Karyn Crisis, Eclectix Interview 24

Karyn Crisis, photo by Bonnie Rae Mills

Eclectix first became aqquainted with Karyn a couple of years ago, when she came into the gallery, hair swinging, toting some killer leather works – gothic purses and cuffs. They were obviously crafted by someone with an artist’s eye and a gypsy soul – offbeat, with beautiful quality and embracing the darkness of life. Karyn has a huge energy about her, a quick intelligence and the creative verve to let her freak flag fly.  A self-taught artist, she shared some of her paintings and professed that she wanted to concentrate more on them in the future. Luckily, she has been able to, cranking out some powerful Tarot works in her beloved oils, just this past year.

Karyn’s solo show “The Major Arcana” opens October 1st at SR2 Gallery in Berkeley, CA. ( thru Oct. 31st)

(Eclectix note: Many of the “Major Arcana” images below may not be the final image as Karyn was busy putting finishing touches on them. The “Major Arcana” pieces all have an MA after the title)

Magusi MA- Karyn Crisis

Could you give us a little about your background?  I’ve always felt out of time and place on this planet. I’ve been able to see and communicate with spirits since I was young- but  it scared me then and I’m able to embrace it now. I feel as if all my past lives are being remembered in this lifetime.  I don’t look back often, but when I do, I realize just how much I’ve done so far. Having left my touring metal band of 13 years (Crisis) in 2005, I started over as a painter, shaman, Reiki Master Teacher, clairvoyant. My favorite chapter of my life is the current one, with my creative and talented husband and our cat. Music and a Tuscan witch brought us together and keep us moving forward in a creative, magical lifestyle. I made a living selling my paintings and custom leather work a few years ago, until my husband gifted me an art studio and the time to paint for painting’s sake – to get my technical skills where I want them, and to decide what I want to paint without worrying about selling my work. My work now  is devoted to Witchcraft culture (European shamanism, healing modalities, and rituals).

Calling in the Four Quarters - Karyn Crisis

Can you tell us a little about your creative process?  I visualize a painting and the most important thing is to capture an action and decide the purpose of the painting. I see it in my mind’s eye, complete. I create her face, decide who she is, what her tools and colors will be and what exactly her intent or action is, then I draw it out with as much detail as possible. I then take a photo of myself for lighting reference and lines of hands, etc. From there, I often refer to fashion magazines or my favorite jewelry designers to use their clothing and jewelry pieces as inspiration. I also use a lot of my own ritual tools (changing them just a bit) and clothing. Then for the oil painting process, I build the canvas, draw the painting on, beginning with a burnt-sienna underpainting. From there, I paint the drawing in burnt umber, adding some shadows. Then I build with layers of greens, blacks and whites… it’s a bastardization of the Verdaccio technique. Throughout the process I get feedback from my husband. He knows what I’m trying to do without my having to say a word, and he’s got a talent for objectivity.  I can get overambitious or not know when to stop painting and he reels me back in.

Cecina - Karyn Crisis

My favorite art memory from my childhood is… floating, out of my body, above my mother and myself. I was sick, lying in bed in my favorite corduroy navy and flowered overalls. Another memory is making potions in our backyard with plants and dirt.

Shaman and Spirit Attachments - Karyn Crisis

My interest in art/painting started … I was little, watching my mom paint. I was always drawing. Always. And dreaming. She took my sister and I into Chicago often to the museums and galleries. The modern art wing was very dark, art-wise, it was very serious and it scared me. I was hooked.

The Witch and Her Guides - Karyn Crisis

I am often inspired and motivated by…  my struggles. My frustrations with myself become quite a force for transformation. I am my own worst enemy, and when I’m stuck or overrun by an emotion, I’m inspired to use energywork to undertand, to listen, to learn. These modalities give me almost more to see and experience than my waking eyes. And one of my spirit guides and I work together on visualizing my painting concepts.

Strength , MA - Karyn Crisis

If I could spend the day with any artist (dead or alive) it would be… Anselm Kiefer (below)   And we would…  make his giant tar books together.

Anselm Kiefer

The tip or art technique (a specific tidbit of craft, advice or mechanical expertise) that has helped me the most is …. ”verdaccio”. An artist described this technique in a magazine interview and it changed my understanding of painting dramatically. Also, while painting, I find myself asking “what do you see” constantly, looking more intently at my reference photo, and with each layer redefining my lightest and darkest points.

