JP Paul discusses his upcoming series with Damien Pent:

Q. Thank you for a quick preview from your new series. Can you tell me what it's about and when it will be released?
A - Not yet, but I'm hoping to release it by fall 2011. It's been almost three years since I exhibited a large body of new work at one time and I'm excited to be back at it now that I've lined up participation in a few collectives later this year. It's a series sub-titled "Indigo" but that's about all I can tell you at this point.
Q. What medium are you working with?
A - They're all digital works on a special watercolor-like paper that I'm hand-treating and finishing. They're a combination of photography, 3D modeling, digital drawing, montage and hand-painted overlays with gouache coloring. They tell a story of a misunderstood child's challenges as he grows through youth into manhood. The 15 works are much smaller (16x20") than most of my previous pieces since I believe they'll be more effective when mounted together as a linear series which is tough to do in many venues if the works are too large. I may also try a limited boxed set of prints for the first time since the images tend to feed off of each other best as a complete story.

Q. Your works have often been polemic but you always seem to find a way to give the viewer an opportunity to release the tension. This series seems to be a little darker, perhaps even more intense than previous works. Is that a fair assessment?

A - Some people say most of my work is intense, so I wouldn't say these are any more so. I'm trying to make people consider certain aspects of life that others face with a little more compassion and tolerance rather than simply waltz through their own lives. Some may seem like causes for concern, they're dark and the spartan palette is definitely muted, nevertheless they provoke the appropriate sentiment. They deal with misperceptions, isolation, the internalization of tragedy and reactions to certain social and educational situations. So sure, it's serious work on complicated issues but once you see the entire series I hope you'll agree that the underlying spirit can be uplifting and the message tries to be encouraging even if the road can be somewhat difficult. Isn't that life in a nutshell?

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