Artist Proof Interview with Artist: Autumn Rain Turkel

Global Location: Los Angeles, CA, USA

URL:  http://autumnrainturkel.com/

AP Shop URL:  http://www.zazzle.com/arturkel*

I am a life long artist who lives and works around LA. I graduated from Art Center College of Design in 2006 and have been working since then in the freelance and corporate entertainment world. My personal work is what you will generally find in my galleries as it is much more meaningful to me. 

AP: How long have you been making art for and what lead you to start.

AT: I have been an artist my entire life. I lacked training at a young age, but ultimately found the will and funding to get to a great school. My initial inspiration to become an artist were comic books, album covers for metal bands, and the fantasy works of dungeons and dragons artists.

AP: Where do you currently live and work and how does this influence your work.

AT: I am in Los Angeles, I am not sure if it influences my work all that much. Maybe if I sat in traffic more I would be more aggressive with what I do.

AP: Did you have formal training if so whatω If your self taught can you tell us what you prefer about being a self taught artist vs having formal training.

AT: I was self taught for many years, then went to school in my late twenties. Honestly, if you have the drive there is no difference. In training, in fact those who are self taught may be more acutely aware of the ideas and concepts of art as they have had to observe them for themselves, rather than having someone explain them. At this point I am going back to being self taught, as we all need to continue to grow. I think that either approach has pros and cons, so just make the best art with whatever schooling you can muster yourself.

AP: Can you tell us about where you make your work is it in your house, a studio etc.. and how it effects your work.

AT: I make art in my house. My entire living and dining area is devoted to my studio setup. If anything it keeps me working at smaller sizes as I cannot have huge canvases without ruining the place.

AP: What are some of you favorite design projects/exhibitions you have worked on to date.

AT: I think the game duels was well put together and had much creative freedom for the artists involved, it was enjoyable. 

AP: What is your medium of choice.

AT: It’s more of a medium of the moment. Whatever I feel like doing. There really are no limits.

AP: What is the relationship between technique and content in your work.

AT: In my work, the content is tied to the technique as they define one another. However, the painterly approach is the emotional crux that allows others to project their own ideas onto what I do. It is important that they be able to bring things to the art that I had never intended. This allows others to connect in ways I hadn’t thought of.

AP: Who are some of the  artists that have inspired you and or your work.

AT: Robh Ruppel, Daniel Landerman, John Singer Sargent, Richard Schmid, Casey Baugh, Jeremy Lipking, Micheal Hussar

AP: In what direction would you like to see your work going over the next five years.

AT: I will be doing more oil painting and portrait style work for myself, possibly even abandoning digital all together, or developing a hybrid approach.

AP: What forth coming projects and or exhibitions do you have scheduled for 2011.

AT: I can’t discuss that with you at the moment. Or more to the point, I could, but then I would have to kill you. And you all seem like such nice people, that would be a shame.

AP: Take us on a guided tour through a day in your life as an artist.

AT: Wake up, make coffee, run a few miles, shower, drink coffee while answering emails, warm up gesture drawings and sketches, work for 3-4 hours, lunch get outside and enjoy the sun, or hit the gym to get some exercise, home to shower, back to the drawing board (or painting,) Dinner, head to the Original Drink and Draw Social Club in LA (only on thursdays,) home, check emails for freelance, bed. Other things that permeate my artistic existence are photo shoots for reference, art openings, and schmoozing clients. 

AP: Thank you so much for taking the time to answer our questions.

Thank you for having me I appreciate the support and everything AP does to promote art. 

Artist Proof Interview with Artist: Nell Fallcard

Global Location: From Mexico, living in UK

URL:  http://www.nell-f.com

AP Shop URL:  http://www.zazzle.co.uk/nellfallcard

I was born in Mexico, started drawing at 5 years old, trying comic stuff at 8, and started poking Photoshop at 13. I got a Bachelor Degree in Integral Design, then been working for 5 years for animation and video game studios, digital experience companies and as a teacher in higher education schools.  Currently in the process of being enrolled on a Masters in UK.

AP: How long have you been making art for and what lead you to start.

NF: As far as I remember, I made my first attempts at 5, so you could say I have more than 20 years on this, but what I do started taking decent shape when I was about 18, so quite a long way before stopping doing crap :D 

I started on this inspired by the cartoons I used to watch as a child. I wanted to be immerse on these worlds, tweak them and modify them so they could fit my own fantasies.

AP: Where do you currently live and work and how does this influence your work.

NF: I’ve been living all my life in Mexico, different cities. I don’t feel like they have affected radically my work. Work conditions do, though: I tend to perform better in well lighted areas, warm light, and when I am by my own rather than with a group of people - coworkers are not as cuddle-able as my cat… my cat isn’t precisely cuddle-able either but I can overpower him so he has no choice. Traveling tends to inspire me too.Currently I just made a major move, been living in London for two months now. Too soon to know the London effect over my mind and body, let’s see.

AP: Did you have formal training if so whatω If your self taught can you tell us what you prefer about being a self taught artist vs having formal training.

NF: I am a crossbreed :D  I’ve had formal training in some areas but most of it came just to reinforce what I already knew by doing my own research. The tricks I do that bring the bacon to the table I learnt by myself, sharing with likeminded people and stuff. 

AP: Can you tell us about where you make your work is it in your house, a studio etc.. and how it effects your work.

NF: I’ve worked in both conditions. I prefer to work from home by far. I perform better when there are no meetings, ringing phones, and goofing people around. I like the goofing people, though. They say funny things like “this file has as many layers as Methuselah”.

AP: What are some of you favorite design projects/exhibitions you have worked on to date.

NF: The “Dragons” Illustration I made in 2008. It won a competition, so I got sent several goodies thanks to it. It was also a really enjoyable process because I had no rush, no guidelines, I painted it during my free time whenever I felt like it so the end result was the product of a very enjoyable process and that got reflected on the piece, I guess. 

AP: What is your medium of choice.

NF: Photoshop is my father, and father of us all.

AP: What is the relationship between technique and content in your work.

