Studio Visit

Georgia Elrod

Q.

Tell us about yourself and how you came to be an artist.

A.

I grew up in downtown New York City in the 1980’s and ‘90’s, it was a really different city then. I also spent a lot of time in the rural South as a kid, and the cultural contrasts between these two places continue to inform my identity. My parents are both painters and some of my earliest memories are of making and looking at art- as a young child I took this for granted which has been both a privilege and a challenge. While I realized our lives were unconventional, making things was just what we all did. As I grew older I became more aware of our financial struggles, and seeing the ups and downs of life as an artist led to phases as a young person when I rejected the idea that I too was a painter. Meanwhile, I was always making paintings and drawings. Over the years I’ve become an artist through lots of trial and error...I’m sure my childhood growing up around artists made me both a little jaded and also very determined to find my own way.

Q.

Describe your work in three words.

A.

Suggestive, edges, open

Q.

What is your creative process?

A.

Larger themes in my work become clear to me in hindsight, and through writing. Though I sometimes begin with specific formal or conceptual ideas to process in my work, they often kind of creep in through the side door. I start by making several works on paper in one sitting. These are both studies and works in their own right, and some of these become loose visual guides for larger paintings. Stemming from memory and imagination, I translate subconscious imagery into paintings that become most potent when they are unexplainable. I usually start with an initial idea in my mind and the work builds and unfolds as I go. When I surprise myself I feel I may have created a successful piece.