Interview
Justin Lees
Justin is a visual artist based in the coastal town of Newcastle, Australia. Justin has been drawing for as long as he can remember. After earning his tertiary qualifications in Graphic Design and Photography in 2009, Justin set out on new endeavors finally coming full circle and returning to his roots, and rekindling his love of painting, photography, and design into a full-fledged professional career as an abstract, expressionist painter.
Justin’s early work was big, bright, and vivid. It attracted interest due to its gestural motion and layers, reminiscent of abstract expressionism and abstraction periods from New York. Justin still uses broad brushstrokes of color and retains a free-flowing style of strokes that provides a signature to all his work and maintains unique abstract expressionism. As he has refined his artistic voice and established himself as one of Newcastle’s leading fine artists, his initial big-and-bold style has broadened to capture portraits and a more mature expressionist style that is very human.
Justin has had a number of solo and joint exhibitions at independent galleries in Newcastle throughout the late 2000s and after a small hiatus from painting contributed to group shows as well as donating significant works towards charitable causes such as HMRI and the Mark Hughes Foundation. In 2019, Justin was commissioned by the Hunter Medical Research Institute to be the 2019 resident artist, creating an original work to be auctioned off, raising over $7000. As his profile gained momentum during 2020, he enjoyed the success of a sold-out solo show, “As We All Play Parts Of Tomorrow” at Blackstone Gallery in Newcastle.
Justin continues to enjoy commission work from a range of collectors and organizations and remains committed to working for charitable causes. In 2021, Justin has taken part in the highly successful, The Other Art Fair in Sydney and again enjoyed a near sold-out success at the Newcastle Art Space show. This success was repeated at Onwards Studios, Newcastle.
Could you tell us about your background and how you started your journey in the art world?
“I was born in Newcastle, Australia which is about two hours north of Sydney on the East Coast of Australia. I moved to Melbourne for a couple of years, along with a big influx of artists and other creatives from Newcastle, where I studied graphic design and photography, briefly, before moving back to Newcastle to raise a family, where I still live in the beachside suburb of Merewether.
I fell in love with all types of art very early on - I'd practice drawing surf brand logos and ninja turtles and other cartoons, also taking photos at hardcore and punk shows as a teenager. I had a few exhibitions here and there, but never really took my art too seriously, and always found other creative outlets or work would get in the way. It's only in the last 4-5 years that I've started to really focus on my art and take it or myself a bit more seriously. It's a tough world to navigate and I'm constantly learning.”
“A flower cannot blossom without sunshine, and a man cannot live without music and art.”
What inspires you most?
“I am inspired by many different things as I go through my day. From drawings my kids will do, to taking a walk down the road to watch the surf. Where I live, it's pretty hard not to be inspired, whether that be by my surroundings or the people I call my friends. I'm lucky to live in an area where I have some of the best beaches in Australia 100-200 meters from my house, but then 30- 40min drive and I'm in the lovely country side, with old small towns and vineyards.
I'm also very grateful to have so many people in my life that constantly continue to amaze and inspire me, not just within the art world but from all walks of life, from musicians, surfers, chefs, jewelers, content creators, the list could go on and on. They do what they love and they do it their way. It's amazing to see.”
What themes do you pursue? Is there an underlying message in your work?
“I’m not sure there is really any underlying messages, maybe subconsciously, with certain words or sentences I may scribble throughout my works, but there’s not really an overall agenda or anything like that. I think my paintings are a visual impact of the viewer’s interpretation and the human emotions it creates within them. I’m interested in what it says to them and what the person standing there staring at it for 5-10 minutes is getting out of it.”
Which artists influence you most?
“I have been madly in love with the work of Jean Michel Basquiat for many, many years. I became obsessed with Cy Twombly in the early 2000’s after visiting MOMA in New York and seeing his Four Seasons. The whole New York scene from the 50’s Joan Mitchell, De Kooning, Franz Kline, Lee Krasner, Hans Hofmann, Helen Frankenthaler, Jackson pollock etc.
Then there’s George Baselitz, Asger Jorn, and Howard Hodgkin. Locally, John Olsen, Ken Done, Sydney Ball, and Arthur Boyd to name a few. These are the artists that when I flick through their books, or see their works in person I immediately feel inspired to paint, whether that be something specific or just literally push paint around on the canvas and build up layers.
Then there’s artists today that are working and doing amazing things: James Drinkwater, Lottie Consalvo, Daisy Parris, Brett Piva, Brittany Ferns, Reginald Sylvester, Anthony White, and Ben Quilty to name a few.”
How would you describe your work?
“I would probably describe my work best as bold and dynamic. It is very physical in the sense that I really throw everything into my paintings, I’m not delicate with them, not towards the very end, that’s when I know the painting is probably coming to its final form. It’s also very free-flowing and with broad-brush strokes, almost childlike – the purest form of art, I believe. I embrace the mistakes and the paint drips that happen, the flick of paint that lands at the bottom of the canvas as you bring the brush up to it intended point. Over the years I think I’ve matured with my work a bit, I still focus very much on that abstract expressionism styled art, but have started to realize the approach that less is more, especially with larger sections of color, realizing I don’t need to be as hectic.”
“My paintings are a visual impact of the viewer’s interpretation and the human emotions it creates within them.”
What is your creative process like?
“I certainly don’t go into my studio with an idea of how an artwork will look, rather, I like to feel my way through the work. I may have a theme or a concept of something that will make up the whole body of work. Then I will spend time researching and collecting images and other bits. Taking my own photographs if I can. I still like to keep visual diaries and sketchbooks with images and drawings. Every body of work will come with a playlist, so I’ll spend hours creating the perfect playlist for me to paint to; I like enjoy letting the feel of the music guide me in the right direction as much as the research material. I honestly think music and painting go hand in hand - it can affect the brush strokes, the color choice and the level of intensity you paint with.
From there I would fill the walls with as many blank canvases and paper as I can, usually jumping from canvas-to-canvas, building layers and layers, different mark making, trying new things until the pieces start to take shape and go in the direction I like. That’s when I usually start to focus on one piece at a time. I usually don’t like to linger on paintings and leave them ‘on show’ in the studio, so I tend to work quickly and bring a body of work together like that. Sometimes, a piece can sit there for a while, and it will become stale to me, so I need to go over it. If there’s one that I finish early in the process, I will usually take it out of the studio to avoid it and store it in the front room, turned around. Out of sight out of mind type thing.”
What is an artist’s role in society and how do you see that evolving?
“I think an artist plays a big role in society, not just the painter, but all artists, from the musician, the designers, the photographers, etc, we are able to provide that little bit of an escape for some people. We might light that spark of inspiration in someone else. The musician might write a lyric that may save someone’s life or bring awareness to some of the injustices in the world. Artists can change the way the world is seen for some. A beautiful artwork, a great song, or an amazing performance can change people’s whole worlds. With social media and technology, the way it is now, we have it all at our fingertips to experience, I mean it’s not the same as being there and experiencing it in the flesh, but if it perks up that interest to go see it, or to try it then that’s a great thing.”
Have you had any noteworthy exhibitions you'd like to share? Please also include any links to these (if applicable).
“My solo exhibition here in Newcastle at Blackstone Gallery just finished and you can check it out here: Blackstone Gallery”
