INSPIRED BY FILM — FROM THEIR ARTFUL VHS COVERS TO THE IN-PERSON MOVIEGOING EXPERIENCE. WHAT FILM(S) SPARKED YOUR PASSION AND HOW DID IT SHAPE YOUR ARTISTIC PATH? The original Halloween (1978) was the film that made me a horror fan. But it was the breathtaking poster art from Bob Peak, Enzo Sciotti, Matthew Peak, Drew Struzan, Richard Amsel, John Alvin and Robert McGinnis (to name just a few) that made me want to be a poster artist. To this day I still reference all of them, and try to incorporate little homages to their artwork whenever possible. WHEN DID YOU REALIZE YOU WERE AN ARTIST? That’s a tough question, because I’m not even sure I feel like an artist now! I knew I was a working artist the first time I was paid for an illustration. And I remember feeling incredibly grateful the first year I supported myself — and my family — purely with art projects. But I really struggle with the “artist” label. I work as a commercial illustrator, so ultimately what I’m creating is artwork to sell a product. I try to infuse each piece with my own aesthetic, but at the end of the day, I’m serving a client. Which means often there are very specific requirements, or lengthy revisions that need to be accommodated. I think we’re all artists, regardless of experience or skill, whenever we find ourselves creating something purely for the sake of the joy that comes from creating. It’s in those moments, when I’m not working for a client but only for myself … those are the moments when I feel the most connected to that artist label. HOW DID YOU COME TO YOUR DISTINCT STYLE? That was a slow evolution. I worked hard early on to develop a style closer to the Drew Struzan technique … where I could capture realistic likenesses and render key art that felt very connected to that line of traditional poster illustration from the 70s and 80s. But, every now and then, I would feel so constrained by the need to make the art so clean and realistic, that I would spend time just creating these dark, abstract horror pieces (akin to the works of Francisco Goya or Francis Bacon). Eventually I just had the idea to take that kind of dark, expressionist style and apply it to my regular client work. It didn’t happen overnight … but ultimately the response to what I was doing was so positive, it just helped to steer my work more permanently in that direction. 11 BIGGEST CHALLENGES YOU FACE AS A TRADITIONAL ARTIST IN THIS DAY AND AGE? Revisions. The ability to make changes quickly, whether it be adjusting the size of portraits, their position in the composition, colors, etc. Making fast changes and hitting deadlines is such a massive requirement in this field, and that’s the reason I started working digitally in the first place. I admire any artist who has held out and works entirely traditionally; I’ve found that I use a combination of traditional and digital techniques in my work these days, just in order to make the workflow with clients and studios as seamless as possible. YOU APPRECIATE ARTISTS WHO TAKE AN ORGANIC AND UNCONVENTIONAL APPROACH — CREATOR OF HELLRAISER’S PINHEAD CLIVE BARKER USING STEAK KNIVES TO CREATE TEXTURE IN HIS PAINTINGS, COMIC ARTIST BILL SIENKIEWICZ USING HOUSE PAINT, ETC. CAN YOU EXPAND ON THIS VALUE AND ALSO WHAT “UNTRADITIONAL” ART TECHNIQUES YOU PERSONALLY USE (OR WANT TO TRY).
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