Meet Andrew Dickson | freelance artist, painter/printmaker

We had the good fortune of connecting with Andrew Dickson and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Andrew, what role has risk played in your life or career?
A certain amount of faith is involved in many of my life/career decisions and while I am never ignorant of realities or specific challenges, for the most part I am able to move into new territory without too much worry or fear of failure. This could have been anything from jumping a fence to explore an industrial landscape for my artwork, reaching out to connect with artists I admired but had never met, or making a decision to move abroad when resources and finances were not yet in place. In all of these situations I was able to take a first step forward which brought new opportunity.

I suspect that the ability to take risks is somehow related to a creative mindset which many artists innately possess; we are able to envision multiple solutions to problems and view “failures” as learning opportunities that lead to new ideas and possibilities. This manner of thinking is both exciting and freeing.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I am a landscape painter and printmaker. I like to go out on location and paint directly from observation as much as possible. I do not paint quickly so my paintings can take days or even weeks to complete on site. I’m often drawn to unusual and out of the way places that are quiet and expansive, places like the flood channels of the Los Angeles River, the industrial landscape of the port of Long Beach and at the Salton Sea in the California desert. In particular, I have devoted a lot of time painting and drawing at the Salton Sea. It has a personal connection to me as my grandparents lived there and I now care for their home on the North Shore. I travel there frequently to paint and draw in the desert.. The stark beauty of the lake is both attractive and mysterious and iI am deeply concerned for its future. The Salton Sea is in a rapid state of decline as the lake evaporates, salinity rises and dust pollution is increasing in the Coachella and Imperial Valleys.. My hope is that through my artwork I will be able to cause viewers to reflect on the beauty of the sea and bring a little attention to this under-appreciated part of our state by helping people consider the current issues facing the Salton Sea. Currently, I am working on a series of large scale mixed media drawings in my studio based off recent sketches I’ve done at the sea this past spring. I look forward to exhibiting these new works sometime in the coming year.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
In Long Beach there are so many unique neighborhoods to explore. I always love going to the Los Cerritos and Los Alamitos Ranchos as they are tranquil places that remind us of the early history of Long Beach.

It is also really interesting to simply drive through The Port of Long Beach and The Port of Los Angeles as the scale of container ships, bridges, and refineries is truly monumental and impressive to take in.

The aqua link boats are fun to take in the summer as they go from the Pike to Belmont Pier.

As an artist I enjoy the Long Beach Museum of Art and the Museum of Latin American Art and of course the many local artists and private galleries such as the Long Beach Creative Group and the newly established Munson Gallery. We have a thriving open studio tour that runs throughout the month of Oct where artists in different neighborhoods open their studios to the public.. There is truly a thriving art scene in Long Beach.

Just for curiosity sake: there is a historic painting by a famous British artist I admire, Laura Knight, hung in behind coffee/snack bar on the Queen Mary (probably one of the few paintings of hers in the U.S), and there also is an impressive mural that depicts the early roots and diversity of our port city from the 1930’s in a staircase at Long Beach Polytechnic High School.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I credit many of my former art teachers, in particular Domenic Cretara and Yu Ji for providing me a knowledge and deep appreciation for painting. I also am thankful to my wife Jenny for her encouragement and support in my endeavors. And I am thankful to friends and fellow artists like Eric Merrell, Vladimir Goryachev, Joe Forkan and Samantha Minear who continue to encourage me in my artistic vision.

Website: andydicksonartist.com

Instagram: andydicksonartist