 paintings at a time so if I get stuck on something I just put it down and come back to it later. If I’m really blocked I just make something that I’ve already made before. There is a lot to be learned through repetition, I also find that an idea comes out stronger and more refined in a second or third attempt.
SG: Where are you currently finding your inspiration?
CM: I get inspired from Art History, literature, museums, The History Channel, the news…
SG: Where has your work been seen?
CM: San Francisco, Oakland, Boston, Seattle, Tacoma.
SG: Where will it be seen next?
CM: Gallery Arcane downtown San Francisco.
SG: What is your dream art assignment?
CM: My dream would to be commissioned to paint, for a Giant Cruse Ship, my own version of Gericault’s The Raft of the Medusa.
SG: What is your favorite color?
CM: Carmine
SG: Who is your favorite artist? And Why?
CM: Philip Guston, to me he is the great romantic archetype of an artist and thinker. Hard working (and smoking), knowledgeable and wise, redefining himself continually despite great criticism and in the end he emerged the great victor.
SG: What book/magazine are you reading this week?
CM: Currently, I am reading and rereading Galapagos by Kurt Vonnegut, Post Captain part two of the Aubrey/Marturin series by Patrick O’Brian and Chapterhouse Dune by Frank Herbert.
SG: Ever do a self-portrait? Where is it now?
CM: I have completed two self-portraits, one is at my parent’s house and the other is hanging in my room. I like them both probably because I painted my head out of the painting cutting my head off at the edge of the frame. (I’ll attach one in the picture I send)
SG: Where is your favorite place to hang out?
CM: If I’m not at my day job, the studio, or in bed I’m probably at a museum or the library.
SG: Any final words of advice?
CM: The deadliest threat to an Art Career is a full time job.
Topics: Artist Interviews |
3 Responses to “Spraygraphic Interview with Artist Carson Murdach”
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March 29th, 2009 at 5:38 pm
SG: Any final words of advice?
CM: The deadliest threat to an Art Career is a full time job.
I’ll drink to that *tips glass*
April 10th, 2009 at 11:29 am
Just because I am his cousin does not keep me from being correct in saying that Carson is a bad ass emeffer. He is completely obsessed with our urban housing crisis and will not stop depicting our eminent downfall until our foundations slip and crumble back into the earth. Pretty colors too!
July 18th, 2009 at 8:55 am
Wow–what a vision. Love the drama–so missing in much contemporary art. Also like the offbeat self portrait. Funny and frightening! It’s great to be related to such talent!