Tom Pazderka: An Interview Part 2

I’m not much of a self-promoter, the practice itself produces inside me an inordinate amount of anxiety, to be honest.

Inside the Painter’s Studio is a 2009 book of interviews with artists who were, at the time, if not famous, then at least successful. As the title suggests, the book is an invitation into the artists’ studios, which is a bit like what happens during the Second Saturday Ojai Studio Artists Tour.

The interview style of the book is kind of perfect. The interviewer asks the same fundamental questions of every single artist, as if they were a category, only slightly differently each time. It’s a good way to get into the head space of the artist. And that is the entire point of what follows.

Do you work on one painting or project at a time?

I’m always working on multiple paintings at a time. It keeps my interest, and my brain occupied. I know that if I worked on only one painting, I would never finish, because there are three main phases for me personally when painting. The beginning phase is the best. It’s the most exciting thing to start a new painting and see it come out of the darkness of the ash. I always imagine what it will look like when it's finished. But then, inevitably, the middle phase starts and then it becomes just labor, and I often lose interest. That’s when almost always I start another painting or move on to finish a painting that’s been abandoned or sitting for a long time. The third and final phase is again exciting, because that’s when the final touches are made and the painting becomes what it is, it becomes itself. Eventually I come back to those abandoned paintings, but only after they’ve sat for long enough and then it’s wild how satisfying it is to put paint on those again. 

How do you come up with titles? 

I work in a series a lot, so a lot of those titles are taken from the name of the series and numbered. Nostalgie is my longest running series that I’ve been working on for almost ten years. I painted something like thirty to forty of those. The title is based on the Czech spelling of the word ‘nostalgia’. Many titles I already have in my head before starting and I just need to find an image to go with it. I’m a titles nerd to be honest and I come up with titles for paintings and articles all the time and keep them in my notes and on my phone. Most of them will never become anything, but I have them just in case. I feel that a good title for a work of art is just as important as the work itself, even if it's short and descriptive. It’s why I never make untitled works. The title should do a lot of the heavy lifting for the audience that is trying to access the meaning of the work. 

Do you have a favorite color?

Black. Obviously. Blue is close second. 

Do you have any special tools or devices that are unique to the way you work?

Torches to burn the panels and paper, but other than that not really. It’s an assortment of brushes and rags.

How often do you clean your studio and does that affect your work?

Because of the dust I clean the studio about once a week. I have a dust allergy, so walking around a dusty space isn’t good for my lungs. Because of my family, I have a neurotic proclivity toward cleanliness, and I clean with the determination of a hypochondriac. I cannot function in a messy space; my brain just won’t work. It’s possible that if I didn’t clean as much, I’d probably have more time to paint, but then if I didn’t clean, I couldn’t paint because I’d only be thinking about cleaning. So, it’s a weird double-edged sword. 

Do you have assistants?

No, though I did have a few studio assistants in the past on and off. 

Did you ever work for another artist?

Yes, about twenty years ago, I was a full-time studio assistant to a professional artist for a few years. It was one of my first real world experiences with the professional arts. I think I learned more from that experience than what I learned in art school.