NF: I focus more on the technique, and rarely add content to it unless is necessary. My last piece, “be their angel”, has a message since I though might be suitable for the nature of the contest I made it for, the same I made a poster for an exhibition about Peace that has a message the audience found strong and moving, but that is not present on my personal images. If you become abstract, people become psychologist and assume you have issues. I find that annoying.

AP: Who are some of the  artists that have inspired you and or your work.

NF:Enayla and Ayami Kojima are the artists that shaped my current style. Yet still, my aim is to develop an inner world as rich as the ones of Ryan Church or Zdzislaw Beksinski.

AP: In what direction would you like to see your work going over the next five years.

Answer: I would love to be in charge of the look and feel of a movie.

AP: What forth coming projects and or exhibitions do you have scheduled for 2011.

NF: I am planning to study a Masters degree in 3D Imagery, so I can expand my skills to other fields. I also applied for a government support program back on my country to work on a project regarding Color Theory, explained visually. Since it will require a lot of effort and commitment, I will work on that collection depending on the results. 

AP: Take us on a guided tour through a day in your life as an artist.

NF: Woah, that one tends to change depending if I am freelancing or working for a studio. Since the freelance one is the one I enjoy the most - and I am currently doing - I’d say: I wake up late, really late; get some food and start my computer. Check e-mail and social networks, then I start either painting in Photoshop or animating in Flash. When I get tired I take a break, either checking websites like 9gag.com, fmylife.com or clientsfromhell.com, or watching a show, talking with friends or grab a snack, then back to work. This process repeats itself until the evening, where I might go out or stay at home with Mr. Boyfriend doing random stuff until we go to sleep. Usually late. Very late. 

AP: Thank you so much for taking the time to answer our questions.

Artist Proof Interview with Artist: Ben Fellowes

Global Location: Orange County, California

URL:  http://www.benfellowes.com

AP Shop URL: http://www.zazzle.com/benfellowes

Working mainly in black and white, my illustration and graphic work has been used to promote everything from punk rock bands to hair salons. I paint, illustrate, and use digital mediums to create a diversity of artwork.   

AP: How long have you been making art for and what lead you to start.

BF: For as long as I can remember.  But what made me start wanting to draw was Judge Dredd. I used to read 2000ad (the brilliant comic that starred Judge Dredd) at about the age of seven. I loved the black and white ink artwork that was so “punk rock” and spoke of heroes and justice and future worlds yet to be explored. In fact, one of m y earliest memories was running to the corner shop to buy the latest copy of 2000ad.  I can still remember the way the ink smelled on the page. I relive that same thrill every time I open an ink bottle. It’s funny, but even though I have always had art in my life, I only started taking my own artwork seriously a couple of years ago when I was invited to exhibit a few pieces of my work at a small gallery in Southern California.

AP: Where do you currently live and work and how does this influence your work.

BF: I work as a Design and Marketing Manager. I create a lot of creative content that includes blog posts, web designs, and print materials. It forces me to think creatively and conceptually.  Even though my personal artwork and my practical day-to-day design work are very separate, I am always thinking of ideas and concepts. This means that I am very rarely in a non-creative mindset and stuck for something to sketch, doodle, write, or build. I live in Orange County in California but I’m a born ‘n’ bred Englishman and only resettled in the US 10 years ago with my wife who is a native Californian. I think my work reflects my British sense of humor and a certain cool California aesthetic (that’s how I self-publicize myself, anyway!) 

AP: Did you have formal training if so what? If your self taught can you tell us what you prefer about being a self taught artist vs having formal training?

BF: I think this question is an odd one because I believe that most artists are “self taught”. When it comes to the fundamentals of art and design, I think that there’s only so much someone can show you. Personally, there have been few moments in my life where I’ve had instructors actually show me what do, I’ve pretty much learned how to draw, paint, and sketch on my own.

In reference to my actual qualifications and training, I have a Degree in Graphic Design & Advertising as well as a Bachelors D degree in Print Journalism.  This training has aided me at times throughout my different career paths, but 

I sometimes wonder how much practical use they were? I was taught the basics of design and learnt how to draw, typeset, and compose a design.  But unfortunately, when I eventually got an industry job, agencies were expecting designers to know how to design with Photoshop and Illustrator! I had to teach myself really quickly how to use those programs to survive as a design professional. Becoming an expert in digital programs has definitely helped me to become (somewhat) successful in my career but I now find myself reverting back to the pen and paper to create my own artwork.  Although I love digital and vector art, and still utilize it often, there’s nothing more satisfying than creating something by hand that that is tangible and physical!

AP: Can you tell us about where you make your work is it in your house, a studio etc.. and how it effects your work.

BF: All my personal work is created in a small, little room, in my small, little town house in Huntington Beach.  It is my retreat from the outside world. Apart from my six-year-old daughter who often paints and sketches with me on her own little easel, it is my personal sanctuary where I can relax and meditate on life. My surrounding really doesn’t effect my work very much. My art is more a product of my own inner headspace rather than a product of any outside influence.

AP: What are some of you favorite design projects/exhibitions you have worked on to date.

BF: I have done a shed-load of t-shirt designs, posters, and album covers recently for a handful of rock bands and created some artwork for the R&B star, Keri Hilson (which was fun) but I think that a recent highlight was getting to show some of my work at the FIND Art gallery in Costa Mesa, California, and sharing the stage with some amazing artistic talent, like Jamie Johnson and Edward Frausto. I like the feeling of being part of an artistic community.

AP: What is your medium of choice.

BF: Ink and paper. I also love to work with magic markers and sharpies.

AP: What is the relationship between technique and content in your work.

BF: It really drives the content. Even though I don’t stick firmly to one sort of illustration style, I think the character of my work comes from simple ink lines, mostly done with a mixture of ink pens and ink brushes.  I feel that I have more control over my work when I just use black ink and simple color choices. 

AP: Who are some of the artists that have inspired you and or your work.