(Eclectix note:  ”Verdaccio” is an underpainting technique which came from the Italian fresco painters of the early Renaissance. Created traditionally from a mixture of Mars Black and Yellow Ochre pigments, Verdaccio was used to establish tonal values in fresco painting quickly, creating a soft greenish-gray for the shadows of flesh tones.)

The Fool, MA - Karyn Crisis

If I could own one piece of art, out of the world’s collections, it would be …I’ve never been one to covet “things“. I don’t put alot of energy towards having “things”, but maybe I should! I’m more about wanting to create, to do, to accomplish, and to experience. BUT, if I had the money, I’d pay a good amount of it for some antique Strega Grimoires. ( A book describing magical beliefs and practices, for a female witch)

Witch's Wands, MA - Karyn Crisis

My favorite piece of my own art is… Witch’s Wands (above)  because… I still can’t believe I painted it. In fact, my newer paintings feel like they paint themselves.

Blue Boat Ghosts - Karyn Crisis

My ultimate project or fantasy is …  to have my art in museums along with witchy installations, and to tour with my husband. The more we learn about legacies like Egypt, the Maya, etc, we learn all our ancestors had a spiritual system that helped them accomplish great things that they couldn’t have learned just on their own as a human. Call it religion, spirituality, shamanism, witchcraft, they’re culturally relevant systems deserve a visual voice.

Diana - Karyn Crisis

The last song I choose to listen to was…  a new one Davide is writing for Ephel Duath, and a new one for my solo album.

The last book I couldn’t put down was …. The Cauldron of Memory by Raven Grimassi.

The Emperor, MA - Karyn Crisis

My favorite word is… molto, fuck (you can use it in so many ways!)

I can’t live without …my husband

Justice, MA - Karyn Crisis

It’s not hip, but I really love …  to study pigments and their properties. I will research the history of pigments, what their updated versions are made of and what they do. I love to study systems of all sorts. I had a photography teacher who gave me some great advice while reeling in my experimental photography efforts: “learn how to do things properly and well, then you can do whatever you want with it.”

I’ve been someone to whom things “happen”…I want to paint and “poof”, it happens. I want to do something else and “poof” it comes easy. It’s getting the outcome to present itself with my standard of quality and intensity that is difficult. Being able to recreate that first intuitive magic had also been difficult, until I learned that there’s more to an experience than the “happening” of it, the “being”…which is the technique behind. Learn the technique, or the system, and you can navigate better. I used to think, to demand, that my expression should come naturally, that “poof” I should be able to create a perfect painting each time, and I snubbed my nose at learning technique. Now I’ve found that learning a technique, that I can understand, gives me the freedom to let the painting happen by getting my own bad habits out of the way!

The Empress, MA - Karyn Crisis

My favorite motto  is…  you must be certain of your power.

Link for Karyn’s website and portfolio

John Seabury, Eclectix Interview 15

John Seabury

“ As awful as it sounds, streets paved with broken glass and used rubbers and populated by hookers and crack heads are more artistically inspiring to me than OSH, Ikea and brand new retro-industrial lofts ” 

Pynoman by John Seabury

John (sometimes known as Pynoman) is a local Bay Area artist who has shown with Eclectix a number of times. A skilled artist, graphic designer and comic illustrator, he is also a skilled musician, playing formerly with his band Psycotic Pineapple and today with The Deep. He has a fantastic wealth of gig posters he’s done over the years, as well as larger fine art silkscreens. Some of my favorite works are included in his two books,  ( his journals of collected black and white doodles and drawings) – just chock full of wonderful characters, pineapples, curves, shapes and metamorphosis.

Twins by John Seabury

 Can you tell us where you were born and a little history about your childhood?  I was born at Kaiser Hospital, Oakland CA. Raised in Berkeley, my father was a political science professor at UC Berkeley. As a child, I witnessed the birth of the “student demonstration” and the birth of Underground Comix.

Bimbo, John Seabury

Is there an event or experience that helped form who you are today?  I think that discovering underground comix at age 10 or 11 had a huge influence. Don’t want to open up a can of worms, but by that age I already knew I wanted to be an artist, but most of the important Modern Art at the time was pretty uninspiring to me. Discovering comix helped boost my ambition. Another influence was old animation, like Popeye and Betty Boop. Some of them stand to me as the greatest fine art of the 20th century.

