Born in Amsterdam, Holland, my family emigrated to New York in the ’60s, eventually settling in Los Angeles. Art has occupied me from my earliest recollection. As a youngster, I would travel to the public library, return with 10 art books, devour them, then return for 10 more. Though I never had any formal training or, indeed, any sort of academic career, I educated myself through visits to museums and galleries, and, of course, by doing the work. Along with an intimacy with art, I have always considered it equally important and rewarding to maintain a bond with literature, music and the liberal arts. Every artist has to invent painting for themselves. I want to create compelling and original art, and have been fortunate to find outlets for my work along the way as well as support from some people who like what I do.
Born in Amsterdam, Holland, my family emigrated to New York in the ’60s, eventually settling in Los Angeles. Art has occupied me from my earliest recollection. As a youngster, I would travel to the public library, return with 10 art books, devour them, then return for 10 more. Though I never had any formal training or, indeed, any sort of academic career, I educated myself through visits to museums and galleries, and, of course, by doing the work. Along with an intimacy with art, I have always considered it equally important and rewarding to maintain a bond with literature, music and the liberal arts. Every artist has to invent painting for themselves. I want to create compelling and original art, and have been fortunate to find outlets for my work along the way as well as support from some people who like what I do.
Bullpen | mixed media on canvas | 80″x60″ Confluence | mixed media on shaped panel | 72″x36″ Fledgling | paint, collage on paper | 24″x19″ Ball and Claw | mixed media on canvas with inset assemblage | 26″x14″
I’m Dutch/Egyptian, retired, but I was a businessman, teacher, inventor and I love challenging tasks. I’m completely self-taught, I never studied art or took any courses. I would say that my personality was formed in an Eastern society and has also been changed and affected by a Western one. My art represents the pain my family and I went through due to my daughter’s chronic illness, and it is inspired by her. One of my first jobs in Amsterdam was working as a cleaner at the Van Gogh museum, I was very impressed by the art and it helped my art career.
I’m Dutch/Egyptian, retired, but I was a businessman, teacher, inventor and I love challenging tasks. I’m completely self-taught, I never studied art or took any courses. I would say that my personality was formed in an Eastern society and has also been changed and affected by a Western one. My art represents the pain my family and I went through due to my daughter’s chronic illness, and it is inspired by her. One of my first jobs in Amsterdam was working as a cleaner at the Van Gogh museum, I was very impressed by the art and it helped my art career.
Artist Statement:
In 1999, my daughter Amal was born with one of the most difficult diseases, Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB). It’s a rare chronic disease where the skin is as weak and fragile as a butterfly’s wing. Blisters and open wounds are formed by the slightest touch. She is in constant pain, all the time. There is no cure for it and we’ve been struggling and fighting this disease every day ever since. My art was born a year later because of the enormous emotional and mental turmoil my wife, my kids and I went through dealing with this disease, as Amal has become the centre of our attention and life ever since. It was a constant struggle to keep going and reaching a safe shore. I had never drawn or painted before, but somehow on her first birthday, I started making these strange drawings. You’ll find that my paintings are very random, but controlled. In every painting, I try to express myself to show the viewer what I’ve created and what I mean. However, most people who have seen my paintings, also saw something different in them. You can see them from many different perspectives, but they all represent finding beauty within chaos and despair. Recently, after many years, I’ve been told that my art style is classified as “expressionism”.
Magic Hair | Digital ArtHorse Power | Digital ArtAnne Frank’s Spirit | Digital Art Fisherman | Acrylic on Cotton Canvas | 120x100x4 cm
Katie Willes is a self-taught abstract expressionist. Her degree was in Chemistry, but her art education started in museums across Europe. With a passion for art herself, Katie’s mother took her to museums on every vacation and weekend trip during Katie’s teenage years, when Katie’s father was stationed at an Army hospital in Germany. Katie’s love for art continued and she takes her own children to museums in every new city and country they visit.
Despite her appreciation for art, Katie always thought of herself as a left-brained person. Her interest in abstract was piqued with her first visit to the MoMA in New York. When her oldest went away to college and studied art, Katie started painting as a way to connect with her. That sparked a passion that has blazed like wildfire. With an innate eye for color and design, Katie’s paintings also reflect her optimism and happy personality.
Katie Willes is a self-taught abstract expressionist. Her degree was in Chemistry, but her art education started in museums across Europe. With a passion for art herself, Katie’s mother took her to museums on every vacation and weekend trip during Katie’s teenage years, when Katie’s father was stationed at an Army hospital in Germany. Katie’s love for art continued and she takes her own children to museums in every new city and country they visit.
