VISUAL ARTIST

COLE COLLIER

The Artist

Growing up in a family who operated a commercial/ residential construction company, I was surrounded by men that I looked up to. On Fridays the crew would come to my house after work to pick up paychecks. I remember getting home from school to greet them all hanging out in my driveway, smoking cigarettes, drinking beer, and I would listen to what they talked about even though I understood little of it. I idolized them and knew that I wanted to grow up and be tough like them.

I grew older and worked with a lot of these same guys during the summer in high school, later in college part time, and now during the summers when I am not teaching. I’ve found more humility within them and respect for them in a more mature sense. Many of them struggle with generational poverty, broken families, substance abuse, or they just never got a fair shake to begin with. I wish for others to see these guys like I do. The guys that could tie steel, walk trusses, jet bulkhead pylons, bust concrete, and even put on a new coat of paint all in a day’s work.

Inspired by the baroque, I paint scenes that pay homage to the working class. Common themes in my work are speed, drama, and vulnerability. I use traditional methods and mediums to create these paintings. All photographs are my personal photos that I take. Sometimes several photos are collaged together to create an entirely new scene, story or space.