The Official ***Tulsans Making News Elsewhere*** Thread.

[Kenosha]

 http://maplewood.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/06/04/artists-of-the-tour-james-collum/?scp=1&sq=tulsa&st=cse

Artists of the Tour: James Collum
By DONALD PUN
web_edenCourtesy of James Collum "Eden."

Contributor Donald Pun interviewed six artists who will be participating in the upcoming 2010 South Orange Maplewood Artists Studio Tour this Sunday, June 6. Donald asked some interesting questions (including one that involves a skeleton key) which prompted insightful responses. All the artists have included a photo of their favorite creation. Here is Donald's interview with a South Orange painter, James Collum, the final profile in our week-long series of interviews leading up to the tour.

James Collum, who lives in South Orange, is a painter who focuses on oil paintings and drawings. This is his fifth South Orange Maplewood Artists Studio Tour.
Q.

Why did you choose to, or how did you end up, in the South Orange area, and has it had any affect on your art?
A.

My wife and I moved to South Orange back in 2006. We were living in an apartment in Hoboken at the time, after moving there from Manhattan, and thought it was time to buy a home. I'm from Oklahoma and my wife is from Texas, so we didn't know much about this area, but we had friends that moved to Maplewood and thought it was a beautiful place to live. The area reminds me of my hometown of Tulsa, and I just love all the trees and hills.

My current work is a kind of abstract landscape but I used to do more representative landscapes when I lived in Oklahoma. The effect this area has had on my work is mostly through color. I feel the colors are more intense and dramatic. And more organic shapes are working their way into my paintings.
Q.

What are some things you have to have when you are creating your art (a certain type of music, a special chair, a stiff drink, etc.)?
A.

In order to paint, I need Dr Pepper over ice in a clean glass.

Q.

If you had to stop working in your chosen medium(s) entirely, what art form would you choose in its place?
A.

The other medium I would work in if I couldn't paint would be sculpture / installations.
Q.

If you had to create a work based on a song, book, story or poem — or something else entirely — what would it be and why?
A.

If I had to create a work based on another medium, I would like to do a series of paintings based on aerial views of ancient cities. The reason being, I'm interested in old structures and how time and nature affect the landscape.
Q.

Someone gives you a skeleton key to all the art institutions in the world. What's one piece you would steal for yourself if you could?
A.

If I could have one piece of art it would be Cezanne's "Mont Sainte Victoire" painting in the Met.