Tell us about your skateboard design:
The origination of the piece lies in my love for Ray Harryhausen’s King Kong. I’m a sucker for old movies and the imagery from Kong stuck with me. The herky-jerky stop motion animation has rawness to it that CGI lacks for all its realism. It was a design I’d wanted to try for a while. I’m satisfied with the result. It was the best piece I’d completed to date.
If you were to describe your work to someone who’s never seen it, what would you say?
My work is line-art centric. It’s low-brow, graphic, and often has a limited color pallet. It’s usually like 1940’s comics meet some sort of modern subject matter. I’ve been doing a lot of mass drawing and life drawing lately. It’s making my work evolve in ways I find hard to predict.
Would you share three things in your workspace that inspire you?
I have a very “Stormtrooper chic" mentality when it comes to interior design. I don’t have a single print on my walls nor any color in my office. I let my second monitor be my sole decorative element, often displaying ‘30s and ‘40s movie posters. Anything else feels like a distraction.
What’s the best compliment/most extreme reaction you’ve ever received in response to your work?
I had a few bidders camp out in front of a piece at a charity auction. They sat in front of the piece all night, taking turns outbidding one another. It was my first show and it totally spoiled my expectations for all shows since. I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t nice to be fawned over.
What’s the art scene like where you live?
Non-existent. I live in a town named after a guy named Earl – Earlville, IL. If that’s not descriptor enough, I have one neighbor for a few square miles. If you want to get soused at the local bar, you have a dozen to choose from. Art gallery? Not happening.
What are you really into right now?
Horror comic art and pulp stories. I’m a huge fan of Bernie Wrightson, Wally Wood, Milton Caniff, Johnny Craig, Frazetta, Alfredo Alcala, John Romita. – I could go on and on.
What would be on your quintessential mixtape?
Grandaddy, early David Bowie, Neutral Milk Hotel, The Decemberists, and a few songs off the Blade Runner soundtrack.
What websites do you check out regularly?
I read Today’s Inspiration religiously. Leif Peng finds the best illustrators from the past and features them on an almost daily basis. Other than that, I spend time on Stylus and Butt3rscotch, two private illustration/design forums. I rely on my phone to check my RSS feeds and the New York Times a lot.
What are your vices/guilty pleasures?
I never met a glass of bourbon I didn’t like. Sandwiches- oh, god, sandwiches. I can eat subs for every meal.
What’s the first picture you can remember drawing as a child?
I drew a comic book in first grade named after the titular character, Space Mouse. I still draw Space from time to time. I’m working on a graphic novel featuring the character presently.
If you had to change careers, what would be next?
Something involving manual labor; I like being able to point to a hole I dug, a structure I helped put up, or concrete I poured. There’s honesty in creating physical objects that art has in common with labor.
What’s your motto?
“The hard thing to do is probably the right thing.” I’m not one for blanket statements and truisms, but that seems to work out a lot of the time. If something’s easy, there’s probably a reason.
