amfm

This month amfm spoke with 27 year old Utah born and based artist, Trevin Prince. Prince truly understands what it means to make a piece of art come alive. He literally adds life to each and every piece he creates—he paints using blood. Whether the idea of using blood for art grosses you out or intrigues you, Prince is at the cusp of innovation when it comes to his chosen medium. His paintings don’t appear to be bloody messes, but beautiful works of art. His passion spills into his work metaphorically and physically, leaving the raw emotion on the canvas.

Prince is currently in school, and hopes to teach art someday and continue to expand his art. His work has been shown at the Utah Arts Festival, and definitely had shock value. Shock value isn’t the reason behind the medium. Prince admits that he has always been fascinated by blood, and human anatomy given his family history. It shouldn’t be too hard for Prince to stand out in the art world. Blood has become his forte. If his chosen medium rubs people the wrong way, they will surely remember him for that very reason.

amfm: How long have you been using blood as a medium? (Do you use any others?)

Trevin Prince: I have been painting with my own blood for almost 2 years now. The first 8 months or so I spent developing the process. I also paint with oils on the side, but blood is my forte.

amfm: How did you come up with the idea of using blood?

TP: The idea of using my own blood had multiple influences. Some of the influences include my family members who work in the medical field, my interests in human anatomy, but what was the key moment was when I decided I no longer wanted to be a good artist. I wanted to be a great artist. And nothing great has ever been accomplished without passion.

I had envisioned a painting of an artist literally pouring his heart out into his work. Initially I had planned to render this in oils paints, but the more I thought about it the more I disliked the idea.

An image that powerful needed a medium as equally powerful. I then decided to use blood. Unfortunately it didn't work. I tried repeatedly and failed repeatedly. But I continued experimenting and trying different ways to make it work. After 7 months or so I saw some potentially successful results. I expanded on those techniques that were working until I found what I was looking for. I still to this day with try different experiments to push my work further and see what I can produce.

amfm: What are people’s immediate reactions to your choice of medium?

TP: I've found that in the different states I've displayed my work, that the reactions are very consistent. I have people who are disgusted by the thought of using blood as paint and there are those who are fascinated and inspired by it. I like it that way. My work is not intended to appeal to everyone. If it did appeal to everyone it would be a product and not art.

amfm: How is using your own blood a way of connecting with your piece of work?

TP: All great artists put their thoughts, ideas, and emotions into their work. I've added a forth part, a physical part. It symbolizes my passion and dedication to my work. I give a piece of myself to each painting.

amfm: Are there any difficulties with using blood?

TP: There are many difficulties with using blood. Blood is a living material and therefore will react to different environmental condition. Temperature, humidity, and the sealing chemicals all influence how the blood reacts within each piece.

amfm: How much blood to you typically use? Do you draw blood yourself?

TP: This is a very common question that I get and I'm never able to fully answer it, because I don't keep track of how much blood I use in each painting. I just keep using what I need until the piece is finished. Plus I will work on more than one piece at a time. I have a registered nurse draw the blood for me. I usually have blood drawn once every 2-3 weeks. The amount that is drawn each time is roughly the same amount that someone would donate to the Red Cross.

amfm: How are so many emotions captured by painting with blood?

TP: Blood in itself holds a wide array of symbolism—Life, from blood donation, its role within our bodies, love, as it pumps through our veins by our hearts, hate as it is spilt in violence.

amfm: How is working with blood different than paint?

TP: It holds a great presence and great meaning that normal paints. I feel that my subject matter needs to be powerful enough to compliment the blood itself.

amfm: How does your work convey both the internal and the external?

TP: The blood is an internal material that I remove and present on an external surface. Plus, with the layering effect that I create in my work it conveys a sense of depth that seems to be inside the surface as well as on it.

amfm: How did you know you wanted to be an artist?

TP: For as long as I can remember I have loved art—from crayons to pencils, to paints to blood. It inspires me and brings joy to my life. Creating is one of the most satisfying things someone can do with their life.

amfm: What types of subject matters do you like painting?

TP: As I've grown up around doctors and nurses I have always held an interest with human anatomy. Plus, since the blood is human blood I use it to paint a representation of that which it came from. So I choose subjects involving the human figure, human anatomy, and the human spirit.

amfm: What compels you as an artist?

TP: I'm compelled by beauty and tragedy—dreams and imagination.

amfm: Who are your artist inspirations?

TP: The Renaissance Master, Albrecht Durer, Andre Serrano, Salvador Dali, and many others. I continually look at new and different art work to get ideas and inspiration.

amfm: Do you know of any other artists that have experimented with blood?

TP: I have yet to find anyone who paints with their own blood as I do. The closest thing I've heard of is a guy who makes splatter paintings with cow’s blood.


