Illustrator Adam S. Doyle is currently featured in Spectra, a group exhibition of artists whose work is strongly concerned with the power of color. His work, which was also featured in Helikon’s show ‘Mythos’ in 2016, has a fantastical flair to it and a sense of deep connection with animals and nature. Read on for Adam’s insightful thoughts on his current and longtime artistic influences, the importance of remaining active and engaged in today’s society, and his top trivia categories:
Helikon Gallery: Did you aspire to be an artist, or did you fall in love with making art?
Adam Doyle: I’ve honestly always identified closely with art. Growing up I wasn’t surrounded by it, but was very encouraged by my parents and especially my grandfather who was a playwright. I drew a lot, as kids do, and just never stopped. When I switched schools in the fourth grade the other kids’ eyes lit up when they saw my drawings. It was an epiphany that pictures were a way to connect with people. The thought of doing anything else with my life has never been fathomable.
AD: My creative outlook was shepherded by so many greats in all media over the years. CS Lewis with his Narnia series and Calvin & Hobbes when I was a kid. The writings of mythologist Joseph Campbell and the world-bending lens of MC Escher when I was an adolescent. A semiotics class in high school introduced me to the compassionate neurological case studies of Oliver Sacks. The paintings of John Singer Sargent, Lisbeth Zwerger, and Andrew Wyeth also made their mark. As have the films of David Fincher, Jean-Pierre Jeunet, and Christoper Nolan.
AD: To experience something never before seen, yet resonates as deeply true. That’s what I look for and hope people get out of my paintings.
AD: For a handful of years I worked as a production designer and art director in Hollywood.
I love ultimate frisbee, usually getting in a game or two a week. That along with bar trivia have been a regular part of my week in the past 5 cities and 3 countries where I’ve lived. Categories of art, film, and literature are my strong suits. Science isn’t far behind.
I’ve enjoyed volunteering at animal sanctuaries and have had pets for most my life; cats, dogs, gerbils, hamsters, turtles, hermit crabs, rabbits, frogs, fish, salamanders, an anole, a gecko, a parakeet, and a ferret. Obviously the company of animals means a lot to me.
