Featured Artist: Josh Keyes

Josh Keyes wrote this article.  His paintings and drawings have appeared at the George Billis Gallery in Los Angeles, where they will be shown again February 2007.  His work will also appear at Nashville's TAG Gallery (March 2007) and San Francisco’s Hang Gallery (October 2007).
                                                         
My intention is to create work that asks questions about the implications of urban sprawl and its impact on the environment. I am interested in creating psychological narratives set in closed systems that express the behavior of—and the interaction between—humans and animals.

This piece was a response to traveling from one place to another. I was thinking of how every town begins to look the same—with the same restaurants and shopping malls—no matter how far you travel. The image of a treadmill seemed like an interesting metaphor to describe this endless sameness.

Each painting or drawing begins with numerous experiments in my sketchbook. After I have worked on an image that feels right, I begin by laying out the composition and playing with narrative elements. I enjoy this part of the process the most. Many surprises occur at this stage, and sometimes the piece changes drastically from the original concept. The last stage of the work involves laying in areas of color and adding detail. The completed piece always poses new challenges and ideas for future paintings and drawings.