Today we’d like to introduce you to Phoenix Coverley.
Hi Phoenix, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I come from a family of artists and I grew up around artists- jewelers, glass artists, woodworkers, costumers, potters, so it’s no surprise that I studied Fine Art at UC Davis. In art school, I focused on life drawing, photography and sculpture. I studied under Jane Rosen and Wayne Thiebaud. It wasn’t until I left school that I got into painting and printmaking, mostly because it was more portable. I spent my twenties traveling- as an adventure guide for work and exploring on my own. I sailed around Indonesia and lived with aborigines in Australia and still managed to make a fair bit of art and sell it all! I did a lot of large scale dream work paintings and festival backdrops.
In my late twenties, I decided to settle in Santa Cruz and become a teacher. There I was inspired by the talented printmaker, Bridget Henry. After I saw her work, I began making carved linocut prints, first as Christmas gifts. Then over the years people began to commission prints and now I’ve been making linocut prints for about 20 years I’ve also continued with photography, painting and a wreath making habit I started in my early twenties which is seasonal but ongoing.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
I think my biggest challenge has been working on both sides of my brain. I’m a professor and lawyer by day which takes a completely different type of mental energy. When I make art, I become completely absorbed. There is very little delineation between myself and what I’m making. Luckily I work for myself so I can carve out time to be creative. When I got out of art school, I decided I didn’t want to just make art for money because I saw how that curbed people’s creativity. I wanted to be able to follow my passion. So I had to work to achieve the work/life balance to make space for my art. I’ve always been creative AND analytical. Which is hard for people to get their head around. People who know me as an artist don’t believe I’m a lawyer and vice versa.
Now my biggest struggle is that there are not enough hours in the day to make and do all the things.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Being a surfer and avid hiker, I’m inspired by the ocean and nature. I make hand-carved linocut prints, photography and paintings, many of which feature waves, mermaids, sea birds and fauna. Most of my prints are fairly narrative, while my paintings tend to be more about color and light. Perhaps one of the most distinctive things about my art is I love to work on wood in all three mediums.
The linocut prints are a labor of love. Each print takes approximately 100 hours. First, I draw the image, then I carve into the block for the lightest color. I then do a series of prints. Then for the next color, I carve back into the same block. Then print on top of the first set of prints with the next color, carefully lining up the image…and so on. Once I finish one color, I can never go back. Most of my prints are three or more colors. It’s very intricate and exacting work which looks deceptively playful and easy. I love how my images resonate with people and bring them joy.
My paintings and photography are very much about color. Lately I’ve been working on a series of star paintings. The larger pieces are meditative mandala stars, while the smaller pieces have a more vintage vibe.
About ten years into making linocuts, I started printing on wood. Once the print is dry, I enhance the printed image by either painting a scene around it or using the natural wood grain as inspiration. I love to play with texture and sand into found pieces of discarded wood to unearth the history of paint or wear. I like to create an interesting environment for my images.
A few years ago, I did a series of black and white photographs on wood. All of the photos were taken out various dirty windows of moving cars on a surf trip down southern baja. The photos turned out beautifully, in large part due to the sun flares and dirt specks splitting the photographic image against the wood grain.
Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
I don’t think of myself as a risk taker per se, but that’s probably because I know a lot of daredevils! That said, I’m a very multidimensional person who loves to learn and grow. I’m simultaneously an artist, professor and lawyer (with a degree in each of those fields). I also do a fair bit of writing; fiction, song lyrics and poetry.
So I suppose the risk I take is daring to be undefinable in an era where most people are trying desperately to establish a marketable persona. Some of my friends call me a Renaissance woman, and perhaps there’s a certain truth to that.
Pricing:
- Prints on paper: $35-75
- Paintings: $120-$750
- Mixed media on wood: $55-$200
- Photos: $25-$200
Contact Info:
- Website: https://phoenixsees.wixsite.com/phoenixseas/about-phoenixseas
- Instagram: @phoenixseas @growingforthdivorceceremonies
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1077620895673248/?ref=share
- Other: www.sdcreativecollective.org
Image Credits
All photos copyrighted to the artist Phoenix Coverley
