Art Hound

Alex Waggoner is the newest addition to Buy Some Damn Art. Read her interview below or check out her brand new show.

How do you compose the scenes in your paintings?  Are they based on landscapes you come across in real life?

Alex: A lot of the imagery is based in real life, usually scenes I see daily.  Sometimes, when faced with the same surroundings day after day, certain things can become invisible.  I enjoy focusing on these forgotten spaces.

Why chose fences as a theme, one that in many cases blocks a more interesting view?

Alex: When I was a little kid, I remember peering through the knotholes in the fence to see if my neighbor Andrew was home. I would shimmy through one of the broken slats to play.  To get to and from each others houses Andrew and I always cut through another neighbor’s yard. Eventually, that neighbor put up an impenetrable fence.  I think that was the first time I saw a fence as a clear symbol of “mine and yours”.  I usually find the concept of barriers just as interesting as what may be behind them.

Alex: I love the tedious process of printmaking.  I think my love of layering in printmaking does cross over into the layering I use in my paintings.

In earlier work you incorporated a lot of found materials – including a light switch and carpentry nails. Have you considering bringing found objects into your current painting practice?

Alex: In my “Relics” the found objects represent things once forgotten.  I wanted to try and give them the status of an ancient historical relic.  I have considered incorporating veneer into these paintings both as a symbol referencing the home and a medium.

You’ve spent time in Charleston and Savannah. Do you have a favorite city, neighborhood or site for inspiration?

Alex: I have been lucky to live in cities with so much southern charm and curb appeal.  Different areas of these cities can feel like polar opposites.  There are two specific types of places where I find inspiration.  One being the pleasantville-like, planned communities where landscape architecture is a sort of art form between gigantic houses on tiny lots.  The other are turning neighborhoods where some houses have a hodgepodge of privacy barriers right next to new construction with immaculate eight foot fences on all sides.