RIKCAT - The Art of Rik Catlow

Style, Process, & Growth

Rik Catlow — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 13:31:28 +0000

I have an a style & process I’ve developed over the years that makes my work pretty distinctive. I’ve documented and shared this process in this post. At times the process becomes to mechanical and not spontaneous. I don’t like knowing what a piece of artwork will look like before its even complete. I rarely do sketches before I paint and like to be surprised with the completed pieces.

Occasionally, I do pieces that break out of my process. Recently have done two that I’m really happy with, one is called Choke and the other is called Bad Teeth. I would love to continue to work this way, but it’s hard to stay this loose and free when painting. Usually, I return to my more methodically approach. I have such admiration for Basquiat and Picasso for making there looseness and process look so effortless.

So does anybody else out there have some of the same inner struggles and boredom with the way they approach painting?.

Redesign 08′rough around the edges

Rik Catlow — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 12:55:35 +0000

I’ve done a redesign of the site. Got tired of the old design and needed to change it up. The biggest changes are the artwork section now uses and index page with thumbnails and single artwork pages. I’ve switched from using my home grown store to etsy.com. There are still some things that need to be addressed, but it’s about 90% there.

Closet Cleaning

Rik Catlow — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 14:53:18 +0000

Hey folks, I’m cleaning out the closets and putting some stuff up on eBay. Some xBox 360 games, an iPod Nano and a couple of paintings. These paintings are more on the experimental side and priced to move. Every once an awhile I like to do some work that are outside my normal process. So go take a gander at What, Bad Teeth, and Choke. Bid early and bid often. Ha!

Show Got Canceled Sale

Rik Catlow — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 22:31:59 +0000

Hello all, happy 2008! Well, I was supposed to have a show at a local gallery in Charlotte this month, but it got canceled. The reasons for the cancellation are a long story that I’d rather not go into. On the good side it enables me to put more work up on my website. I’ve updated the store with some of the work from the canceled show and some from returning work I just received this week.

Hope everyone has a happy and healthy 2008 and look for more new work on my site through out the year.

Group Show @ Carmichael Gallery of Contemporary Art

Rik Catlow — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 14:32:44 +0000

If your around the Los Angeles area this Saturday be sure to stop by Carmichael Gallery of Contemporary Art. I’m participating in their group show where all the artwork is no more than $500.

The show opens Opening Saturday December 1, 2007 from 8pm to 12pm and continues thru December 12, 2007

From Carmichael Gallery of Contemporary Art
A group show full of small affordable pieces perfect for the holiday season. Nothing in the show is more than $500, many pieces are less than $100.

Featuring the work of Adam Koukoudakis (UK), Akeni (Brasil), Allison Cole (USA), Andrea Shear (USA), Andrice Arp (USA), Angelique Houtkamp (Holland), Anne Julie Aubry (France), Bil Betsovic (USA), C215 (France), Cherri Wood (USA), Chris Crites (USA), Christopher Ross (Canada), Chris Stain (USA), Daniel Bileu (Brasil), Daser (Canada), Denise Simon (USA), Elena Borio (Italy), Falko One (South Africa), Flavio Morais (Brasil), Ian Strawn (USA), Irina Troitskaya (Russia), J. Asher Lynch (USA), Jeaneen Carlino (USA), Jeff Schultze (USA), Jimmy Bleyer (USA), Jonathan Edelhuber (USA), Joshua Heilaman (USA), Joulu (Ukraine), Karen Preston (USA), Kelly D. Williams (USA), Ken Garduno (USA), Klone (Israel), Know Hope (Israel), Labrona (Canada), Lauren Gardiner (USA), Malota (Spain), Mehgan Trice (USA), Michael Hsiung (USA), Mihyun Bae (USA), Mike Egan (USA), Misery (NZ), mose120 (UK), Oddzoo (USA), Plankton Art Company (USA), Raquel Schembri (Brasil), Rejoice (USA), Rik Catlow (USA), Ruben Romero (Colombia), Scott Saw (USA), Sean Chao (USA), Skran (Portugal), Terri Woodward (USA), Tika (Switzerland), Vladimir Zimakov (USA), Yuki Miyazaki (Japan/USA), Walt Hall (USA), Zdenek55 (USA), Zeila Trevisan (Brasil), Zoe Langosy (USA), Zosen (Spain), and more tba!

The gallery is open Wednesday through Friday, 3:00PM - 8:00 PM, Saturday and Sunday 2:00PM to 7:00PM and by appointment. Contact us by email or call 323.969.0600 for more information.

