BUNNIE REISS
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BUNNIE REISS IS A MULTIDISCIPLINARY ARTIST: BETWEEN NATURE, STARS AND PLACED PLACES, GIVES MAGIC STORIES THROUGH THE COLORS OF PAINTING. HERE HER STORY.
What inspires your creations?
I spend a lot time in nature, the desert, and with my community. Star gazing, planets and mythology have always been a large part of my interests. The human condition fascinates me and I try to understand the emotional boundaries of people, watch how they interact, how they suffer, how they feel joy. I’m an introverted extrovert and able to sit in a room full of people and watch for hours complete inthralled. I also love the history of my family and much of my inspiration comes from my eastern european ancestry. So many tales of witches, folklore and beautiful traditions.
I read that you travel very much. How important is for you to discover other cultures and how they affect your art?
Traveling is one of my top priorities and I definitely work hard so I can keep exploring. I find the world to be soooooo big! And so much to learn and understand. It affects me on a very deep and primal level, and I try and really take in all experiences as if I am some kind of sponge. Everything feels, tastes, sounds so different, and I often can’t speak the language, which also makes for a wonderful experiment. I am able to relax in this state of flux, and allow for all my senses to be inspired by what I see. It’s really amazing and if you look closely you can see where I have traveled just by the different kinds of colors that I have used in various bodies of work.
Since I was a child.
What is nature for you?
Nature is where I feel the most free to scream and run and throw myself in the dirt to listen as the world moves. There is so much going on in these quiet eco-systems and you tend to forget when you live in the city. Luckily, living in Los Angeles, I am literally surrounded by forest and desert. I can paddle on my surf board out in the ocean, or I can drive to the middle of the desert and be away from everything.
You are also a teacher. What do you do exactly and how do the students react to artistic stimuli?
Sadly I don’t get to teach very often, but when I do I absolutely love it! I mostly enjoy little kids and teaching them how to feel free in the art of making. I have taught mural classes where I had 6 year olds on scaffold painting their large, original characters. It’s really amazing when you trust them and they in turn trust both you and themselves.
Where would you never paint a mural?
Banks or any type of corporate headquarters that don’t aline with my belief system.
If you weren’t an artist, what would you be?
Veterinarian (that was the other thing I wanted to be when I was a kid), but honestly, being in an artist is the best job ever!
Do you employ special painting techniques?
I have my particular paints and brushes that I have used for many years, but mostly I use traditional and very formal techniques (like using a grid for my murals, etc).
Have you ever painted with another artist? If not, who would you like to work with?
I love painting with friends and really enjoy doing big murals with lots of people. Aaron Glasson, Jayde Fish, Alegria del Prado, Ricardo Cavolo, Koralie are just a few I would really love to work with at some point. Myself, Souther Salazar, Amok Island will all be heading to Nepal in 2018 to do a project for the Greenkey Initiative and paint a few walls. I’m hoping we will get a chance to collaborate, as I really love their work ;)
What is your biggest dream?
I would love to have a property where I could run a mini artist in residence for part of the year. Nothing too fancy, just an easy place for artists to come and relax, make some work, be in nature. I would really LOVE to do a huge building, 10+ floors. Something that is so big it blows your mind ;) Or a house, a boat, or a plane. All things I dream about painting. I’m also really interested in installation and would love to build big environments for amusement parks, stages/costumes for rock tours (Flaming Lips!) Or weird playgrounds. I have lots of big dreams and I intend to see all of them through!
Your last thought at the end of the day.
I’m hungry ;)
Photos courtesy of Bunnie Reiss