We were lucky to catch up with Gordon Durich recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Gordon thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

Working on a project with the theme of the Paris Olympics. I believe I was meant to be part of the art exhibit Ooh La La at DeFrenS Gallery in Westlake Village, opening in July this year. With my European background and with French being my first language, it was, I am sure meant to be. I was told about the new gallery adjoining a consignment store by a friend who read an article about an opening of its premiere show. I went to see the exhibit and before I knew I was connected with the curator of the space. The challenge of creating work with a theme was fun but certainly confronting. I wanted to capture the essence of Paris and France through my eclectic and contemporary mixed media, pen and ink and paintings.
After a few wild goose chases with art galleries whom I was disappointed by, I felt this was a perfect opportunity to create and to share.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I was introduced to my creativity by my multi talented and prolific artist dad. As a commercial graphic designer who worked in every field imaginable from animation to photography, I know he was an influence and inspiration.
My work is rather different in that I specialize in mixed media, pen and ink and dabble in paint. My love of graphic design resulted in designs that were on T shirts for the most part – also tote bags and even pillowcases! My love of music and spirituality led to Instrument of Peace, a pen and ink comprised of hundreds of tiny peace symbols in the shape of a guitar. My friend gave one to her yoga teacher and another gave one to her musician brother. Perfecto!!

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

During the Covid pandemic when everything went bonkers, it was a perfect opportunity to hunker down and create new work at my home studio. I also posted a lot of work online. Social media really lived up to its name and it was a great outlet for sharing. Especially Instagram. There was a lot of content and also anticipation when we were out of the woods.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

Provide recycling resources for materials that can be reused. Waste is not cool. There should be bins for recycling paints and other art materials just like there are for composting foods.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: [email protected]
• Facebook: Art Bloke

Image Credits

The Artist