It’s a long-held stereotype that artists’ egos can be as powerful as the art they create, so it’s refreshing to hear a successful painter own up to the self-doubt that has walked alongside them on their journey. It is perhaps precisely this down-to- earth approach that has made Alex so appealing to our collectors. Joking that his job can be “ridiculous”, he explains: “Through my paintings, I have met Robert Downey Jr., had dinner with Madonna, dated movie stars and had lunch with HRH Prince Charles. My work has been displayed in Beijing, Monaco, Paris, New York, Santa Fe and Los Angeles; and I’ve had the grace and good fortune to raise over £1.2 million for various charities.” Decades on from the interaction with his headmaster, Alex is using his passion to help other artists. He adds: “I get up and conjure and dream of art; I want to paint beauty and nature. My paintings have allowed me to reach out to new, anxious, unsure and frightened artists of all ages and levels to pat them on the back and tell them 'well done'. “It is in the human DNA to strive to make a mark. The human desire to create, to state a belief or to capture beauty is universal and elemental to who we are.”
Alex Echo Over the last 42 years, Alex Echo has never stopped expanding his artistic repertoire. From designing fabrics for fashion designer Paul Smith to creating the first-ever Glyndebourne Opera Cup, he’s proved that art truly is in his DNA. As he reveals his incredible new paintings, we grabbed the American artist to find out how art changed his life.
Good Morning 1 (left) Original Oil on Boxed Board Image Size 91cm x 61cm £2,950
North Atlantic 5 (bottom) Original Mixed Media on Boxed Board Image Size 30cm x 30cm £1,250 North Atlantic 2 (middle) Original Mixed Media on Boxed Board Image Size 30cm x 30cm £1,250 Spring Flows Downstream (top) Original Oil on Boxed Board Image Size 60.5cmcm x 60.5cm £1,950
Raised by a single 16-year-old mother in Colorado, USA, Alex quickly learned that art could provide a magical escape from everyday life. “Growing up poor, I could disappear into drawing and simple watercolours,” he tells us. “One day, I was led by the ear into the headmaster’s office and a miracle happened. I was sat down, handed a pad of paper and a marker, and told to draw something. The exercise worked; it calmed me down.
“Miracle number two happened two days later: that same headmaster showed me the flyer for the school’s spring concert and my drawing was on the cover. That large, forbidding male authority figure patted me on the back and said 'well done'. I have no formal education and I am not special in any way, but that single act of kindness had a lasting impact. It was the first time I had ever received any approval, and it is something I have sought ever since.”
106 FINE ART COLLECTOR AUTUMN2019
FINE ART COLLECTOR AUTUMN2019 107
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