Ian James Roche Discusses 'Birth of a Superhero' Cover Art

This month’s Dan’s Papers NYC Edition cover artist, Ian James Roche, discusses his large, abstract pastel on sheetrock, “Birth of a Superhero,” and his unique point of view and creative process.

Ian James Roche is the first to admit that accepting himself as an artist took time. Born to creative parents in New York City, he developed an interest in city graffiti as a child, which fostered his admiration for abstract artists and music. However, it wasn’t until he turned 35 that he began to recognize himself as an artist with something meaningful to express. He chronicles this epiphany in his own words.

Talking with Ian James Roche

“Birth of a Superhero” is my first pastel on sheetrock painting. I started the piece in late October 2014 and finished it on December 1, 2014. I kept it a secret until it was finished. After a September trip to Dia Beacon [Dia Art Foundation Museum in Beacon, NY], seeing the works of artists Sol Lewitt and Richard Serra inspired me to create this first piece. I had always fooled around with doing expressive drawings with pen or pencil on paper, but nothing close to this big or as colorful and powerful. I didn’t know that I was an artist.

Richard Serra’s massive Corten steel sculptures just engulfed me. The oxidation on the steel, which I found out isn’t rust and serves as a protection for the steel, creates this beautiful earthy color that made me feel warm and calm, along with the beautiful abstract shape that the steel was torqued into. It was something that I had never felt before.

Then, as I stood before Sol Lewitt’s wall drawings, I could feel my heart say, “I want to do this.” On my way home, I started to think about how I could create something big.

I could feel the wall that Sol Lewitt’s drawings were on, but the chances of me having a wall to draw on were slim to none, so I thought of bringing a piece of a wall home with me. Sheetrock!

The idea to use pastels came to me right away. I have two pastel drawings that my father did while he was still alive hanging in my living room, so maybe that’s where I got the idea to use pastel.

Using pastels on sheetrock felt natural, even though I had never taken a pastel to a wall or a piece of sheetrock. So, the following week, I picked up an 8’ x 4’ piece of ½ inch sheetrock and pastels– both oil and soft. I don’t remember if I started the piece the same day, but I leaned the sheetrock horizontally against my living room wall and started on the top left-hand corner with the oil pastel. I didn’t take too long to realize that I didn’t like the oil pastels, so I switched to the soft pastels, which worked much better!

The top left-hand corner of the painting, where I started with the oil pastel, looks different from the rest of the painting. I even considered cutting that corner out, but in the end, I didn’t. I had no idea how this was going to look; I just knew that I wanted to express something.

And as I worked on it, little by little, I saw these colors and images coming out that blew me away. I knew that I had something. Then I would turn around and ask myself, “What am I doing?” But I kept going. I just let the pastel move wherever I wanted it to move. I put a line or a curve here and then connected it with a line or a curve over there. And the colors just came to me. Or I would look at the pastels I had and simply say, “Ooh, this color might work.” That is pretty much how I still create these pieces.

I didn’t name the painting “Birth of a Superhero” right away; I didn’t come up with the name until a year later. The shapes and colors evoked the energy of a superhero, and I was also inspired by the superhero archetype, which parallels my artistic journey.

This beautiful and powerful creative force suddenly burst out of me, which I had always felt was there, but I couldn’t find the courage to release it. I felt like I was reborn. I had finally stepped into my creativity and the ability to express the language of my heart. It took me a long time to find that creativity in my heart, and now I feel I am doing my best to honor and respect that creativity by expressing it beautifully through my artwork.

Ian James Roche works out of his studio in Commack, New York. His work can be viewed on his website, ianjamesroche.com. For commissions and art inquiries, he can also be reached at 516–480–7789 or ianjamesroche@gmail.com.