Having done an interview this past summer with Rob Lynch, for Buffalo Rising, I made sure to scoop him up for a second round, to be featured in our own publication.
He has the sort of personality that begs to be questioned and the type of art that holds its own conversations between the characters. My initial encounter with Rob's work came after a recommendation by Buffalo artist, Todd Lesmeister, and my attraction to it, was the careful consideration placed on the juxtaposition of subject matter within each piece. Animals share the space with floating heads and picket signs, fowl are displayed with thought bubbles and there is a momentum in each painting.
Rob is a talented musician as well and can be found jamming with a good portion of Buffalo's musical talent as a guest drummer.
Laura Sargent: When did you first start to paint?
Rob Lynch: My mom recently found a 'what I want to do when I grow up' drawing I had made in 1st grade...it showed me standing in front of an easel! When I was a senior in high school, I found a book on Ben Shahn in the library and something just clicked, probably the same way kids in the 1960's felt about music when they saw the Beatles on Ed Sullivan. It was an instant rush of 'that's what I want to do'.
LS: Did you like to color when you were young?
RL: I was a busy little kid. I loved to color, I loved the smell of cheap oil paint by numbers sets and I loved to build little inventions out of wood. I used to draw on old Styrofoam meat trays with a ballpoint pen. The lip of the tray seemed like a built in frame. In the corner somewhere I would write '25 cents' and then make my mom buy it from me! So at a young age I realized that selling art could provide money to spend on important things, namely candy! A quarter used to cover a box of lemonheads AND a box of Cherry Clan.
LS: Were you good outright? Or did it take practice?
RL: I guess I always felt like I had the potential to develop my interest in art. I believe that to be true for most people, and I had better feel that way as an art teacher!
But personally, artistic satisfaction is a bit of a moving target. I don't quite know what makes someone a good painter, or which of my paintings are any good, and I like it that way. It's intriguing and keeps the wheels turning. Frank Stella summed it up when he said, "There are only two problems in painting. The first is to figure out what a painting is, and the second is to figure out how to make a painting". Right on Frankie!
LS: Do you have a specific soundtrack that you paint to, or does it depend on your mood?
RL: I usually put things on that are surprising in terms of creativity, the Lee 'Scratch' Perry box set, Tom Waits 'Orphans', Jens Lekman, anything by DJ Shadow, Air or Brian Eno.
LS: What are you listening to now?
RL: I've been revisiting Frank Black's solo records, classic George Jones, and a mix of songs by Hussalonia to get ready for a WBFO broadcast we're doing.
LS: Because you are a musician as well, does your art inspire your music and your music inspire your art, or is it other artists' creations that help to inspire you?
RL: I feel the same way whether I'm making a recording or a painting. The hope is to feel engaged and on the brink of something. I take inspiration from painting to inform music and vice versa. It's all the same creative stew to me.
LS: Do you use any tools aside from a paintbrush?
RL: I'll use rags, brayers, sharpies, colored inks, block printing ink...whatever seems to support my idea of how to proceed with a painting at the time. I don't think that materials and processes need to be locked in any traditional place.
LS: Does your palate choice have a certain meaning to you? It's constantly vibrant, is it just that you like to show your vision in color?
RL: I always say I don't like any particular color, I like color combinations. I think as a painter I'm always on a search for some mysterious, sublime combination.
I love Phillip Guston's 'band aid' palette, which is just so odd. And I love what George Inness can do with a green and grey, and the little gems James Whistler will sneak into a composition. I tend to look at a lot of art history, and tend to borrow combinations of color that I find interesting.
LS: Heads appear often in your paintings, why? Where did the bodies go?
RL: Good question! I guess certain types of images continue to emerge as I work, which must come from some elemental interests I have. I was honestly surprised at how many portraits I had made when my exhibit went up at the Castellani Art Museum and I had a chance to look at the body of work as a whole. I tend to be a people watcher. Faces fascinate me, and there's no shortage of characters out there. Plus, in very basic terms, one needs things to paint. Susan Rothenberg talks of her horses as being 'vehicles for paint', I suppose my faces function in a similar way, with a nod to the people watching that I adore.
LS: Who do you admire on a local level?
RL: Lin Xia Jiang and Joesph Piccillo from Buffalo State College still floor me just as much as they did when I studied with them. I think Bruce Adams latest series is pretty near perfect in terms of craft and concept. Arnold Mesches is incredible. And then there's my old pal Mark Freeland. He produced thousands of paintings, and they're all fun, but a few of them are bull's eyes. They could make you laugh and cry at once.
LS: Where do you go to grab a beer?
RL: Sportsman's Tavern on Amherst Street is a great place to listen to music, and Allen Street Hardware has a long list of bottled recipes. But I very rarely go out just for the sake of going out...I get my fill of the nightlife by playing lots of gigs.
LS: Do you own painters pants?
RL: Not really, I'll paint in whatever is comfortable. In college, I wore paint splattered pants like an advertisement..."Look everyone, I'm an art student!' but then I saw a photo of Rene Magritte painting in some impressive wool suit and thought it made him look like he was in charge of his materials. Professional. I liked that. But maybe I would prosper in a "man gown" like Gustav Klimt!
LS: You seem to like fowl a lot; do you own a ton of birds?
RL: Owning a bird isn't as good as watching birds outdoors, interacting, searching. To keep one in a cage isn't for me. But few times in my life I've tried to rescue a young one that had fallen from the nest. Towels, heat lamps, eyedroppers...very rewarding until it ends in tragedy!
LS: What are your New Years plans? Resolution?
RL: I bought an 1950's Supro lap steel and plan to figure it out, slowly and painfully... that should take care of my next 50 resolutions.
The best part of New Years for me is Auld Lang Syne. I think that has to be the most beautiful and bittersweet tune ever written, right up there with Hoagy Charmicheal's Stardust. It's a distinct and powerful feeling hearing that song with your friends and family after the countdown...my favorite few minutes of any year.
LS: Do you pursue freelance work?
RL: I'm always open to opportunities, but usually have a full plate. It would be fun to have paintings used to support other artists' work, like record covers or book jackets. As a drummer I end up with lots of freelance work with recordings and shows.
LS: What's one thing you would want people to know about you?
RL: That I mean well.
LS: Your work has some interesting titles, are the images based on everyday events, or some deep philosophical metaphor?
RL: I think everyday events ARE deep philosophical metaphors.
I always loved Picasso's Cat and Bird. To me, that may even stronger than Guernica because of its simplicity. And lately, I've been thinking that no one can sum it all up like Charles Schultz did for a half century in the four panels of any Peanuts strip.
