Kristy Gammill
Opening Friday, June 19 as a part of Premiere on Film Row
BlackMint Collective | Oklahoma City
Some art just grabs you as soon as you enter a room and refuses to let go. The colors entrap you, the patterns entangle you, and more than anything, you just need to get close to witness how it all seamlessly meshes together while still utterly standing apart.
Edmond painter Kristy Gammill achieves just that, and to say her paintings are striking is a dire understatement. They’re vivid and loud, sure, but they’re also candy-colored dreamscapes, beckoning you to melt and lose yourself in their saccharinity. Oxford Karma talked with Gammill about her frustration with the color white, selling art to X-Men and seeing her work on people’s feet.
Oxford Karma: How did you get involved with BlackMint Collective?
Kristy Gammill: I was there getting a tattoo, and [BlackMint owner Brandilyn Dunning and I] just started talking. I liked her venue and her space is really cool. It just seemed right, and the timing was perfect. I’m just starting to get back in the flow of everything [after having a baby] because for the last two years I’ve basically been selling online or through One King’s Lane. Shows are a bit overwhelming for me, but I know they’re good for me.
OK: How has your background as an interior designer helped you as an artist?
Gammill: I got tired of seeing white all the time, so I wanted to bring in some color. I’m influenced a lot by Clyfford Still and his large-scale paintings, and I love Andy Warhol’s bright colors and patterns and kind of the poppiness of his work. I was inspired by everything from textiles to stuff I found in flea markets, and I wanted to bring that into someone’s space. Bright colors, saturated patterns — the more the better. Designers paid me on commission, and I did more stuff than I maybe would’ve done on my own. When you’re continuously painting, it’s obviously just going to help your style and help you develop.
OK: What kind of attention did you receive?
Gammill: When I first started to sell, I got the most attention from places like Australia. It seemed like people in Oklahoma liked muted colors and lots of white. I got my website made, and the first painting that I ever sold was to Rebecca Romijn. It blew up right away, and I just didn’t even know how it was happening. Back then, especially, it seemed like there was a shortage of brightly colored pieces. In the last three or four years, it has really gotten to be where more artists use bright colors.
OK: So you do abstracts, and then you also more realistic paintings of flowers and elephants and camels. Why are you drawn to those elements?
Gammill: I love all the pom-poms and tassels and stuff on the camels, so it’s just basically more of the same thing: all the colors and textures. I haven’t been able to see them in person or get any pictures, so I just decided to make my own. I love all the painted elephants and the patterns. For some reason, I’ve just always been drawn to that.
OK: And now your work is being displayed through other mediums, right?
Gammill: Right. The miracle of the World Wide Web. [teNeues] just found me through my website or through Pinterest. Hallmark has made cards out of a couple of my images, Burton is making a snowboard in spring 2016 and there’s Bucketfeet that does shoes with artists.
OK: How long do you usually spend on a piece, from the conception to the final product?
Gammill: Thinking about it is usually the longest part of it. There will be times when I can just slap something together in three or four days, and then there will be times when I’ve got something in the corner that I’ve been working on for three or four months that I just can’t get right. I usually work on a few pieces at a time, and I just know when they’re done. There’s a certain emotion or feeling that I always get.
OK: Are you debuting anything new at the BlackMint show?
Gammill: Nope. This really is my first show in awhile. I’ll get around to new stuff soon, but right now it’s really about just getting back out there.