Popeye art

Creative and modern. That to me is the real Pop Art, not Jasper Johns and Warhol. Made for the people, not the critics. Funny thing is, kids my age were fortunate in that the TV studios in the early 60s couldn’t afford to do enough new animation, so they just showed the old ones. If I was born ten years later, it would have been Scooby Doo, etc.

John Seabury

What was first piece of art that you remember creating?  I remember drawing a picture of a baseball game in kindergarten that my teacher  was so impressed by that she made me go to the principal’s office to show it off. I think that was the only time I was ever sent to the principal’s office for anything “good”.

Curves, John Seabury

What inspired/prompted the vision/image for the most recent piece you completed? I am in love with curves (above)

S. Clay Wilson art from John’s collection

If there was an artist, dead or alive, that you could spend 24 hours with; who would it be and what would you do?  S. Clay Wilson. (above)   I have spent time with him, but 24 hours at once is probably too much. We would drink and draw.  What do you like most about his work? His drawing ability, his storytelling and dialogue. His fearless audacity. He also impressed me with his development over the years. He got more “high end” without losing his original vision. Unlike some other artists. I have had a copy of a certain one of his drawings hanging above my drawing table since 1975.

Love, John Seabury

What materials, specific brand of paint/glue/pencil do you prefer to use?  No. 2 pencil. Exacto #22 blade for scratchboard. 

John Seabury

Is there a technique, procedure or tip that you have discovered, you could pass onto other artists?  Draw every day.

John Seabury

What is your favorite word? Last song you chose to listen to? My favorite word is “the“. The last song I chose to listen to is “Man of the World” by Fleetwood Mac (Peter Green).

Melancholia by Albrecht Dürer

If you could pick one piece of art to own, out of the world’s museums, personal collections and galleries, what would it be?  That’s hard to answer. I do remember being at a museum looking at bunch of  “modern art” and there was Durer’s “Melancholia” (above) engraving hanging in the middle of it all.  (Durer was a major early influence on me)  I wanted to rescue it. I would have slipped it under my shirt, but it was screwed to the wall.

John Seabury

Of all your works, what is your own personal favorite?   While there are some I’m NOT proud of, I don’t have any favorites. I’ll pick one out of the hat and say “San Pablo Serenade” (below).  What was the thought or vision behind the work and why is it your favorite? I wanted to expand my range in silkscreen printing, using multiple layers of transparent colors and extensive split-fountain work. The process taught me a lot about color, as I was changing the ink on almost every pull. 13 screens, double pulls on all of the background sky, about 200 sheets.  It was inspired by the neighborhood I was living in at the time (North Oakland).

San Pablo Serenade, John Seabury

Because of the real estate boom at the time, there was a lot of “improvement” going on. Many of the old landmarks, signs, buildings etc. were being torn down. As awful as it sounds, streets paved with broken glass and used rubbers and populated by hookers and crack heads are more artistically inspiring to me than OSH, Ikea and brand new retro-industrial “lofts” (condos).  At the time I had been thinking of going out and taking pictures of some of the local character. There was a liquor store called “Bottoms Up” that had a great logo, a silhouette of man with an afro tilting a bottle back. I used to drive by it almost every day. When I went out to get a shot of it, there nothing but a pile of dirt. I mean, I must have seen it standing only a day or two earlier.  I did get some other good shots of  San Pablo Avenue signage, including the 1902 Club with the drunken martini glass inside an amoeba. I did the “Bottoms Up” sign from memory. I did also actually see that hooker flashing while stuck in traffic on a hot afternoon.

John Seabury

You seem to have a thing for pineapples , how did this evolve? Pineapples are prickly on the outside, sweet and tart on the inside, and hard at the core. They evoke images of palm trees and glorious sunsets, and hula girls. They inspired “Pineapple Upside Down Cake” for some reason. Hand grenades are sometimes referred to as pineapples. Our favorite episode of “The Untouchables” was called “A Taste for Pineapple”, about a World War One vet, an expert with grenades. Hired by mobsters as a specialist hit man. He’s a nerdy psycho, and a loose cannon. He tries to frag Eliot Ness, but only gets close. Ness however, loses his sight, even though there’s nothing wrong with him. Purely psychological.

