Perry Milou
Pop Artist
www.perrymilou.com
PUCKER PROJECT: "In the fall of 2005 my life came to a halt when I was diagnosed with a benign pituitary brain tumor. On March 23rd, I survived a ten-hour surgery at the University of Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia. Today I am healthy and clear of any potential cancer scare.
In search of a charity, I partnered with University of Miami Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Research Center. The foundation was incredible to work with and they sponsored the launch event at my gallery in late Sept 2008 prior to Art Basel Miami. The concept of the large interactive oil was to invite men and women alike to pucker up on my canvas (there are 1024 squares) in return for a donation to the charity.
Puckers were sold for $100.00 per square. The project remained on display through the high art season in the Wynwood Art District. When viewing at a comfortable distance, the canvas becomes a beautiful soaring butterfly.
Perry Milou is an artist with Philadelphia roots. He was the first local artist to help me with my book, Philadelphia Originals. I was very pleased that Perry let me use his colorful paintings for my book.
You began painting at age five. Can you describe how you knew you loved painting at such an early age?
When I first took a crayon to paper at age five, I knew that was all I wanted to be and do. My grandmother has a beautifully framed drawing I did at age five, of the Washington image from the one-dollar bill.
Your online biography indicates that your influences include Van Gogh, Botticelli, Warhol, Lichtenstein, and Wesselman. That’s a fairly eclectic mix. Is there a common denominator?
What aspects of their art do you try to incorporate in your own works? Is there anyone else you’d add to that list?
I could add forever: Max, Alex Katz, Seurat, Matisse, Michelangelo, Renoir... I have such a diverse love of many types of art, and I think it relates to the diverse amount of techniques that I have mastered.
It does, though, hinder my development of creating one particular MILOU BRAND, but that will only come with more painting. I try to incorporate techniques from artists that inspire me, not necessarily their subjects, but more their techniques, but I have been known to paint a Marilyn, and I've been inspired by Wesselman's lips.
Danceadelphia. Oil on canvas, 40/30 inches, 2016
How do you go about creating a painting? Is the process the same for most paintings, or do different genres/different mediums dictate different approaches?
Do you need to see the person in front of you, or does it help if they’re not in front of you? Do you draw from photographs, personal appearances, or the imagination?
Every single piece is different. I can often see a painting complete, my vision of it in my imagination, even before I start it. Other times, they just evolve. I usually like to stay one or two paintings ahead in my mind so I can start imagining what is coming next, but I may actually get there and change everything - that is the magic, the spontaneity of creating art. To be honest with you, I still don't understand how I do it. Just like I really cannot believe that this email actually travels to you through space. But it all starts in the brain, which is the most amazing piece of art there may ever be!
I love working from photos. I was trained that way. But I also love looking at everything. I do not paint from life much. I should because it is an incredible feeling to be able to use all of your senses vs looking at a 2-D photo that has no life. I use my imagination all the time. That is what jump-starts my creativity!
I recognize many great artists and many levels of great art. Not all of it is creative, and that is OK. I know one of my strengths is my creativity!
Your colors are extraordinarily vibrant. How do you create those colors? You’ve written, “I want my work to evoke an aura of beautiful feelings. I am constantly looking at the sky for color. It is the closest thing to actually watching God paint in the present moment.”
Are there any other inspirations for your great graphics?
I never studied the color wheel/color chart, not even in school. I was not really interested in the math of it. On the other hand, my eyes can see an incredible spectrum of all true-life color, magnificent everyday color that I love, the slightest pale values, and the richest ones.
I do look at the sky all the time, as my quote reads; that is true color. It is the magic of God and life. I think that is actually how I have learned to mix paint. I'm inspired by everything. If my morning starts with an apple, I'm inspired by its color. I'll crack an egg and be amazed at the vibrant yolk. Even changing my baby's diaper presents browns that I have never seen before. My eyes are always tantalized by color. I'm obsessed with it!
Can you describe your “rain” style and “Swarovski Crystals”? Do you have any other styles/genres that are uniquely Perry Milou? (Ex. Your Card series and Lover Lips)
My rain style is not something that revolutionized contemporary painting. I see it in art in New York and Miami and in contemporary markets all the time. Each artist actually does his own spin.
I paint lean or thin with oil washes when I begin drawing in paint. One day, I noticed that the thinner I began with, the paint began to run vertically down the canvas very spontaneously, just like rain that runs down a window or a windshield. Drops from bigger drops gain weight and create their own organic patterns.
I fell in love with this look and even more so when incorporating it into landscapes, whether scenic or urban, and also when painting portraits that may take on a deep mood.
My card series was inspired by icons, my love of Hollywood, movies, etc. The lips were inspired by my move to Miami, the new American Riviera, its incredible light, and sex appeal!
Describe the pitfalls and joys of selling your art. Where do you show them? Who do you target? What completes the sale? Do your paintings have cross-over appeal – meaning, for ex. Do people who buy your Philly art also buy other genres?
Wow, there are many pitfalls. I show up anywhere, everywhere. I don't work in cafes anymore unless they are extremely upscale or they want to rent my work.
I do target people with money. I also target galleries, dealers, art consultants, even celebrities, but always remain humble to be a people's artist and desire to have my neighbor buy my work as much as the guy on Rodeo Drive in L.A.
