Art Chowder May | June 2022 Issue No. 39 | Page 11

“ Late Times ” towns , always no more than 3000 people . My favorite thing was running around in the woods chasing lizards and fishing , it was this very Tom Sawyer kind of lifestyle .”
“ As a painter , I ’ ve always been interested in more psychological paintings but as a person I love nature and landscapes and beauty and desolation . When we got a little older my mom put her foot down and said we had to stop moving but the things I loved about it are still the things I love the most [ in life .] Nature is renewing . I go on a hike and feel sort of born again . It ’ s the same way with the studio , there ’ s just so many possibilities .”
“ There ’ s something about doing something physical , it seems so much more real .” Though he loves to experiment with medium , much of Sostrom ’ s work is done in acrylic . He ’ s a versatile artist but seems to enjoy this medium the most by far . “ It was the first real paint set I got as a kid . I remember going to the store . My dad used to paint with oils , he was always doing something creative , always my hero . He bought me acrylics and I spent a lot of time experimenting with them .
“ Acrylic feels more alive and innovative to me . They ’ re always adding things to it , new components , thinners , thickeners , and interesting options . To me there ’ s simplicity in the way you achieve that impossible magic .”
Sostrom also believes acrylics are very practical . Since childhood he ’ s been an experimental , go with the flow kind of painter . “ When I painted as a kid there would be something I liked or something I didn ’ t and I ’ d just keep going . Of course ,
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