Today we’d like to introduce you to Colleen Doody.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Colleen. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Art making for me has been a constant, though my materials and methods have certainly varied over the years. An envelope left on the kitchen table changed my trajectory, and I began a five-year journey of postsecondary Fine Arts Education.
In 2011, I moved to Utica, New York where I attended Pratt Munson-Williams-Proctor. I then moved to Brooklyn, New York where I obtained a BFA in Painting and Minor in Art, Design, & Social Practice in 2016. Afterwards, I moved back to my hometown, Katy, Texas to be with my family and begin a studio practice as a visual artist.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
One of the biggest challenges (besides funding) that I think most artists face is the struggle to build their own network of supportive, inspiring people that act as a sounding board for ideas and constructive criticism. I have been very fortunate in this regard. My fiancé William Welch is a poet, and we have collaborated on several projects for a small press he runs out of The Other Side, a central NY non-profit space.
We actually met there in 2013! Will is an excellent art-critic and occasional studio assistant. My family is also very supportive, as each member has a sharp eye for detail and is willing to articulate a view different from my own. My mom studied fashion, my dad is a carpenter, my brother is a tech guru, and my extended family is a network of educators and farmers, so I feel as if most bases are covered.
In addition to my brilliant colleagues and professors from Utica and Brooklyn, I have friends whose careers and passions vary widely, from pest control to medicine. Each of these people contributes to an energetic dialogue about the world at hand, today, and the ways in which my artwork is received by the public.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
Whether by foot, bicycle, or highway, much of my art making begins with trips to a site, where I photograph a location. In the studio, I research and collage my photographs to create references, which then become medium to large-scale oil paintings on canvas or panel. Generally, my painting style fluctuates between sweeping, gestural marks, and more straightforward depiction, while the recent works are headed more towards realism, depending on the subject matter. This staccato of collaged, overlapping and occasional upside-down images defamiliarizes the landscape as we know it, suggesting the abundance of information and an attempt to make sense of the human-altered, mismatched pieces.
As a visual artist, my studio practice is fueled by a fascination with all of the ways that humans transform and represent their environment. I think that the idea of manifest destiny is still alive and working today here in America, especially down in southeast Texas. With my paintings since 2014, I sought to depict the contemporary, unidealized landscape, as I experienced it – in overlapping, unfamiliar fragments that combine to create an experience both exciting and overwhelming. This body of work shifted in focus from the sublime Adirondack region to the landscape of the greater Houston area, especially the flood-control sites of the Barker Reservoir and the SH 99 Grand Parkway expansion. This particular suite of paintings, Manifest, was created in 2015 – 2016, long before hurricane Harvey struck this area.
My recent work has been delving into the history of Katy, Texas. As part of a commission for The Springer Law Firm to depict Katy, I researched the city’s development and land use and began using cartography and satellite imagery as a way to imbue the paintings with a sense of history, as well as hint at the abstraction between a place and its reduced depiction. During this time, I became familiar with the Katy Heritage Society and the Katy Prairie Conservancy – both are excellent resources for the curious! These two organizations are trying to, on one hand, preserve Katy’s history, and with it a context for the area’s place in the wider East Texas community, and on the other, the actual prairie land, which is severely threatened by development.
My paintings offer a chance for the viewer become disoriented, and to reacquaint themselves with their perceived surroundings. These works are more than objects – they are portals that, though tied to the tradition of picture-making, investigate contemporary ecological experiences. I make original artwork and also accept commissions. My work is held by The Springer Law Firm in Katy, Texas and private collections in Texas, Florida, Vermont, Massachusetts, and New York.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
The sun glinting off the concrete and gravel piles, jagged fingers of rebar, and a kind of encompassing vigorous energy were the lasting impressions of my childhood visits to construction sites. My dad would bring our family on tours of the property and building he was working on and would delight in showing us how to operate the bulldozers or backhoes. Shifting earthen mounds, as well as stacks of material, were organized into incredible structures, almost overnight.
I remember helping to lay out property lines and reference points for a new foundation and while walking over the irregular, grassy knolls, found it both strange and exciting to imagine that it would become a parking lot or building. This early childhood experience has heavily influenced my art making, both in terms of channeling a creative impulse into a physical act of production and the kind of conceptual ground that my paintings engage in. Not to mention a lasting love of tools and funky detritus!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.colleendoody.com
- Email: colleen@colleendoody.com
Image Credit:
Colleen Doody & William Welch
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