Field Guide To CO's Live Artists: John Bukaty
Written by Michael Garfield Wednesday, 14 October 2009 21:18
In the Front Range's increasingly populous live painting scene, John Bukaty is in a class of his own – a wise elder, a friendly and open-minded collaborator, and a community-minded event organizer. An admirable artist in his own right, he was also single-handedly responsible for gathering over a dozen live artists working both independently and together for Thunk! (Denver's first live art-centered event, which took place at Cervantes' Masterpiece Ballroom in July 2009) and Dancin In The Streets (an urban music festival at Denver's Five Points, for which John helped coordinate an outdoor mural over 100 feet long). Although he lives in Crested Butte, he's currently traveling India, where documentarian JR Fleming is filming a movie, 100 Paintings Ago, about how international travel inspires his work.
What got you started painting at concerts? (And what KEEPS you painting at concerts?)
The energy, the feeling of inspiration all the time, when at a live show. What keeps me? The people and the constant new music to go see.
What are your media and methods?
I use acrylic on canvas, but have used oils before. I outline in black and then fill in the basic concept, at the end I create flow. The energy of the music in fast strokes synchronized to the music. These are the tempo of the particular band I am seeing. The palette usually is to the style of the band as well.
What are you trying to "capture" in your paintings?
I am trying to capture the band, sometimes that is an abstract form sometimes that is realism, it all depends. I think i always try to mix it up. And that is the style.
In what ways have you grown as an artist since you started painting live?
Many many ways, I think I broke off what I learned in college to choose my own path, and in ways I have come back to mastering what I learned in the basic classes. But, this is the person I have become in the last eight years based on the people I have met, the artists I have collaborated with and techniques I learned through trail and error.
What have been some of the most amazing moments for you, in the live painting environment?
So many. Thunk! was a night I always dreamed of, and couldn't savor the magic moments enough, Dancin In The Streets, stage performances with greats such as Steven Perkins, J.J. Cale, and Robert Randolph, and all the trips to the exotic places that my art took me.
What have been some unforeseen complications or challenges in live painting – both artistically and in terms of the business? How did/do you deal with them?
In the jam band scene you are surrounded by the best positve thinkers and vibe-givers in the world, you feel like you're in a enviroment where everyone thinks as artist. But it is also a place of little cash, cause the fans spend all their money on the shows, night after night. The tough part is to stay a head of the game on good supplies. The key is to keep the machine truckin', keep painting, keep trading and cut every deal you can so that you can do what is most important: paint live, and sell your work so you can paint more.
Do you consider live painting to be a single coherent movement or emergent art form? If not, do you think it'll EVER be?
Of course I think it is both. I am a believer. The more I look into it, the more I find it is all connected. This can only go up if we organize it by doing all the busy work that is necessary to get the right to call it a "movement."
Where can people find your work?
People can find my work the web at johnbukaty.com [personal site], 100paintingsago.com [the documentary site] and places such as Cervantes', Highland Pacific Restaurant, and Artbidz in KC.
