BRAIN SPACKLE INTERVIEW

"Can you tell us about your early years? What is your background ?"

I was born in 1982 in Melbourne, Australia. My parents had just arrived in Melbourne from Vienna where they had been living for 3 years. They had escaped the communist regime in their home country Poland and wanted to start a new life.

 "What inspired you to first pick up the brush?"

The first thing i painted were rainbows and multicoloured light spectrums as a 3 year old in kindergarden. Painting has always been a part of my life. My father was an artist. I remember watching him draw really detailed pencil sketches of surreal insects.

 "Do you have any academic training in art? Can you tell us about your early studies- be it formal or informal?"

I studied painting at R.M.I.T and completed a Bachelor of Arts in 2004. In the summer of 2007 i travelled to Europe worked as apprentice for Professor Ernst Fuchs. I spent five months with him working in Vienna, Monte Carlo and in Klagenfurt assisting with the 'Apocalypse Chapel'. Im Currently working in art conservation, retouching, framing and repairing artwork.

 "Tell us about your influences. are you influenced by any specific artists or art movements? Also, what are your influences from outside the art world"

I love artists like Titian, Durer, Rubens, Botticielli, Gustave Moreau, and in more recent times Beksinski and Venosa. Art seems so be an ongoing string of creation, artists are nearly always influenced by past masters. Ultimately art should reflect nature. Nature can be both inner and outer. Im interested in combining the two.

 "Tell us about the motives behind your work."

When i was 12 years old an event took place which had a lasting impact on me. I had a series of 3 dreams in which i experienced the reality of God. In the first i was staring out my window at the blue sky. A voice said 'Look differently". I turned my head on an angle 45 degrees or so and i saw the gates of heaven in the clouds.

In my second dream i was at the church where i had been baptized as a child. I stood at the car park and saw two nuns pointing towards the sky and looking utterly bewildered. There were big christmas trees there covered with giant colorful metallic globes. I looked up and saw the sky was blood - red,  beams of light were shining down. I heard what sounded like a thousand trumpets blaring and i saw the sky was opening. The sky opened in the shape of a triangle and i saw the eye of God looking at me.
So ancient and alive, it knew everything about me it's wisdom beyond words. I was in a state of complete awe, fear and trembling. Words cant describe it. When i awoke i was really shaken, it felt more real than reality itself.

The third dream dealt with the end times, with a day when a lot of people will simply vanish or ascend. I walked out of a dark cave with my mother, i saw i was in the front yard of the house in which i had grown up. I looked to the sky and saw a giant red planet which was orbiting our earth for the duration of seven days. The planet or star was affecting humanity, causing anxiety on a large scale and physiological changes to their minds and bodies. Time sped up and i saw my family standing in a row in front of me. The sky opened and God's hand came from above and took them away as i watched.

I've chosen to use art, poetry and to a lesser extent music to somehow convey what that feeling of eternity is like. It seems like an impossible task but i've decided to devote my life to it. Art for me is a calling, my thankyou song to the Creator for everything i've been given.

 "Tell us about your process. What type of surface do you prefer to paint upon? How do you begin a painting? Do you work with sketches first?"

Sometimes i paint in a traditional technique, red ochre under-painting, charcoal or ink drawing, tempera on light areas then many glazes of oil. Other times i just improvise and paint 'ala prima',  acrylics are good for this because they dry faster. I prefer gessoed wood panels to canvas. I am usually working on 6-10 paintings at a time, its a nightmare thinking about all the things i need to finish.

 "Can you tell us about your studio practice. what are the conditions you need in order to paint- do you listen to music while working?"

I like to make myself a nice cup of tea, get a bite of chocolate and put my favorite c.d s on and just get into it. I always listen to music while im working. I also play guitar and flute during the process. I loose track of time and just drift away. I go through different emotions and at times it gets really overwhelming. Sometimes it brings me to tears and sometimes fits of exaltation, i don't think of these as my emotions but something traveling via the music i listen to.

At the moment im exploring themes relating to Christian Mysticism, looking at Christianity from a really 'naturalistic' perspective. Im interested in the bridge between collectivity and the self and how Christ fits in to this.

 "What are your thoughts on the contemporary art world? Do you think there are many opportunities in the art market for Avant Garde and Underground Artists?"

Im sure there are myriads of opportunities out there. I think artists should be proactive and create their own opportunities.

"Do you have any advice for newly emerging artists?"

Become really interested in what it means to be a human and why are you here during these weird times. What was the reason you were created? Every person is unique and yet we are one. Why is love so important? If you ask these questions then the answers will arrive soon enough.

Thanks

Kuba