Iris Scott: The World’s Finest Finger Painter

ARTIST BIO

Iris Scott was born in 1984 to two hippies on a small farm near Seattle, WA. They named her after the Greek goddess of the rainbow. Both her mother and father worked at home self employed. Mom taught piano lessons and tended the gardens, while Iris’ father supported the family, building custom cabinets in a shop attached to the house. As a young girl Iris had ample time to be alone with her own mind, left to play and entertain herself without a screen or numerous toys. The home was nestled at the end of a long driveway, in a clearing surrounded by lush mossy evergreen woodlands. Iris and her little sister had no shortage of pets, they grew up playing with their dogs, cats, bunnies, horses, ponies, parrots, lizards, goats and chickens. Summers were spent barefoot, digging caves in the hillside, building tree houses in the woods, and creating pottery from clay they unearthed. On rainy days, of which there were many in Seattle, Iris holed up in her bedroom, pouring over how-to-draw books borrowed from the library. Emulating her parents, and following their modeling of “practice, practice, practice”, Iris tackled art by first teaching herself the rules of drawing realistically. She copied photos and paintings from an early age, learning the rules so that one day she could break them.

Just a few months after graduating university, and while living abroad in Taiwan, Iris in 2010 was about to stumble upon her unique career as the first professional finger painter. Over the course of college Iris had learned fundamentals of charcoal, pastels, watercolors, oils, acrylics, and clay. With this foundation of knowledge and preparation, a lucky opportunity arose one hot and humid day in Southern Taiwan in a moment of laziness. On Iris’ easel an oil painting of yellow flowers was just a few strokes away from finished, but all the brushes were dirty and needed cleaning before proceeding. Too eager to complete the painting in that moment, Iris simply took a few swipes at the canvas with oils squeezed right upon her fingertips. The thick paint went right on, texture was suddenly easier to control. Iris was thrilled to discover what she believed could be mastered, oil finger painting. The next day she hunted down surgical gloves…

Iris has been featured in Forbes , Barron’s, Business Insider, USA Today, NowThis, CBS New York, and American Art Collector Magazine. Several galleries carry Iris’s originals, her collectors have included Microsoft, Coca-Cola, Children’s Hospital, and Swedish Medical Centers. In contrast to much of the contemporary art scene scarcity model, Iris’ prints are intentionally accessible because she believes withholding affordable prints is not aligned with the collective conscious of art history’s future. Iris’ vibrant rainbow palette depicting a parallel, but familiar universe, emits an energetic optimism and a respect for the natural world. Using just gloved fingertips, Iris Scott works with paint like a malleable, nearly clay-like medium. Finger painting is becoming an entire art movement, as thousands of beginners worldwide are setting down their brushes in favor of this more tactile approach. For those who want to learn finger painting as an adult, Iris offers this free video, a kit of supplies, as well as a book, Finger Painting Weekend Workshop.

INTERVIEW

Artist: Irist Scott

You grew up in Seattle, lived in Taiwan and now in New York? What place in the universe is the most unforgettable for you?

I’m going to be honest with you. The most incredible place I’ve ever traveled to was an undisclosed location inside my own mind during a psychedelic mushroom trip. And let me preface this all by saying that I am not suggesting anyone needs to eat psychedelic mushrooms. But….you DID ask. In 2017, I took a ceremonial dose of magic mushrooms (with a sober chaperone) and I tumbled through the folds of a plush carpet into a state of consciousness that felt remarkably like the one I had as child. There was an overwhelming wonder and affinity for the present moment. Things around me, in my visual field, looked like they had an aura of their own metaphysical thingness around them—a chair or a lamp was bathed in a vapor of its own possible metaphorical associations. When I stepped outside, I felt like I was seeing snow for the first time: I could see every color of the visible spectrum hidden in its whiteness. I also was able to enjoy the feeling of interacting with the idea of myself, “Iris”, in the third person. I could reflect on her life as if it had been lived separately from who I was in that moment. I felt less attached to it, and so I could easily analyze what she (me, I!) needed to change or embrace more. On a visual level, I was quite stunned to find that my paintings weren’t colorful enough—there is so much further to go! A part of my lifetime goal is to try to recreate as best I can the jaw-dropping colors, and metaphors, that enveloped me that day.

You are the first professional contemporary finger painter, a technique that you adopted accidentally. The fact that there is not an element between the painting and you: -How was the process of such a change?

I had painted with brushes since I was 6 years old. Loved them, in fact. It was this strong background in fundamental painting skills—learned in college and through practice—that allowed me to understand how to approach finger painting. When I ran out of clean brushes on that day in Taiwan, I just wanted so badly to finish my painting but my current tools (dirty brushes) were actually preventing me from my goal. Creativity blossoms when forced to operate inside of restrictions. The obstacle IS the way! In nature, whenever a species is faced with an obstacle it must also adapt, and find a new niche in which to survive and prosper. I see art in very much the same way. I was excited to force myself to stop using brushes because I was learning to “survive” in uncharted territories. I recognized that although finger painting couldn’t do some things that brushes could, there were important advantages finger painting actually did have over brushes—and I am still discovering new ones every day!

Do you agree that the best things in life come unexpectedly?

Absolutely. Surprises are what it’s all about. If we knew exactly what our life would be, then the day-to-day would be a script/prison. We have free will, thank goodness. And the world is so complex and dynamic that we could hardly dream up or know what the best thing will be, but we know it when we see it.

