Artist Interview: Gary Chapman
Artist Interview: Gary Chapman
About the Artist
Gary Chapman, a professor at the University of Alabama, talks to Caleb Jordan on The Mix about his series, NOCTURNE: OCD-COVID19. His pieces are a part of the new exhibit, Quarantine, at the Amelia Center located on campus at Gulf Coast State College.
Gary’s series was inspired by the pandemic. He says that after Covid-19 hit that it was hard to find inspiration. Before, when Gary was home at his loft, he got into night drawing. This allowed him to keep up his skills as an artist. Afterwards, they turned in to Nocturne drawing, which was the inspiration for his pieces in the Quarantine exhibit.
One of Gary’s pieces, “Nocturne 17: OCD COVID19.”
Artist Statement
“I am an obsessive, compulsive person. Though I am commonly labeled, a large scale, figurative oil painter, I create more than 500 hand cut snowflakes each year from Nov 25 – Dec 25. I need to keep my hands busy. I am otherwise, a rather productive artist, however, COVID-19 has hit me fairly hard.
I have suffered some mild depression and at times even felt incapacitated. To combat the absence of my Anima, and as an attempt to keep my artist hand busy, I began drawing at night in my loft. Out of this came a series of 6 drawings entitled the NOCTURNE: OCD-COVID19 drawing series.”
More Information:
The exhibit will be on display from October 12th to November 6th, in the the Amelia Center Gallery (Room 112). Open Monday through Thursday 10 am – 6 pm and Friday 10 am to 4 pm. All shows are free and open to the public.
You can find Gary’s personal work at:
More information on Quarantine and to see Gary’s pieces go to: Facebook Event
