Inside the Studio
Ronald Hall
Favorite material to work with?
Oil on Canvas
What is your medium?
I love working with oils and although my paintings don’t show it, I also love working with digital art.
What themes do you pursue?
Mostly African American themes and concerns.
How many years as an artist?
I get asked this question all the time, and my immediate response, in my mind, is to say my whole life. I can’t remember a time in my life, even as a child, when I wasn’t creating something in some way.
Sketchbook? Do you use one? What type?
I do sketches occasionally, when the image I’m creating calls for it, it really depends on the type of painting I’m currently doing. Some of my paintings required no sketching at all.
Most important tool you use?
This might sound crazy, but my computer is, I somehow can’t work without it! It helps me think, it helps me get out ideas quickly.
Where is your studio?
Currently my studio is in my two bed room apartment. I use the spare bedroom as my studio. I have dreams of some day designing and building my own studio.
What was the best advice given to you as an artist?
Be honest with yourself.
Why do you make art?
This might sound cliché, but I honestly feel that I have no choice! It’s like the air we breathe, if I don’t create something, I’m dead.
Art school or self-taught?
A little of both.
Tattoos?
None
Prefer to work with music or in silence?
Music, I love to work to music! All kinds, it depends on my mood for that day.
iTunes, spotify, records?
Itunes mostly
Everyone has a vice. Care to call yourself out?
Coffee, I gotta have it everyday!
What’s around the corner from your place?
Nothing interesting!
Favorite sound?
Music
Favorite smell?
Oil paint
Where can we find you outside the studio?
Walking my dog or playing basketball with friends.
What could you not do without?
A computer
If you couldn’t be an artist, what would you do?
I can’t imagine doing anything else.
Day job?
CG Artist for a video games development company.
Food or sleep?
Sleep
Greatest achievement?
Still waiting on this one.
Finish the sentence: “I would never be caught dead….”
Wearing socks with sandals.
Would you rather be able to make a living as an artist now or become famous after you die?
Both, but if I had to choose one, I would prefer to be able to make a living full-time now as a painter.
Were you popular in high school?
Only when I would draw, otherwise no.
Would you rather see your art on a t-shirt or on a billboard?
Definitely a billboard
Would you ever figure model naked?
Yes, but only in private.
Religion or pop culture?
Pop culture
Traditional or conceptual?
Conceptual
What do you collect?
Art books
Favorite contemporary artist?
It varies from year to year, but right now I really dig Neo Rauch.
A piece of art you love?
A painting by Basquiat titled, “Untitled (skull)” 1984, I love that painting.
Which living or dead artist would you most like to meet?
Jean Michel Basquiat.
Use anything other than paint?
Computer.
Oil or acrylic?
Oil
Figurative or abstract?
Figurative
Representational or Surreal?
Both
Photo references?
Yes
Favorite brush?
Sable
Palette knifes?
Only for mixing
What do you wear while you paint?
I like to paint with as little clothing on as comfortably possible, I need to feel free when I’m painting, and clothes and shoes can sometimes feel constricted.
Painting Inside or Outside?
Definitely inside.
Monet or Manet?
Manet
