Michael D Risch Artist Statement "The studio as a kind of psychosis" IT IS IMPORTANT never to forget how crazy painting is. People who buy paintings, or who write about them, tend to think painting begins in the cosmopolitan world of museums and art galleries, and that its meanings are explored in departments of art history. But painting is born in a smelly studio, where the painter works in isolation, for hours and even years on end. In order to produce the beautiful framed picture, the artist had to spend time shut up with oils and solvents, staring at glass or wooden surfaces in turn. Painting is peculiar in that respect. Writers and composers are much closer to the finished product: their words or notes appear instantly and cleanly on the page-there is no struggle forming the letters A,B,C, or writing a dotted 1/2 note or an 1/8 note-but painters have to work in a morass of stubborn substances.  James Elkins, "What Painting Is", page 147 It is through "process" that I ask, "How can a painting be?” The act of adding and subtracting layers of paint on a surface is the focus and content of my work. I paint on panels; wood, aluminum or even plexy glass. The paint is a variety of water-based mediums; acrylics, urethane, various spray paints, epoxies, and collage. The arc of a painting is created through stages or “events”. When layering these “events” on one another, they start out very simple. I allow each layer/event to guide me, just like musical improvisation, directing the work to a more complex and specific stage. I use brushes, palette knives, squeegees and paint rollers. Removing layers is also an “event” in the process, done with sanders, grinders and planers. The back-and-forth process of adding and subtracting layers is what creates the works visual complexity. - Why I am an artist I have memories of my father drawing cartoon characters and comic book super-heroes on a magic slate. I was a young child and for me it was magical the dimension the figures and form took through a series of gestures and lines. At the same time I recall the images fading into nothingness over time as the slate faded too blankness. I began actively collecting comic books both for the inherit joy and as source material to sketch and draw from. I would often get penalized on my homework in Elementary School for drawing on it instead of focusing on the assignment itself. In junior high school I was excited because now they offered art class, which meant I could draw for homework. By age 11 I knew a future of some sort in art was for me. I continued to take any and all two-dimensional art class through high school, and continued on to complete a BFA in Painting, and later a MFA in Pictorial Art. For me, being an artist is a calling. I need the “studio” and “the art world” to define and shape my journey as an artist. -Why I am currently in Sonoma County and how living here informs and affects my work as an artist. My wife’s employment as a paramedic manager with Sonoma Life Support is the reason our family relocated to Santa Rosa from San Jose. Through visiting open studio events and the volunteering at the Sebastopol Center for the Arts that I was able to network and secure my first studio in Graton’s Atelier One. Soon, I began hosting my own open studio events with Art At The Source. A sense of community and local support, from other artist and patrons, I would say, has been Sonoma County’s greatest influence on my work. The process of letting the community into my studio, engaging in an open dialogue; having to explain what I am doing and why, has allowed me see thing that I am doing in a different “light”. My work and myself as a person has changed for the better because of this. In 2014 settled into a space at Fulton Crossing, one of the best studios of my “career”. It has proved to be an excellent space for both working and hosting open studio for the public. -Biography Michael Risch has been an artist for over 25 years. Immediately after receiving his BFA in Painting from Arizona State University in 1998, he began participating in Phoenix art scene exhibitions and showing his work through galleries in Scottsdale, Arizona. Michael relocated to the Bay Area in 2006 to pursue a MFA degree from San Jose State University, which he completed in 2009. In 2011, Michael moved to Santa Rosa with his wife and daughter. He volunteers for the Rincon Valley School district as an art docent. Michael works as full time artist operating at Fulton Crossing’s studios.

Michael D Risch

Artist Statement

"The studio as a kind of psychosis"

IT IS IMPORTANT never to forget how crazy painting is. People who buy paintings, or who write about them, tend to think painting begins in the cosmopolitan world of museums and art galleries, and that its meanings are explored in departments of art history. But painting is born in a smelly studio, where the painter works in isolation, for hours and even years on end. In order to produce the beautiful framed picture, the artist had to spend time shut up with oils and solvents, staring at glass or wooden surfaces in turn. Painting is peculiar in that respect. Writers and composers are much closer to the finished product: their words or notes appear instantly and cleanly on the page-there is no struggle forming the letters A,B,C, or writing a dotted 1/2 note or an 1/8 note-but painters have to work in a morass of stubborn substances.
James Elkins, "What Painting Is", page 147

It is through "process" that I ask, "How can a painting be?” The act of adding and subtracting layers of paint on a surface is the focus and content of my work. I paint on panels; wood, aluminum or even plexy glass. The paint is a variety of water-based mediums; acrylics, urethane, various spray paints, epoxies, and collage. The arc of a painting is created through stages or “events”. When layering these “events” on one another, they start out very simple. I allow each layer/event to guide me, just like musical improvisation, directing the work to a more complex and specific stage. I use brushes, palette knives, squeegees and paint rollers. Removing layers is also an “event” in the process, done with sanders, grinders and planers. The back-and-forth process of adding and subtracting layers is what creates the works visual complexity.

- Why I am an artist

I have memories of my father drawing cartoon characters and comic book super-heroes on a magic slate. I was a young child and for me it was magical the dimension the figures and form took through a series of gestures and lines. At the same time I recall the images fading into nothingness over time as the slate faded too blankness. I began actively collecting comic books both for the inherit joy and as source material to sketch and draw from. I would often get penalized on my homework in Elementary School for drawing on it instead of focusing on the assignment itself. In junior high school I was excited because now they offered art class, which meant I could draw for homework. By age 11 I knew a future of some sort in art was for me. I continued to take any and all two-dimensional art class through high school, and continued on to complete a BFA in Painting, and later a MFA in Pictorial Art.

For me, being an artist is a calling. I need the “studio” and “the art world” to define and shape my journey as an artist.

-Why I am currently in Sonoma County and how living here informs and affects my work as an artist.

My wife’s employment as a paramedic manager with Sonoma Life Support is the reason our family relocated to Santa Rosa from San Jose.

Through visiting open studio events and the volunteering at the Sebastopol Center for the Arts that I was able to network and secure my first studio in Graton’s Atelier One. Soon, I began hosting my own open studio events with Art At The Source.

A sense of community and local support, from other artist and patrons, I would say, has been Sonoma County’s greatest influence on my work. The process of letting the community into my studio, engaging in an open dialogue; having to explain what I am doing and why, has allowed me see thing that I am doing in a different “light”. My work and myself as a person has changed for the better because of this. In 2014 settled into a space at Fulton Crossing, one of the best studios of my “career”. It has proved to be an excellent space for both working and hosting open studio for the public.

-Biography

Michael Risch has been an artist for over 25 years. Immediately after receiving his BFA in Painting from Arizona State University in 1998, he began participating in Phoenix art scene exhibitions and showing his work through galleries in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Michael relocated to the Bay Area in 2006 to pursue a MFA degree from San Jose State University, which he completed in 2009.

In 2011, Michael moved to Santa Rosa with his wife and daughter. He volunteers for the Rincon Valley School district as an art docent. Michael works as full time artist operating at Fulton Crossing’s studios.