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If you’re Basel bound later this week, be sure to check out artist Brent Estabrook, best known for his large-scale oil paintings of colorful stuffed animals, who will be painting live from the Maddox booth AM219 on Thursday and Friday. The Los Angeles-based artist tells The Daily what’s in store!
What works will you be showing at Basel this year?
I will be showing 12 paintings from my cRaZy stuFFed aniMAL series and a really fun one from my Quilt! series, “a Little Overwhelmed.” It is a bit of a self-portrait and really captured how I was feeling when I painted it. I was overwhelmed with lots of creative possibilities, which is good, but still overwhelmed nonetheless. “After Party” is another really special, wacky one! I love painting confetti and adding celebratory flair to my work. “I LUV U” is one of the cutest paintings I’ve ever created too. Finally, “Adventure Time” is the first painting in my Quilt! series to be shown at a fair and I’m very excited to see how people respond to it.
We understand you are going to be be live painting at the Maddox booth. How long will you be painting for and do you have any idea what you will be painting yet?
I will be at the fair Thursday and Friday from 11am-2pm and I will be painting pieces from my cRaZy stuFFed aniMAL series. I will decide which animals to paint in the moment but true to form, one will likely be a bear.
Why do you like doing these live painting moments?
What I like about painting live for an audience is seeing how people are inspired in the moment. It’s a unique experience to provide for folks since a lot of people do not get to see the painting process, just the end result. I love talking with my guests about their passions and hearing the excitement build.
You have a Doctorate of Dental Surgery. Are you a practicing dentist?!
I graduated from University of Louisville in 2014 and I am licensed in California, but never worked at a practice. Any free moment I had in dental school, I was painting. I had my first large painting sale around the time I graduated and decided to pursue my passion rather than stick with the profession that did not inspire me. It’s been the second most rewarding decision of my life.—my first is marrying my wife Tara! I encourage everyone to pursue their passion and make riskier decisions. Life is much more fun!
How did that education help you as an artist?
Dentistry has a lot of artistry to it! The main way my dental education influenced my painting is in my set-up though. I am a very clean and organized painter. You’ll see it at Art Miami. I prepare my palette with the same precision as a dentist preparing their work space.
What do you enjoy most about Basel Miami?
The thing I love the most is seeing all my creative friends in one place! I love connecting with other artists and hearing their journey in the art world. No two stories are the same. I know many artists from social media only, but in Miami we can meet in person. Second, is the food! I enjoy amazing restaurants. My wife makes reservations for six people every night and we don’t know who will join us ahead of time, but we always meet cool people to invite. Finally, the art! It gets pretty overwhelming but there are always paintings that resonate with me and inspire me to keep creating.
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