Today we’d like to introduce you to Casper Brindle.
Casper, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I started making art when I was a kid, right around Junior high school, but have been drawing as far back as I can remember. I was born in Toronto, but consider myself deeply Angeleno, my parents immigrated here when I was around six and I grew up on LA’s west side. Both of my parents were creatives, my mother a designer and my father an architect.
After high school, my father introduced me to Eric Orr, a great artist and important figure in the California Light and Space movement. I became his apprentice and worked in the studio and installing his sculptures across LA. When I worked for Eric, I was in my early twenties and was very impressionable. He had a presence, that’s for sure and was very spirited, a lot of action and movement – a motivating force I would say.
While I worked for him, I was developing my painting and photography, soaking up the intense energy of the late 1980s Venice art scene.
Has it been a smooth road?
Being a creative professional always brings struggle, but those challenges are the things that push you to make better work. The most difficult thing I’ve dealt with was when I made the decision to make my art my full-time job. It’s a scary leap to take, but so rewarding.
We’d love to hear more about what you do.
Primarily, I make large-scale, abstract, atmospheric color-field paintings. I have spent most of my free time in the ocean, staring into that infinite horizon where the sky meets water, which has deeply affected my work. I’m fascinated by the endless shifting of colors in the natural world. When I’m making paintings, I’m interested in engaging the viewer and playing with their perception, trying to harness that ephemeral quality of light changing over time.
I have several bodies of work, but I would say my most recognizable series are my Strata paintings – I use automotive paints mixed with metal flakes airbrushed in fine layers over the surface that is then sealed with a glossy coat of resin. A thorough line in all of my work is the desire to challenge the eye – my paintings shift in appearance as you walk around them. They look slightly different depending on the viewer’s position and height, the time of day or the type of light in the room.
I’m careful to leave the interpretation of the work up to those who view it, rather than asking them to feel a certain way or put any preconceived notions or references in front of them. Looking at artwork is a personal experience for each individual – there is no right or wrong way to interpret my work. For me, personally, there is a mystical quality to my paintings. I find that time stops and I’m transported into a meditative state when I make at them.
It activates that same part of your brain that opens up when you take a long drive when you’re so deep in your subconscious that you don’t quite remember how you got there, but somehow you’ve arrived.
What are your plans for the future? What are you looking forward to or planning for – any big changes?
I’m building out a brand new studio right now in Culver City, which is really exciting. I like to work large and this new space will accommodate some of the bigger projects I’ve been planning.
Last year, I began fabricating a new series of kinetic sculptures, so I’m eager to continue to develop that body of work. I am also having an exhibition in San Francisco in March at Nancy Toomey Fine Art that is keeping me very busy.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.casperbrindle.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/casperbrindle/
- Facebook: @casperbrindle
Image Credit:
Rob Brander
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