Artist Statement from Jim Rode at FridayNightArt
Artist Statement
All the things we are told to desire, all that is "trendy", it is all crap. We’ve been taught to desire “natural”. We buy “real” vitamins, “whole” food, “natural” water (purchased in plastic bottles), even simple pinewood furniture from an Ikea forest. Deep within us we long for a colorful world. We’ve all been hypnotized by the drumbeat of “real, natural, whole.” We need color to paint the room where we take refuge to be ourselves. Steeping in art’s color restores us. Too often we are told what is a valid art investment without asking "What do you love?" You should invest in what thrills you, after all, you walk into a room every day. That room should have art that pleases you!
Too many people play it safe by asking the walls to be white. It is depressing. Art is really a desire to live differently.
In my photography travels, I search out the color of a beautiful world. I travel with an iPhone. The tiny lens and sensor gives me a delicate file I can use for manipulation. I take the resulting media and apply ink to a mylar layer before combining the ink and plastic to a sheet of prepared aluminum. In ink fusion, I use heat which transforms the ink and plastic to gas which permeates the upper layer of aluminum creating bold colors. This creates stunning images into art for your wall decor.
I also work with painted canvas using acrylics and inks, plus fine art photography printed on watercolor paper with hand-torn edges.
For more than 25 years, my reminder to those I meet is "In love and art, you live forever."
Jim Rode - FridayNightArt
JimRode is a member of the Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition (OVAC)