Artwork’s Title: When i was painting this one i had a huge large epiphany. it really was a big humongous one. i was there painting, considering every brush stroke. with every little bit of paint i was splurging around the canvas i was thinking ‘damn phil is this what you wanna do with your life? like do you really wanna just spend every day painting paintings that have already been painted? are you really happy with phoning it in? are you okay with being so relentlessly cringe?’ and i just stood there looking at the painting and replied to myself ‘yeah lol’ and then my pants fell down and it actually made me more uncomfortable than usual lols
Materials Used: Acrylic on Canvas, 2019
Studio Based: Dublin
Philip Gerald, Acrylic on canvas, 120 x 150 cm, 2019, When i was painting this one i had a huge large epiphany. it really was a big humongous one. i was there painting, considering every brush stroke. with every little bit of paint i was splurging around the canvas i was thinking ‘damn phil is this what you wanna do with your life? like do you really wanna just spend every day painting paintings that have already been painted? are you really happy with phoning it in? are you okay with being so relentlessly cringe?’ and i just stood there looking at the painting and replied to myself ‘yeah lol’ and then my pants fell down and it actually made me more uncomfortable than usual lols.
Can you tell us about the process of making your work?
I start off with a digital drawing in Photoshop. I don’t really take my work seriously so I’m usually really impulsive and I draw whatever comes to mind first which is usually the worst idea but that actually works for me. Once that drawing is done the process is really just replication. It can be a long process laying on layers and layers of tape and paint but you can switch off and just mindlessly work knowing that you just have to follow the process.
How would you define your work in a few words (ideally in 3 words)?
Shit digital art.
Would you use another three different words to describe the Fragonard bootleg painting?
Is this painting?
How did you come up with this painting idea? Is there any story behind this painting?
Well this painting is a bootleg of The Swing by Fragonard. I have an ongoing series in my work of famous paintings that remaster with my crappy digital paint skills. I originally came up with this idea cause I had run out of fresh ideas but I wanted to keep painting – so I figured I’d just phone it in and copy something that was already done.
What colour is used the most in this painting?
There’s a lot of green in this one. I went through a really big green phase for a while. It’s okay to indulge in those sort of obsessions for a while but sometimes it’s important to move on.
Do you believe people are getting more familiar with paintings made based on digital techniques or aesthetics?
Yeah definitely. I grew up in an entirely post-digital age and the visual language that emerged from that is just part of the vernacular now I think. I mean my work is entirely developed on a computer and I just sort of translate that to a canvas. Sometimes I’ll still use my notebook for sketches but that’s becoming a less frequent occurrence as my practice evolves.
What would be the best way to exhibit your work?
To be honest I actually don’t care all that much. I just want it to be an experience. Whether it’s a good experience or a disappointing experience. It’s all the same to me. I just want people to look at my work – they don’t have to like it.
Can you mention any artists you, lately or generally, take inspiration from?
It’s hard to single out one or two things – I’m a product of everything I consume. I look and listen to a lot of stuff and I just react to it.
How do you know when this painting was finished?
The last session on this painting I worked for like 20 straight hours and I fucked up my hand cause I used it too much and couldn’t paint for like a month after. It’s better now but you know what? It’s not the hand it used to be.
What about the place where you work? What’s your studio space look like?
It get progressively messier the deeper I get into a painting. After one painting its usually pretty messy. As of right now I have not cleaned it in five paintings and its getting ridiculous but its still manageable so I will definitely put off cleaning it for a while. But sometimes my cat visits me which is nice. I have two cats in case you were wondering.
What does your mum think about your art?
She think’s they’re very nice paintings. That’s what she tells me.
Which exhibition did you visit last?
I have a habit of making time for work and not much else so months can pass without me doing anything other than work. So the last one was like last year maybe I think? I went to some show about animals in Japanese art or something at LACMA. It was actually pretty good.
Which are your plans for the near future?