Tattoo by John Seabury

According to legend, the origin of the name Psycotic Pineapple goes thusly: Jon Rubin and Tommy Dunbar (of the famous Rubinoos and original members of the Psycotic Pineapple) were on a long drive and started talking about the way some band names are made up, “adjective/noun” style. Like The Grateful Dead or Electric Prunes. So they played a word association game, say the first thing that comes to your head, and the other person says the first thing . Jon said “psychotic” and Tommy said “pineapple”. This was long before the band formed. In fact, the Psycotic Pineapple was originally called “Alfred Cooper”.

Moonlight Mile, Seabury

John Seabury’s  Website 

LINK to the current Eclectix website – art news & exhibit listings

(This entry was  originally posted on 1/4/11 and transferred here –  as we are discontinuing our other blog site)

Transferred comment-

Th.

I remember looking at the Megadeth poster a long long time at Eclectix.

Monday, January 10, 2011 – 02:44 PM

Isabel Samaras – Eclectix Interview 8

Isabel with hat...

“ … It’s idiotic to have to keep re-inventing the wheel- knowledge and skills should be shared… Being generous with yourself is free and easy.”

and Isabel with bed head...

Isabel is a wonderfully welcoming and out spoken artist, full of pluck, verve and vigor. She loves to disco, eat chocolate and absorb art, of any kind. A regular girl in da’ hood with an inherent talent for twisting cultural icons of our time, into something just a little more special. Her Chronicle book “On Tender Hooks” can be found here. It is a great evolutionary trip thru her life, influences and artworks; a real fun read and highly recommended.

Gone Native 2 - Samaras

Can you tell us where you were born and a little history about your childhood?  I was born on 17th Street, at St. Vincent’s in Manhattan and toddled around Washington Square Park as a wee nipper.  But we moved around a good deal and I ended up in the ‘burbs outside of Washington D.C. (which was a great place to connect to the punk scene at a teenager). I was raised by my single working mom, a term I’m pretty sure she hates but I’m impressed and proud of her. She was a magazine editor (when I was little I kinda thought my mom was Brenda Starr), and she ignited my early love of art by surrounding me with beautiful images by artists like Gauguin and making me some really incredible paper dolls.  She never pursued art formally but she drew beautifully, and I’m pretty sure I pushed myself to draw as a child because I wanted to be able to do the things she did — make something out of nothing.  It really is like some kind of miracle or magic trick to be able to make toys out of nothing more than markers and paper.  I was an only child and spent a lot of time drawing as a kid — it is both one of my earliest memories and my most recent (I was drawing about twenty minutes ago).

Oldie comic Brenda Starr

Is there an event or experience that helped form who you are today?  I’m not sure I’d know!  I think everything (and everyone) I’ve ever seen, heard, tasted, smelled or touched has somehow coalesced into who and what I am, and I’m still very much a work in progress.  I feel like a sponge, I like to take a lot of very disparate things in.  But I’ve always loved books, magazines, comics — story telling, really —  and I try to do that with images instead of words.

Isabel’s childhood “bunnyman” art

What was the first piece of art that you remember creating? The media?  I used to do a lot of ball point pen drawings as a little kid, I remember being particularly fond of red pens in particular.  (I still am today.) I can’t remember anything very clearly from my “scribble phase” but there’s a weird sort of spiral-eared bunnyman drawn in red ball point that I really like even today. (shown above)

The Bluebird of Happiness - Samaras

What generally inspires you to create a piece?  It all kinda whirls together — old movies, a pretty broad spectrum of art, music music music, all the sci-fi books I tore through as a kid, Ultraman and all kinds of Kaiju, fairy tales and fables, the absurdist humor of Monty Python, monsters of every ilk, and very most especially all the many permutations of love:  unrequited, blazing out of control, thwarted, tender, forbidden, maternal, and inter-species.  Often a painting will just start with a feeling, which might come from a combination of eating chocolate, listening to Bill Withers sing “Use Me”, and thinking about how odd it is that one of my favorite painters, Ingres, lived during this time of incredible sexual repression (the Victorian era).  That’s how “The Bluebird of Happiness” (above) sprang into being.

