Weaver Academy of Visual and Performing Arts and Advanced Technologies
Each year at GreenHill's Winter Show public opening, student docents from Weaver Academy, a full-time performing and visual arts academy (grades 9-12), are on hand to speak to visitors about exhibiting artists that they have studied. Gaining early professional experience, students research their respective artists and conduct personal interviews. Weaver's aspiring visual artists are also challenged to create their own works inspired by the Winter Show artist that they've chosen. In an exhibition curated by Steven Cozart, the students' works were presented at the NCA&T student gallery in Frazier Hall in January.
Leah Travis in front of The Flower Thief (2018) by Joseph Begnaud, Winter Show Public Opening
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Leah Travis, Portrait inspired by Joseph Begnaud’s paintings, 2019
The following is from Leah Travis’s interview with Joseph Begnaud.
How old were you when you discovered a love or talent for art?
Like many artists, I was drawing on my own since I was a child. I was lucky to have parents that encouraged me, even though they knew little about art.
What made you want to go to the University of Dayton and Indiana University?
In both cases, I was awarded a full tuition scholarship and basically told each I was coming without really knowing where I was going. I was tremendously naïve in each case, and very lucky it all worked out. The University of Dayton turned out to be one of the best experiences of my life.
What type of process do you go through when beginning a new piece of art?
Lately, I begin each painting with a color or sensation. The type of light created by the colors in the ground then helps me to imagine abstract forms which then becomes a scene. In both of the works on display, the figures are invented. Of course, the ability to do this comes from having spent years painting in a very different way, naturalistically from both live models and from photo references.
On average, how long does it take you to complete a piece, or does it vary according to the sentimentality or topic put into the piece?
It definitely varies. The imaginative work can kick around for months as I try to figure out what is going on in a scene and how to resolve both the form of the figure and take ownership of the narrative that is developing.
After looking at some of your art pieces, I have noticed you like to stay monochromatic while painting. Why do you do this, and do you use a particular technique while creating your monochromatic paintings?
The monochromes are just one body of work that I have going, but in all of my work I consider myself a colorist. A large portion of my work is an experiment in color relationships and the resulting light created very much in the mode of Josef Albers. Instead of squares, I use faces, of course. Part of the experiment of the monochromes is how far I could stretch the limitation in the hue range, but also the effect created by a limited range of value. Many are very dark or very light. Also, unlike a true monochrome which uses one pigment plus white or black, I was using a full range of pigments to stretch the effect of hue as far as I could take it: In a “red” painting, for instance there are Naphthols, various Quinacridones, Cadmiums, etc. As far as technique, it’s always back and forth—I don’t subscribe to one method such as painting dark to light.
Is there any other type of medium you like to work with, other than paint?
My secondary medium is drawing, often in charcoal and in larger than life scale. I’ve had a few shows of this work. I do occasionally sculpt with clay, but I don’t show this work.
Is there anything that influences your art heavily?
Color, of course, but also music. I always have to have music on when I am working in the studio, and some artists such as Tom Waits have influenced me greatly by serving as examples of play, recontextualization, and reinvention.
Is there a piece of yours that you are especially proud of or relate to more than any others in your portfolio?
I am quite fond of the Flower Thief. It took almost a year to resolve and was a bit of discovery in using sap green and quinacridone magenta pigments to create light.
Do you have any goals with your art?
I’d like to continue showing and selling my work; I am looking for galleries in the region that would be a good fit and who would be interested in representing me.