Welcome back to our 21st installment of the STAMP Magazine artist features.  Our journey stops with a mixed media artist who is expanding all over the US and into Europe, Asia and the Middle East.  Join me as we learn more about the artist C. Kirk from Dallas, Texas USA.

STAMP: Introduce yourself.  What is something u want the world to know about you?
C. Kirk: I take my work seriously and am a bit obsessive about the process of creating art.  I also believe that creating a piece of art is like bringing a child into the world.  Once the painting is finished, the work is not over.  Like a child, the work has to be nurtured so that it can grow.  I treat my art and business like a normal job.  I do my best to meet deadlines, be reliable, and follow through with what I say that I will do.

STAMP: When did you become interested in art?
C. Kirk: I became interested in art very early on.  When I was about five, I would ask my mother to draw pictures of characters like the Incredible Hulk and Spider Man, then complain that she wasn’t doing it right.  She eventually made me draw them myself.  Later I moved away from comics and began to appreciate fine art then urban art.  One thing that has always drawn my attention and has been the main focus in my work is the figure.

STAMP: What is your medium of choice and why?
C. Kirk: I have used so many mediums over the years.  I have worked in sculpture, assemblage, spray paint, acrylic, oil, print making, markers, collage ect.
I also like using things like coffee and tea for staining.  Over the last year or so, I have really gotten into more traditional mediums.  I have developed a real fondness for compressed charcoal and chalk on paper.  I have also been working with oil again this year.  I really like the versatility and blending ability of oil.

STAMP: Did you study art at an art school?  If so which one and in what way did that experience help you as an artist?  If not, do you wish you did?
C. Kirk: I haven’t really had much formal training.  I’ve had a drawing class or two and a color theory class.  I studies humanities for a semester also.
I’ve never been good at follow through when it comes to school.  I think school is beneficial though.  There are alot of tricks in drawing and color that I otherwise might not’ve picked up without being in school for at least a little while.  The last year or so, I have been teaching myself things that I could’ve learned and practiced a long time ago If I’d only stuck with it.  On the flip side, I have also heard that school can trap you into a certain way of thinking if you’re not careful.  I guess being formally trained is like anything else…it has it’s advantages and disadvantages.

STAMP: How has your experience been as an artist in your country/city of residence? Are there any demographic limitations or advantages?
C. Kirk: In my opinion, Dallas isn’t the best place to live if you are an artist trying to build a career.  There some very talented artists and some galleries here also, but it seems to me that the Dallas art scene is very isolated from the rest of the world and a bit behind.  That being said, I have some very good, loyal collectors here in Dallas, but most of my work is now sold to folks in other parts of the world.  I spoke with a very famous artist I admire about Dallas once.    His work is very technical, fun, and has a message.  His work is amazing to say the least!  I asked him if he’d ever shown in Dallas or had any plans to in the future.  He told me that he had shown here once a long time ago, but Dallas wasn’t and isn’t very kind to his art.  I understand that now and can agree with him.  When I come to think of it, I don’t see any of the contemporary art that I admire shown here.

STAMP: As an artist, what are the most common setbacks that you’ve faced (personally, w/medium, w/craft etc)?
C. Kirk: What are some common setbacks I’ve faced as an artist?  Not being from a wealthy family, cash flow is a very common setback.  I’ve learned to be very frugal with my money.  When I have a good run of sales, I always set back a healthy amount of doe to last me through slow periods.  In my experience this is the way to go.  It’s not if things get slow, it’s when they get slow, because they will get slow.  That’s the way it goes for me.  I’ll have lots of sales for a while, then few or none.  It’s nice not to be completely broke during the slow periods.

Another setback that has hit me this year is the Texas heat.  My live in a town house and the bottom floor is 2 car garage that I have converted into a nice studio.  I used to work all summer long out there, but something is different this year.  My body can’t seem to hold up to the high temperature.  I guess I’m getting old.  Summer is almost over though, so I am sure I’ll be working around the clock to finish up my 2011 collection as soon as Fall arrives.

STAMP: Are there any historical or contemporary artists that you specifically admire or that you are inspired by?
C. Kirk: There are so many artist that I admire that making a list could get a bit involved.  I’m really digging alot of the work coming out of the UK at the moment.  As far as historical artists, lets just say it ranges between Caravaggio to Cy Twombly….actually, I’m not sure in Cy Twombly is historical or contemporary! Speaking of Contemporary artists though, you can read interviews with some of my favorites at http://ckirkart.wordpress.com/

STAMP: Have you ever shown in galleries? If so, what was the experience like? If not, how come?
C. Kirk: Starting out I showed with most galleries here in Dallas…many of them are not around anymore.  This year I’ve exhibited with The Hive Gallery in Los Angeles, Latatiude Zero in Orlando Florida, The Contemporary Art Center Of Virginia, In Boston and New York with Art Asylum Boston, and will be participating in the October group show at Red Propeller Gallery in the United Kingdom. As far as how my experience has been…. it varies from gallery to gallery.  Different people do things different ways.

STAMP: What role do you feel the internet has on art? Positive or negative?
C. Kirk: In my experience the internet has only helped.  My mentor THH70 came from a background in business, marketing, and is a firm believer in maintaining a strong internet presence.  Since following his instructions I have art hung in collections all over America, Europe, Asia and Canada.  I think the internet has really leveled the playing field for internet savvy artists.  Social networking sites like facebook and twitter when used properly, can be excellent tools for getting your information and art out into the world for all to see.  Despite using the internet for free marketing, I also use it to stay up on other contemporary works, artists, galleries, exhibits, ect.  I often use the internet learn.  I have leaned how do everything from casting sculpture to smoking a pipe on the internet.

Folks may argue, but in my opinion the internet is a great resource in more ways than one.

STAMP: Have you ever felt limited or trapped by your style?  With so, much pressure on mainstream art, have you felt peer pressured into conforming?
C. Kirk: Actually I have felt trapped by my style.  Some time ago I made alot of mixed media stencil art.  After a year or so of working with stencils, I started to feel very limited and stagnant and decided to move back to drawing and painting by hand.  This was not as easy for me as I’d hoped.  It seemed that because I hadn’t held a brush or pencil, and had worked from templates for so long, that I had lost confidence in my art making abilities.  It took a while to overcome.  I even threw out stacks and stacks of card board stencils I had cut.  I had thought about tossing them for some time, but it took a while.  I kept thinking that I might need them again.

In the end, getting rid of the stencils let me know that my confidence had returned.  Since then, I have been working harder and learning as much as I can to improve the quality of my work.  Learning and improvement seems to be two tasks that  will never end for me.

In my opinion, there is always room for improvement.

STAMP: After viewing your work, what feeling or thought do you want to leave the viewer with?
C. Kirk: I can really say that I want the view to feel a particular feeling after viewing my work.  What the view feels is up to them.  I only hope they feel something.  That’s the most I can hope for.

STAMP: Do you agree with the overall objective of STAMP Magazine?  Why or Why Not?
C. Kirk: Sure I agree with what you guys over at Stamp Magazine are doing.  Like you mention in your mission statement, you see so much of the same artists over and over again in magazines.  Best of luck to you.

To learn more C. Kirk and his artist moves visit his website at http://www.ckirkart.com; facebook him on his personal page http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/profile.php?id=780054789&ref=profile or fan page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/C-KIRK/102943369508?ref=ts%A0; or follow him on twitter http://twitter.com/CKirkArt