INSIDE THE MIND OF AN ARTIST Episode #3
Lauren Mantecon interviews Topher Strause
In this episode talk with visual fine artist and philanthropist Topher Straus. We share so many nuggets of wisdom along with practical aspects to making good work. We chat about his influences like Matisse and David Hockney as well as his profound relationship to the natural world and how it greatly informs his work. We touch on his inventive creative process and the transformative road that led him to become a successful artist.
Many things in this interview may surprise you. We hope you enjoy it!
“What are you passionate about in life beyond painting? This is an important question. It will inform the work that you make.”
Lauren starts off the interview with this important question and Topher has an immediate answer: nature. Of course, he is influenced by the film world, technology, and teachers who taught him to push boundaries, but his connection with animals and the natural world is so clearly reflected in his work. For example, Elephant Eyes is based on a relationship he had with a baby elephant in the animal Sanctuary in Thailand. He used kaleidoscopic colors to capture the grace, beauty, and power of the elephants. It’s clear that although Topher embraces technology from his narrative filmmaking, he also harnesses his intuitive feeling side to create work.
Elephant Eyes by Topher Straus 45’’x180’’
“All the moments in our lives are conduits. Every experience leads to this moment right now. We can change who we are and our perspective at any given moment. “
Topher has cited the great Henri Matisse as one of his influences and his painting the Lute.
Topher is taken with the upward momentum - the rhythm and the simplicity in the complementary colors. It touches his soul in a simple way, like how the hair of the woman matches the colors of the leaves.
Lauren sees a commonality in this painting and in Topher’s work Maroon Bells. “The pattern in the dress, wallpaper, and rug are all singing together. Topher you do this but with your subject being the outdoors. Like in Maroon Balls, all the different textures, and rhythms in the background move to a soft focus of the foreground…”
Maroon Bells by Topher Straus 45’’x90’’
David Hockney’s The Arrival of Spring, a drawing completed on an iPad inspired Topher to embrace his background in technology to break the rules. The resulting process is methodical and radical.
“I like breaking the rules.” Because of Hockney, digital art can now be taken more seriously.
Although for decades Topher painted quietly on canvas in his studio- never showing his work, he now “paints” on the computer and then immerses himself into the piece through virtual reality. This helps him to refine it to “perfection” before he transfers the work to the aluminum substrate through a very costly process called sublimation.
First, the art is printed onto transfer paper which, is rich in minerals and oils. Then that is put on top of the aluminum with 400 degrees of heat and pressure. The oils from the transfer paper become a part of the metal through molecular combination. I finish it with a shiny resin.
But when asked about the less technical side of his work, Topher opens up about his dreams being a source of inspiration too. “Work comes in dreams and then I manifest it. So I’m not just using manifestation to buy a house in Kauai. Before I go to sleep I ask- what piece am I going to work on next and how am I going to make it better?”
“How do we learn to express what we are feeling.” My work can be as complex or as basic as you want it to be. Like in film, what you don’t notice can be what allows the emotion in the art to come through.
Before he started showing publicly, Topher created 70 large-scale paintings on canvas that were a catalyst to confront what was feeling. He painted for two decades without showing his work- he tucked it away in a closet. It took working through addiction and divorce to realize his power to shift his perspective. He would rather “celebrate nature than dwell on the imperfections of humanity.” That’s when he decided it was time to put his work out there and insisted that galleries should see his work even if they were already booked.
Lauren echos this aspect of sharing your work.
“It’s important to make work and not have it go out too soon. The best studio practice is a closed studio door… for a while.”
Lastly, Topher is asked, “what advice would you give to artists struggling or at an impasse?”
“As artists, we are opening our souls and hearts. We are able to create and be creative, be vulnerable and put ourselves out there. If you are hustling and trying to make money, remember, that what you do is so special. You have no choice but to create. Savor it, every second.”
“We can change who we are and our perspective at any given moment.”
Check out Topher’s website HERE
And the charities he supports: BGoldn & Conservation Colorado
Leave a comment below and let us know your thoughts …
Thanks for reading (& watching!)