Some people who buy my Philly art buy other pieces as well. Some just like local stuff. That's pretty boring to me, but a sale is a sale. You always make a customer feel that they are buying your greatest work to date.
Springadelphia. Oil on canvas, 48/48 inches, 2016
City Hall Craze. Mixed Media on Canvas. 60 x 48, 2002
You like to collaborate with other artists. What’s the appeal of the collaboration? Do you prefer working with painters with similar or dissimilar styles? What’s the process of deciding who paints what?
The appeal is learning from other artists, forming a great camaraderie, and exploring what can take place that is spontaneous and miraculous. That is why I love teaching children. Their art is so free, Picasso-like, unlearned painting and drawing. Picasso never got away from that - it is probably the greatest reason why he is the most popular artist of our time, maybe ever.
"Palette Kids" (your teaching project) is a program to help young people appreciate art.
How do you get young people enthused about art – or are they already enthused and you just help them express themselves?
Young kids are already enthused about art. They just love it. It is incredibly magical watching them create! I feed off them, and they feed off my enthusiasm. It is contagious!
Many of the commissions you’ve done have been for notable organizations/celebrities like the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Julius Erving, and H. Chase Lenfest. Others are for unknowns. How do you approach painting the celebrities vs. the average Joe?
You must approach it the same way. You never know when a celebrity will become an average Joe or an average Joe will become a celebrity. Just look at yourself; you're a big writer, at least I feel you are!
Your art covers several genres (Americana, Concepts, Famous, Fantasy, Italian, Lips, Philly, Pop, Vegas, and Commission). I’d like to ask some questions that cut across these genres.
A lot of your paintings have a mixed appeal. Washington and Lincoln; Scarlet Johansson does Madonna. They also mix several styles – for example. Making Van Gogh, Picasso, Renoir, and Seurat more modern. How do you choose what to mix? What’s the appeal of the mix/ What’s the hardest consideration when doing a mixed painting?
A really good question. I think it is just the way my mind works, the way I become inspired. If you look at my Elvis Jackson painting, I was in love with Elvis Presley as a kid and Michael Jackson as a teenager. I recognized the similarities, the customs, the groin-grabbing, dancing, and even the sound. Jackson was so inspired by Elvis. He even married his sister and wound up dying the same way. I just recognize things and tell the story. I recently did a Steve Jobs/Alert Einstein piece (shown). It's all about my inspirations and understanding what inspires other talents.
Many of your paintings are multi-faceted? For ex, Will's World merges a lot of Philadelphia locations/icons into one painting. Courage includes several notable Black icons. How do you approach these types of paintings?
With a lot of patience. Will's World was a commission, so I gathered a great deal of reference from my collaborator/client, William Rappaport, to build a composition. Courage tells the story/history of the African American. I picked a diverse group that inspired me. There are not many Jewish artists creating black history paintings. My mind is enormously multifaceted, so it’s just a matter of me releasing what needs to come out, and boy, is there so much more.
Frida Forever. Oil mixed media on canvas, 48 x 36, 2010
Steve Jobs Einstein. Oil on canvas, 36 x24, 2013
I love how each of your paintings also has a story to go with it. For ex. In My Lover Lips#3, you mention how you created the painting series through your association with National L.E.D designer Allison Lewis of http://heartswitch.com.
Do you find buyers of your work are interested in the story behind the artwork, or do they buy just for the impression the artwork makes?
Both. I think it is certainly to my advantage to create a story and to tell the story to the client. A true art collector is buying a piece of the artist's soul, his being, and that really does not have anything to do with the style of the painting. The story makes the sale.
Is the appeal of “pop” art to the younger generation, or does it cut across all generations? For example, your paintings of Moses and Gabriel – do they appeal to traditionalists as well as non-traditionalists?
I would like them to have cross-appeal. That is why I create them. But you cannot worry about that when creating. Those two pieces tell the story of my spirituality, coming from Old and New Testament roots; a Roman Catholic mother, a Hebrew father, and a soul from Michelangelo. These are special pieces to me. My love of pop art shines in them a bit, which you recognized, but they are 100% Milou.
Here's a quick story that ties in. My mother's name is Angel. I married a woman named Angela; my father-in-law, her dad, is Angelo, and our nanny's name is Angelica. I was told by my spiritual a dviser, to whom I'm close, to just paint angels all the time - that will get me famous. Who knows? Do real angels need fame? I do love painting angels, though; they are part of my true soul! True story.
You’re involved with using art to raise money for a lot of charities. Some examples are Philabundance, the Red Cross, Minding Your Mind Foundation, the National Adoption Agency, and many more. Do you approach these nonprofits/charities, or do they approach you? Who picks the content? How do you go about including the members (or the ideas) of the nonprofit/charity in your paintings?
I solicit more these days. I am a brain tumor survivor, so I am always seeking to give back. I consider it my obligation to have talent. Organizations have now sought out my talent, but I'm careful to choose who I work with. Charities are big business. I'm all about collaborating and working with people, so including what a client wants comes easily for me, and it builds my commercial/corporate branding.
One of Perry’s notable successes in 2016 was his painting of Pope Francis for his September visit to Philadelphia in 2015 for the Meeting of Families. The painting was the official portrait of the World Meeting of Families.
Beautiful Blue. Oil on canvas 30/24. 2016