Robin Raids the Hornet's Nest - Samaras

If there was an artist, dead or alive, that you could spend 24 hours with; who would it be and what would you do?  I suspect that some of my favorite artists might have been real assholes, so I’m not sure I’d actually want to spend 24 hours with them!  What about four hours with six different artists together?  We could cook a huge feast and sit around the table, eat, talk and pass drawings around — then I could kick ‘em out before anybody got too annoying or drunk.  I’d really have to think about that one for a bit because I’m not sure if I’d be putting together a guest list based on who’s brain I wanted to pick or who I thought would be fun to hang out with.  A nice saucy mix of people might be pin-up photographer Bunny Yeager, the awe inspiring Frank Frazetta, a few old “classical” painters like Ingres, Botticelli, Boucher, and maybe DaVinci (we can blow his mind by telling him about all that “DaVinci Code” fuss about his work), and a couple of terrific comic artist/storytellers like Art Spiegelman and Will Eisner.  Wait I just went over my limit.  Okay well Boticelli and Boucher will have to duke it out, or maybe play musical chairs.

The Love Letter by Francois Boucher

What materials, specific brand of paint/glue/pencil do you prefer to use? A favorite? And why?  I paint mostly with Winsor Newton oils but I’m not entirely sure why, it’s just what I’m used to — however there are certain colors in other brands that I’m absolutely mad about, weird intensely pigmented orangey-browns and stuff, so I have to have those as well.  And lately I’ve been loving Williamsburg oils, they’re really sexy on the brush.  As for pencils, I love those water soluble Supracolor pencils by Caran D’ache — that’s usually what I draw out my paintings with, then mash the drawing around with some water on a brush or my fingers until it’s just the way I like it.  For glue I like any good PVA but Perfect Paper Adhesive is really nice (comes in matte or gloss).  I feel like I am always hunting for the elusive Perfect Brush.  This may be because what I want that brush to do is always in flux and changing, so it may be an impossible search.  (I’ve also never found the perfect sleeping pillow.  That quest will probably take up the rest of my life.)

Gone Native 1 - Samaras

 Is there a technique, procedure or tip that you have discovered, you could pass onto other artists? A specific tidbit of craft, advice or mechanical expertise?  Mark Ryden told me that Damar varnish would lead to alcoholism and divorce.  (It doesn’t age all that well.) Turns out that he and the museum restorers I talked to are all raving about the same stuff:  Soluvar, by Liquitex.  So that’s what I’ve been using to varnish my paintings and I gotta say I like it!  I got hooked on a really high gloss shine when I was painting the lunch boxes and TV trays but the stuff I used to glaze those with is absolutely brain-eatingly lethal (with the deceptive name of Jolly Glaze — let me tell you right now that nothing will give you a vision-crushing headache like Jolly Glaze).

King of Pop -Samaras

Of all the exhibits and shows you have been in, are there a few that stand out in your mind as far as the overall quality of work? If so what were they? Well I was in some really lovely shows at this now defunct, fabulous little gallery called Eclectix… (thanks, Isabel!) Tom Thewes put together an amazing show when he first opened CPOP Gallery in Detroit, it was epic, and everyone came out for the grand opening.  That was really, really special.  More recently, the “Pop Surrealism: Rise of Underground Art” exhibition at the Laguna Art Museum was phenomenal and I was so thrilled to be included, and the 5th Anniversary show at Jonathan LeVine was pretty great too!

Sew Much Love- Samaras

What is your favorite word? Last song you chose to listen to?  “Putain”.  I had a French neighbor who used to say it all the time and I just really took a shine to it.  I don’t throw it around much, I just like to listen to it in my head, in her voice.  (It means “whore.”)  If my favorite word is measured by usage I’m afraid I use the “f word” a lot.  ”Combustible” is kind of a neat word too.  The last thing I listened to was “Bird Girl” by Antony and the Johnsons but it’s kind of sad so I’m spinning up some George McCrae now.  “I Get Lifted” is an absolutely perfect song.  I may not be able to sit still and finish this interview though.

"Biggie Bird", Notorious B.I.G. - Samaras

 If you could pick one piece of art to own, out of the world’s museums, personal collections and galleries, what would it be?  Wow, that is a toughie!  I love a lot of those old religious paintings but I wouldn’t want to look at them day in and out.  I’ve actually been enjoying Dutch still life paintings lately, they’re meditative and the detail it just obsessive and trippy. Honestly, you know I’m not sure if I’ve seen it yet — it would have to be something that could change the way my moods do, something that could be sunny and romantic one minute and sort of wistful and quiet the next.