BF: New artists I see on a daily basis inspire me. Thanks to the Internet we have what seems like an infinite resource of art to drool over. You only have to look at the Artsprojekt site to see how much talent there is out there.  I just went to the LACMA to see Tim Burton’s artwork that I thought was fabulous, and I’m really influenced by edgy artists like Alex Pardee, but growing up I was most influenced by comic artists such as Simon Bisley and Brian Bolland and by dramatic artists like William Blake and Gustav Klimt. There’s really too many to mention. I love art. I’m pretty much influenced by everything, from the art I see, to the horror movies I watch and from the people I meet.

AP: In what direction would you like to see your work going over the next five years.

BF: I don’t think in those terms. Go with the flow, man! Just do what you like and what feels good and if people like it, then that’s a bonus. I make art for myself, as a form of meditation, I don’t have a plan.

AP: What forth coming projects and or exhibitions do you have scheduled for 2012.

BF: I really don’t have anything planned. Hopefully I’ll be able to get exhibited again at some point and show my work to a wider audience. I’ve also been painting vinyl toys and selling them on eBay. It’s such great fun!  Unfortunately, I find myself limited to the Munny shapes and a few other “paint-your-own” characters available. I’m seriously considering creating molds and starting a line of my own vinyl toys.

AP: Take us on a guided tour through a day in your life as an artist.

BF: I work a 9 to 5 job designing for a marketing company. When I get home, I use my time to draw sketch, or paint as a way of clearing my head of all the driftwood and debris that the day has washed up.  Sometimes I’m working on a freelance project for a band, a t-shirt company, or on a commission, but mostly, I work late into the night on artwork for my own pleasure.

AP: Thank you so much for taking the time to answer our questions.

AP artist Sean D’Anconia news update; “Created fro Q-Pop’s grand opening, “Fearless Pink” (mixed-media) features Gloomy, Astro Boy, Hello Kitty, Uran, Dunny-Gloomy and my own original characters.” View more pics on seans blog here + 

Artist Proof Interview with Artist: Marc Scheff

Global Location: Brooklyn, NY

URL: http://www.marcscheff.com

Shop: http://www.zazzle.com/marcscheff

I love to draw and have from a very young age. I was illustrating books without authors’ permission from age 5. I left the art scene for a number of years, and pursued a career in computers. One blip on that timeline was the co-founding a t-shirt company that has since been purchased byt the custom-merch upstart, Zazzle. Since then, I have since parlayed my techie skills into my new career as a digital illustrator. I focus primarily on fantasy and sci-fi art, and I do enjoy long walks on the beach. Really.

Image: © Marc Scheff

AP: How long have you been making art for and what lead you to start?

MS: I have been making pictures for as long as I can remember. I took a big chunk off during and post-college years to pursue a career on computer science. I have since ditched that career and am now a full-time illustrator.  My start was humble to say the least. My dad, a pediatrician, would take me to work some days. I would sit in his office and, with the pens and pads left behind by big pharma salesmen, I would draw all day until it was time to go home. I only took breaks to drink the chicken soup and hot chocolate from the vending machine. One machine with a single spout offered both items. I saw no issue with this at the time.

Image: © PK Cards

AP: Where do you currently  live and work ? And how does this influence your work?

MS: I live and work in New York. New York is one of if not that publishing capital of the world. Since I have moved here, I have fallen in with the big bad illustration family that lives and breathes genre art.  The folks I have met here were and are my biggest inspiration. I consider myself lucky to have friends who I can point to as influences. There are also a lot of people pushing the medium, whatever medium, to create new and innovative pieces with unique voices. I think this could be true anywhere, but it _is_ what New York does.

Image: © AEG

AP: Did you have formal training if so what? If your self taught can you tell us what you prefer about being a self taught artist vs having formal training?

MS: Frankly, I have a bit of both and I imagine most successful artists would say the same. I think that the people who made a career after art school are the people who were already doing it before getting their degree. I did go to art school, after years of secret doodling and becoming a software engineer. Art school formalized many of the lessons I was trying to learn on my own and pulled back the curtain on a possible career in illustration. 

Since art school I have continued  self-teaching through figure drawing workshops and professional workshops like the Illustration Master Class. While some of these events offer instruction, it is the drive and focus of each student that defines their progress and success. What I love about that is I get what I put in. The math there is simple and tangible. So when I am in those workshops, or just learning from what I see online, I can feel the progress _as_ I put in more time, stay up for a sleepless night, or skip the bar night with friends in order to paint. Those sacrifices always seem worth it when the payoff is a new tool in my paintbox.

Image: © Fantasy Flight Games

AP: Can you tell us about where you make your work is it in your house, a studio etc.. and how it effects your work?

MS: The freelance work that I do, I do from home. I share a big studio with my wife, an oil painter, and am surrounded by her big abstract canvases. Funny timing on this question: I have started using her work directly in mine. I take color or texture from her paintings and weave it into the early stages of my work and build my drawing and illustration on top of that.

Image:  © Fantasy Flight Games

AP: What are some of you favorite design projects/ exhibitions you have worked on to date?

MS: At the risk of a “safe answer,” the truth is I love the work I’m doing now more than anything I’ve done before. I think every artist constantly finds and evolves his/her voice and at any given time is doing the thing that feels the most right at that time. If I’m taking the time to create work that is informed by my passion and lessons learned, then what I am making now will necessarily be my favorite thing.  It’s either that or I just hate everything I’m making, which is usually a sign that I’m _about to_ start making stuff I really like.

AP: What is your medium of choice ?

MS: Digital. Photoshop and Painter. I use other tools depending on need. Recently I have used photography, oil paintings, and mouse tracking software in my work.

Image:  © Marc Scheff

AP: What is the relationship between technique and content in your work? 

MS: I think technique and content are linked, but not inextricably so, and more in one direction than the other.  Content certainly influences technique. Take any slice of content, let’s say Magic Cards or young-adult fantasy novel book covers, or even concept art. For any type of content, there is usually a look that people are doing now. Yes, there is a range of artists, but from what I have seen, the techniques used in any content-slice tend to be similar.  This is especially true now that communication and tool/technique-sharing is so easy over the internet. 

