untitled 30 x 40 in, oil on canvas by Padrick Bentley
© 2013 by Padrick Bentley. All rights reserved.

untitled 24 x 36 in, oil with photophorescent pigments on canvas by Padrick Bentley
© 2013 by Padrick Bentley. All rights reserved.

Padrick Bentley is a prolific contemporary US artist, based in Los Angeles, who uses thick oils and a palette knife to create highly textured, abstract paintings. His technically complex and multi-layered paintings explore the interplay of light and movement creating a unique visual language.

Padrick has a passion for art education, public art and is a supporter of the LA Fund which provides support for the arts at schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District.

Padrick Bentley will be exhibiting his digital art next in Los Angeles on October 10^th 2013 at the Belasco Theatre in downtown LA.

A LA MODE SYDNEY’s talented Guest Blogger Katrina Hampton, from Sydney’s Art2Muse Gallery, interviews Padrick Bentley and provides a wonderful insight to this extraordinary contemporary artist and his formidable talent.

untitled 36 x 36 in, oil on canvas by Padrick Bentley
© 2013 by Padrick Bentley. All rights reserved.

Art2Muse: Jackson, could you tell us how you began as an artist?

Padrick Bentley: My art career really started this last year.  Growing up there were signs – I’d usually have more sketches and drawings on my schoolwork than actual schoolwork.   I never pursued it though. Probably the combination of a lack of family resources and a strong focus on sports.  Growing up in CA, there were no real arts opportunities in school either, a big reason why I’m such a believer in the LA Fund. I studied Art History in school but it wasn’t till I finally found my palette knife that everything came together. 

Art2Muse: Do you prefer to paint large scale art? How much time do you spend creating each artwork?

Padrick Bentley: It takes quite a long time to paint each piece. They can be up to a 1.5 inches thick of oil paint. Each layer takes days or weeks to dry completely and there are generally five or six layers. I love large scale. I just completed a 5 x 6 foot piece. I plan on trying to complete a few more in the next several months. 

Art2Muse: Is there a process that you follow every time you start a painting?

Padrick Bentley: There is a visceral connection for me in applying paint and color to canvas.  Carving textures. Mixing oils and pigments. Creation. All of my work starts with an idea, emotion or event. A combination of colors. A trigger. From there, it is a dialogue between elements of the painting, the tools, and myself. The paintings evolve and change as the paint mixes on the canvas. I try to clear my head of any preconceived idea of what I would like the final product to be.  It has to evolve on its own. What I feel and what I take from the canvas must find its own direction.

untitled 30 x 40 in, oil canvas TBC by Padrick Bentley
© 2013 by Padrick Bentley. All rights reserved.

Art2Muse: Jackson, you have a very strong social media presence. How can art be ‘social’? Is this important to you?

Padrick Bentley: I’m fortunate to be able to leverage the power of social media to distribute my work freely around the world and engage people of all different backgrounds traditional avenues wouldn’t be able to reach. Art and its messages should be for everyone. We’re entering a whole new dimension of accessibility. It’s exciting. Koons stated that “It’s really about expansion, trying to create a vaster world, a more interesting world”. It’s a quote that means a lot to me. 

Art2Muse: Does politics or current affairs influence your art?

Padrick Bentley: Yes. I’m particularly passionate about the humanitarian crisis in Syria. I’ve been working on a new series that will hopefully generate awareness and shed light on the terrible things happening to regular people over there while the world leaders debate. Here’s a link to the animated version of my recent work: Syria Glitch Painting

Digital glitch art

untitled 30 x 40 in, oil on canvas by Padrick Bentley
© 2013 by Padrick Bentley. All rights reserved. 

Art2Muse: Does technology have an impact on the mediums you employ? How?

Padrick Bentley: Tremendously. One of my principal forms is what I am calling digital glitch paintings. My digital art flows from the paintings. They are each an animated image, a compilation of multiple versions of the digital file of a paintings. Each version has the most basic level – the computer code – corrupted.  The resulting digital file is “glitched”, skewed. The paintings become warped and I further corrupt each subsequent version of the file. When combined together and played in sequence, the animated image, the paintings  – my feelings, my forms and processes, are deconstructed and reconstructed in a jarring, unending loop.

Digital Glitch art.  Animated version @ Padrick Bentley Digital Art

Art2Muse: Do you feel that the gallery environment is the right platform for your art?

Padrick Bentley: I post all of my new work first to social media. I try to promote the accessibility of art for everyone.

Art2Muse: Do you collect art yourself?

Padrick Bentley: I follow art. I would like to begin collecting at some point in the future. 

Art2Muse: Do you have any exhibitions planned? What’s next for Padrick Bentley?

Padrick Bentley: I’ll be exhibiting my digital work at the Belasco Theatre in Downtown LA on October 10^th 2013.  I just launched my new series and working on my next pieces and trying to generate awareness for Syria are my focus right now.

Thank you so much for reaching out. I wish you all the best Katrina.

untitled 30 x 40 in, oil canvas by Padrick Bentley
© 2013 by Padrick Bentley. All rights reserved.