My name is Greg Carlson. Eyemnkogneeto is my eccentric other personality who loves to paint. I found out that artist's for the most part have no social life and paintings aren't finished in one sitting, they take time and I mean alot of it. I can honestly say, or at least admit that I have zero social life. I choose to spend my time either painting or thinking about painting ( To the demise of many a relationship) so in theory, or at least on paper I might be an artist. In comes Eyemnkogneeto.
"Life imitates art and art imitates everything else, that’s just the reality of being an artist, at least it 's like that for me"
A good artist's job is to convince people of an ideal or a concept they wish to project onto the world, but the job of a great artist is to cause confusion, raise questions and effectively change a perfect stranger's perception, even if its for a split second. I wish to pursue the latter of the two. I want people to stop and think, thats my goal. To become confused when looking at a painting will unconsciously open doors in the mind that might otherwise go unnoticed, and thankfully so. Without art that provokes free thought we unfortunately would be living in a world with no color or style. I want to live in a colorful world, I want to better the world, I want to color it and possibly expand the minds of a few straggler's who are struggling with perception and cause just enough confusion to make a difference in their lives.
I love drawing and I love graphite but I paint in watercolor. I've always sketched or used watercolors. I've tried other mediums but it's watercolor that tugs on my art strings the most so I stuck with it over the years. I can't see myself really using any other medium on a steady basis (except for drawing and photography), but I’m open to trying new things. I’m not exactly sure why I ended up painting surrealism or deciding that watercolor was my medium of choice. Maybe I was a weird kid, maybe I'm a messed up and delusional now? Maybe I'm nuttier than a box of fruitloops and don't even know it. Who can say really but in the end it doesn't really matter, we become what we are supposed to become, even before we know it, WHAM!!! There you are.
I like surrealism for the sheer fact it lets me explore those places in my head that are dark and go unnoticed most of the time. Surrealism is like a flashlight, that match in the dark that light's the world with such little illumination that my imagination runs wild. There's times when I finish a painting and find myself pondering: Is there really is something wrong with me? Then I laugh at the thought of actually knowing there's a pretty good possibility there is! I simply move on to the next picture. I suppose my brain works slightly off center than most and that's OK with me, the way it works is the way it works. (At least its working)
To be honest, most things I know about painting and art I've learned at the Grapevine University or in second hand books I found while playing on the other side of the tracks. I’m what you would call a self taught artist, ignoramus, uninformed and mis-diagnosed. I can't claim that I know what I’m doing or even talking about when it comes to drawing or painting, I've just screwed up enough to sound like I do. I save the good paintings.
I like to carry a watercolor sketchbook with me nearly everywhere I go (when its warm), that and/or a camera (I love photography). so when I see a tree that looks like the alien from the Simpson's or a shape in the darkness of the woods that makes me stop and think, I have to sit and do a few creative sketches, then it's back to my studio (which is actually my kitchen), back to mucho coffee and super late night radio, back to insomnia, back to seclusion (I suppose I’m a bit of a recluse) for a week or so. Wash, rinse, repeat. Repeat....
If you like my art... Great! That assures me that being a recluse is paying off so send me an email and make my day! Let me know somehow. If your not into my art, not so great... But its totally cool! (although I hope you are) but if your not, I implore you, I beg you, please go out and find some art or artist that you do like and let them know they too are on the right path! or maybe buy an actual piece of art! There has to be a piece of art somewhere in the world that you think might look good on your wall. (I know it's a moot point but I am a starving artist so it must not be my art that your enjoying. LOL) When you do find a painting that you like, buy it! Brighten your world in the way that YOU enjoy, hire the artist to paint what you want if you like their style, make an offer, just don't be shy. Starving artist's are everywhere and we all try to make the world a more beautiful place in our own little way.
I hope you enjoy my art.
Surrealism is the way, especially when you finally see it!!!
Greg Carlson.