R. Geoffrey Blackburn
Could you tell us about yourself and your background?
I am a creator. I create art, I create deals, and I create opportunities, I create all kinds of things! My intrinsic nature is as a creator.
(from my website bio):
Inventor — Awarded a U.S. patent for a special-effects generator — described as a “new art form.”
Internationally Published Poet
Playwright — had published/produced and distributed on educational TV, a 4-act play in Shakespearean sonnets choreographed for modern dance.
Copywriter/Layout Artist for Sears Roebuck Utah- Idaho Group.
Publicity Director ABC Intermountain Theaters (worked on two world premieres).
Chief-Artist-Designer for Advance Magazine (based in England).
Founding Partner, Marketing Director, and Principal Artist Overnight Graphics, (a commercial graphics and typesetting company).
Founding Partner and President of North American Resources Corporation — a mineral exploration and properties development company. During the 70’s uranium boom, NARC worked with state officials, the French government, major energy companies, utility companies, and various property owners to facilitate transactions between the various stakeholders. By 1979, NARC had more than 163,000 acres under contract.
United States Army Officer
I won my first art show in 1956. During the '60s I experimented with various mediums and subjects (mostly surrealistic). From 1966 through 1969, I was in the US Army which interrupted my art production but also significantly and ironically helped me become a better artist.
I was also an athlete — an alpine ski racer, played baseball, football, and soccer, and studied martial arts. But as I approach everything from a creative viewpoint, all of these experiences enhance my art even if I am not specifically doing art.
From 1970-1973, prior to my "Red Rock Period," I painted several surreal pieces but mostly focused on Old West figurative scenes often featuring cowboys on the trail doing various cowboy things and prospectors panning for gold and so on. One of the last of these works entitled "The Posse" was completed in 1972 and displayed at the Jailhouse Gallery in Taos, New Mexico. After a few months, I decided that the posse would look more natural riding through a desert than through a forest, so I asked the gallery to return the painting so I could change the background. One by one members of the 5-man Posse began disappearing under a coat of paint until, at last, there was only the Sheriff riding along the edge of a cliff, rifle in hand. Finally, he too was painted over and thus my first red rock painting, "Desert Canyons" was created. This and another of my paintings were destroyed by a fire at the home of one of my collectors. The 28-color hand-printed Desert Canyons serigraphs are all that still exist of this image.
When did you decide to pursue a career as an artist?
When I was 5 years old. This was the early days of TV which would cease broadcasting at midnight so, there wasn’t much to do after that. My parents would often have me babysit my two younger sibs. This was no particular problem for me since I was rather precocious for my age. I would spend part of the night looking at the book “Art Treasures of the Louvre” (which I still have), fascinated by the paintings of the Old Masters. Then I would drag a chair over to the wall on which hung two of my grandfather’s paintings climb up and lose myself in the detail of his work. I knew at five I would someday do art of my own.
(In 1970 I got more or less serious about my art. Up to that point, I just cranked out a painting or two if I needed to pay the rent…
What does your artwork aim to say?
“Come on in.” Step through the surface of the painting and explore the universe I have created for you. Then, rotate the painting and look at it upside down, sideways, and through a mirror. See the work in different lighting and discover the amazing relationships and designs inherent in nature.
How do you stay motivated and productive in your art practice?
Endless curiosity and discipline. I like to experiment with various things and see what happens. Also, while I paint, I usually listen to an audiobook. Since painting is a right-brain operation, I can simultaneously fully engage my left-brain with a good thriller. It’s like going on a long road trip…When it takes hundreds of hours to create a single painting, discipline is essential. The paintings don’t paint themselves.
How has your artistic career progressed and changed over time?
From early realism to palette knife paintings, clay sculptures, metal sculptures, painted relief sculptures, watercolors, psychedelic acrylic paintings, etchings, and serigraphs my work has evolved over the decades. I even created and patented a new art form because none of the traditional mediums were adequate to express my vision. My work has hung in the White House, appeared on national TV, and been in numerous books and magazines.
Who are your biggest influences?
Georges de La Tour, Rembrandt, Goya, Dali, Magritte and my grandfather. Also, the dozens and dozens of fantastic artists who illustrated all the Jules Verne, Alexandre Dumas, and myriad other great books I have read over the decades.
Which elements are essential to an artist’s work?
Endless curiosity, discipline, and the willingness to totally destroy precious areas in your work. The willingness to try and fail and then try again until you solve the problem of your own creation.
What’s the essential element in your art?
The creation of 3-Dimensional space on a 2-Dimensional surface. (Oil paintings)
Which function does the artist fulfill in society?
We envision the future and push the limits of imagination peering into places that others fear to look.
What do you want your artwork to stand for?
Adventure and exploration. My art is a portal from one dimension to another. It is also alchemy- 3D-dimensional space on a 2D-dimensional surface.
What are your long-term goals for your career?
Since I am nearly 77, long-term career goals seem rather fanciful. I want to at least finish the last 4 of the 6 paintings I started in 2012. (The two finished pieces are Two Hawks and Twilight on the Colorado). What I would REALLY like to do is explore the art form I patented in 1990. Sadly, I doubt I will be able to do much more in this area. The tragic part of this is that this art form is several orders of magnitude better and cooler than all of my other work combined...
