Justin Haggerty is an Art of Austin artist! Get to know more about him and his work!
Justin Haggerty
AoA – How long have you been in Austin and how did you find your way here?
Justin – I moved to Austin in June 2017, but lived in NY (Queens) for the last 10+ years. NY is great, but I wanted to make a big life change, as well as escape the Northeast winters. Austin feels like home.
AoA – When did you realize that you were an artist?
Justin – Art is not (yet) my profession, so I would probably classify myself more as an aspiring artist. But Art is undoubtedly my life. I wake up thinking about design ideas, and go to sleep doing the same. This started roughly 2 years ago, when I came to the very clear conclusion that Art is whatever I want it to be. For a long time there was a fixation in my mind that it had to look like “this piece”, or needed to follow certain techniques. I no longer subscribe to this way of thinking, and it has been incredibly liberating. What I create is indisputably my work, it has a look and a feel that serves as my signature.
AoA – Can you speak to your art training?
Justin – Would love to tell you about my masters in fine Arts, but reality is that I have zero formal art education. Everything I know was learned through trial and error, persistence, and online research. Shout out to the Internet.
AoA – Who are some artists that you look to?
Justin –
AoA – Where do you derive inspiration from?
Justin – I am inspired by a few different things:
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Life
- Men/Women, Wildlife, Plants/Flowers. To me there is no greater subject. Living things and the intricacy in which they are constructed is absolutely groovy.
Individuality of other people
- Whether it be artwork, fashion, personality, etc – I am inspired when someone chooses to be (or create something) completely and utterly authentic. It will quickly remind me of the belief system that I subscribe to so deeply: Be Nice + Be Yourself = Everything will be alright.
Purpose- Art is my purpose. I believe that, completely. I can look myself in the mirror and say that I know exactly what my purpose is, and this inspires me to push, challenge, and produce.
AoA – Can you tell us a little bit about your work?
Justin – So my art “brand name” is Simple Compositions. This was very deliberate, because my artwork is in fact Simple.
- Creating tremendous detail or texturing/shading is simply not my style, or skill set (see Hyperrealism, I don’t even understand how these paintings are possible).
- But with Simple comes a need to be sharp with the limited amount of material that you put down. With each piece I am trying to sharpen my linework and Pointillism.
- I also love wide, flowing hair in my artwork (when subject is female). It tends to become the focus area of my pieces.
- Simplicity also applies to color – my work is done almost exclusively in Black and White. I really dig minimalism. Color will sometimes be added in small splashes, but not in excess. There is something about black and white that feels beautiful, impactful to the eye, and just pops.
AoA – Can you talk a little about your creative processes in creating?
Justin – I wish it were more exciting. I see something that is appealing to my eye (out in the world, in a magazine, online, etc) – I take a picture. I’ll then sketch out the design using a digital program (ie- Adobe Illustrator) so I can develop the linework and easily make corrections along the way. Once I am done with the digital work, it gives me the high-level blueprint to blow it up – 24″ x 36″, 3×5 ft, 4×6 ft….and bigger. When it is all said and done, I will have (1) a digital design that can be used for Art Prints and (2) a singular, one-of-a-kind piece for someone to own.
AoA – Big question. What do you feel the role of art is in the world?
Justin – First let me say that Art is a relative term. Traditionally people define art as a painting, sculpture, and tangible things of that nature. But in my humble opinion, it is far more. Raising children is art. Working a boardroom is an artform. Yoga is art. Writing is an art. Most, if not all of us, are artists. We just have a wide range of mediums.
So when I look at the collective Artistic presence in the world, its role is fairly simple. It gives us purpose. In our own special way, we get to be creative. We think, we cultivate, we fail, we succeed. But it is all done with a purpose in mind. Purpose provides regular exercise to our minds, and gives us a sense of identity. Parent, Writer, Engineer, Athlete, Physician, Barista, etc. – we are all artists, and we all have purpose.
In my case, purpose is creating Art that stimulates people and, if even just for a split second, can provoke a positive feeling upon viewing. It’s incredibly rewarding.
AoA – If you could own one piece from a living artist, who would it be?
Justin – Any original piece from Philipp Weber. His work is inconceivably good.
AoA – What else do you enjoy besides making art?
Justin – New-music Fridays/discovering new bands, high calorie foods, coffee, concerts, meditating, hiking, naps, Netflix, podcasts, positive vibes with positive people, more coffee.
AoA – Where can we find your work? Do you have any shows planned for the future?
Justin – At this point, much of my activity and presence is at local art markets and shows at Cherry Cola Dog. And I keep an active list of events on my site: https://www.simplecompositionshop.com/art-events.html
My goal is to have artwork hanging in some commercial business, and hopefully even some murals (home, office, bars/clubs, etc.).
Connect with Justin!
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