James Koukl, Tyler, Texas
Member Since September 2009
Artist Statement I have been painting since 1964 where jazz music evoked an emotional response in my soul and became transformed into visual interpretations of the world around me. After college I found myself living on the beach in Coco Beach, Florida where the visual journey continued and evolved into the professional side of being an artist, painting in oils and acrylics. After returning to academic life as a pathology student my art was put on hold until moving to Texas when I once again found that I needed to return to my other creative side and began a new journey. For the past 25 years I have been painting in watercolors but still paint in oils and acrylics.
I am continuously asked what inspires me to paint and especially abstractions. Inspiration, for me, actually takes place in the process of making the art. If I waited for inspiration to come I would never paint! I am always waiting to see what evolves from the first brush stroke to the last.
My painting style is eclectic and in fact I am not sure I want a “painting style”. I prefer to experiment, trying photographic renderings in watercolor to the abstractions in oils and acrylics. My approach to the creative process usually begins with putting on my favorite jazz recordings in my studio, begin drawing, painting, throwing powdered tempera and instant coffee on wet paper, using traditional transparent watercolor on paper, to applying liquid acrylics on paper or canvas.
I am comfortable with both representational painting as well as abstraction. On one hand it’s the scientist in me that likes explanation to the world and on the other hand I feel I’m a poet with color. Color inspires me, as does shape and form. I like that calm against the explosion. If it invokes an emotion in me then I want to share that emotion with the viewer and encourage people to interact with and explore each painting as they themselves were in the process of painting it. One of my favorite abstractionists is Wassily Kandinsky who said, “Color is the keyboard, the eyes are the harmonies, the soul is the piano with many strings. The artist is the hand that plays, touching one key or another, to cause vibrations in the soul.” I want to liberate the viewer, to free them to participate with me in the creation and use their imaginations and thus produce vibrations within the viewer.
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