Trio of Trill Artists Killin’ it and Trillin’ it

Hello Dopesters, I’ve been out of commission for a couple of weeks but needless to say, the dope is back this week in full force. I want to introduce you all to three awesome young artists who are earning lots of respect in the Baton Rouge art community. First, my friend and fellow sorority sis down the row at Chi O, Natalie Domingue. Graduating this December with her BFA, Nat is doing wonderful things in her last semester as an LSU art student with a concentration in painting and drawing.

A piece from Domingue’s student art show at LSU’s Foster Hall.

I’ve shared many classes with Natalie and was always inspired by the incredible evolution in her work throughout each semester. No matter what the challenge presented by demanding professors such as Ortner, Isoko, and Brad Wreyford, she always found a way to make each assignment her own and use the constructive criticism as an outlet for improvement. She recently shared with me her latest technique of choice, and I was enthralled with her eloquence in writing about her own work. Natalie is an artist to look out for in the industry. Her keen eye in abstractionism will no doubt be landing her work in homes and galleries of fine taste soon after graduation.

She walks us through her process:

“I start with an un-stretched canvas, laying it on the floor of my studio and pouring thinned down paints and acrylic inks over it, letting the pigments move, puddle, and stain the canvas. As the layers build, shapes and compositions start to form, and it starts to become an open conversation between the canvas and myself. What starts out as an open ended process is shaped up by my mark making and intentional placement of paint. It has become a long process of many layers of paint and expressionistic lines created by pencil or pastel. It’s total abstraction in that I don’t use a concrete reference, just that of what comes to me as I work and develop the canvas. I feel very calm when creating my work, as I use soft and light layers. I’m inspired by abstract expressionists such as Helen Frankenthaler.”

Natalie has a studio in LSU’s Old Engineering Building (now called the Studio Arts Building) on the first floor. She can be contacted by email at [email protected]. Follow her on Instagram: @Nat_Domin. Her website is in the works and will be up and running in 2014, so I’ll be sure to post an update on that.

Fashion.

Speaking of updates, Finn Kelley (check his dope profile here) is still creating dopeness day after day. I also want to point out his yearbook pic swagger, an unplanned performance art piece entitled “Fashion” in which he grabbed his friend’s scarf and did an impromptu draping before the photo was taken for Baton Rouge High’s year book. Finn is one-upping the Gucci level he once operated on, and has moved right up to the Versace level. Congrats, Finn. New Instagram straight flexin’: @cokeboy_ramirez

Kelley’s Ron Paul.

The second artist I’d like to introduce is Patrick Tiek, who recently graduated with a degree in Construction Management from LSU. The only construction Patrick has been doing is in building his multi-faceted surfaces used to create his work.

Tiek painting live at the recent BR Walls auction.

I respect artists so so so very much who take the time to create a high quality surface. It is so important in the fine art industry to know how to build your own canvases, panels, etc. and to do it well. This is something I and fellow studio art professor Wreyford’s students learned the importance of early on in art school, and once one starts building their own surfaces there is really no stopping the incredible fascination with it. The surface becomes just as important as what’s covering it.

As Wreyford and other fine art professors and gallery owners stress, a quality built surface is what separates juvenile, trending, mainstream pop art from fine, museum quality work that is of archival value and forever respected. It’s all about the crowd you are trying to market towards. Tiek’s work was showcased at this year’s Art. Wine. Design. event in the Southdown’s Village, and it was his incredible building skill that attracted the crowd of such fine art enthusiasts. He also created an installation piece in Elevator Projects‘ Halloween event, The Asylum, which had a huge turnout. Check out Tiek’s work here. Email: [email protected] Facebook: Patrick Tiek Art Instagram: @patricktiekart

I saved the best for last. This person needs no introduction because you already know about her, and if you don’t, you’re a loser. Queen of Elevator Projects, Goddess of the Baton Rouge Art Scene, Hero of BR Walls, Raina Wirta trumps all on my DOPE ARTIST scale. I first met Raina when she was the teaching assistant for my first advanced sculpture class with Loren Schwerd. She became my knight in shining armor and my biggest encouragement in sculpture. Raina was like a ray of sunshine fluttering about on campus, always on a mission and always with a smile. Now she reins the young art scene in B.R. with a sweet camo hat. The utmost love and respect for my girl, Raina. Her dopeness is everlasting and her connection with the art world is unbreakable. We have a sisterly bond, but I’m not about to brag on all that. Check out her dope profile in 225‘s February issue. Pictured: Two pieces by Wirta that were fought over at the BR walls auction last week. “They are surreal collages composed of bits of biomass. Suspended within wallpaper patterns, floating, they become part of the camouflage and exemplify mystery behind the surface pattern. They are corporeal, sexual and visceral, exploring unconscious desires, memories and fantasies.”

Wirta’s Give Give | Wirta’s Pull Back.