Tony Wood is the 2002-03 artist in residence for the Duval County School System.
WHAT IS AN
ARTIST IN RESIDENCE?
“The school administration funds it, but the Cultural Council manages the program. It’s about exposing students to working artists. They hire an artist to go into middle and high schools to work with the students. Typically, you do one, two workshops with the teachers for the school year. If they feel they have a weakness in the arts program in that school whether it’s two dimensional, 3-D or something like that, they’ll try to fill that need. I work with figures and portraiture mostly. Some students want to go into a career in the arts. I will work with them in my field of expertise to bring their technical ability up. None of this is new to the teachers but I may have a different approach or a different technique.”
HOW MANY SCHOOLS
DOES HE VISIT?
“I will probably visit 15 schools this year. I’m going to LaVilla three times this week but I want to hit everyone that’s invited me. Teachers sign up and I build a calendar around that. I also teach at Studios for Creativity, a private arts school, at night. The rest of the time I’m working in my studio on painting or drawing. The artist program encourages me to work on my art.”
HOMETOWN
Nashville.
WHAT BROUGHT HIM TO JACKSONVILLE?
“I had family living here. Actually, I came back to the South from San Francisco. I was trying to pursue an art career. I had a studio in Nashville, too. When I came to Florida, I took a job, so I was out of the mainstream for a while.”
WHAT OTHER WORK
HAS HE DONE?
“Other than working at the steel mill, the rest has been this [art]. They closed down their branch here, which was good for me because it allowed me to do the artist in residence.”
EDUCATION
Wood has a bachelor’s degree in fine arts from the University of North Florida.
HOW DOES HE SELECT SUBJECTS FOR HIS PORTRAITS?
“What I do is try to find people that are interesting, that are interesting looking or they have a story. I’m really trying to say something about society and multiculturalism. They’re real-life close-ups. It’s about having their personality come through. One day I would like to have a show with hundreds of these where it would really hit people in the face with this message about our differences and the way we’re alike. I also do figure studies from life. Now, I want to branch out and do more narrative works with the figures to build up that body of work.”
HOW MANY PORTRAITS
HAS HE DONE?
“I’m up to 40 now. They’re acrylic on wood panel.”
WHAT OTHER MEDIUMS DOES HE USE?
“My drawings are mostly of figures. I use charcoal, graphite or conté crayon.”
WHAT IS A CONTE CRAYON?
“They’re usually earth colors. They dig pigments out of the ground and put it together with a binder, which is typically wax. You don’t really color with them. You just draw with them to show the value or the depth.”
WHAT’S MOST REWARDING ABOUT THE JOB?
“Some of these students just don’t seem interested, then all of a sudden you’ll work with them on a portrait and find out they have ability. They get really excited and get turned on to art. It’s still great fun helping those that already have great ability. You bring that expertise up. But those diamonds in the rough are what makes it exciting. It’s exciting to see that happen right before your eyes.”
WHO IS HIS MAIN INFLUENCE?
“I don’t think you’ll see a direct correlation, but Jim Dine is a favorite of mine. They call him a pop artist. He does a lot of drawing and figurative work. He works in series, which I like.”
WHERE HAS HE
SHOWN HIS WORK?
Recently, Wood had a figure show at FCCJ’s Wilson Center, which almost sold out, and a group show at Kent Campus. Currently, he is part of a show at the Schultz Center, featuring all the artists in residence since 1974. Other shows have been juried or invitational with JCVA or the St. Augustine Art Association.
HOW LONG HAS HE
BEEN AN ARTIST?
“It probably started in grade school. I seemed to have ability. Some art teacher somewhere encouraged me. It gets under your skin. You learn about art history, learn how to handle the different mediums and tools, then try to make sense of it all. You try to bring all this knowledge and experience and passion for it into something that hopefully communicates something.”
HIS GREATEST CHALLENGE?
“You come up with an idea; you think that idea’s good and you float it out there for the rest of the world and they may tell you to just go back home and try again or you may be the greatest thing that’s ever happened. But they’re your ideas so they’re very personal. You’re really putting yourself on the line every time. If you’re really trying to say something, you may go down a road that people don’t appreciate. You learn to deal with rejection but you can’t get rejected all your life or you’ll have to go get a new line of work.”
FAMILY
Wood resides in Arlington with his wife Dawn and their two daughters, Stephanie and Sarah.
PERSONAL INTERESTS
Wood enjoys fantasy films, portabello hoagies from the Mellow Mushroom and floating down the Intracoastal with his father, fishing pole in hand.
WHAT’S YOUR PET PEEVE?
“When they try to cut art programs in public schools. We’re teaching our future leaders and they need to be well-rounded. The three R’s are one-dimensional. I want our leaders to understand music and art and why they’re important.”
— by Monica Chamness