INTERVIEW: Morgan Betz on fences, smileys and oilstick
How did you get to the smiley face?
The smiley face comes from a doodle I did years back while I was watching a western movie in the studio. I often feel the paintings that work are the ones that come from doodling or headlessly trying things out. In any case; I cannot work from a set plan that is overly thought of and constructed.
Otherwise it loses spontenaity?
Well, it just does not work for me; when you start feeling the weight of the process of painting, you sort of become self-conscious, which in turn feels like you are taking yourself too seriously. I have to trick myself into making something, almost as if by surprise initially. Afterwards I can look back and say "ok now I have a plan to go forward with".
![Plaid and Tartan, 2009, oil on canvas 118 x 88 cm - Private collection](/imagecache/large/1599052709414-file.jpg)
Back to the painting...
Yes, so it goes back to paintings I made from that doodle of a Western cowboy, like Plaid and Tartan (2009) or Old Spice (2009). Back then my paintings were made in oil paint and very full; lots of brushstrokes, and there were many objects in the composition. I was also very interested in Picasso and his portraits where he re-ordered eyes, noses and ears. I guess that configuration of the eyes is what I kept in the current painting. I just wanted to break something with respect to a smiley face.
![Installation view, First Choice, Spring 2020, Willem Baars Projects, Amsterdam](/imagecache/large/1599052777019-file.jpg)
The comparison to Plaid and Tartan is quite interesting; it seems more things have changed...
I like to always try and do something different, as in not becoming the guy who only makes such-and-such painting. And you are right, the painting is much larger, and has a much clearer compositions.
Reduced to a smiley face with weird eyes and a hat, behind a fence.
Yes, I have been using the fence motif quite a lot. It is an interesting way of putting depth into a painting, like a stage decor and layering; also the idea of a fence; however it blocks your view, it is always possible to look behind it or imagine that the actual scene lies beyond it.
![Bill's Hat, 2019, block printing ink, block printing medium, vinyl paint and acrylic on canvas, 180.5 x 128 cm. - Akzo Nobel Art Foundation](/imagecache/large/1599052829351-file.jpg)
Another thing that seems new is the use of oil stick.
It's a bit like drawing and scratching with pencils. The paintings I made in the past few years were made through a stencil technique; I would cut out the shapes I wanted to use in a painting in cardboard, then paint on the cardboard and transfer the paint onto the canvas. This helped me to avoid worrying about brushstrokes; every part of the painted object has an even amount of paint, without accents or sense of direction and the transfer led to small accidents and surprises. After a while though I want to add to or change certain ways of doing something again.
What I like mostly about the oil stick is that it feels like I am drawing and I can just keep going without reloading the brush. It also dries quickly and so it’s fun to go over things.
![Old Spice, 2009, oil on canvas, 200 x 150 cm - Private collection](/imagecache/large/1599052881490-file.jpg)