Interview with Holden Willard - February 13

February 13

You were a part of Youth Art Month in 2015 at the PMA. Tell us about that experience. What did it mean to you, and how has it influenced the past ten years of your career path?  

“In 2015 I was a sophomore in high school, and I was taking an entry drawing class, which to me at the time felt silly because I had been drawing since I was a kid. But our teacher was very sweet and supportive, and taught me some new skills that I had not considered before. I remember we were doing still life drawings, and he took an interest in me and my drawing skills at the time. He genuinely wanted us to get better and encouraged us that being an artist was possible and was a real thing. At that time, I had not experienced any wisdom like that, someone who actually thought I had the technical skills to do something with art. He told me and another student would be put into this thing called “Youth Art Month" and I could make a drawing for it if I wanted to do it! It was fantastic to apply myself at that early age to something that brought me great joy and purpose. I remember walking into the museum with my parents, seeing my drawing around the corner by the elevator just being in awe that I was in a Museum I had visited so much as a kid. At that moment I told myself it was my goal to be here again when I was older. I believe kids got awards, and I received one - walked up on stage with the rolling slideshow of artwork behind all of us… it felt like the motivation I needed at that time to accept that I was an artist. I needed to do this with my life. Two of my art teachers were there and I remember them telling me that I could be an artist, and I should pursue it. They talked to my parents as well and convinced them that I had the talent and motivation to accomplish this. It was at that moment during Youth Art Month that I knew I was an artist, and it convinced my parents that I would be okay.”  

Artwork by Holden Willard 2015.

If you could give advice to any young artist, what would it be? What advice would you have given to your high school self?

“A piece of advice I would give to a young artist would be to just make freely. I was so concerned with content and style before I went to college to study, and truthfully the biggest lesson I learned was to keep my hand moving and create surface history. In my opinion, the best art has a history of tactile responses on the surface that relate to the whole. In simple words - just play around, see what sticks, don’t be precious, and have fun. Most importantly, comparison is the death of joy, right? Don’t be worried about what other people are doing, don’t compare your work to others especially when starting out. You’re in your own lane, just make stuff and your audience will come.”  

Why do you think arts education and access to quality arts programs for young people is so important?

“Art is so integral to human experience; we are sentient creatures who somehow can make beautiful physical manifestations of that precious and individual experience. I think that everyone has creative potential and it's a shame when art education programs are cut and dwindled down. It sacrifices potential for students, some of which very well might have a burgeoning interest in being artists. All I needed was the validation of two people that weren’t my parents. Sometimes that’s all you need, why would you squander that?” 

If you were explaining your artistic practice to young kids, what would you say and how would you describe it?

“Well, in college I was taught this method called “the search”. In simple words it just means moving your hand to things you see around you. The paper, or canvas is your playground, and you move to every part of it as if it was a living thing. Your hand follows your eyes, there is no attention paid to any particular part of the piece over another. Everything is equal on the surface.”  

Do you have a favorite color to paint with? Why is it your favorite?

“Easy, Phthalo Green! It’s my favorite color because it can act as it’s true greenish blue form while also acting as a neutral, a warm color, a cool color - all with addition of a little extra pigment in either direction. You can stretch it so very far, and on its own it has a beautiful semblance with nature.”

Attached is the artwork you created that was on view as part of YAM 2015. If you put yourself back in the shoes of 2015 Holden, what is this artwork about? What parallels do you notice between this artwork and your current work?  

” To be honest I’ve always been a little nerdy. So, when I began making art I was making imaginary landscapes real, with the addition of some various source imagery to get it going of course. I played a lot of video games as a kid, and I made this imaginary wasteland in charcoal. It was the largest thing I had made when I was 15 and I worked from one corner to the other. When I finished, I felt so accomplished, it felt real to me which is what I was looking for. Not real in the sense that it was super realistic, but that I could jump into that world and that mindset I had been in. It certainly taught me to use my imagination, use many images, observe the world around me and keep my hand moving. There aren’t any real parallels other than that—the imagery I utilize is completely different now and I only really paint these days… drawing is always used as a tool to serve my paintings. All in all, the drawing wasn’t about anything, it was just an expression of the joy I feel making artwork. This is why I paint, because it feels as though it is something I was meant to do.“