Logan Hall is a 19 year old artist from California who’s been drawing most of his life. It all started in elementary school when he began experimenting with lettering and it snowballed into where he is today. “I started with lettering in elementary school, and that continued through middle school. I’d constantly watch black book graffiti videos on YouTube, and just experiment with sharpies, colored pencils, white-out…anything I could find around the house.” he tells us. Although he took art classes and built up his first portfolio in high school, it wasn’t until his first semester of college that he decided that he wanted to see where he could take himself with art. Check out Logan’s art below and be sure to read our interview with him that follows.
Click any of the above photos to open a gallery of Logan’s artwork.
Describe your style of work
Feeling the need to find a style is something that weighed on me for a while. When I stopped caring to an extent about what the finished product looked like, I discovered the way I wanted to express myself. My art is emotional, it’s busy, unpredictable, it’s harmonious, and in my mind it is conscious. It’s a projection of thoughts and feelings that I can’t release with words.
What mediums do you work in?
As of late I’ve been working with oil pastel, oil paint, colored pencil, graphite, ink, and acrylic . This is something that’s constantly changing. I’d like to be comfortable with as many mediums as possible, and learn how I respond to each when the piece is finished. That’s usually when the magic happens.
Describe your creative process. How do you start a new piece?
Best way I can describe it is like listening to a song at a faint volume, just noise, until you turn up the volume. Your response is inevitable once you decide you want to hear the music. That’s how I create. I work through the song, and everyone else just hears the finale. I observe what’s happening in front of me just as much as what’s happening within me, and I balance that with producing the lines that feel right to me in that moment. Usually every piece challenges me with that though. Sometimes what I’ve done up until that point disappoints me, and I wish I could get rid of some marks so the piece is back to a place I remember liking, but everything comes together. Always. My process has taught me a lot about intention, and how delicate it can be. When you learn to accept that some amazing stuff happens. That’s a stream of thought that really reflects itself in my work at the moment. I could spend more time staring than working, it’s never the same. It’s a constant conversation. When I start a new piece I just focus on starting. The material I’m working on is always blank to begin with, so I try not to obsess when my mind is too.
Who and what are your biggest influences?
My art is influenced by clouds, sound, mortality, Stanley Kubrick, Stevie Wonder, Frank Ocean, Edgar Allan Poe, Atrocity Exhibition by Danny Brown, Heath Ledger’s performance in The Dark Knight. These are all artists/pieces of work that have given me a true experience, and made me feel something that will stick with me for a while. One day I hope my art will do the same for others. Also Basquiat, Picasso, Lee Bontecou, Kim Jung Gi, Egon Schiele, Wassily Kandinsky, Francis Bacon…
What does art mean to you?
I haven’t really figured that out yet, and to be frank I don’t think there’s any point in doing so. I will say that it’s important. Taking breaks is essential but I always feel different if I spend too much time away from my art; even if there’s no conscious desire to make something I still feel pulled towards it.
What projects are you currently working on?
I’ve recently been delving into sculpture, and messing around with different materials in that sense. There’s always unfinished art in my room.
Where do you see yourself in five years?
I hope to be closer to making a living with my art, and to have some relationships with galleries. I see myself with a body of work that makes sense of everything I’ve done these past few months.
