Цитата сообщения Marginalisimus
Phil Lewis
Phil Lewis
''Let's take it from the top shall we?
I was born June 14th, 1978 in Montreal, Canada. My parents are both Welsh, and were the first from each of their families to immigrate. Shortly after I was born, we moved to the San Francisco Bay Area, bouncing around from town to town until finally arriving on the north shore of Lake Tahoe. Growing up in such a pristine mountain environment was an amazing experience that has had lasting and profound effects on my artistic vision and appreciation for nature. Tahoe is a magical place.
Tahoe in the 90's was also the epicenter for the birth of snowboarding, which certainly contributed to my aesthetic and artistic style. Learning to snowboard in those days was a creative endeavour, especially since we were coming up with most of it on-the-fly and from scratch. It wasn't so much what we were doing, but how we looked and felt while doing it... it was all about being fluid and smooth, and creating your own style. Which is something I feel has translated over into my visual artwork.
Through high school, I knew that I wanted to be an artist. Or, at least something that involved being creative. I did well in school, but certainly did more doodling than note-taking. I continued this trend through my years at Colorado College. I doodled my way through all the required courses, and took the mandatory Art 101's... drawing, painting, etc... but it wasn't until "Intro-to-Photoshop" that I discovered what I wanted to do. I've always been really into computers and technical gadgets. I once memorized the DOS manual via a bribe from my parents for my first computer when I was 12. So when my eyes were opened to the possibilities of combining artwork with the computer... I was hooked.
After graduating in 2001, I moved out to Hollywood to join my brothers playing bass in our band Storytyme, which turned out to be a fantastic musical voyage spanning 7 years, and also what brought us to Boulder. During those years, I concentrated heavily on creating music, but was also developing my artwork and Photoshop skills designing show posters and album covers for the band.
In 2008 we decided to take a break from music and follow our own passions. This lead me to focusing on my artwork full-time. Since then it's been one crazy whirlwind-of-an-adventure that has taken me all over the country and introduced me to the wonderful world of entrepreneurship. Owning and operating every aspect of my own business has been highly educational. From loading the van, traveling to shows, setting up the booth, negotiating licensing deals, and arranging representation at galleries... to packaging greeting cards, rolling posters, and building my own website... this is very much a one-man-show. And I could not be more grateful for the opportunity.
Through this journey I have received unprecedented support from my family, friends, and fans the world over. I could not possibly be living this dream without your help, and as long as I'm able, I hope to continue creating this crazy colorful artwork expressing the love and joy I've been given in this life...
Thanks for viewing, have a great day!''
Phil Lewis
Merlin
acrylic on canvas 24x30
Despite being named after one of the most famous wizards, my dog Merlin doesn't know many magic tricks or spells... although he can make a piece of pizza disappear right before your eyes!
He's got an amazing life for a dog, and really only cares about three things, chasing rabbits, squirrels, tennis balls, sticks...(basically anything that's running or being thrown), eating, and sleeping. I tried to incorporate some of those things into this portrait...except for the eating, but you can imagine that he just finished his biscuits, and now he's sleeping it off... This is the first painting I have done in almost 8 years, so it was challenging to get back into it, but really rewarding. I am stoked on how it turned out, and I'm excited to see where it goes from here...
Sugarloaf Sunset
I have lived in many amazing places throughout my life, most of which have been very inspiring visually. Usually after about a year I get this urgent feeling to create a piece of artwork that captures my daily surroundings.
For the past year I have been living in the mountains just west of Boulder, CO below Sugarloaf Mountain. The Sugarloaf Community is nestled beneath the mountain and has a fairy tale quality that is very much the "Quintessential-Colorado". Most days come to a close with huge dramatic sunsets that explode over the mountains...peaceful, inspiring, unreal...
Magnolia Moonrise
As you drive west from Boulder into the canyon, there are two turnoffs about halfway up. To the north is Sugarloaf Rd., where I lived for the past two years, and to the south is Magnolia Rd. Us Sugarloafians used to jokingly refer to Magnolia as "The Dark Side". The road is steeper, the turns are sharper, the cliffs are more vertical, and the ice in the winter is beyond treacherous. Overall, Magnolia is just burly, but always worth the voyage when you reached the top. Just as the road levels off, some friends of mine had a house overlooking the Twin Sisters and Forsythe Mountain. They used to host mini festivals with bands, beer, and all-around good times for all. I can remember several nights watching the moon rise from the east with the gentle glow of Boulder far below... always a soothing sight.
http://www.phillewisart.com/