Now concept artists are all learning from each other, in real time, and concept art techniques tend toward an industry standard. Same goes for genre book covers, magic cards, and so on. As for my own work, I’m constantly looking at the men and women who have walked this path ahead of me and I learn everything I can from them. In essence, I am looking at the illustrators who have painted the content I want to paint, and learning as much technique from them as possible. Content defines technique. Does it work in reverse? I think it can, and learning a new technique can open an artist up to new possibilities for content, and for new clients. I have attended workshops where I saw a painter who was doing something inspiring to me and that led me to find out what they do and who they do it for and that has certainly influenced the kind of content I want to create.

Image: © Marc Scheff

 AP: In what direction would you like to see your work going over the next five years?

MS: I would like to create more work with a broader voice. This may sound a lot like “fine art,” but in the end I want to tell stories. There are two ways to tell stories: poetically and non-poetically (non-poetically being “literally”).  If I do a cover of Little Red Riding Hood, I can paint a scene of the wolf jumping out of bed and little red in her hood, and all the details of the room and the basket falling, and so on. Instead, I could paint an image of a girl and a wolf, and through her expression, their body language, color choice, and selected symbols, I could tell a story of innocence lost and the power of female sexuality. Both are stories, and the latter is the kind I would choose to tell.

Image: © Marc Scheff

 AP: What forth coming projects and or exhibitions do you have scheduled for 2011?

MS: Right now I have a day job as a concept artist at Gameloft. My projects there are not yet announced. In my freelance hours, I am working on a children’s book, an iPhone game, and a few new pieces that fall into the category of stories I like to tell. I post all this and more on my blog (http://www.marcscheff.com/sketchbook)

Image: © Marc Scheff

 AP: Take us on a guided tour through a day in your life as an artist.

MS: When I was full time freelance, I would wake up, run with my dogs, exercise on some kind of home workout contraption, and get to work in my studio by 9am. If I was light on to-dos, I would work on a personal piece or find some new technique or tutorial online. If I was heavy on todos, I would just work on all of them. I like to work a little bit at a time on multiple projects. This way, if I’ve been going for hours on something, I can switch for a few hours to something else and stay fresh without losing steam.

Now that I work full time doing concept art, have a kid, two dogs, a wife and life, the day is significantly more packed. I get up every day, run with the dogs, work out (fast, 10 minutes at home), eat, and head to work. I love my job and I work with some really talented and inspiring people. When I get home, I have dog walking duty and kid-putting-to-bed duty. After all that, I can get in the studio and work on my freelance and personal work. This isn’t a lot of time, and I don’t sleep much. The reward, as I said before, is worth the hours of lost sleep. That reward is sometimes just getting to paint, and sometimes it’s that I made something I really like. In either case, I think that I need to create the art that I want to create, and so I will find the time and space to do that. If that is 5 minutes at 2am after a long day of work and home-work, I will take it and make every second count.

AP: Thank you so much for taking the time to answer our questions.

Artist Proof Interview with Artist: Patrick Fatica

Global Location: Orlando, FL USA

URL: http://patrickfatica.com/home.html

AP Shop URL: http://www.zazzle.com/faticadesigns

“Operating on the edge between street and highbrow art, Fatica’s world is dark and devoid of highbrow puffery, instead depicting a surreal, nihilistic future inspired more by David Lynch’s Eraserhead than the bright futurism explored at the 1939 World’s Fair”. -Orlando Weekly ‘09
His paintings have been called, “a sublime blend of Tim Burton and Botticelli” by the Baltimore Examiner. Patrick Fatica attended Ringling School of Art and Design in Sarasota, FL from 1990 to 1994. He moved to Orlando, Florida in 1995 and spent the first few years developing a production company with a few friends called Eat Cake Productions. He went on to direct several original plays and the 16mm film “Five Miles from Heaven,” which appeared in film festivals around the country. After completing the film, he and his two business partners designed, opened and ran 2 music venues on the east side of Orlando and downtown Orlando called Back Booth. After almost a decade of traveling down different artistic paths, Patrick picked up the paintbrush again and dedicated himself to his painting. 

Phoenix Sun Times said about his solo Wind-Up Gallery exhibition, “We can’t think of anything more delightful than indulging in meticulously rendered prurient fantasies. This stuff is so sweet it’s almost rotten.”

AP: How long have you been making art for and what lead you to start.

PF: I’ve drawn my whole life, and went to art school after high school. I didn’t start painting seriously until 2006.

AP: Where do you currently live and work and how does this influence your work.

PF:  I currently live in Orlando FL, The good thing is of course, the weather. Not being in the center of the national scene allows me not to get caught up in the drama, but it also makes it harder to break through  when you cant meet other artists and gallery owners. There is truth to the saying “It’s who you know.”

AP: Did you have formal training if so whatω If your self taught can you tell us what you prefer about being a self taught artist vs having formal training.

PF:  I was classically trained at Ringling College of Art & Design. I believe that my technique is self taught. They would have never let me get away with it in school. But, there are basics that are ingrained in you at school that are difficult to learn on your own, like why certain compositions work, color theory, and how to mix paint. And most importantly I learned that art is a business, and I’m my own boss. A lot of artists tend to forget that part. Without a good foundation you get cracks. Some people can do it without school, but I wouldn’t have been able to.

AP: Can you tell us about where you make your work is it in your house, a studio etc.. and how it effects your work.

PF:  I recently bought a house. It’s a 1930 bungalow. In the back there is another house that was built in the 70’s I converted that house into my studio and office. It’s nice, because I get to leave my house in the morning, walk off my back porch and into the other house, and go to work. I think it’s important to feel like your going to work, to get you in the mindset. Plus, there are no Playstation distractions, or a bed to jump on and take a nap. Since I’ve moved here, I have been a lot more productive.

AP: What are some of you favorite design projects/exhibitions you have worked on to date.

PF:  There is a place in Orlando called Mother Falcon that had a Zombie themed show last year that was pretty great. In fact I’m getting ready to paint another zombie for their follow-up Zombies II in October. Any of my solo shows are my favorite. I like to have complete control of the gallery. 

AP: What is your medium of choice.

PF:  I paint with oils on panel

AP: What is the relationship between technique and content in your work.