Your mom was a pianist and teacher , how does it relate to the movement of your fingers when you create a concerto painting?

I grew up with a piano teacher for a mother, which meant we were parked on the piano bench ,my sister and I, for daily practice time. The fine motor skills my mother brought out of us are definitely a huge advantage. My fingers truly dance across the canvas like a pianist tickling the keys of a piano. It’s controlled chaos.

You are the most prominent finger painter today, all your paintings are sold out and your clients agree to be on a long waiting list to get your pieces. You mentioned you don’t feel like you are on top of the art world but you are part of it. How important is for you to be part of the new artist generation ?

There are many tiers of the art world. The top tier is 400-million-dollar pieces of long dead artists being traded by museums and at billionaire auctions. The second tier is multi-million-dollar works of living artists. The third tier is living artists with art that is hundreds of thousands of dollars, which makes me what I would call a 4^th-tier artist. Some of my larger paintings now sell for $50k. My ultimate goal is just to connect with other human beings. I’m trying to tap into that collective consciousness and heal the planet with color and love. I truly believe that the key to our own survival as a species is love and respect for nature. We are so unnatural, our society is a sick and confused by paradoxical paradigms. For decades now the top tiers of the art world have completely ignored and devalued love and nature in favor of aggressive, minimalistic, derivative, serious, intellectualized, harsh art. And that era is coming to a transition point because the public is no longer shocked and excited by this style of art, they’re looking for something that energizes them visually. The art market is a reflection of the collective consciousness, and I can tell you that humans no longer need to have wordy, artsy content shoved down their throats—they’re already bombarded by content overload. What everyone is now longing to see more of is art that is quiet, meditative, natural. The art world is about to shift into valuing a new idea–beauty. The pendulum is swinging back, I am so excited to see a golden era on the horizon.

You are also an art collector, one of the paintings you hang in your studio is a blue painting of the sea. What does that paint mean?

I believe that art collectors most often purchase art because they are collecting the bread crumbs of their subconscious. They’re literally picking up the little clues of who they really are. What did you come into this life with? As a child what fascinated you? Strip away all the clutter of who you THINK you are and what is left? Our dreams are a wonderful clue. For whatever reason I came into this body obsessed with coyotes, a fear of the ocean, and a fascination for the desert. I’ve purchased artworks with all three of these themes. Recently I purchased a painting of just the open sea at dawn because it looks so much like a vivid dream I’ve had. I don’t know what exactly the dream means, but I know that one day, perhaps after I die, I will become privy to this riddle.

What other artists do you admire?

Walton Ford, Monet, Frida Khalo, Tamara Lempicka, Klimt, Singer Sargent, Munch, Da Vinci, although not in that order.

Probably the shaking dogs are your most emblematic paintings. What piece of your artwork would you like to be remembered for?

I’ve been painting full time since 2010, but my career has at least 60 years to go. I’m 33 years old, and in this profession the true breakthroughs often come much later in life. So I have no idea what I’ll be remembered for, it’s WAY to early to tell. However I am grateful for my shakin’ wet dogs. I feel that I’ve only cracked the surface of how to paint this subject and I plan for 2018 to be the year of diving deeper into larger canvases and grander postures. The shakin’ needs still more movement! I must continue to push myself on reinventing this motif again and again. Actually my favorite thing about painting dogs is that they are associated with Kitsch. For me this idea that doggie paintings are Kitschy is the most fantastic obstacle to be working with. A far larger obstacle than giving up brushes will be how to raise dogs into a subject matter worthy of the top tier art world. And cats! What the silly elites do not know yet, but one day will, is that dogs are society’s Gurus. They are our bridge species to the natural world, interacting with dogs is a metaphor for communion with your core psyche. They literally show us how to love. They are the swamis in our living room, they are the gurus in our kitchen. Dogs are literally happier than most humans, modeling love day in and day out. Yet many humans are so arrogant and self-impressed they miss the opportunity to learn from nature/dogs. Being loved by a dog is like being loved by a wild wolf. A dog’s purpose in our society is to teach us how to see animals for what they are–brilliant beings that should never be harmed. Dogs don’t know it, but they are animal rights activists.

All your paintings have written messages or phrases that will be later covered with painting. What are those secret world unveiled on your art work?

I have recently began writing messages onto the white canvases and then making paintings atop these words, forever covering the secrets words up. These secret words are prayers. Part of their power is that I do not talk about it. How will my wish come true if I don’t honor the ceremony of this prayer?

Which three people, dead or alive, would you invite to have dinner with you and why?

I would love to meet Jim Carrey, Leonardo da Vinci, and a female Native American tribal leader from the American plains living in circa 1355 (and be able to understand her).

You’ve come this far in life. What’s still on your bucket list?

Oh my god I’ve accomplished so little, here’s what on the damn bucket list still, woof:

1. Publish a three-book instructional trilogy on how to draw, how to paint, and how to market your art even if you only think you can draw a stick figure.

2. Live in Africa

3. To visit all the major megalithic stone structures, Gobekli Tepe, The Bosnian Pyramis, Stonehenge, Peru Pyramids, and many more.

4. To learn Chinese

5. To live in Santa Fe

6. To have art in museums

7. To become more psychic

8. To meet an alien

9. To travel to other planets

10. To learn telepathy

11. To write fiction novels, screenplays too.

12. To direct a feature film

13. To have children, and learn from them.