Howard Finster - Howard is a legend in the folk art world. I’ve always loved the look of his work, the religious tones and the fact that he created his own world where people came to him to buy art. The most interesting (and arguably the most amazing) fact is the volume of work that he was able to create. Howard said that “God told him to make 5000 paintings”, and he actually numbered his paintings. Across his lifetime, Howard made well over 5,000 in his lifetime.
2. Jean Michel Basquiat - If you were to give me one painting for the rest of my life, it would be “Notary” by Jean Michel. When I transitioned from printmaker to painter, I fell in love with his work and would stare at books with his pieces nonstop for inspiration. Although my work looks nothing like his (let’s be honest, I couldn’t even if I tried), I learned a lot about figures, colors and story telling. Also worth mentioning, Basquiat was another monster when it came to volumes of paintings.
3. Jose Guadalupe Posada - The first printmaking class I took was about woodcut printmaking. My professor handed me a book on Posada’s prints and I immediately fell in love. All of his skulls and skeletons were huge influences on my printmaking and later my paintings.
4. Kathe Kollwitz. Another artist that I was turned onto as a printmaking student in college. She made extremely dark artwork about death and dying. She was a German artist, working during the World War, so it’s understanding what and why she was darkly influenced. Her bold and graphic quality of her lines have had a profound impact on the way I approach my work.
5. Fred Stonehouse - I’ve always loved Fred’s work. I think I first saw it in an art magazine many years ago. Interestingly enough, I also feel like we have a lot of the same influences, folk art, tattoos, halloween, etc. Given our similar interests, it’s always exciting to see what he’s going to come up with next as I always end up loving it.
6. The Date Farmers - I think I was about two years into making paintings and showing in galleries when I first discovered The Date Farmers. I fell in love with all aspects of the art. How crude it all looked, the found objects that were attached and man they knew how to present art. Carlos and Armando work independently now and their work is still equally strong.
7. Butch Anthony - Butch has been a true southern folk artist for many years. Much like Howard Finster he’s built his own world where people come to him to see his collection of art and artifacts. His technique is quite simple, yet it’s so powerful and brilliant.