Bitten - Samaras

As a working artist and mother, how have you balanced the time? Any tips or tricks?  I’m not sure I do balance it — I swing in and out of phases of intense work (when family and personal life go right out the window) and then massive super fun procrastination (when work gets shoved aside for a while).  That helps create the special “crisis-to-crisis” lifestyle that I must thrive on because I do it to myself over and over again.  It’s hard because I love to paint and draw and I have all these stories to tell that are really important to me, so I can all too easily hermit-out for long stretches.  I need to make sure I get out and spend time with friends — for the sake of sanity! Here’s a good trick:  turning off the computer.  Sometimes that’s the key to a really successful, productive day for me. That, big slabs of dark chocolate, and some really kick ass music.

The Infirmary - Samaras

 Of all your works, what is your own personal favorite? What was the thought or vision behind the work and why is it your favorite?  Often I love whatever is the most recent because it’s still vibrating in my psyche a bit.  I do like the pieces that get the big laughs or gasps but also the ones that get the thoughtful head scratches.  The “Gone Native”  (above) diptych is really special to me because it was early in my “stepping away from known TV characters” work, which was kind of a scary time for me, you know, this worry that nobody would like my paintings if they didn’t know who the people were.  I like to challenge myself, step outside of my comfort zone, and it’s always a little bit exciting and a little bit terrifying to put new things out there — that feeling of vulnerability while you hold your breath and wait to see if anybody will get it, connect with it.  But I love how there’s so much ambiguity in those two — which I think you can even play with as far as how you hang the paintings (whether they are turning in or away from each other).  Are they going to the island in the background, or leaving it?  Are they falling in or out of love?  Were their experiences in the South Seas magical or nightmarish?  I have a sort of sunny disposition (though I love listening to really gut wrenchingly sad music sometimes), so in my mind the paintings are very optimistic — but I like that you can decide and create a totally different story yourself as you look at them.  I like that mystery.

Chill Quill - Samaras

Is there anything you would like to spout off on, any subject, or statement you would like to include here?  I’m not entirely sure how to articulate it without sounding like a big dork but I really do believe in trying to do right by people, helping when and how you can.  I think it’s idiotic to have to keep re-inventing the wheel — knowledge and skills should be shared. So professionally I’m not a cut-throat, competitive person at all (card games and sports are a different story).  The world in general would probably be a better place if everyone had their hand out to support and pull up the people who need it, whether it’s giving honest feedback to someone about their work or sharing food with people who are hungry.  Being generous with yourself is free and easy.

Vina - Samaras

Want More? For a fun look at Isabel’s works, some in progress, click here for her personality filled blog- “i feel it too”. ( great blog title, eh?)

LINK to Isabel’s website for updates and more art 

The Reader • Samaras

LINK to the current Eclectix website – art news & exhibit lisitngs

(This entry was  originally posted on 8/4/10 and transferred here –  as we are discontinuing our other blog site)

John Howard, Eclectix Interview 5

John enjoying life as we know it...

“I began to see how people’s lives are a culmination of scattered photographs, memories, and stories – which are repeated like a rhythm throughout life. They really create one’s personal mythology.”

John is an unpretentious, local SF Bay Area artist and Eclectix has been lucky to have exhibited his works. He creates fantastical, vivid psychedelic silkscreens and limited edition books, some in 3D – so if you have some 3D glasses, quick, stick ‘em on! A veteran at illustrating, designing and printing rock and roll posters – John has a vast collection to choose from here.The quality of his images and  printings are first class, thick blackest blacks and velvet inks.  After a few back and forth mishaps via email, we are happy to share these words with the ever-friendly John. 

Mandala, John Howard

Can you tell us where you were born and a little history about your childhood?  Is there an event or experience that really moved or impacted you?   I grew up in a small town in Central Kentucky, which was very beautiful, but before the internet it was a very isolated situation for a kid who wanted to draw pictures. This made me fairly self-sustaining as an artist. I think that this is why I just keep making art, I don’t fukin care what they think. I mean I do, I want to communicate, I want to touch someone in a meaningful way through my art. But if not, it’s not a problem.

Birds, Howard

 What was first piece of art that you remember creating? My first was a simple line drawing of a hammer floating in the middle of the page. I clearly remember scribbling without any intention and I noticing that it looked like a hammer. I remember doing a couple of things to it to it to make it look more like a hammer, and people thought it was great! I was impressed that it had come from nowhere, but there it was. I think that stuck with me and I still work basically the same way.  My first complete drawing was called The Lazy Duck in Crayola. (below)  It had an arced horizon that represented the curvature of the earth, and there was a duck walking up hill on this arc. In front of him was darkness and behind him was light, sunlight, daytime. So The Lazy Duck spent his life running around the world trying to stay in the darkness so he could sleep. Hehe. I know that I didn’t have that story in my head when I started that drawing, but it is exactly what that drawing is.

