SF Art Speaks: An Interview With Adrian Litman
San Fran Voice was lucky enough to catch up with Adrian Litman, an artist who worked for over twenty years in the commercial art design sector of the Bay Area. Having retired from commercial work in 2002, Litman now devotes his time to creative pursuits which include both commissioned and inspired pieces. The breadth of his creative skills is impressive, with pieces ranging from interior and exterior art to oil painting and more. You can explore his work more in-depth on his website and see his hand on works all throughout the city. Here is the insight he had for San Fran Voice regarding his art:
Q: What can you tell us about the basics of your artwork?
AL: My art work reflects a broad spectrum of skills applied to expressing a range of artistic themes from various oil paintings (still natures, portraits, landscapes, compositions, abstracts) to other work including ceramics, mosaics, stained glass, metal fabrication, interior design and public art.
Q: You’ve worked in both a more business-oriented side of art and in art for the sake of creative expression. How does your approach to the two kinds of work differ from one another? AL: Spending 25 years in commercial art helped me to acquire skills in project and budget management, be disciplined, learn organizational skills and be able to meet deadlines. I pretty much apply all of these principles to creating art pieces that express my individuality, either doing commissioned work or putting them in the marketplace and waiting for a buyer.
Q: What projects are you working on now?
AL: Presently I am working on a few projects:
- Being a semi-finalist for the new Castro Valley Public Library, I am preparing art board layouts and design samples for a large wall in the adult books room.
- I am in the middle of finishing the interior design of Federicos Restaurant, scheduled for opening in July. This includes logo and sign design, complete interior color scheme and layout, a large mosaic fountain at the entrance and art work pieces for the interior.
- I am also working on samples for mural paintings for two new Romanian Orthodox Churches in the Bay Area.
Q: Do you have any work in galleries now?
AL: Because of an increased volume of commissioned work, I scaled down my cooperation with the art galleries. The two art galleries that I still keep in touch with are American Art in Carmel and Christopher Hill in St. Helena.
Q: Do you have a favorite gallery in San Francisco?
AL: Not one in particular. I visit many of them regularly to keep up with what’s new.
Q: How much networking do you do with other local artists? What types of art events do you enjoy?
AL: Unfortunately not enough networking due to a very busy schedule. I visit the City for the Opera, Symphony and the Ballet. I like Flamenco and Argentine Tango performances and I enjoy visiting San Francisco’s museums.
Q: How does the city inspire or affect your art work?
AL: I get a lot of inspiration from The City and have written down many ideas that I would like to translate into art pieces and events. I am working on it; hopefully, if everything falls into place I will present a nice show in the City within the next year.
Q: What do you think the average visitor to San Francisco should know about the art scene here?
AL: The art scene in the City is diverse and interesting and has a lot of room for improvement and change, especially in the area of Public Art.
Q: What advice do you have for emerging artists?
AL: It all depends on what the artist wants to achieve in life. Looking back in history and learning about the lives and works of the great ones, three things appear to be essential for an artist (and basically for any other profession): Passion, Hard work and Discipline.
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[...] Adrian Litman – After over twenty years of working as a commercial artist, Litman switched to doing more of his [...]