I’ve got my debut solo show planned for this summer at Plastic Murs in Valencia and another solo scheduled for the end of the year with Public Gallery in London so I’m pretty excited about those. I’ve never had the opportunity to really develop an idea in its entirety so it’ll be cool to see how it goes. Listen I can’t guarantee that it’ll be good but I can guarantee that it will be something.
Additional Works
Philip Gerald, Acrylic & airbrush on canvas, 120 x 150 cm, 2019, It is the year 2069 and man art is so easy. its like not even hard one bit lol. you pick up the brush. u lick it. dip it in paint. then u wait cause someone might be looking so u try to look cool for a sec. art is about looking cool. come up with some cool idea that represents you as a good and cool art guy. damn why is my arse so itchy today lol. yeah that’s it baby. nice scratch. actually art is kinda like a really satisfying scratch and ur life is just one big arse. lol im so good and woke. oh like maybe you could paint urself about how easy u find art. not in a braggy kinda way or actually yeah maybe in a braggy kinda way. that would be cool if i was like lording over some loser. yeh ud look cool then bro. i guess i should include my itchy arse cause that’s real life and im about keeping it real and also the humbleness of that kinda balances out my arrogance which is actually cool cause it shows other artists that i have a superior understanding of balance and composition. now take a step back from the painting. and just look at it. wow that is cool. wow i found that easy. wow im actually so insecure lol. wow wait am i the loser in the painting lol wow lol that was a joke lmao u could tell cuz i used lol. wow im actually so cool wow im actually blessed. wow art is so easy and does not make me uncomfortable one bit. its easy. but god damn u should always wash ur hands after petting ur cat coz ive got worms now ROFL kinda cool actually lolPhilip Gerald, Acrylic on canvas, 2019, People always ask me ‘how do i know when im getting good at art, like will know when ive made it big?’ and im always like ‘yeh’ and theyre like ‘how’ and i’m like ‘lmao ull be be physically big. like huge. like really large all over. the first thing you’re gonna notice is ur underpants will become super restrictive. even calvin kleinies which normally have a lot of give will be bursting at the seems trying to keep in ur humongousness. now most artists will think ‘im big now so i need big pants too’ and i’m like ‘no dont think like that. the best artists wear small pants’. like i dont really know why it works it just does. something like all the pressure condenses ur creativity because as youve been taught at art school artistic temperament is centered in the pants. its like that saying that you always hear big artists saying ‘get riddy of ur calvin kleinies, get ready for artistic dekleinies’Philip Gerald, oh no not another PAINTING ACCIDENT LOL i had a bit of a painting accident the other day lol is that relatable or what painters lmao? am i right lol? but you know painting accidents are okay because it’s art. some of the best art works were made by accident! i bet u didn’t know that lol yeah like you know all those abstract artists that paint those crazy squiggles that dont really make any sense? all mistakes. 50% of them were swatting at flies and the other 50% needed to use the bathroom but were afraid to go because i think artists used to be afraid in the bathroom back in the day cause (i don’t need to elaborate on that because this is my art and i dont need to lol) so yeah what im saying painters is own ur accidents lol they actually might make u cool and maybe even good. oh whats that? u wanna hear about my accident? yeah that makes sense demystify one of the most humongous artists living i get that. so my accident happend in los angeles. i got a new car that art paid for and its fast so i drive it fast (lol something big men do very well let me tell you) they drive on the wrong side of the road here and im not into that because in my mind thats the fucking passenger seat and its all about how i look. i don’t wanna look like fucking passenger. i drive my own car. u drive ur own life artist. take control lol. so yeah i hit someone with the car big deal. cops came and said like ‘what the hell r u doin buddy’ and i just said ‘lol im a artist’ and the cop winked flipped a quarter and his pants fell down and then just said ‘damn thats so cool baby i wish i could be an artist. so this was just a painting accident? okay ur free to go. hey u should paint about this accident’ and i just looked at him and said ‘lol i was going to do that. i already came up with that idea. lol u didn’t give me that idea i was already gonna do it’ i sped off really fast and look so cool and that’s pretty much it really’
