In the Studio with Artist Jo Coyle

Today, we’re going In the Studio with artist Jo Coyle. Jo’s artwork will be on display in the Chesapeake Arts Center’s Siren gallery exhibit, August 26 - September 18.

From contemporary portraits with with loose yet intentional strokes, to gritty, abstract mixed media pieces, to fine line inked or printed pieces, Jo Coyle’s body of work displays her unwillingness to stay in one place artistically. Driven by curiosity and enthusiasm to challenge her own creative boundaries, Jo’s newest collection of paintings is her Siren series. A visual commentary on the stigmas surrounding mental health issues for women (in the most inclusive definition of the word), and how it affects them and their lives. Jo hopes for the Siren exhibit to exist as a safe place to discuss these struggles in the open while assuring other women on their own mental health journey that “it’s okay to be in the dark, and they’re not alone”.

Here’s Jo talking about her art, process and experience...

Who is your favorite mentor and what did they teach you?

My favorite mentors were my two college art teachers, Meg Rahaim and Liz Holtry. They both had their own individual senses of style and fearlessness that bloomed throughout their work--one made life-size human-shaped woodcuts with anatomical carvings, while the other made a series of fluorescent toile paintings featuring hyenas and other wildlife--as well as their instruction. They both challenged me to push my limits and the breadth of my work. I often felt ignored by other instructors because I was doing "well enough," and often used very tight mark making, neutral palettes and shallow depths in my early career, a mold they both definitely broke just by paying attention.

What does your artwork represent?

Right now it represents observation. Currently I look at my portraits and when I find my subject's face I say, "I see you." That's the point of the Siren project as well, highlighting these participants in a compassionate, thoughtful way. Art can be used as reflection, almost like a doppelganger of a subject and what it conveys, a second hit over the head to show people what they should be paying attention to.

When did you start creating art? Was there an event that led you to this?

I was itty bitty. According to my mother I was always drawing something no matter where I was.

What is your studio/creative space like? Or what is your favorite place to create in?

My studio is currently a dark, basement den reminiscent of my dark college studios. It's my "no excuses" space--no matter how dark or cluttered or stifling it is, it's what I currently have access to and what I'll take advantage of no matter what. Eventually we'll get a bigger place and I will paint in something bigger than a corner, but waiting is the death of creativity.

How has your art evolved over time?

I think it's evolved in that it has deeper meaning. I was really good at just copying stuff, shall we say. And I think that's what bored me--the stuff itself was quite lifeless even if it were a self-portrait. I went through a horrible depression alongside the economy after I graduated in 2011, and felt a bit like whatever I wanted to say was trapped underneath and it trickled out of me quite slowly over the next few years until the pandemic hit. Being pregnant during a pandemic definitely gives you a "f*** all this" mentality, and I think that's when I became a bit more fearless in my work with my Purge series.

What characteristics about your personality show through your art?

My stepdad jokes that I have the "power of randomness" as a super power. My work spans from color to subject to thickness to medium to size to you name it. A bunch of it I kinda do without thinking, or caring--I go Pollock and leave random paint caps in my mixed media pieces, for instance. I'm quite about letting the universe do its thing, and if it wants to touch my art too, so be it!

Who would be your dream artist to collaborate with?

This is a hard question mainly because I don't keep up as well as I should with contemporary artists. When it comes to past artists I'd love to just share ideas with Dadaists in general. Their notions of art as a political movement are inspiring especially in today's day and age, and they still make room for fun and creativity despite the seriousness of their focus. Is Neo-Dadaism a thing? Because I'd like to be a part.

How do you know when a work is finished?

I don't! Not often. It depends, I'll just get bored, or I'll say "it's done" and I can't touch it anymore, or I get so frustrated with it I consider it an aesthetically pleasing lost cause. I set very high standards for my work which often defeats my drive, so quite often I'm settling for "good enough" when it comes to my pieces--otherwise I'll never finish or worse, never be happy with them.

Is there a specific environment or material that's integral to your work?

I need time. It would be one thing if I could pleasantly work for ten minutes at a time on a piece. I'd be making SO many pieces with a toddler running around biting me all the time. But no - I blame it on my ADHD but I need time to get into a hyper-focused flow state all alone to accomplish what I need to.

How have your life experiences influenced your aesthetic style?

My style has become looser over the years, and in turn more therapeutic for me. As I said earlier, between various levels of depression, a late ADHD diagnosis, a pandemic, and pregnancy, I've had to learn to just let go of a lot of stuff out of my control weighing me down. I think I used to use art as a method of control. "People" would like me more or be more impressed if my art was realistic, or dramatic, or secular. The more detail I put into something the more influence I had over it. But it was exhausting for me and not satisfying in the least. Reclaiming the messy, colorful artistic process in recent years has been a godsend for me, and I think even turning to paint instead of graphite has promoted a looser, softer translation of my emotions in more than one way.

What did you have to develop, try or learn to create your artwork?

Educationally? Observation skills. They are so important. That and color theory and knowing how light works. Philosophically? Let go. For me it was like I was damming up an angry flooded river. Artists get blocks for a reason - the mind can really screw with your intentions under pressure. It was when I had nothing left to lose that I started to produce my best work, as I was no longer afraid of that angry river destroying everything anymore.

For more information on Jo and her artwork, check her out on Instagram and Facebeook @jocoyleart or on her website.