I reorganize what is already there. I like to arrange the existing things into other things, pictures usually. This includes anything from an underwear ad or a textbook illustration, to paint from a tube or graphite from a pencil. It is all there in a given form waiting for me to reorganize it into an image.
The process is key, it is very important to enjoy what I am doing while doing it. I’m pleased to splatter paint, to cut and paste and sand away, to mock models in advertisements, to violate a medical textbook, to re-purpose a failed art piece. The more I enjoy the process, the finer the finished product.
Sometimes I build the piece around a given element, sometimes I seek out relevant material. Often, I’ll discover a successful unintentional piece during the failure of a planned one. It’s a bit like Jazz; much preparation, ample practice, some luck, and always reacting to the piece itself in that moment. Improvisation plays its role to varying degree throughout all stages of the work. It’s important to put forth effort without trying, to commit to an idea while walking away from it, to reap the benefits of failure.
-Forrest Gilchrist