Despite her appreciation for art, Katie always thought of herself as a left-brained person. Her interest in abstract was piqued with her first visit to the MoMA in New York. When her oldest went away to college and studied art, Katie started painting as a way to connect with her. That sparked a passion that has blazed like wildfire. With an innate eye for color and design, Katie’s paintings also reflect her optimism and happy personality.
Chutes and Ladders | Acrylic and mixed media on panel | 12×12 inches In the Treehouse | Acrylic and mixed media on panel | 12×12 Summer on the Lake | Acrylic and mixed media on panel | 12×12 inches Switcheroo | Acrylic on panel Size 18×24 inches
Michael Chomick was born in Vancouver, Canada, and is the fifth of 7 children of Andrew and Marisa Chomick.
His first introduction to the world of art-making came during the visits to the basement of the family’s home. This is where both of his parents practiced their hobbies of fine art-making through painting with oil, sculpting with clay, and/or colourful tile mosaics.
Michael Chomick was born in Vancouver, Canada, and is the fifth of 7 children of Andrew and Marisa Chomick.
His first introduction to the world of art-making came during the visits to the basement of the family’s home. This is where both of his parents practiced their hobbies of fine art-making through painting with oil, sculpting with clay, and/or colourful tile mosaics.
At the young age of 11 his parents decided to leave Canada and relocated the entire family to the Caribbean island nation of Barbados. During the two-year stint on the island this is where Chomick began his artistic career by writing and illustrating his own-brand of Super Hero comic books. These early comic books gave way to his current style and technique of painting and drawing – works that are derived from a mind-set of spontaneity, with no preconceived thought, and created from the subconscious.
Two years later, St. Petersburg, Florida became the artist’s next place of residency. There, after the completion of high school, he entered into the world of commercial art.
After 11 years in the aforementioned vocation, September, 1986, he altered his artistic direction and veered his creative force towards what has become his life’s mission – that of a thought-provoking visual artist.
The 30+ years Chomick has been experimenting and practicing his talents as a thought-provoking visual artist delving into a variety of mediums ranging from ink or graphite drawing to figurative oil painting to mixed media constructions.
In his many travels such as Japan, Europe, and the Americas (North, Central and South), in addition to places of residencies, such as Miami Beach, Florida; Austin, Texas; and now Los Angeles, California, Chomick has gathered inspiration and stimulation by such life experiences.
During Chomick’s career as an award winning contemporary artist his works have been exhibited both nationally and internationally in selected solo and group exhibitions.
Cipher mixed media construction H96’xW56″xD24″STATIC: Thoughts & Prayers – Kiss ‘Em Goodbye!! mixed media construction H60″xW32x’D32″Bob’s Annuncuiation: That his pants ain’t square but rather cool, man! mixed media construction H60″xW32″xD32″CA$H COW and The Capitalistic Pig mixed media construction H64″x20″xD20″
My paintings are a critical response to the political and cultural issues crystallized through the social media anonymous human interactions. Beyond emoticons and slashing words, and through enigmatic appearances, my work puts a grotesque, loud, distorted, and caricatural emotional reaction on faces that never “face” each other.
Through the context of emails, texts, Instagram and Facebook posts, those imaginary faces hide behind bold, blunt, and aggressive tirades illustrating the fragmentation of human interactions. Jean Michel Basquiat, Franz Kline, and Robert Motherwell are my most significant influences when using percussive, and raw brushstrokes to build a snapshot of the emotional reactions to these exchanges.
My paintings are a critical response to the political and cultural issues crystallized through the social media anonymous human interactions. Beyond emoticons and slashing words, and through enigmatic appearances, my work puts a grotesque, loud, distorted, and caricatural emotional reaction on faces that never “face” each other.
Through the context of emails, texts, Instagram and Facebook posts, those imaginary faces hide behind bold, blunt, and aggressive tirades illustrating the fragmentation of human interactions. Jean Michel Basquiat, Franz Kline, and Robert Motherwell are my most significant influences when using percussive, and raw brushstrokes to build a snapshot of the emotional reactions to these exchanges.
Untitled 3 Mixed Media 48in x 32.5in. Untitled 2 Mixed Media 48in x 24in Untitled 16 Acrylic 20in. X 20in. Blue Acrylic 51in. X 45in.
Outsider Art Magazine 