PF:  My technique, I start with a drawing on a white panel. I build up oil glazes that are very thin. After each glaze the painting gets sprayed with a layer of clear acrylic. I’ll apply around 40 glazes until the painting is complete. This is an ongoing process and I learn more with every painting. I think I would be producing the same type of work regardless of technique though. I have developed a style that I can apply to pretty much any medium.

AP: Who are some of the  artists that have inspired you and or your work.

PF:  There are so many. Lori Early, Tara McPherson, Tom Bagshaw, Sylvia Ji, Camilla d’Errico,

AP: In what direction would you like to see your work going over the next five years.

PF:  I would like to get looser. I’ve been experimenting with watercolors. So far nothing has stuck. But there is always tomorrow.

AP: What forth coming projects and or exhibitions do you have scheduled for 2011.

PF:  I’m doing a group show at Gallery Meltdown curated by Chris Marrs Piliero called”I WANT MY MUSIC VIDEO ART SHOW”. Zombies II at Mother Falcon, and I have a solo show in November at The Peacock Room in Orlando Fl. I do a solo show every November at the Peacock Room, and this will be my 6th one. I got a lot of painting to do.

AP: Take us on a guided tour through a day in your life as an artist.

PF:  I can’t paint first thing in the morning because I’m just not creative then, so I get errands out of the way. I wake up around 8am, and have coffee and check and send emails. I’ll ship out any prints or do anything business related: bank, art store etc. Then I get my hands dirty a little. I’ll work on building panel boxes, or frames, or work or gesso and sand a panel, even some light sketching. Lunch, and coffee on my back porch. After lunch I usually start painting. I work until 5 or 6, clean my brushes leave the studio, go into my house and call it a day. 

AP: Thank you so much for taking the time to answer our questions.

Artist Proof Interview with Artist: Robert Mars

Global Location: New York

URL: http://www.robertmars.com

AP Shop URL: http://www.zazzle.com/robertmars

Robert Mars’ artwork chronicles an evolving fascination with the Golden Age of American popular culture and celebrates the icons of the 1950s and 60s by taking inspiration from this culture long past. Through the application of a rich color palette and tongue-in-cheek attitude, Mars’ paintings evoke a vintage quality of design and pay homage to the idealized age of growth and hopefulness that was prevalent in the USA at the end of the Depression. A time before the internet and mobile technology, where information was not instantly available to millions and there was no such thing as instant internet celebrities, and instead people lived with the myth of the unique, untouchable and unforgettable personalities of Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor, James Dean, Audrey Hepburn and Elvis Presley.

By merging his own concept of personal idols with those of mainstream culture, Mars is able to focus his work on a deeper analysis of the Golden Age of American personalities. As an artist, he has always been fascinated with 1950s and 60s culture, and his early work reflects many of the architectural and mechanical icons from this era. Muscle cars, motels, logos and hulking monuments to the “modern” feeling of the time permeate his early canvases. More recently however, Mars’ artwork has shifted toward the culture of celebrity and he is amazingly attuned to the fact that these instantly recognizable and larger-than-life personalities continue to resonate with contemporary American culture.

A graduate of Parsons School of Design in New York, Mars begins the creative process by preparing his surface with multiple layers of brown paper in order to define the edges and delineate the background planes of color. He then alternates layers of paint and vintage paper ephemera, sanding away portions of the layers as he works, revealing the desired portions of under painting with the overall intention to provide the viewer with a muted window into America’s past. Chronicling this fascination with 1950s and 60s iconography, Mars has produced a body of artwork from his studio in New York that celebrates the commonplace objects and icons of an America long past, in a thoroughly modern and exquisitely constructed manner. His eye for a distinct facet of American history is impeccable and his ability to manipulate the color and wordplay of vintage printed material has earned him reference with the likes of Andy Warhol, Robert Rauschenberg, and Richard Diebenkorn among other masters from the School of Pop. Robert Mars’ artwork is exhibited worldwide including museum collections in Munich, Tokyo, Amsterdam, London, Boston, New York, Los Angeles, Laguna Beach, Atlanta, Aspen and Naples. His artwork has also been selected for the upcoming Absolut Vodka 2011 campaign alongside his contemporary peers and he was also recently commissioned by Oceania Cruise Lines to create site specific pieces for their newest cruise ship, the Marina.

AP: How long have you been making art for and what lead you to start.

RM: I have been making art as early as I was able to hold a crayon. I don’t think I had a choice in the matter. Art was all I ever really cared about until I found a skateboard.

AP: Where do you currently live and work and how does this influence your work.

RM: I live in New York City. I feel the hustle of the city. The constant crazy energy and motion has a huge influence on my work. I live in a city with access to everything 24 hours a day and it motivates my art.

AP: Did you have formal training if so what$B&X(B If your self taught can you tell us what you prefer about being a self taught artist vs having formal training.

RM: After high school I studied graphic design and Illustration at Parsons in New York. I always leaned more towards fine art but thought it may be harder to make a living. Formal training has pros and cons. You walk away with a degree that people are impressed with but sometimes universities become assembly line and rigid in their training and graduates tend to have a similar style.

AP: Can you tell us about where you make your work is it in your house, a studio etc.. and how it effects your work.

RM: I have a studio separate from my house. I like it that way so I can have separation of my work life and my family life. I also like that I go to a place that I have to be structured and manage my time to get things done.

AP: What are some of you favorite design projects/exhibitions you have worked on to date.

RM: I just finished the Absolut Vodka Blank campaign. 16 artists were given a bottle shaped canvas and we each did our thing. Its a great line up of artists and I am proud to be a part of it. My last exhibition in Bulgaria was also a great experience. The gallery was so professional and I was a guest on their morning show, a Jazz radio show, multiple magazine interviews and lectures. I felt like a rockstar.

AP: What is your medium of choice.

RM: Collage has always fascinated me. I love building layers and then exposing what is underneath. Then building up again. Its always a new experience to give up control to sand paper!

AP: What is the relationship between technique and content in your work.

