“As an artist, I
believe we have the responsibility to take chances and exercise our creative
talents in all aspects of our lives. We
were chosen for this lifestyle and should take every advantage in leading our
direct communities towards positive change regarding current realities and
issues, through our art.” - Frank Garcia III
I had the pleasure to sit down with Dallas-based artist Frankie Garcia III. Who has been in the Art World for over 20 years. This is what he had to say...
By: Violet Kirk
You are the founder of
FGIII Fine Art Productions. How did you
create this company?
“Well, it started out
as FGIIIArt in 1998. My purpose was to
create more of ‘my’ art, refine my art, sell and promote my art, brand my art
and brand myself as a professional artist.
That was my focus for a good 10
years. In 2008, FGIIIArt eventually
evolved into more of an umbrella organization dedicated to establishing unity
within the Dallas arts as well as instilling purpose and vision into the work
of the individual artist. I began to
represent other Dallas artists who wanted me to do, for them, what I had
created for myself. I found myself doing
more art consulting and advising for other artists and patrons in regards to
art collecting, art management projects and art related opportunities. I thought to myself, I’ll always have a
passion to paint and create as an artist, but maybe if I focused more on the
business aspect of art consulting, branding and
advising, that this may very well build a solid foundation for my art business.
I began heavily networking within the arts, reading and educating myself
about art history and art business, and taking social media platform online
courses to better understand the art consumer, patron and collector.
In 2013, FGIIIArt made
a final transition into FGIII Fine Art Productions. We now focus on promoting the work of both
emerging and established, mid-career, artists through quality fine art shows
and exhibitions, art representation, curating, consulting and advising. We provide the necessary professional tools
to drive the growth of our artists business and focus on creating worth through
their artistic practice. We handle
creative branding, financial facilitation, project management, technical art
critiquing, client to artist liaising and portfolio advisement.
It’s been a
long tough road, building something from nothing. Art is my life… it’s my career. I eat, breath, sleep, dream and live
art. I’ve gone ‘all-in’ to the point of
drowning, all the sudden, just when you think it’s not working, it all comes
together and you begin to float and begin to swim comfortably. But you must stay as proactive as you can,
everyday! Everyday counts! When I meet young artists who want to do what
I do, I immediately express to them the realities of my path. I’ve literally
starved, suffered drug and alcohol addiction, been homeless, slept on sofas,
apartment hopped, job hopped… all in the efforts of finding that fine line
balance that allows longevity in this art life.
I give back to my direct community.
It’s imperative to my focus. I
work with Color Me Empowered, based in Oak Cliff, Dallas, TX. Their mission relates to me, as an artist:
“Empowering at-risk children while improving
neglected communities through public art, regardless of race or social
background.”
In the
beginning, before my life trials, I thought that being known around town, being
available and living a promiscuous life, staying out late nights and hanging
out with all the popular people in all the pretentious spots around the city
would get me known and bring success. I
was foolish and absolutely wrong. That
way of living burnt me out and used me up.
I now stay focused and work under the radar. I stay close to my family, my wife, my
daughters and my grandbabies. My wife,
Heather, is my biggest fan and my ROCK.
We are a team and she steps in when she needs to. I have lots more responsibilities now and I
wake up bright and early every morning, drink my coffee and plan my day. I live by my schedule, so that every hour of
my day, I have something to do within my art business. I’ve learned to take my art commitment
extremely seriously, especially when representing or working for other
artists.
Your paintings
manifest an enticing feel to them, like frosting on a cake. What makes that happen? I find my inspiration
from my own art community. Artists I
work with on a daily basis influence me and I surround myself with their
amazing art as much as I possibly can. I
study their details, compositions and techniques and I incorporate bits of
those styles into my own art. In 2007, I
had an experienced, traditional, Italian fine art
painter critique my work and after reviewing multiple paintings of mine, she
described my work as ‘abstract de-constructivism’. She said: “You’re in a constant battle
between constructing and deconstructing your compositions…” I didn’t quite know
exactly what she meant, at the time. I now have a better understanding and I’ve
decided to term my work ‘abstract constructivism’. My paintings are thought out well in advance
and I purposely embrace a variety of mixed-media compositions and incorporate
an array of paints and finishes. I
integrate textures, strong lines, bold colors and a fine-line collaboration
between geometric shapes and circles of union; which precisely balance
collectively to create my signature visual compositions.
