Meet Andy Pollock | Artist & Figure Model

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

Hi Andy, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
It was time to explore — I started finding depth in the small moments I tended to usually skate over. I felt silenced in many ways and I turned towards my creativity. In doing so, I discovered vulnerability, beauty, passion, authenticity with a spotlight on self-expression. This is a time of exuberance, free from doubt and fear, a celebration of self.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Painting remains the center of my self-expression; each painting is driven by, and is a visual manifestation of my energy and emotion, captured at a specific moment in time.

As it is for many artists, painting also represents a therapeutic, healing practice; it is as much sustenance to body and mind as food, drink or leisure. It is a reminder that there is joy in the details. That creation is an act of both self-care and surrender.

Art is a boundaryless experience—a visceral, intuitive, heart-forward homage to the act of creation — heavy body acrylics, spray paint, pastels and art objects. My methods are unorthodox, often painting without brushes: instead, he uses a variety of tools, palette knives, free-pours and other unconventional methods to create vibrant, textured work — my work ignores rules, disregards guidelines, and resists classification.

The other side of my art is figure and life modeling — I stumbled across this artistic form and have not looked back since. Not only have I have been the subject of some great art, I have learned about myself and the creative process overall. Life modeling fills a much needed gap and artists learn how to view, analyze and recreate a real person as compared to a 2D image or photo reference. Life modeling is mentally challenging and equally physically demanding — often times holding poses for 5, 10, 15 or 20 minutes poses. It is not uncommon for a long pose to last 2 to 3 hours, split up into 20 minute increments. Needless to say, you have a lot of time to think and I have learned to channel this time for meditation and deep thought.

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.
A few days in Boulder — all mornings in Boulder start with your favorite cup of tea or coffee at Beleza Coffee, Wonder Juice or Ozo Coffee. Once you have your snacks and drink, a walk on Pearl Street is in order. There is so much vibrancy on Pearl Street — the local shops, eateries, parks and gardens, not to mention the prolific mural and art scene in Boulder. Galleries, street art and wall murals (Street Wise Boulder Mural) all over — there are guided walking and cycling tours, a must for you art and culture fans!

FOOD — wow, so many great local places to eat. Top pizza (and Aperol Spritz) at PIzzeria Locale. Jax’s, Corrida, Bar Taco and River and Woods are some of my recent favorites in town.

The Boulder Theater for music and shows.

AND the main event, hundreds of miles of multi purpose trails — walking, hiking, cycling, trail running, dog walks and more. Climbing, paddling and camping — the list is endless, Boulder is an adult playground for sports and outdoor activities. Period.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Sally Spooner and Jess Thielman — Founders of PeaksFit in Boulder, CO. Fearless, strong and independent women, running a female owned business in Boulder Colorado. Sally and Jess have created a special community — their studio is based on challenging fitness programs with a lot of education and inspiration along the way.

Leah Brennan Clack — Founder, Street Wise Boulder:

Street Wise Boulder” is an annual ARTivism mural festival in Boulder, CO created in 2019 by Street Wise Arts. We have installed over 85 murals over the last three years in the City of Boulder. The mission of our mural festival is to amplify arts and culture, represent diversity, equity and inclusion through public art, while encouraging conversations around social justice and community resilience.

Our programming has provided a launch pad for artists and a model to support the intersection of Art & Activism. We prioritize representation for BIPOC, emerging, and LGBTQIA artists and invite local, national and international artists to participate in our festival . We bring art to neighborhoods including under-served and neglected pockets of Boulder, as well as in the heart of the City and in the arts district.

Ellen Allen — Founder Art of Modeling Boulder:

The Art of Modeling is a booking agency, fine arts model training provider and an informal professional association of fine arts models in the Boulder-Denver metropolitan area.
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Boulder, Colorado has the third highest per capita rate of artists in the country and Art of Modeling is thrilled to promote the performing art of figure modeling & to provide this service to our thriving arts community!
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Our Mission and Goals include:

To promote fine arts modeling as a legitimate and artistic profession
To encourage models’ safety and respect
To raise the level of professionalism within the fine arts modeling industry
To facilitate both the hiring of models & finding work as a professional fine arts model
To promote a wage that is equitable to the profession
To create and provide figurative drawing opportunities for the arts community
To support figurative artists careers by hosting brick & mortar gallery exhibits
To educate artists & models on industry appropriate conduct
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Art of Modeling isn’t a non profit, but it is a mission driven woman (minority) owned small business that strives to build community, host free offerings, collaborate with other local organizations, train new art models, and set professional high standards.

Instagram: Andypollock_art