RM: Content and technique go hand in hand for my work. Conceptually my art looks back to what I feel is Americas Golden Era. The 1950s and 60s.  My technique allows me to express the authentic color palette from that era and the vintage ephemera that I use for collage allows me to reinforce my ideas utilizing maps, advertisements, and photos from then.

AP: Who are some of the  artists that have inspired you and or your work.

RM: Robert Rauschenberg has had a huge impact on my work and who I am as a person. His humble demeanor always inspired me. He let his work speak for itself and it always was clearly a Rauschenberg. I admire Warhol for his icons, Jasper Johns for his texture and graphic boldness. Richard Diebenkorn for his structure in abstraction. For todays artists I love

Thomas Campbell for his line quality and unique visual language. Barry McGee for his overall vision.

AP: In what direction would you like to see your work going over the next five years.

RM: In the next two years I want to explore three dimensional works. I have an idea for sculpture that I want to make work and to continue forward with my current body. I think that it will also be affected positively as I explore new mediums.

AP: What forth coming projects and or exhibitions do you have scheduled for 2011.

RM: I am represented by galleries in the states as well as abroad. I have no specific shows lined up but my galleries are always requesting new work. I have a commission for Oceania Cruise Lines that I am working on which will be a great experience. Their ships are works of art in themselves and it is nice to see your work in a grand setting.

AP: Take us on a guided tour through a day in your life as an artist.

RM: I wake up at 6. Take care of our child with my wife and then leave for my studio around 8. I mentally prepare my day on the train ride or bike ride in. It depends on what stage I am at with my pieces but it could be anything from applying paint layers, cutting collage materials from magazines, running to the art store, or resin coating finished pieces. Its always new which makes it always exciting.

AP: Thank you so much for taking the time to answer our questions.

Artist Proof Interview with Artist: Kev Munday

Global Location:Farnborough, Hampshire, England

URL:  http://www.KevMunday.com

AP Shop URL: http://zazzle.com/kevmunday

Kev Munday has been expressing himself visually on all surfaces within reach from an early age. Amongst his obscure influences he lists aboriginal culture, fortune cookie poetry and traveling amusement rides. Kev’s artwork has been exhibited in gallery shows from Tokyo to Berlin, Barcelona to Philadelphia. His designs have adorned merchandise the world over, appearing on literally thousands of t-shirts through clothing labels UnderTheHat, Fracture Skateboards and Avalaan. Still just in his mid twenties, Kev is regularly exhibiting and live painting at events all over the world. Having recently held his first London solo show titled ‘Making It Up As I Go Along’ on the prestigious Covent Garden High-street, and collaborated with renowned 3d designer Stuart Melrose, Kev Munday is looking forward to many more years of watching paint dry.

AP: How long have you been making art for and what lead you to start.

KM: I started creating things when I was pretty young, I used to draw a lot but never took it seriously. When I was 17 I had a couple of my designs printed onto t-shirts under the brand name ‘UnderTheHat’ and sold them to friends and to people via the internet. I kept putting the money back into getting more and more made and before I stopped running the label just over a year ago I had sold over 1000 t-shirts and had it stocked in about a dozen retailers. Combining the style of the t-shirt designs and the stuff I was painting on the streets I decided I should have a go at putting some work onto canvas and now I do this full time for a living, combined with making prints and painting murals.

AP: Where do you currently live and work and how does this influence your work.

KM: I live in Farnborough, Hampshire, UK - you won’t have heard of it! I’m surrounded by tall trees and nature but pretty close to some big cities at the same time. I’m not sure if it influences my work that much but in general I like it here!

AP: Did you have formal training if so what? If your self taught can you tell us what you prefer about being a self taught artist vs having formal training.

KM:I have a degree in graphic design but from about a week into the course I knew I never wanted to be a graphic designer! I guess I picked up some computer skills through it which help a bit with the print designs. 

AP: Can you tell us about where you make your work is it in your house, a studio etc.. and how it effects your work.

KM: I’m moving into a new shared studio space with some artist friends of mine in about 3 weeks, I can’t wait! Right now I work from home, it’s nice to have the freedom to start working as soon as I wake up but it’s not ideal, the bedroom looks like a warehouse it’s so stacked up with canvases!

AP: What are some of you favorite design projects/exhibitions you have worked on to date.

KM: I’ve recently collaborated with furniture designer Stuart Melrose (www.stuartmelrose.com) on a series of limited edition coffee tables, that was a lot of fun! Stuart gave me free reign with the graphics which is always the best way to work and I’m super proud with how they’ve turned out. Right now I’m on the train home from painting some ridiculously big walls at a canteen in Plymouth which again was a ‘do whatever you want’ job. A couple of years back I designed a range of skateboard decks for Fracture which was a really big deal for me at the time and got me a lot of exposure. Getting commissioned to paint a Mickey Mouse figure for a Walt Disney exhibition was awesome too, It was nice to redesign something so iconic.

AP: What is your medium of choice.

KM: Spray paint, fine liner pens and any kind of bullet tip marker pen.

AP: What is the relationship between technique and content in your work.

Answer: I don’t think the technique influences my work that much. I like to think I can produce my ideas in any medium, whether it be digital, hand drawn, or scaled up on the side of a building with spray paint. 

AP: Who are some of the artists that have inspired you and or your work.

KM: Keith Haring, Basquiat, Andy Howell, C86, DBO. I also like a lot of tribal and primitive art, especially things like wood cuts and masks.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/artsprojekt/5987707565/in/set-72157627309219616/

AP: In what direction would you like to see your work going over the next five years.

KM: I’m looking to start producing some 3D sculptural pieces, I’ve experimented in 3D a bit by painting on unusual objects such as the series of bowling pins, but I’m gonna start making figures from scratch using materials like wood and resin. I hope within the next 5 years I’ve opened my own real life gallery selling my art and design products. 

AP: What forth coming projects and or exhibitions do you have scheduled for 2011.

KM: I’ve currently got some prints in a touring exhibition which started yesterday at SW1 Gallery in London and is traveling across the UK. I’m Continuing to produce some different work in collaboration with Stuart Melrose, including some sculptural bits and other pieces of furniture. Other than that just trying to paint every day! I should have another solo exhibition scheduled for late 2011/early 2012 but nothings certain yet. 

