Isaiah BATES | COMPLIMENTARY ART

We are thrilled to showcase the incredible work of Isaiah Bates! His art evokes a profound spectrum of emotions, seamlessly blending light and dark elements. The vibrant colors and unique figures in his pieces are reminiscent of Russian dolls, each shape adding depth and intrigue. We had the pleasure of interviewing Isaiah, and we're excited to share his insights along with his stunning creations.

Bio: After graduating from the Pennsylvania College of Art and Design in 2022, Isaiah Bates has been on a journey to rediscover his artistic voice. His work is a physical representation of his emotions, inner dialogue, and cultural influences, spanning across multiple mediums. Much like his work, Isaiah's creative interests are multifaceted. He uses his experiences and surroundings to create dreamlike depictions, offering a glimpse into his mind.

Isaiah prefers to work with his subconscious, often allowing himself the space to turn off active thinking. By letting his hand take the lead in his art, he keeps an open conversation with himself. This intuitive approach fosters a continuous process of self-discovery, with each creation unveiling new facets of his identity. Through this ongoing journey, Isaiah Bates's work remains a dynamic and evolving reflection of his inner world.

“My creative process tends to be more intuitive. My pieces are usually inspired by some sort of base feeling, thought, or emotion. I like to let the subject matter create itself for the most part.”

“The colors for my work are normally either picked at random or based on convenience when starting a piece. For example, my signature blue that you see on the figures is inspired by my favorite hoodie from my childhood. I used to draw a lot of self portraits, so I've drawn the hoodie hundreds of times by now. This has created a strong color symbol that spans across my work much like the symbol of the hoodie itself. Also, I know that I will usually have a decent amount of blue in each piece. So I tend to base some pallets on how the rest of the colors will interact with one another.”

“I listen to a wide range of music as I work. My top two genres would be R&B and Hip Hop. I tend to naturally lean more towards music from the 80's as I grew up listening to a lot of older music. This makes for a nice nostalgic and current music mixture. I choose the music based on how I'm feeling at the time since my music influences the way I paint. In many ways, choosing the right music for the mood is just as important as choosing the right instrument to work with.“

“I think the only medium that I haven't really tried that I want to would be glassblowing. I love the process of shaping the molten glass while also making something delicate and potentially fragile. Fragility being forged from a flame just seems like a very interesting concept to work with. Also, it looks pretty fun.” Side Note from Estilo Wei- "Okay, doesn’t his work remind you of glassblowing!!”

“I made my first painting in the summer of 2019. I mainly focused on writing, drawing, and photography. My inspiration for starting to paint was honestly boredom in a way. I felt as if I was limiting myself, so I decided to try something new that usually seemed pretty intimidating. This created an insatiable need for exploration within my creative practice.”

“Yes! I do believe in aliens. There's way too much space out there for it to be only us!”

“Advice that I would share for a creative going through a block would be to travel and experiment. Oftentimes, a change of scenery, even if it's just a walk outside, can spark even the smallest idea. Then experiment with what you find and you're bound to eventually stumble across something. Try focusing on the journey and not the end result. Pay attention to the mistakes and the test runs. Look into your process and see what you could explore and expand on. Honestly, just have fun.”

“I loved a lot of the old school Cartoon Network shows growing up. Some of my favorites were Courage The Cowardly Dog, Teen Titans, and Ben 10.”