		ARTIST OF THE MONTH Q&A WITH TREVIN PRINCE amfm talks with Trevin This month amfm spoke with 27 year old Utah born and based artist, Trevin Prince. Prince truly understands what it means to make a piece of art come alive. He literally adds life to each and every piece he creates—he paints using blood. Whether the idea of using blood for art grosses you out or intrigues you, Prince is at the cusp of innovation when it comes to his chosen medium. His paintings don’t appear to be bloody messes, but beautiful works of art. His passion spills into his work metaphorically and physically, leaving the raw emotion on the canvas. Prince is currently in school, and hopes to teach art someday and continue to expand his art. His work has been shown at the Utah Arts Festival, and definitely had shock value. Shock value isn’t the reason behind the medium. Prince admits that he has always been fascinated by blood, and human anatomy given his family history. It shouldn’t be too hard for Prince to stand out in the art world. Blood has become his forte. If his chosen medium rubs people the wrong way, they will surely remember him for that very reason. amfm: How long have you been using blood as a medium? (Do you use any others?) Trevin Prince: I have been painting with my own blood for almost 2 years now. The first 8 months or so I spent developing the process. I also paint with oils on the side, but blood is my forte. amfm: How did you come up with the idea of using blood? TP: The idea of using my own blood had multiple influences. Some of the influences include my family members who work in the medical field, my interests in human anatomy, but what was the key moment was when I decided I no longer wanted to be a good artist. I wanted to be a great artist. And nothing great has ever been accomplished without passion. I had envisioned a painting of an artist literally pouring his heart out into his work. Initially I had planned to render this in oils paints, but the more I thought about it the more I disliked the idea. An image that powerful needed a medium as equally powerful. I then decided to use blood. Unfortunately it didn't work. I tried repeatedly and failed repeatedly. But I continued experimenting and trying different ways to make it work. After 7 months or so I saw some potentially successful results. I expanded on those techniques that were working until I found what I was looking for. I still to this day with try different experiments to push my work further and see what I can produce. amfm: What are people’s immediate reactions to your choice of medium? TP: I've found that in the different states I've displayed my work, that the reactions are very consistent. I have people who are disgusted by the thought of using blood as paint and there are those who are fascinated and inspired by it. I like it that way. My work is not intended to appeal to everyone. If it did appeal to everyone it would be a product and not art. amfm: How is using your own blood a way of connecting with your piece of work? TP: All great artists put their thoughts, ideas, and emotions into their work. I've added a forth part, a physical part. It symbolizes my passion and dedication to my work. I give a piece of myself to each painting. amfm: Are there any difficulties with using blood? TP: There are many difficulties with using blood. Blood is a living material and therefore will react to different environmental condition. Temperature, humidity, and the sealing chemicals all influence how the blood reacts within each piece. amfm: How much blood to you typically use? Do you draw blood yourself? TP: This is a very common question that I get and I'm never able to fully answer it, because I don't keep track of how much blood I use in each painting. I just keep using what I need until the piece is finished. Plus I will work on more than one piece at a time. I have a registered nurse draw the blood for me. I usually have blood drawn once every 2-3 weeks. The amount that is drawn each time is roughly the same amount that someone would donate to the Red Cross. amfm: How are so many emotions captured by painting with blood? TP: Blood in itself holds a wide array of symbolism—Life, from blood donation, its role within our bodies, love, as it pumps through our veins by our hearts, hate as it is spilt in violence. amfm: How is working with blood different than paint? TP: It holds a great presence and great meaning that normal paints. I feel that my subject matter needs to be powerful enough to compliment the blood itself. amfm: How does your work convey both the internal and the external? TP: The blood is an internal material that I remove and present on an external surface. Plus, with the layering effect that I create in my work it conveys a sense of depth that seems to be inside the surface as well as on it. amfm: How did you know you wanted to be an artist? TP: For as long as I can remember I have loved art—from crayons to pencils, to paints to blood. It inspires me and brings joy to my life. Creating is one of the most satisfying things someone can do with their life. amfm: What types of subject matters do you like painting? TP: As I've grown up around doctors and nurses I have always held an interest with human anatomy. Plus, since the blood is human blood I use it to paint a representation of that which it came from. So I choose subjects involving the human figure, human anatomy, and the human spirit. amfm: What compels you as an artist? TP: I'm compelled by beauty and tragedy—dreams and imagination. amfm: Who are your artist inspirations? TP: The Renaissance Master, Albrecht Durer, Andre Serrano, Salvador Dali, and many others. I continually look at new and different art work to get ideas and inspiration. amfm: Do you know of any other artists that have experimented with blood? TP: I have yet to find anyone who paints with their own blood as I do. The closest thing I've heard of is a guy who makes splatter paintings with cow’s blood. amfm: What is your blood type? TP: O +
		photo credits: trevinprince.com