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CommentsWhat's Your Favorite
Quick questions with local artist Brad Noble.
Sometimes strangers wander into Brad Noble’s minimalistic northside studio. The renowned painter is usually cordial and doesn’t think too much of it. Perhaps that’s because it’s that same sort of surprise and naïve guts on his part that landed his paintings in the Weinsten Gallery in San Fransisco five years ago.
Noble had lived in Los Angeles and New York, but it was actually a Springfield client who first brought his work to the attention of the prestigious gallery. From there, it was all Noble. They were expecting a small shipment of his paintings to consider. Instead, Noble says, “I drove with a U-Haul right up there four days later. They weren’t expecting it. I pull up right in front on their busy street, popped open the door and started dragging stuff out.” Surprised, they called their brokers in to look at his work while Noble and his wife, Tina, ate sushi nearby. Within 15 minutes, Noble had to rush back in because one of his paintings had sold. With that, he was in at the Weinstein Gallery.
While his work shows on the international stage, Noble is able to live out his career in the much smaller Springfield. “It’s kind of the perfect thing,” he says. “I can go out and nobody knows me. One weekend out of the year, I’ll have a big show in an international market and I’ll get my ego stroked enough that I can come back and disappear again.”
Into his paintings are where Noble will find himself disappearing the most. Yet, pouring his heart into his large canvasses isn’t something that always flows freely. “I’ll go for weeks and be dreading the trip in [to my studio in Springfield],” says Noble. “There will be that random day that I’ll come in and finish two pieces, and I’ll have been working six months on them.” The inspiration can be just as random. “It can be as simple as a TV show the night before, or I’ll pick up a magazine, and it can be the color solution on that page,” he says.
What's Your Favorite?
Gallery?
“Marlborough or the Forum in New York and LA.”
Piece that you’ve done?
“The ones that have yet to come out of my head. They’re still perfect.”
Type of canvas?
“Ideally, it’s primed linen. There’s a quality that exudes. The collectors will hear, ‘Linen? I will pay extra.’”
Way of cooking potatoes?
“I have got some crazy mashed potatoes. They’re really good.”
Pocket?
“The one that my wallet is in.”
Missouri town name?
“I love Bois D’Arc. Any of the town names that kind of confuse you for a while.”
Sound of nature?
“Peacocks. [Imitates noise.] And they have a honk at the beginning.” [Imitates some more.]
Thing to grow?
“I’ve been growing tomatoes. What grows with them, I find, are these giant green worms. They’re huge. They’re the size of your thumb. I have a lot of fun picking those off my tomato plants, so I guess the worms.”
Childhood shirt?
“One that I had when I was real young. It was one of those flimsy yellow shirts that had glitter silk screen that said, ‘I finally got it all together, but I forgot where I put it.’”
Type of milk?
“I like the kinds in the glass. Whole milk. I go for the high fat.”
Synonym for Noble?
“Regal or authentic.”
