What is your background and how did you get started in your medium?
I am a resident of Hickory, NC and I grew up in upholstered furniture manufacturing. I've spent a lot of time merchandising fabric and frame combinations for manufacturers and I still do so today. I started painting when I understood a project to pain the interior of a house. In doing so, there were many angles and niches in the walls to where I could contrast colors and more interest to them. During that same week, my daughter had a project to complete and we went to the craft store. There I saw an oil painting kit for 50% off. I purchased it, painted a tree by a stream and my daughter did not believe that I had painted it. I thought I was onto something and have been painting ever since.
What effect are you trying to have on people through your art?That you don't have to be pigeon holed into something everyone wants to think you are. With the freedom we have in America, we can be whoever we wish to be and express abilities and talents without fear of repression. This a gift, to be able to pursue what is fun and interesting.
What drew you to your particular medium?
I really enjoy oil paintings and oriental rugs. Trying to furnish your homes with these items can get expensive. I bought a few paintings and found I liked impressionistic landscapes. seascapes and buildings. I really studied the finished product of them and tried it on my own. I work primarily with oils but occasionally water color as well.
Who were your mentors and inspiring artists as you began to discover your art?
Stephen Brooks, Joe Lafone, Elise Starnes, Toni Carlson and Kate Worm are people I know who are artists. These are great individuals who learned their craft over time and are very good at what they do. Some of them are people I grew up with and that gave me the confidence to try painting myself.
Andrew Braitman, Birger Sandzen, George Inness, Van Gogh, Monet and David McCraig are artists whose techniques I enjoy studying. I'm a self taught artist so I pick up techniques from current articles, magazines, the Internet and books that relate to painting.
What are some of your favorite projects?
I spend a lot of time in Banner Elk, North Carolina. Mountain landscapes and local scenes are what I enjoy painting the most, mostly outdoor settings with lots of color and heavy textures.
What are you working on right now?
I am working on two commissioned paintings, one of a fisherman in a boat on a lake and another of an old farm setting in Burnsville, NC.
Alex's work is currently on display at Taste Full Beans Coffee House
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