Artist Interview: Will Armstrong

Posted by Jenni Kirby - August 20 2020

What’s Changing for Will Armstrong

Will Armstrong has chosen to seriously social distance - all the way to Minnesota! “My wife and I bought a lake cabin for a vacation home on Pickerel Lake in Minnesota a year ago,” says the artist. “So when COVID hit and the art festivals were cancelled we decided to make the move.” Though he is far away he will maintain a presence at Crossroads. His assistant will still be in Richmond so she will maintain his gallery space and Armstrong plans to visit often. “If you are going to shelter-in-place you might as well do it in paradise,” says Armstrong. “I just have a little working shed for a studio right now and an easel outside where I can look at the lake. It is fall here now so the weather is gorgeous!”

Currently, Armstrong is working on a very large collage on commission for a client who lives in Park City, Utah. “I like to tell a story with my work,” he explains.  “So everything I use in the background has a reason or purpose.” In previous works he has used things like old book pages, yearbook photos, newspapers, old maps to add intellectual and visual depth. The triptych he is working on now will be a huge installation piece. Each panel is nine feet tall by six feet wide. “It is a Western theme with mountain ranges and wild horses trailing through a canyon. I am using a map with the area’s Native American territories from the late 1800’s in the background.”

After the triptych is finished in early September, Armstrong will head down to Santa Fe, New Mexico to look for a permanent home where he and his jewelry maker, wife, hope to tap into the art market. “We are trying to create a personal experience for people to see us one on one,” he says. 

When asked about his feelings around leaving his hometown of Richmond, Armstrong waxes poetic about keeping his ties to the River City strong. He says, “I will always keep that contact with Crossroads and Richmond. It is a marvelous place.” 
SHOP ART BY WILL ARMSTRONG HERE