How do you challenge
yourself in regards to your art?
One of my favorite
sayings in regards to art is:
“Time is money.
The more time you spend on your art, the more its worth and the higher
retail value you can ask for it.”
I challenge myself by
applying more time into my paintings.
For instance, last year I was commissioned to create a new style but it
was very time consuming. I could’ve
pulled away and created a faster way to accomplish this work but I stuck to the
vision and completed the process. At one
point I realized that I was painting according
to my creative schedule instead of thinking to far in advance, and I allowed my
projected process to fulfill itself. It
was well worth the wait. The client
absolutely loved their commissioned art piece!
I love hearing, “How did you do that? or Where is the beginning? and Where is
the end?” When my
compositions are so complicated that the viewer or collector gets lost in the
painting and begin a continuous search for how it was created. This is
important to me.
Another avenue that I
purposely apply into my work are quality products. I use the best paints and finishes available
to me and I build my own canvas frames and stretch my own canvases to ensure balance quality. I use a very high-end varnish product that is
non-yellowing and UV protectant and allows the collector to touch my
paintings. Dimension is a huge part of
my visual compositions and I purposely apply my textures and color palettes
directional so that my paintings evolve as the viewer moves across the
work.
Where would you say
you could improve?
I can always improve
my work. The collector is savvy and
always on the look out for timeless complicated works of art. I’m constantly struggling with my art
evolution. Its extremely difficult but
it must occur if I want to be successful and collected.
What does art me to
you?
Art to me is a
freedom, to express and live your artistic perspective through life. There is no right or wrong. But if you call yourself an artist, you
should consider it a privilege and a responsibility to be true to yourself,
your art and your community. An
artist’s career should tell a story and should reveal solutions to realities as
their life and works are forced to evolve throughout their own personal trials,
transformations and advancements. Art is
NOT what you see, its how you live.
Where do you see your
art in the future?
I’d like to be
represented, but in my opinion, I don’t necessarily want to sign to a gallery
in my own city. It can be done, but with
the level that I’m involved in my own art community, it just wouldn’t work
within my business plan. I don’t
necessarily believe in the 50% standard gallery split within my own city. I would be more receptive to a 30% gallery /
70% artist split, like I offer artists that I work with.
I wouldn’t mind
committing to a 50% split with a gallery out of state that would market me to a
whole new demographic and network my art throughout their database. That’s my immediate goal.
What is your dream
gallery?
I don’t necessarily
have one. But, I would love to show my work
at the ‘Affordable Art Fair’ in NY or ‘Art Basel’ in Miami or satellite
exhibits like ‘Scope’ or ‘Pulse’. I’m
very insecure in regards to where my art fits within the national or
international markets. That’s why I’d
love to have an art consultant, representative or gallery that would filter
through that process for me. I’ve researched
markets that my work could possibly do well in and my goal is to work towards
those markets.
What type of art do
you see making the biggest impact in the immediate future?
Interactive art. Like I’ve said before, social media can be a
great tool but it can also be a very bad thing for art. For instance, social media has created a
negative need for instant gratification within a millisecond. An artist could work on a very complicated
piece of art that might have taken more time to complete than any other work
they’ve ever produced. Then they post it to social media and it
simply gets scrolled through with no appreciation. Sometimes social media does no justice for great
works of art. It’s happening more and
more as video is taking over the photo markets.
I believe, interactive art, which video can capture, force a viewer to
stop scrolling and actually voice, “what the hell”, will be the future. Social media, in regards to the art world, is
a catch 22 and very complicated and would take pages to discuss. Lol…
Any advice you would
like to give to any artist pursuing his/her dreams in the art world?
Take a moment and
literally look in the mirror for a long time and stare at yourself and then ask
yourself…
Do I have what it
takes to create a long-term plan, that will
inevitably fail, to live a creative life, proactively make art, build your
worth and business and sustain yourself as an artist while the realities of life
constantly force you to evolve?
If you cannot
sincerely answer ‘yes’, don’t waist your time.
Photo Credit: WJNPHOTO
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