AP: Take us on a guided tour through a day in your life as an artist.

KM: Every day is different but most of them include:Visiting the post office, replying to emails, thinking, drawing, daydreaming and then if there is enough time left, painting!

AP: Thank you so much for taking the time to answer our questions.

Thank you!

Artist Proof Interview with Artist: Caia Koopman

Global Location:US

URL:   www.caiakoopman.com

AP Shop URL: http://www.zazzle.com/caiakoopman

From the land of surf and sea, Caia Koopman has emerged as one of lowbrow’s preeminent female artists. With a well-rounded background from her years spent obtaining her BA in Fine arts from UC Santa Cruz, to her time spent in the skateboarding and snowboarding scenes, Caia’s environment has both molded and provided an eclectic background that makes her paintings come to life. With her fine detail for beauty, inclinations toward nature, and collectiveness of the female spirit, Caia has quickly become one of the quintessential artists fully encompassing the elegance, strengths, and vulnerabilities of femininity. 

AP: How long have you been making art for and what lead you to start. 

CK: I’ve always loved to draw and make art, ever since I was itty bitty, my great grandmother was an amazing artist and she passed some down to me. I’ve been making a living as a painter for about the past 10 years,  besides selling paintings at galleries I do a lot of commercial and collaboration projects with snowboard companies and other action sports companies including most recently Oakley.  

AP: Where do you currently live and work and how does this influence your work.

CK: I’ve recently moved to Santa Cruz, I’ve been living in Southern California for the past 15 years and needed a change. So far I love it here, maybe I will start painting my girls in Birkenstocks and tie-dye, or not…

AP: Did you have formal training if so whatω If your self taught can you tell us what you prefer about being a self taught artist vs having formal training.

CK: I can’t really claim self taught because I did get a BA of arts degree from UCSC but there’s almost nothing I learned from school I use in my painting technique today.  I would have loved to go to art school but that wasn’t an option for me, UCSC was an amazing experience and I wouldn’t trade it for anything, but the way I paint today is something that has evolved over the years way past anything I learned at school.

AP: Can you tell us about where you make your work is it in your house, a studio etc.. and how it effects your work.

CK: I’ve painted in my kitchen for years, I enjoy the short commute and convenient proximity to the fridge and coffee maker. In my new place in Santa Cruz I’m working in the living room, my new commute is a few yards farther and the coffee maker us just out of reach. I like working at home but I wouldn’t mind having a real studio at some point.

AP: What are some of you favorite design projects/exhibitions you have worked on to date.

CK: One of my favorite projects is Seven Artistic Sins with Rossignol, we’re on sin 5 this year. I’ve painted Sloth, Anger, Gluttony, and hmmm one other so far, they are for ski graphics and it’s been really cool. My other favorite projects are with Oakey, we’re doing an entire line called the “Caia Collection” and it includes 4 styles of sunglasses so far, a rad snowboard goggle for the ladies and an apparel collection including a bikini and board short. Oh, and we also did a limited edition watch which I believe is all sold out. The shades are super cute and I can’t wait until the board shorts come out. As far as exhibitions I currently have a solo show in France rotating between the four Spacejunk Galleries there.

AP: What is your medium of choice.

Answer:I work with acrylics and have been experimenting with water based oils, mixing both. I paint on canvas or wood, I love both. 

AP: What is the relationship between technique and content in your work. 

CK: Working with acrylics I tend to paint elements that are a bit more illustrative than realistic, my style of painting lends to more iconic elements than to scenery which might be cool to explore as I incorporate more water based oils.

AP: Who are some of the  artists that have inspired you and or your work.

CK: Growing up my mom loved to take me to art shows, especially at SFMOMA. There’s nothing like standing in front of the actual paintings for real inspiration. There were a couple shows in particular that cemented in me the idea of being a painter, Frida Kahlo was a big inspiration, her work has always meant a lot to me, her story telling, full of pain and strength, sadness and beauty, she’s been hugely influential to me. I’m also a huge fan of the current art scene, i’ve got a laundry list of artists I love, way too many to start naming.  I wish I made enough money to have a giant collection of all my favorite current artists.

AP: In what direction would you like to see your work going over the next five years.

Answer: I’d like to keep doing collaborative projects with Oakley, Rossignol and other artists, I’d also like to work in 3D.

AP: What forth coming projects and or exhibitions do you have scheduled for 2011.

CK: This year I’ve got a bunch on new products coming out with Oakley, and right now I’m getting ready for Les Enfants TERRIBLES, opening Sept 13th at The Spacejunk Gallery and (Biennale d’Art Contemporain)  the Lyon Contemporary Art Biennale 2011 ; Exhibiting with  Todd Schorr, Caia Koopman, Odo, Reg Monbossa, Jeff Soto, Nicolas Thomas, Naoto Hattori, Victor Castillo,Ray Caesar, Robert Crumb, Robert Williams, Joe Sorren

AP: Take us on a guided tour through a day in your life as an artist.

CK: For the past six months or more I’ve been cramming for a handful of back to back shows with ridiculous deadlines, I’ve been under the gun and painting constantly. I  preffered my days when I could paint at a more leisurely pace and include things like lunch with friends and movies at night. I’ve been lucky to squeeze in a run these days but my final deadline is close and soon I’ll be able to take a little time off to re-inspire.

AP: Thank you so much for taking the time to answer our questions.

Artist Proof Interview with Artist: Joe “:01” Iurato

Global Location: New Jersey, USA

URL:  http://www.joeiurato.com/

AP Shop URL: http://www.zazzle.com/joeiurato

“:01 represents one second,” says Joe.  “In times of adversity, it only takes a single second to decide you’re going to pick yourself up and move forward in a positive direction regardless of the circumstances involved. :01 means never give up. Stay the course. Believe in who you are. Embrace the next challenge and begin a new chapter.”

