50th Anniversary Artist Interview
Todd Ryan
Liquitex: You’re trained as a designer and illustrator, but you’re a fine artist, as well. Can you talk some about where those disciplines intersect?
Todd Ryan: In essence, it’s all about communication -- taking complex ideas and expressing them in ways that can affect people. When they work, there’s this great dialogue that happens between work and viewer.
Liquitex: Painting and art are often at their most interesting when they balance along a fine line. Abstract vs. representational. Tightly controlled vs. freely applied. Illustration vs. fine art. Your work is concerned with a number of interesting balance points: Is it playful or is it subversive? Is it commercial or is it expressive? Are you conscious of those dichotomies when you’re working? Or is it just part of the process?
TR: I may paint a portion of a figure eight times before I finally arrive at the color that I think works. So, to answer your question; no, I am so wrapped in the little things that I never get to the big stuff. Maybe one day, I can look back and figure out what the heck I was doing!
Liquitex: Is there one of those balance points or dichotomies that you find most interesting?
TR: I’ve had people talk to me about the playful and subversive side of my work, but I try not to focus on any particular “balance point” while working. Right now, I think it’s just real important for me to put my time in and try to push myself to produce… just let things just happen
Liquitex: Okay, let’s toss all the cerebral and analytical stuff. Your work, bottom line, looks like you’re having a blast. Is it as much fun to do as it looks?
TR: Hell, yes! This is probably super corny, but when I was a little kid I used to watch this guy on public access. He would have this great big piece of paper and just draw these huge, crazy scenes. The drawing I was most into was this space scene, where he drew a bunch of UFOs and space creatures. I would get my pad of paper and draw along with the guy and, for the entire time, I’d be completely involved and content…I still get that way when I paint
Liquitex: That’s not corny at all. In fact, it’s a great example of the power of example and how, sometimes, the media can be a really positive influence. Why did you become an artist?
TR: Because my career as a rock musician ended when I was six years old. My guitar teacher went on the road with his hair metal band and left me with an old guy and twinkle twinkle little star. Okay, okay, the real answer is that I didn’t choose to be an artist. I just fell into it…and now I can’t get out.
Liquitex: Is there something universal that you believe leads people to art?
TR: Every human has a need to express themselves in some form. For some people, it’s art; for others it’s scrabble. It’s all about picking your poison, I guess.
Liquitex: The art making process inevitably serves as a reflection of other sources on influences in the artist’s life. For some, the work is influenced by other art forms, like music or literature. For others, it’s other art or personal relationships. For still others – and particularly in contemporary culture – there are technological or scientific influences. What about you? Are there other disciplines or interests that inform your process and that show up in your work?
TR: Dreams play a major role in the painting I am doing now. My dreams always mix up the events of the day with obscure, weird memories. I put everything into sketchbooks and when I start a painting, I mix different moments together to create something totally different.
Liquitex: What’s the greatest value that an artist brings to the community?
TR: When I think of artists that I really respect, it’s the people who wake me up, who shake me out of the everyday and make me think.
Liquitex: Do you ever step back and think about that role while you’re working?
TR: No, I am just trying to produce what feels right. I really have no control how the viewer will experience one of my paintings.
Liquitex: I know it’s impossible to predict how your creative path is going to evolve. That said, is there a direction you’d like to go? Do you have some sense as to where this imagery and this work is leading? Are you toying with other ideas that you might begin exploring in the future?
TR: There are a couple things in my head. I have yet to produce something that really brings together my painting and some of the interactive media work I do in an engaging way.
Another idea that I think is going to be great is based on these amazing quilts that my mother makes. I want to try take a pixel drawing from a computer and turn it into a quilt.
Liquitex: As the inventor of the first water-based acrylics, we’re obviously interested in how the materials help and inform the expressive process. And there are some mechanical and working properties that can only be had with acrylics – fast drying, dramatic flow, rapid working, good for masking. From the very beginning, in the 50’s and 60’s, artists like Hockney and Frankenthaler put acrylics to exceedingly good use, developing work that couldn’t have happened with any other media? What is it about acrylics that best allow you to do what you do?
TR: I work for the man all day long, so I only have a small amount of time to paint. When I do, I want to get the most out of it. Acrylics give me the freedom to move quickly without having to wait for my work to dry. And if that isn’t a sales pitch I don’t know what is!
Liquitex: What’s the most fun for you in your work?
TR: Everything about it is fun. During the day, when I’m designing, there are a lot of restrictions or things that prevent designers from creating interesting work. But, when I paint there is no restriction. And, having that freedom is great!
Liquitex: How about the biggest challenge?
TR: Time. I work during the day and freelance at night, so I wind up scrambling for every second of painting time I can. Just recently, I started painting in the morning before I go to work; that way, I make absolutely sure that I get in some painting time, no matter what.
Liquitex: That’s a nice lesson, isn’t it? If it’s important to you, then make sure it’s the first priority of the day. Okay, last question: If you could wave a magic wand and invent a new art material or process, what would it be?
TR: I would love to have a computer chip in my brain that would transmit my dreams to an army of robots that would paint my dreams on building size canvases. I think I should talk to Liqutex R&D about that!
