Monday, January 5, 2009
Q&A: Artist Carl Plansky
Posted by Anita Overcash on Mon, Jan 5, 2009 at 3:59 PM
The New York-based artist Carl Plansky doesn't seem to have trouble putting a paint brush to use. Working as an artist and a teacher at the New York Studio School of Drawing, Painting and Sculpture, Plansky's paintings have also been featured in exhibitions worldwide. You can see his paintings at Elder Gallery's newest exhibition The Young and the Experienced, where they are displayed in the "experienced" category through Jan. 31. We got the chance to chat with Carl Plansky.
Creative Loafing: When did you begin painting?
Carl Plansky: Well, I was one of those kids that always painted. I guess seriously when I knew that I was going to grow up to be an artist, that’s when I started painting regularly. I guess I was 15 years old or something like that.
What gets you in a creative mood?
Traveling is important to me, feeling different places, experiencing the light and the history of different places, that’s always important. I have also always felt connected to art history.
I read that you travel to Budapest, Hungary, quite often. Do you have family there? Why do you visit so often?
Well I have no family there, but I do have a studio there. It’s a very soulful place. I can’t really give you a real intellectual reason for it. It’s just that when I visited the place, it sort of grabbed me. It was a very powerful experience.
How long does it usually take you to complete a painting?
Well every now and then God sort of comes down and kisses your hands and the paintings are done in no time, but that’s very rare. They usually take a long time. I do a lot of revising and I rework the paintings a lot. So depending on the size, it could be a week, it could be a few weeks, it could be two days or three hours. Every time I paint I try to discover something new in each painting. I try never to repeat myself. It could be that’s why I enjoy working in series so much, series of figures, flowers, landscapes and that sort of thing, because then I don’t have to worry so much about subject matter.
What advice do you have for young artists just starting out?
If your in this to become an art star and get rich and famous and all that, you would really be better off becoming an architect or something where you can truly make a lot of money. But, if you’re in it for some deeper reason, then you’ve really got to stay true to yourself and that’s a hard thing to do, because there’s so much pressure to become a part of this or that mainstream or style that’s going on somewhere.
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