Today we’d like to introduce you to Greg Noblin.
Greg, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
I grew up in North Central Ohio, right on Lake Erie. Throughout my 20s I worked for General Motors in a machine shop. An opportunity to transfer to the Doraville Assembly Plant came along and I moved to the Atlanta Metro to continue my career with the car manufacturer. I had always wanted to do something creative with my life and became disillusioned with factory work. About two years after arriving in Atlanta, General Motors offered a buyout, based on seniority, to quit. I took them up on their offer and used the money to go back to school and four years later had a BFA in photographic imaging. Consequently, I sort of fell out of love with photography and in love with the possibilities of digital and photographic manipulation. I devoted countless hours and an untold number of failures developing and learning.
Can you give our readers some background on your art?
My work comes in several forms as it’s mainly digital. I initially start with a mental image or a concept in my head. From there I gather all the elements I might need to complete the image. Next, I photograph everything I have for the picture and then cut out each element, stripping it from the environment I photographed it in. Following this I build the story in Photoshop and layer everything with textures I’ve either photographed or created myself. After the digital image is complete I export into another piece of software that divides the image into as many sheets as I want. I then print the large image, generally in the four to eight feet on the long end, over many sheets.
This could be as few as twelve sheets or as many as 72 individual prints. Once printed I hand cut each print and then tape them together as a single large picture. From here I use PVA glue to mount to wood panel. After the mounting has dried I mix watercolor and tempera paints to match the colors in the image and fill in the gaps between the individual prints. Finally, a layer of textured gel medium is applied as well as the borders taped off and painted on. The final result is something that is to appear hand built with a sense of vintage nostalgia. A bit of roughness is intended and built in as the desired appearance. In finality the piece has a deconstruction, reconstruction, deconstruction, reconstruction repetition. The subject matter, and the animals used, are often metaphors of our experience has humans. Success, failure, joy, melancholy, or sometimes a pensive moment.
In your view, what is the biggest issue artists have to deal with?
Getting traction and awareness. One of the greatest obstacles an artist faces is the stuff that doesn’t involve the creation of their work. Making art is only about 1/3rd of the entire process. After the work is made it has to be put in front of as many eyes as possible. No one will buy or support art they cannot see. The last third is the actual book keeping and business side of things. In totality it’s a balance of making work, showing it to people, and running a business. Any one of those elements falls short and it can make for a struggling experience.
What’s the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
In Atlanta, I am represented by Kai Lin Art and he holds much of my inventory. Inquiries can be either directed to the gallery’s website kailinart.com or directly to me from my website, gregnoblinart.com
Contact Info:
- Website: https://gregnoblinart.com
- Email: gregnoblin@me.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gregnoblin/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gregnoblinart
Image Credit:
All images photographed and made by Greg Noblin.
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