Artist of the Week: Caleb Morris

A fascination of mine lately has been the process of the artist. I'm not talking about the inspiration because that is very difficult to pin down, but the process, the research, the selection of canvas, the shape, and the actual method of the artist. When I looked at the work of Caleb Morris I knew that there was a process, a collection of images or ideas that his work us built on. The thought always comes to mind when I see portraits. I find myself wondering if this was an actual person or a composite of research and artistic freedom.

Caleb Morris is a Gulf Coast native, and has spent the last three years building collection of drawings and paintings. He has has been exhibiting his work in the streets and galleries of North America and Europe. With several upcoming shows I though it would be a perfect time to ask Caleb a few questions.

Orange Alert (OA): How would you describe your work?
Caleb Morris (CM): I never know how to describe it and I'm not good with all of the "hip" art terms. At the end of the day, I just want to create work that people can relate to and that resonates with them in some way.

OA: Looking through your recent work it seems you are either developing a character or sketching people around you. Which is it, and where did these little bearded people come from?
CM: The characters I've been working on for the upcoming shows are all inspired by the working class of the 1800's
so I've been going through tons of old photos of miners and iron workers to get the look of them right. A lot of those guys had beards but b/c these shows are about these working class people and kind of an homage to them, it also plays on how in ancient times, when someone was depicted with a beard they were seen as "Godly", that's getting really far into it and exposing too much of my history nerd side but that's the inspiration behind it.

OA: You have several shows coming up, how long does it take you to prepare for a show and do you considering the work of the others in the show when you are preparing?
CM: The time it takes to get ready for a show depends on how many side projects I've said yes to (always too many) and if I have an idea already for the direction of the show. When I'm in full-on painting mode, I can finish a piece in about a week and a half, which is getting up between 330-430 am and painting till work/school and then painting till around 11pm after I get home. I don't really take other people's work into consideration when getting ready except to remember to kill it so I don't get put to shame too bad.

OA: You maintain a blog as well as a website. Do you find yourself using the blog to promote your work or more as a online journal or sketch book?
CM: I try to use it mainly to promote the work and whatever I have coming up but a lot of times when I'm trying to keep the work under wraps till an opening, I won't have anything to post so I end up using it as a sketchbook to show what I'm thinking for the next project, etc.

OA: Do you get a lot of feedback on your blog, and how does that feedback affect your future work?
CM: I don't get a lot of feedback on the blog, it's mostly in emails, facebook, myspace, etc. Whenever a new piece goes up, people are usually pretty quick to say something. It doesn't really affect the work b/c by the time something's posted, I've got the next 5 pieces laid out. Whenever I'm down to the wire, I don't see many people so the main feedback that affects my work is my girl's and my family's. If they look at it weird or say "What is that supposed to be?", I know I have more work to do.

OA: What's next for Caleb Morris?
CM: Art Basel w/ Art Whino, two person show at Robertson Gallery in Mobile, AL in Dec. a group show at Gallery 1988 in L.A.
in Jan. I just signed on w/ SJC Drums to be a part of their next Artist Series to paint custom snare drums for touring bands. A series of greeting cards for AustinHandmade.com and hopefully a nap sometime in February.

Bonus Questions:
OA: If you could sit down to coffee with anyone (alive or dead) who would it be?
CM: Probably Jack Kerouac but I'd honestly be up for listening to anybody's stories, it's what I use for inspiration.

OA: What type of music do you enjoy and who were a few of your favorites?
CM: I dislike labels on music as much as I do on art so I'll list the people that are helping keep me awake while I'm painting all night Gaslight Anthem, Loved Ones, Lucero, Roots, Jamie. T, Kid Dynamite, Jay -Z, Hot Water Music, Polar Bear Club, I could go on forever..

For more information on Caleb Morris please visit his website.