Joe’s art can be found in both public spaces and in galleries. His stenciling technique, which he describes as “drawing with an Exact o blade”, is completely his own, and it’s evidenced within the styling of his works. His cuts are proportionate and clean, yet painterly and imperfect. His subject matter varies according to his daily inspirations, from large-scale portraits of children recognizing their importance to society and this planet’s future; to faceless characters that appear at the crossroads somewhere in between victory and defeat; to people “floating and drifting” away with elation and self restoration; and to his more recent textural paintings of ropes and chains, things that Joe finds symbolic of strength and unity, rather than restraint and oppression. Regardless of the subject matter, Joe’s adamant about creating socially conscious work that speaks to the times. 

AP: How long have you been making art for and what lead you to start.

JI: For as long as I’ve been able to help myself, I guess. Creating art has always been the easiest way for me to confront and understand exactly what it is I’m feeling at any given moment. That’s going back for as long as I can remember. It’s been a way for me to document and crystallize my emotions, from elation to depression and the spectrum of feelings in between. It helps me keep some sort of balance. 

AP: Where do you currently live and work and how does this influence your work.

JI:  I live in New Jersey. It’s a different New Jersey than the one portrayed in reality TV, though. It’s not all about Soprano wannabes, fist pumpers and disgruntled housewives here. Living in Jersey puts me an hour away from the mountains, an hour away from the ocean, and 15 minutes away from New York City. I need that constant change of pace and scenery. To be able to enjoy the serenity of climbing rocks one minute and then be in the beautiful chaos of NYC the next is vital to me being who I am. Having these different directions to run to makes inspiration and possibility limitless. As often as I say I want to get out of here due to the financial frustrations that come with living in the tri-state, I know I wouldn’t be the same person if I packed up and headed out. This is my life, and my life influences my work. 

Photo credit: Martha Cooper

AP: Did you have formal training if so what? If your self taught can you tell us what you prefer about being a self taught artist vs having formal training.

JI:  I studied art for a couple years but never finished. While I absolutely admire and respect those who earn formal educations, I’ve found that I personally do better learning on my own – in my own time. I absorb information better that way.

AP: Can you tell us about where you make your work is it in your house, a studio etc.. and how it effects your work.

JI: I’ve got two kids - a 3 year old and a newborn. If you think I’m painting at home, your crazy. For real, though, we live in an apartment building complex, and I was working out of my garage for a long time. But the neighbors complained about the spray paint and so for the first time I went out and rented myself a studio. I go there at all hours of the night, turn on the music, crack open a few beers, make stuff, and then leave the place a wreck and go home. Of course, it’s another bill that’s got to be paid, but having a studio completely changed everything for me when it comes down to being productive. 

AP: What are some of you favorite design projects/exhibitions you have worked on to date.

JI:  I’ve had the privilege of being part of some great projects and exhibitions. For no other reason than they’re hitting me right off the bat I’d say: The Underbelly Project (NYC), Electric Windows (Beacon, NY), Willoughby Windows (Brooklyn), Primary Flight (Miami), Welling Court Mural Project (Queens), The Art of Basketball exhibitions (Miami and NJ), Eames Inspiration exhibition, the work I did for NBC’s Sunday Night Football, and both G40 Art Summits are a few that are standing out. Then there’s the stuff that just happens – like my outdoor collaborations with artists like SNOW, SUE, and Chris Stain. Sometimes the random and relatively unplanned stuff is the most memorable.

AP: What is your medium of choice.

JI: Stencil and spray paint, though I’ve recently gotten into some mixed media work that also includes analog photography.

above image: Wall collaboration with Chris Stain

AP: What is the relationship between technique and content in your work.

JI:  I’ve worked with quite a few mediums and just found cutting stencils to be the most meditative when I get into it. My cuts are loose and guestimated, sometimes drawn in, and I prefer to avoid using Photoshop filters. It’s like a game I play with myself, never really 100% sure if a layer will work until I spray it out. I do enjoy shooting photos, too – which is maybe why stenciling is also so appealing. I can take these images I’ve shot and re-interpret them as paintings. I’ve also begun fusing the paintings with the photographs recently, too – taking the painted subject and sticking it back in the photo by creating shadow box dioramas. Lastly, I also enjoy painting in the street - and my work usually has a strong, socially conscious meaning attached to it. I can paint the same image in New Jersey, New York, and Miami, for instance, and reach a much broader audience.

AP: Who are some of the artists that have inspired you and or your work.

JI:  I have many inspirations, from artists of the Renaissance to reggae musicians. People who choose to express themselves creatively and don’t think twice about leaving a piece of themselves out there for the world to judge inspire me. But if I were to list the stencil artists who’ve greatly inspired me to pick up and try this medium, it’d have to be Logan Hicks, Chris Stain, C215, Shepard Fairey and Banksy. 

AP: In what direction would you like to see your work going over the next five years.

JI:  That’s a tough question. I don’t know exactly what it is I’ll need to get off my chest within the next five years. From a technical standpoint, though, I do have ideas on how I’d like to evolve my stencils and get excited thinking about the possibilities. 

AP: What forth coming projects and or exhibitions do you have scheduled for 2011.

JI:  Aside from commissions and personal projects, I’ve got a solo show coming up on August 20th at Art Whino in MD, I’m doing the Living Walls conference in Albany in September, a solo show at Kondoit Gallery in Miami in October and then I plan on heading back to Miami in December for Art Basel. 

AP: Take us on a guided tour through a day in your life as an artist.

JI:  Wake up, try to take a sip of coffee, and instead be dragged into my son’s room to play with dinosaurs and Matchbox cars. Scratch the coffee and opt for a quick minute to check emails. Not happening. Change baby’s diaper, feed him and then dance with him around the living room until he falls asleep. Get my shit together for the studio and then put it down to blow up my son’s inflatable pool. Cold water from the hose feels good so I get changed and play outside. Realize it’s 4 o’clock and I haven’t done a damn thing except pretend I’m a T-rex, hum old Burning Spear tunes and have a water gun fight. Make dinner and start drinking wine with my wife. Kids go to sleep, my wife watches Dancing With The Stars, I regroup and hit the studio after dark. Better late than never.

AP: Thank you so much for taking the time to answer our questions.