Artists of La Crosse: Chase Gentry
Artists of La Crosse, WI: This is a series dedicated to local artists of the La Crosse area.
The purpose of this project is to bring awareness to the art community, what artists stand for, their purpose, their mediums, about the artist themselves and most importantly to connect everyone to one another.
For my project, I will be creating a piece dedicated to the artist and their art. It is a piece that integrates the two together; The process of this involves me taking a portrait of the artist and then creating a double exposure of the artist with their art
In conclusion ~ Make art of the artist and their art
It's like art to the third power or art inception!
This is a fun and interactive way for other artists to meet one another or learn about eachother. I will be sharing a new artist weekly so please make sure to check back in to see the new featured artist.
as always~ Enjoy!
This Week's Feature
Artist name: Chase W Gentry (C.W.G.)
Medium(s): pen and ink, acrylic, marker.
Website: www.cwgartwork.bigcartel.com
Instagram: @chasegentry54
Email: chasegentry544@gmail.com
Store: https://chasegentry54.threadless.com/
When did you notice that you had a love for art?
If I can remember correctly it was back in elementary school. A few friends and I would get together during class and have these doodle wars and create short story comic books with a goal of making each other laugh as hard as possible, good times. But it was around this time I noticed I really enjoyed the idea that I was creating something.
Are you originally from La Crosse? If not, where are you from and how long have you lived here?
North side La Crosse native, born and raised.
Growing up what were your major influences as an artist? Other artists, Life events?
Early on is was my uncle Tim, he’s been an artist himself all my life. We’d have these art themed birthday parties for my cousin, and Tim would draw these incredibly detailed dragons with a pencil. At the time I couldn’t believe my eyes, I was so intrigued. So much so that as soon as I got home I’d pick up a pencil and draw dragons nonstop, I remember doing that for years! Another big plus was having my parents support my interests, telling me that I can do and be anything I wanted to be as long as I put my mind to it. They never once told I couldn’t be an artist. Fast forward to Logan High School, where Mr. Beck taught me everything I needed to know about the ins and outs of creating. Not only was Mr. Beck one of my biggest supporters in the early days, he constantly pushed me further with my skills and challenged me to put them to the test, I am forever grateful.
What message do you want to share about your art?
My artwork is up for interpretation, with an overall goal to help people look outside the box and decide things for themselves using their imagination. I want people to generate not only their own opinion of it but what the colors might be (most of my pieces are black and white), what it means to them, what they think is going on, what is it, how does it make them feel, or nothing at all. I want to bring everyone’s inner artist out of hiding.
What do you stand for as an artist?
Art is fun, It should always be that.
What is your process or headspace you get into while creating new pieces?
First, I’ll decide what kind of medium I want to use, next, I’ll look for what kind of paper or canvas I want to create on. Then I’ll typically rest my mind, focus on my breathing and let my pen go where it wants while remembering patterns I’ve practiced throughout the years and combine them all until I’m satisfied with the outcome. I don’t usually think about what I’m going to make or what the ending it going to look like. I just enjoy the process :)
What does the piece you chose for this project mean to you? Why did you choose this one vs other pieces you have created?
For the most part I’m creating something every day, and I have been for the past 4 or 5 years. So naturally picking a piece for this project is hard but I’ve decided to go with this one because of its scale and how much went into this piece. As of right now it’s my biggest, most detail creation I’ve made in quite some time now. The fact that I went out of my comfort zone and added color to this massive beast makes me proud of how far I’ve come and how much more I’m going to learn throughout my life of this planet! I remember jumping around with joy and laughing hysterically the moment I finished it, I couldn’t be more proud of this one!
