andy don emmons

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ABOUT THE ARTIST

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Andy Don Emmons Jr. was born into a family of 5th generation farmers & ranchers in Central East Texas. Inspired by the tall tales of his family, friends, and foes, he began drawing, sculpting, and painting the world around him. Emmons holds a B.F.A. from Sam Houston University but also journeyed with the well-known folk artist Rev. Johnnie Swearingen from Brenham, TX, and cosmic cowboy sculptor, Bob Daddy-O Wade. He is known for his art cars, built backyard environments, outrageous sculptures, drawings, and watercolors. Emmon’s work is held by The House of Blues collection, Kansas Folk Life Museum, Orange Show, and many private collections. He is also the front-man for the art-damaged, psychedelic, country blues band The Outhouse Moan.

ARTIST STATEMENT

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"My stuff now still has a folk quality to it, a sort of outsider style but more abstract," he said. "In Europe they call it ‘art brute.’ It’s pretty much my own personal creative process to express my inner self, the subconscious. I work a lot subconsciously. I don’t really sketch a whole lot before I do pieces."
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Influences include James Surls and Sam Houston State University art teacher Charles Pebworth, who taught Surls in the 1960s and Emmons in the 1980s. Influences also include prison artist Frank Jones and the Rev. Johnnie S. Swearingen; Emmons helped take care of Swearingen for a year or so after Swearingen’s wife died, and it was Swearingen who influenced him to "get up and paint every day," he said.