David Kinsey won the Acrylic Award in the Jackson’s Painting Prize this year with his work Untitled. In this interview, he discusses his process-led practice, where his inspiration arises, and why he’s not afraid to make a ‘bad’ painting.
Above image: Untitled, David Kinsey, Acrylic on canvas, 121.9 x 91.4 cm | 48 x 36 in
Untitled
David Kinsey
Acrylic on canvas, 76.2 x 101.6 cm | 30 x 40 in
Artist Interview with David Kinsey
Josephine: Could you tell us about your artistic background? How did you become an artist?
David: I actually always wanted to be an inventor, but art trickled into my veins at an early age and I never looked back.
Josephine: Untitled is an explosion of acrylic techniques – from thick impasto splodges to ultra-precise neon lines and wisps of colour. How much of this is planned and how much is spontaneous?
David: Most of my work is about the process dictating the overall outcome. However, I have from time to time included more precision based lines/colors as a dichotomy to my process. Those where intentional but even at that, I didn’t know how the taped process of those lines and colors would pan out at the end.
Untitled (I Love Painting.. To be Continued), 2006
David Kinsey
Acrylic on canvas, 91.44 x 137.16 cm | 36 x 54 in
Josephine: Do you seek out subject matter that can act as a vehicle to carry out your mark making techniques, or is the subject matter where the painting begins?
David: I often find subject matter as I begin. However, there are times when I have a general sense of, for example, landscape of the afterlife or landscapes of nature coinciding with my loss of loved ones, or a general sense of how I feel about space and time.
Materials in David’s studio
Josephine: What inspires you to work? What is more important for you, inspiration or daily work?
David: I think what inspires me most is just an inexplicable sensation that has always been in my gut to create art. It is for lack of a better word, abstract in it’s nature but one that has always felt like a safe haven. It provides me with emotion and psychological comfort and an outlet to express myself no matter what, even if it is dark or angst ridden. The question about inspiration or daily work is a very good question. I believe for me it is mostly about the work as it has almost always been rather fluid, despite hundreds of bad paintings. But sometimes, I do think inspiration steps up to first plate from time to time.
Untitled (Hidden), 2006
David Kinsey
Acrylic on canvas, 45.7 x 61 cm | 18 x 24 in
Josephine: How long does a painting like this take? Can you talk us through your process?
David: This painting took approximately 2 months if my recollection still works. I remember the notion of tenebrism, the extreme use of chiaroscuro in works such as Caravaggio and Rembrandt, etc. I thought it might be nice to do a painting influenced by those notions. I thought that maybe high saturated colors in the light would put a more contemporary spin on the approach. I also wanted it to seem almost digital or computer generated even though it was all acrylic paint. I wanted there to be that possible observation.
David’s studio
Josephine: Do you keep a sketchbook?
David: I do have sketchbooks. They are also my lifeline to just raw expression and data collection.
Josephine: What materials or tools could you not live without? Do you use anything unconventional?
David: I could not live without paint overall, whether it be acrylic or oil or guache or watercolor or etc. Period! I have done a series of works that were sculptural and mixed media in nature- dissecting digital machinery of 4k screens, old VHS camcorders, machinery from anywhere I could get it. I don’t know if that is necessarily unconventional or not, but for me, yes.
Untitled (Double Helix), 2006
David Kinsey
Acrylic on canvas, 45.7 x 61 cm | 18 x 24 in
Josephine: Which historical or contemporary artists have influenced you the most?
David: Trent Reznor from Nine Inch Nails is probably the most influential, Chaim Soutine, Goya, El Greco, Lee Bontecou, Tapies, Rembrandt of course, Da Vinci, Francis Bacon, Baudelaire, etc.
Work in progress in David’s studio
Josephine: How do you deal with artist’s block or moments of creative stagnation during the painting process?
David: I rarely get artist’s block and when it happens it hits very hard and I often feel helpless and frightened. However, in the past I switch mediums to express this. Most recently, I try to allow myself to make bad paintings- just let it happen.
Detail of a work in progress
Josephine: How was your experience taking part in Jackson’s Painting Prize’s first independent large-scale exhibition at Bankside Gallery?
David: My experience with this matter has really been very humbling and I cannot express how grateful I am to be a part of such an event. Although, I live in the US and couldn’t make the actual opening or exhibition in person, I always felt a part of it. I always felt like this was taken very seriously and professionally and with most importantly, humility.
Untitled
David Kinsey
Acrylic and graphite on panel, 27.9 x 35.6 cm | 11 x 14 in
Josephine: How do you know when a painting is finished?
David: How do I know when a painting is finished is always one of the most challenging questions to answer. Like most I think it is just a feeling, a thought to stop, a moment in time to say to oneself let it be. I sometimes feel like I need the art to keep being thrown into a journey before completion and maybe let it die and then I have to resuscitate it. I sometimes fight with myself about the immediacy of alla prima or just a very direct approach. I sometimes feel like my best work is one in which I labour over and hate, and love, and struggle with and have to give it another birth.
Further Reading
Sealing Your Masking Tape for Better Hard Edges in Acrylic
Art Terms Explained: Acrylic Painting
Acrylic Painting, Microplastics, and the Environment
Painting with Acrylic and Oil on Jackson’s Canvas
Shop Acrylic Painting on jacksonsart.com
