Artist: Terry Tripp of TrippArt Interviews Artist: Jeff Del Nero about his work. TrippsArtClass.com

TrippArt: What first got you interested in visual art? What’s your “art testimony”?

JEFF DEL NERO: Illustration was an early interest. I loved album cover art and how the visual expression of the music added to the experience. The whole package of holding the cover of a vinyl record while the music was playing. I lived in a small central CA town, and working in agriculture was the main job. I wanted to be an artist, so the closest thing I could find was being a sign painter. I started doing that in about 6th grade as a side-gig. I worked in almonds, tomatoes and apricots during the summers, but sign painting was something I could do year around.

TrippArt: What’s the process of your artwork? How is it challenging?

JDN: I almost always start with a doodle in my sketchbook or on a post-it note™ Then, if my idea translates effectively small — I enlarge it and put it into my panel format. My panels range in size from 17x22 through 72x96”. The challenge to me is to keep a feel of immediacy. The goal is to make something look like it was done in one sitting, even though there are revisions and modifications that take weeks.

TrippArt: Explain the reason for your choice of media.

JDN: This current group focuses on the the format of college ruled binder paper. There is a historicity to the format. It reminds me of when that was all I had to draw on while growing up. It is a very personal space. Writing a letter to my grandparents on that paper. It was a small, quiet experience. Now, with resources to do anything I want, I have chosen a larger format and wall-sized panels that almost work like a mural. This is what’s curious to me are the personal statements made large on walls as graffiti. This process combines the two worlds for me. very private statements made very loud online. An entertaining by-product of this whole endeavor is the proportion of the paper is correct so when it’s viewed online, people don’t have a sense of its actual size.

TrippArt: Sum up your artist statement, or explain the reason for your artwork.

JDN: What interests me is a visual dialog between public and private, between the young me, and the old me. A dialog with street art and a personal journal. A dialog between the analog world, (seeing the scale of the work in person) and the digital world (screen culture).

TrippArt: How does your artwork affect others?

JDN:  ...my hope in all of my work is to create a conversation. By referencing pop culture with art history and quirky sketches that may provoke thought and discourse.

TrippArt: What’s one story or experience you can share about your artwork or interactions you’ve had with showing or creating your artwork?

JDN: I would say one of my favorite ways to have my interact with showing is when we have people over for dinner or a studio visit and there is time to settle in to a particular painting. I like the experience of seeing a person deconstruct the work by bringing their curiosity to it. It’s a way to have some deep conversations.

TrippArt: How has your artwork and/or art process changed over time?

JDN: My work has matured from making images OF things .... to making images ABOUT things.

TrippArt: What can we expect to see in the future of your artwork?

JDN: I would love to be surprised by what is next. I don’t desire to have a good sense of where my work is going. It’s the process of discovering that has always driven me. I love to be surprised by what I try. Many times that leads to things that don’t work, but when it does — it’s a joy.

TrippArt: What is the goal of your artwork?

JDN: It seems to me that when a person views the work it completes it. The goal is for the work to be seen and considered. Art takes time. We live in a time where people quickly swipe to the next option. I hope to slow down the scrolling — if only for a little bit.