Carmichael Gallery of Contemporary Art
1257 N. La Brea Avenue (Map)
West Hollywood, CA 90038
www.carmichaelgallery.com

Midnight Garden @ Foundation One Gallery

Rik Catlow — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 16:27:54 +0000

If your around the Atlanta area this Saturday be sure to stop by Foundation One Gallery. I’m participating in a show with two great artists who’s work is amazing. The show is titled “Midnight Garden: The Daydreams and Nightmares of Dan May, Todd Lawson & Rik Catlow.”. We also collaborated on a piece for the show that you can sneak a peak at on Dan May’s flickr account. They have also put a preview up of the show and if you are interested in purchasing a piece from the show contact Ivan at Foundation One Gallery. I intend to be at the opening so come by and say hey!

The show opens Opening Saturday November 10, 2007 from 7pm to 11pm and continues thru December 10, 2007

From Foundation One Gallery

About Rik Catlow: The thin-line between tragedy and comedy is pervasive in Rik Catlow’s art. His process is quite random and doesn’t have much sketching of the final composition. Most of the objects that he uses are found pieces of paper from the street and miscellaneous junk mail. He has a particular fondness for stamped random numbers that are found on parking tickets. He uses images from the past, type from foreign language magazines, and drawings from his own sketchbook.

About Todd Lawson: Todd Lawson grew up in Southern and Central Florida, surrounded by art deco and Mexican and Cuban folk art. Currently living over a thousand miles north in Toronto, Ontario, Canada with his wife, his work has continued to explore the similar visual aesthetics and complex narratives he grew up admiring, while helping him to create paintings and dimensional work that also tends to pull many strong influences from Americana’s past, such as; comic books, classic toys and retro paranoid advertising. Todd’s work has graced many international commercial projects and has been displayed through out North America; including San Diego, Seattle, Utah, New Mexico, Canada as well as the United Kingdom. As well as artwork, Todd has worked as a designer and art director for over half a decade in advertising.

About Dan May: Dan May was born and raised in the suburbs of Rochester, NY. He attended Syracuse University, where he received a BFA in illustration. Shortly after graduation he moved to NYC where he took up bartending, while working part time as an illustrator. Growing weary of the daily grind, he moved to sunny Florida in order to focus solely on his art. His paintings have appeared in numerous publications and galleries throughout the US and abroad. Dan lives and works in Jacksonville, FL with his beautiful and inspiring wife Kendal and their feisty bird Jax.

About Foundation One Gallery: Foundation One Gallery is an exhibition space located in Atlanta, Georgia showcasing local emerging talent and nationally acclaimed artists with roots in contemporary culture. Foundation One Gallery rotates exhibits on a monthly basis. Opening receptions provide an opportunity to meet our artists. Select artwork from our exhibitions is available for purchase through our website.

Foundation One Gallery
627 B E. College Ave.
Decatur, Georgia 30030
www.foundationonegallery.com

Source Material @ Gardenfresh

Rik Catlow — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 19:28:57 +0000

Hi folks, it’s been awhile since I posted any news. Well, the Source Material group show at Gardenfresh opens this friday. It’s curated by Jeremiah Ketner If you in the Chicago area please check it out. They have also put a preview up of the show and if you are interested in purchasing a piece from the show contact Jermiah. The show features new work by Ryan Bubnis, Nick Deakin, Rik Catlow, Colin Johnson, Jeremiah Ketner, Jeffery Laneright,
Gabe Lanza, Jason Limón, and Parskid.

Update: Here are some pix from the show.

The show opens Opening Friday October 19th from 6 - 10pm continues thru November 24th, 2007

From Garden Fresh
From making doodles out of boredom to collecting discarded wrapping papers artists have prevalent source materials that act as foundations for creating artwork. The Artists in this show reveal their sources and offer a unique view of the underling methodologies and concepts.

GardenFresh
119 N. Peoria, #3D
Chicago, Illinois 60607
Gallery hours Thu / Fri / Sat noon – 6pm, or by appointment.

Phone: 312-235-2246
Email: info@gardenfresh.org
http://www.gardenfresh.org

The Stranger Cover (Aug 23 - 29)

Rik Catlow — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 01:10:21 +0000

A couple of weeks a go I did a piece on illustration board called Woozy. Well, on Monday the Art Director at The Stranger ask if they could use it for this weeks cover. I sent them a hi-rez scan and the cover came out today. This is my second cover for the Stranger, the other was in March 2006

Happy 10th Birthday Rikcat.com

Rik Catlow — Sat, 18 Aug 2007 12:50:23 +0000

Ten years ago today I registered this domain. I really didn’t start posting up my artwork on the site till 2001, when I was happily unemployed from one of my many dotcom gigs. The site has grown and had many redesigns. I hope to put out a new design by the end of the year.

Gary Baseman Show @ Billy Shire

Rik Catlow — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 02:38:40 +0000

I’m a huge fan of Gary Baseman and had the opportunity to see his show at Earl McGrath a couple of years ago when I was working in NYC. Truly amazing show. Well, the folks over at Billy Shire Fine Arts have posted photos and images from Gary’s latest show. If you live in the Los Angeles area you owe it to yourself to check it out in person. Also if you don’t own it already you should pick up Gary’s book Dumb Luck