The Lazy Duck (childhood drawing), John Howard

 What generally inspires you to create a piece?  When I’m creating a piece I am trying to allow space for inspiration by forging ahead. For doing that, music is good. It allows me to stop thinking and focus on making the lines. In the worst of times I can plug into music and soon the pen will be skating the paper and unexpected stuff will be happening.   If you have an agenda- you can decide what you are going to say, write it out, edit it and come up with a concise statement that does something in the world, that you want it to do. Right?  If you want to express yourself, you start talking and YOU see what comes out the same as everybody else does. You correct as you go, and that’s maybe something more like the truth.

Octopus Garden, Howard

If there was an artist, dead or alive, that you could spend 24 hours with; who would it be and what would you do?  I’d want to spend some time working with the person, to see how they think- how they trick good stuff into happening. I recently watched the movie Visite à Picasso. He paints on glass and they film him from behind. It’s exciting how he hits the image head on with no compunction. You can watch the thoughts materialize. I’d love to spend a day doing that with him. Or maybe just borrow his organist for the dramatic background music

Detail, John Howard

What materials, specific brand of paint/glue/pencil do you prefer to use? A favorite? And why?   I mostly use brush pens. My favorite was the Sakura Pigma Sumi Brush xsdk-ta. They had foam tips with a nice bounce, and they held a point. Long discontinued. Bring them back! The closest thing to that available now are the PITT pens.

Blue Deck, Howard

 Is there a technique, procedure or tip that you have discovered, you could pass onto other artists? A specific tidbit of craft, advice or mechanical expertise?   The way I work is pretty basic. I try to take simple procedures and overlay them in interesting ways. For example: I draw something / scan / reverse / print / rework by hand / rescan / overlay the 2 scans / select the difference / reverse that / print again /  retouch by hand  /  scan once more, and use that as an element. In the final piece each element has had several go rounds to get a little scuff on it’s heels. I do make some very effective 3D pieces that I explain here.

Sonic Youth poster, Howard

 What is your favorite word? Last song you chose to listen to?  The last song was a video clip from Johnny Cash’s old TV show, he was singing a Kris Kristofferson song Sunday Morning Coming Down.  My favorite word is ”Love”. Maybe that sounds corny, but there are times when you only get one last word.

Dream (3D), John Howard

Do you have some learning experience, good or bad, you could share involving dealing with a gallery? Advice you could pass on to other artists that might be relevant?   I don’t. I have had very little experience with galleries. I’ve been in shows around the world really, but never had a direct relationship with a gallery, other than Eclectix. I’d like to. It would be great to have an outlet like that.  I do like meeting with people at music festivals and poster/art events like Renegade Craft Fair and Flatstock Poster Shows where I show and sell my work myself. It’s fun to meet and talk to hundreds of people a day at these events. The feedback is great and it’s fun to hear people ‘oooh’ on seeing the 3D stuff.

Acid Mothers tour poster, John Howard

If you could pick one piece of art to own, out of the world’s museums, personal collections and galleries, what would it be?  I’d love one of Picabia’s paintings  in which he draws images over images. I took a snapshot of one in Europe last summer (below). One of those would be great. They make me feel like I have to refocus to see each image, yet it’s a flat plane. I like how the images seem automatic yet informed. And as you shift focus, between images, their parts merge.

Snapshot of Picabia painting

 Of all your works, what is your own personal favorite? What was the thought or vision behind the work?  That is a tough one. I’m usually most interested in the thing that I am working on at the time, but I recently completed a print called “Memory”. (below)  It is about my Mom and the Alzheimer’s that has come over her in the last year. As we were getting through this, I began to see how people’s lives are a culmination of scattered photographs, memories, and stories – which are repeated like a rhythm throughout life. They really create one’s personal mythology. This work is about those kinds of memories and how they mean everything and yet they dissipate into time.

Memory, John Howard

LINK: to John’s MonkeyInk website

Washed Ashore ( Cafe Mediterranean, Berkeley), John Howard

(This entry was  originally posted on 5/20/10 and transferred here –  as we are discontinuing our other blog site)