Inside The Artist's Studio: Will Cotton
One of the creative minds behind Katy Perry's California Gurls video, takes us on a visual tour of his work space.
By Alice Gregory,
Photographs by Liz Ligon
June 2011 Issue
"My old studio was a mess because I'd been there so long," Cotton says of the space on the Lower East Side that he split with fellow painter Cecily Brown. His new one is located on cobblestoned Harrison Street, just down the block from the Hudson River and a restaurant, Terroir Tribeca, where he's now a regular.
At the suggestion of the architect Jason Tang and the designer Jim Walrod, brick walls were whitewashed, sheetrock ceilings were removed to expose rafters, and floors were bleached—"to match Chloe!" Cotton jokes as his 19-year-old cat slinks by.
"I don't really want to separate the two," he says, referring to life and work. Cotton generally keeps white-collar hours, "but late at night, I might start thinking about the painting, and I like that it's right here," he says. "I know other artists who'd be driven nuts by that."
Cotton's biggest fear is a "big, blank canvas," but he manages to overcome it through various forms of sensory immersion. In fact, one of Cotton's favorite aspects of the floor plan is the kitchen's proximity to the place where he paints. "I like to fill the studio with lollipops, cotton candy, and meringues so I can smell them and make it as visceral an experience as possible," he says.
Cotton bought most of the furniture—like the modular black couch on which his models often recline—at estate sales. The round white table in the center of the space is a Saarinen; the chairs surrounding it are by the Italian sculptor Harry Bertoia.
Cotton met Dirty Martini—one of many burlesque dancers who model for him—"years ago" at the Slipper Room, which is a few blocks from his former studio. Through her, he met Jenny McGowan (a.k.a. Miss Saturn), the World Famous *BOB*, and Mona Malone, the subject of a pink tableau that takes up nearly an entire wall. Accoridng to Cotton, dancers make great muses because their movements and poses look more natural than those of traditional art-school models.
As for static source material, Cotton likes to consult a vintage series of how-to-draw books published by Walter Foster, each one illustrated and annotated by different artists. (Friends now give him the books as gifts.) He flips through his favorite, How to Draw & Paint Pin-Ups & Glamour Girls, the pages of which are interspersed with Cotton's own sketches.
A silver dress—designed by Cotton to look like a Reynolds baking cup—that had to be hand-sewn onto Katy Perry before she posed for her portrait.
"I don't think for a second that these things are art—they're props," says Cotton of his model confections. Occasionally Cotton will use a light molding paste in lieu of frosting, or a combination of Crisco, Karo syrup, and powdered sugar to approximate ice cream. But then he'll miss the smell.
He once tried to compensate with cake-batter-scented perfume (yes—it exists), but he was quickly disappointed. "It just wasn't evocative enough," he says.
Cotton's portrait of Ron Warren (left)—director and partner at the legendary Mary Boone Gallery in New York—whose balding head is crowned with cupcakes.
"This is great!" Cotton says as he touches up a portrait of Amy Phelan: muse, art collector, former Dallas Cowboy cheerleader. "I really didn't think I'd be getting any work done this afternoon."
To see more of his work, go to willcotton.com.
from: www.details.com
No comments:
Post a Comment