Ian James Roche

Ian James Roche is a New York based painter and abstract artist. His work is influenced by graffiti and music which remain a positive influence on his creativity today.
He sees his work as a necessity to express what lives inside of him, as it is not something he learned, but rather something he knew. He has a studio in Commack, New York and his body of work consists of large scale pastel paintings, pastel wall drawings and ink/pencil drawings.

He says “I bring forth what is inside of me in my artwork. In other words, I paint my heart out. My artwork has become my teacher and has guided me through an evolutionary healing process to help me see the true beauty in life. At times, I feel my work to be living, breathing, cosmic, portals into another dimension that show us that there is more to us than just us. I use dreams, imagination, personal experiences, books, movies, music, people, or places that I know as catalysts to spark an image in my mind for my heart to connect to when creating a painting. For most of my work, I don’t use any models or do any preliminary sketches or outlines, and I haven’t thrown anything away and started over. Every pastel on sheetrock piece that I have started has been completed. I let go of any concrete images of how a painting should come out and do my best to be present within each moment and trust what comes to me while painting, so that my heart is the main force behind each line or curve of the pastel letting the painting evolve into harmony”