Now here is an example of an artist who can go in so many different directions, and yet we still recognize his work! Dolan has a stylistic consistency I've been attempting for years... And he has some interesting stories to tell along the way as well!
Name (Real or Screename): Dolan Geiman
URL (Blog, Website):
dolangeiman.com,
dolangeiman.etsy.com,
dolangeiman.blogspot.com, &
twitter.com/dolangeiman.
Location (Where are you from?): Waynesboro, Virginia represent!
Q: Describe your work in 10 words or less.
A: Mixed media artworks with a touch of Southern nostalgia.
Q: What do you like to work with (magazines, photographs, vintage)? Be specific!
A: I only like to work with images from photos I have taken or from old magazines and books I have discovered. Last year I found a handful of old children's drawings and old honky tonk magazines from an abandoned house. These inspired a new line of cowgirl pieces and this piece in particular The Birthday Party (Cowgirl).
Q: How long have you been creating collages and what made you start?
A: I've been doing collage work since high school. I wanted to go out with a girl and in order to impress her, I wanted to have the coolest art poster in the class. She loved it, but ended up going out with, yes, the quarterback of the football team. I know, it's so cliché. Later that year we became good friends and went thrift shopping a lot so that was semi-cool. For some reason when I was in high school, I didn't drink alcohol, and so everyone said I was gay. This, of course, didn't help me in the territory of the ladies. But that's all in the past. What were we talking about again?
Q: Are you solely an artist, or do you work in another profession?
A: I'm an artist 100% of the time, every day and night! It's a full time job.
Q: Do you have any formal art training?
A: I have a background in printmaking and sculpture. Also, my mother is a watercolor artist and extremely talented role model. My father was an excellent writer and also encouraged my siblings and I to use proper grammar. He encouraged us to read fervently while growing up and still sends me books in the mail monthly. Having supportive, open minded parents definitely helped mold my current views of the world.
Q: Explain your favourite techniques.
A: A magician never reveals his tricks. Haha. However, I will let your readers know that I recently heard of a new way to do transfers. Instead of using wintergreen oil or other nauseatingly fragrant chemicals, try using cheap gin. This is a trick I have yet to try but was passed on to me by my friend Aaron Hequembourg. His work is amazing, check it here.
Q: What other artists do you admire?
A: I've always admired my mother for being so creative in every facet of life. She makes eating dinner a truly inspiring event. Some days I would come home from school and she would make up her own holiday. We had Reggae Day one time and she went and bought these wonderfully tacky shimmery palm trees and fixed some crazy reggae meal and we listened to Bob Marley and danced around the house. My sister is my second role model. She is a spark that ignites any project she puts her hands to and I respect her diligence above all else. She's currently working on her own line of jewelry as well as starting up an event décor business on the side. For the past year she has been the decorator for the largest hospital in the county as well as privately decorating the house of the hospital's CEO, who is an amazing woman too.
Q: Describe your favourite piece ever created.
A: This is hard because I recently created a few new pieces that I am really into. One of them is called Mystery at the Old Windmill. The story behind this piece is key. You can read it here.
Thanks Dolan!
See his work at two upcoming shows:
Bayou City Art Festival Memorial Park,
and the MAIN ST Fort Worth Arts Festival.
Comments (3)
i love Dolan's work, thanks for posting this interview with him! we shared a show at YES Gallery in RI last year and i didn't get to make it to the show, it was great to "meet" him here. :)
Posted by Shelley | March 30, 2010 12:14 AM
Posted on March 30, 2010 00:14
Wow! Thanks for introducing me to this artist. I love the colors he uses and especially how he describes his work as "southern nostalgia."
Posted by Melanie | March 30, 2010 6:09 PM
Posted on March 30, 2010 18:09
Very cool. I just met him last weekend at an art festival in Houston. It was cool to see his work in person & buy something too!
Posted by Katherine | April 1, 2010 2:51 PM
Posted on April 1, 2010 14:51