Don Estes Visit

Don Estes

This week in my professional practices class we went on a studio visit with Don Estes. We arrived in downtown memphis on South Main and walked up to the side of a four story building. It had a commercial entrance and a man met us at the door to let us in. We rode the elevator up to the third floor by accident. (Although I really think the artist Don Estes just wanted to show us his super sweet digs). After seeing said super sweet digs we walked downstairs to his second floor studio. My jaw dropped. It was my dream studio, and I think a lot of people in the class felt the same. It was the kind of space you only can dream of. Big wooden beams, old creaky wooden floors, windows that span almost from floor to ceiling, and a beautiful downtown view. This must be the life! His paintings were almost as wonderful as his space. They were “abstract landscapes” They really spoke to me, as much as paintings can speak. I am still in awe over the work and the space. I think I was pretty overwhelmed. I still managed to ask a couple questions so I do not have any questions I wished I would have asked. He built his surfaces in such a peculiar way that I had never seen before, but they were wonderful. They were cut at 45 degree angles instead of just using straight one by twos. He made a funny comment about them being hard to frame and thats why he does it. He didn't seem to have that much to say about his pieces except for the fact that he was looking for a change. He also told us to become waiters, which really wasn't that helpful. Although it has been considered. All in all it was an interesting visit that made me think, and I think that is the best part of these trips. It helps us think about what we want from our art careers.