10 (or so) Questions with Patrick Smith

What do you like to listen to while working in your studio? 

I like to listen to a musician’s entire catalogue in  chronological order. 

 

What do you daydream about? 

Random creative ideas.

 

What is your proudest accomplishment? 

Staying relevant longer than people who acted like I was beneath them.

 

What is your biggest pet peeve? 

 Cowardly behavior.

 

What is one thing you tried and will never do again? 

Probably some illegal drug.

 

What is the weirdest hobby you’ve tried? 

That type of yoga where you just lie there.

What was your first job? 

Construction.

What was the worst job you ever had? 

Working for the government.

What would be the title of your memoir? 

Painter.

Where do you go when you need fresh inspiration? 

The gym.

What’s the strangest compliment you’ve ever received? 

That I have manly hands.

 

If your younger self could see you now, what would they be most surprised by? 

How little color I use painting.

What’s a smell that instantly takes you back to a memory? 

Marijuana. It smells like the street I live on. 

 

Do you remember the first piece of art that moved you? 

Random impressionism and post impressionism.

 

What’s the most unusual place you’ve ever felt inspired by? 

Government housing.

 

What’s one small daily ritual you can’t go without? 

Coffee alone under a blanket.

 

What part of the creative process do you secretly enjoy the most and what do you avoid until the last possible minute? 

I prefer pre-production. And I hate drawing. 

What’s something non-artists would be surprised to learn about how you work? 

I’m not natural at drawing, I’ve had to practice a ton.

 

What’s something you’ve become obsessed with lately? 

Practicing music.

What’s a detail in everyday life most people overlook but you notice constantly? 

Many people have potential to be cast in works of art, paintings, films, novels, whatever.

 

What’s something you’ve changed your mind about creatively over the years? 

Paintings don’t need lots of color.

 

What’s a mistake that ended up influencing your work in a good way? 

I’m always screwing my schedule up and having to paint fast.

 

Do you work more from instinct or intention? 

These aren’t mutually exclusive. Both. 

What’s something outside the art world that deeply influences you? 

Yoga class showed me how to talk to models.

 

What’s a sound you love? 

Stevie Ray Vaughan.

What’s the strangest place or most inconvenient time a creative breakthrough came to you? 

While recovering from a dog bite.

 

What’s the most memorable reaction someone has had to your work? 

Kids in my neighborhood on the street asking, “what is that.”

 

What’s an object you keep for sentimental or inspirational reasons? 

My great grandmother’s flower vase.

 

What’s something you thought you’d outgrow but never did? 

Marijuana.

 

What’s a habit you’ve developed that accidentally became part of your process? 

Never changing my brush water.

 

What’s something you notice now that your younger self never would have? 

Some of the best musicians play the fewest notes.

 

What’s something you value more now than you did ten years ago? 

Speed. Faster paintings look better.

 

What’s something that consistently restores your energy? 

Talking to Bliss Lau about any topic.

 

What’s a moment in life that quietly changed the way you see things? 

Listening to artists who are more successful than me fret endlessly about their success made me realize how uninteresting that topic is.

 

What’s something you’re still trying to figure out? 

I’m always painting faster and faster.

 

What does a really good day look like for you?

Having someone interesting share with me.

 

What’s something you wish more people paid attention to? 

Oscar Wilde.

 

What do you think people misunderstand about creative people? 

The most interesting creative people are often totally random, you’ve never heard of them. 

 

What’s something you’re learning to trust more? 

Speed doesn’t make me less accurate with painting.

 

What’s something you’ve noticed yourself returning to repeatedly over the years? 

French New Wave Cinema.

 

What’s something beautiful that most people overlook? 

Balance.

 

What’s something you’ve become more protective of as you’ve gotten older? 

Who I will speak to.

 

What’s a creative risk that ended up being worthwhile? 

Trying to paint as fast as possible.

 

What kinds of objects or images are you instinctively drawn toward? 

Anything from the ancient world.

 

What’s something you hope never becomes routine? 

If what I consume becomes routine, what I produce will become routine.

 

What’s a question you find yourself asking often lately?

When will I lose my ability to keep learning? Or will I always find a way to outsmart inevitable cognitive and physical decline? Some artists have.