David Molesky Lights A Fire In His 1x Debut

“For me painting has become a way to chronicle things like environments, people, animals, atmospheres and moods. I especially want to translate into paint those things which I would like to resonate and carry with me. By making paintings, I actively etch an image into my memory and capture with it the thoughts and inspirations that drove the will of that creation. My paintings as objects provide a window back into the emotional body that predominated the experience of empathy for the subject matter.” – David Molesky

Here for his debut RUN, David Molesky has brought us  a break in his paintings of crashing water ways with the warming glow of the Griffith Park fire. Read on as David takes us through his debut RUN, discusses past influences and more…

1xRUN Thru Interview

Griffith Park by David Molesky

1xRUN: Tell us a bit about the original piece, what materials printed on/drawn with?

David Molesky: The original was walnut oil on oil primed linen.  There is some glass in the brightest part of the fire.

1xRun: When was the piece drawn/created?

David Molesky:  2010.

1xRun: Tell us how the idea and execution came about?

David Molesky:  The painting was inspired by a fire that occurred near where I was living in the Los Felix neighborhood of Los Angeles. I was making a series of a dozen paintings on the topic of Los Angeles Hill fires at night for a show at the basement gallery in Oakland.

1xRun: How long did the piece take?

David Molesky:   I worked on the painting on and off for about 4 months, slowly bringing it up to a higher level, doing my best to make it glow.

1xRun: What is unique about this piece?

David Molesky:  I think it was my most successful of the series for capturing the awe and terror of a large fire.

1xRun: Why should people buy this print?

David Molesky:  It brings the element of fire into the home.  I am sure thats good on some feng shui level.

1xRun: Describe this print in one gut reaction word.

David Molesky:  Inferno.

1xRun: When did you first start making art?

David Molesky:  I was drawing lots very early on.  I cleared out a walk-in closet and moved in my small desk, creating my first studio at age 4.  That same year, I sold my first piece, a warthog mask to a neighbor.  I told the neighbor that the mask would cure them from a groundhog problem in their backyard.

1xRun: What was your first piece?

David Molesky:  My first painting on canvas was a still life with lacrosse protection: jockstrap and cup.

1xRun: What artists inspired you early on?

David Molesky:    When I first started painting.  I gravitated to those who I saw in the national gallery.  Vincent Van Gogh, Edvard Munch, and Rembrandt.  As years went by I was very influenced by Lucian Freud.  Then of course working with David Ligare and Odd Nerdrum both carried heavy influence and inspiration.

1xRun: What artists inspire you now?

David Molesky:  I am wildly inspired and impressed with my contemporaries.  Those who are included in the movements championed by magazines like Juxtapoz and hiFructose.  Such wonderful minds and hands at work here in our day.

1xRun: Do you listen to music while you work? If so what? If not then what is your environment like when you work?

David Molesky:  I sometimes listen to Philip Glass or Tupac.  No particular reason, its just I have the most music by them by coincidence and I can hit play on the artist and it seems to be continuous and then I get lost in my work.  If I am constantly having to attend to the machine or push play thats no bueno.  Sometimes silence is great to.

1xRun: If you could collaborate with any living artist who would it be and why?

David Molesky:  Interesting question.  I like this question.  There are so many, I am pretty open to working with anyone.

1xRun: If you could collaborate with any deceased artists who would it be and why?

David Molesky:  Ha, even better, but easier to answer.  I would love to work with Titian, Rembrandt, and Da Vinci. They are the best in my mind.

1xRun: What was the first piece of art that you bought? Do you still have it?

David Molesky:  First piece that I bought, hmm.  I bought some Ikat, woven narrative cloths in Indonesia, and a carve bamboo didgeridoo.

1xRun: What was the last piece of art that you bought?

David Molesky:  The last I bought, was a ceramic owl in Mexico.

1xRun: What else do you have in the works?

David Molesky:   I have an upcoming solo show at The Fridge, in Washington, DC, it is scheduled to open on Sept. 15th

1xRun:  Where can people find you on the internette?

David Molesky:  Website – Facebook – Twitter–

-1xRUN