by Kita
You can almost see the art pouring out of him, even though he's only really focused on it in the past year and a half. A man of mixed talents and ambitions, the art spark twinkles in his eyes. Even at the end of a long work day, in a crowded and surprisingly loud library, he shares himself and his work ethic easily. He tells me he barely considers himself an artist, yet I look at his work and hear about the hours of dedication, and I believe it must speak for itself.
His work is urban, but I'm not sure I would call it street. He has found a style that's his, and it's nothing like we've ever seen before. I think his mixing of styles is one of my favorite things about him. You can see the comics influence, but there's more, something almost whimsical, and even something darker, all mixing together to create a one of a kind piece that could easily find itself in any number of fantastic galleries. Hopefully you'll be seeing more of this great artist soon.
Kita: So how would you describe your artwork?
Bone-Daddy: People ask me that a lot, and, really, I get better descriptions from everybody else, because each time I do something, it's always something new. It's always changing. Plus,. I haven't really gotten into a lot of my skills, and what I know how to do, so I just say it's a progress. Just taking it as it goes.
Kita: Just seeing where it takes you?
Bone-Daddy: Exactly. And I've only been doing it for a year, and a lot of things have happened. So I want to just keep going.
Kita: So how did you get started?
Bone-Daddy: I have a daughter, and it made me start thinking about a lot of things, like the future, and I started getting into it to show her she can do anything she wants.
Kita: How did that transform into a more serious thing?
Bone-Daddy: One of my friends got me into a show, and then I got a bunch more shows after that. Then I got a studio, and I started spending a lot of time there because it's right outside my room. I had my one year anniversary from my first show at the end of the summer. It's been a pretty big adventure, for sure.
Kita: What kind of things inspire you?
Bone-Daddy: I'm really inspired by 60's and 70's underground comics. That's my main one, since I'm doing a lot of cartoons. A lot of kids books, and hanging out with my godkids, since I draw on them, and basically I draw whatever they tell me to.
Kita: How have you found the arts scene?
Bone-Daddy: I found a small group, and it's really cool. Everyone's willing to help each other, and give each other resources and shows, and trying to get people more involved. It's really helpful. I feel like I've barely scratched the surface. So I'm thankful right now.
Kita: So what are your goals right now then? To do more shows?
Bone-Daddy: Yes, I haven't done any this winter, but I'm planning two underground house shows this summer already. I don't have any dates yet, but it all depends on what I get into.
Kita: Were your goals about the same when you started?
Bone-Daddy: I didn't have any idea what I was doing. I didn't have any expectations to it, I just had a bunch of stuff to get rid of. The shows I was getting into were with friends, so I was just doing it for a good time.
Kita: How have those closest to you reacted?
Bone-Daddy: They were really surprised because some of them knew me for a long time, and didn't know that I had the ability to do that. I've gotten really good feedback, even some friends have threatened me if I ever stop doing it.
Kita: So when you create a piece in your head, does it change a lot before you finish it?
Bone-Daddy: Yeah, I never know what I'm doing before I get into it. It all depends on the materials I have, because all of the materials I have are either given to me, or found, or I go to different places and go dumpster diving for materials. Even half way through, I still don't know what it's like, and then all of the sudden, the finished product will come to me. I just get it done.
Kita: So would you say you have a big difference between your art life and day-to-day life?
Bone-Daddy: Very big difference. I just got off work, I'm covered in paint, I'm dirty. In my art life, I'm wearing a tie, I'm not all dirty, and it's completely different people from who I hang out with every day. It's a completely different world. I've tried to introduce people from both worlds and they just don't get it.
Kita: Is balancing it a struggle, then?
Bone-Daddy: It is. Trying to find time, between multiple jobs and my daughter gets intense. And last summer was also intense. I had a bunch of shows, and I'm not going to do that again. It wore me ragged, and I hardly slept at all. Even just finding a time to go out and socialize. The networking is a challenge, too.
Kita: That sounds like a struggle between balancing art and business, too.
Bone-Daddy: Yeah, even in the creativity stage, I have to really step away from all my daily stuff. I lived in one of my studios for a little while and I couldn't do it. The two worlds were too close together, and I couldn't get away from it. I need to wake up in the world I live in, in order to create. It's kind of like working where you live.
Kita: So what's the biggest struggle of all then?
Bone-Daddy: Trying to come up with new stuff. Every time I do a show, I do something different. It's always challenging trying to figure out something to do.
Kita: Do you ever get anxiety about it?
Bone-Daddy: Yes, I put a lot of pressure on myself, including for shows. I set my goals really high, and then I'm a procrastinator, so toward the end I don't really get a lot of sleep.
Kita: Do you find it hard to get respect as an artist?
Bone-Daddy: As a serious artist, yes, but I don't really consider myself an artist yet. I feel like I'm just playing around with my cartoons. But in the art world, it's really hard. I haven't done a lot of things, and the fact that they are cartoons. So that's a struggle, being seen as an artist. It is not just a hobby, and I'm not going to stop, and I don't want all this stuff just laying around. I've got stacks of it.
Kita: Do you want to sell more work then?
Bone-Daddy: I'd like to sell everything I have. It's turned into part of my income, with the jobs I do. They're not great paying, but I enjoy them. Still, I'd like to make it where I can just make a living doing what I love. That's hard too, because I don't have the experience, but we'll see what happens.
Kita: Do you have other forms of art you want to try?
Bone-Daddy: I want to get back into my preferred medium, which I haven't been able to because I don't have the supplies. I do life size charcoal pieces, and they take me a long time, but I love doing it. I don't have the space and it's a lot of charcoal. There's still a lot I want to learn, everything from printing to sculpture. I've been getting into mixed media lately, so that's been fun.
Kita: So from doing all this, have you found a certain level of recognition that you're happy with?
Bone-Daddy: I'm happy with what's happened. It's definitely not what I expected. I'm sure there could be more, but I don't see anything going bad.
Kita: If you could quit all your other jobs and just focus on art, is that something you would do?
Bone-Daddy: Definitely. I put it away for maybe fifteen years, and I missed it the whole time. It's something I have to do for myself. It's therapeutic, and I can't stop doing this.
Kita: From where you started to now, has your style progressed a lot?
Bone-Daddy: Immensely. It was really big and simple, before. Now I'm getting more intricate and getting more painting in. That's why I like my progress, because if you follow it, you can see the progression. I still have some pieces left over from some of my first shows, and they're mixed in with some of my newer pieces, and I see a huge difference. I'm very happy with it.
Kita: Would you ever collaborate with someone else?
Bone-Daddy: Yes. I have. My old roommate. I did nine pieces with him in two months. A couple of them were just really fun, where I would do the background, or he would do the background, and I wouldn't know anything about what he was doing. Then I would do the foreground, and we'd put them together and see what we would get. Yes, collaborating was an immensely good time. One of the ways I started was doing chalk art in the park with two friends of mine, and they would come hang out in my studio. We would just be there in the wee hours of the night, and just get silly together painting.
Kita: If you were to look back at your starting self, would you guess that you'd end up here?
Bone-Daddy: Absolutely not. I wouldn't have thought anything would have come from it. I have some big plans, of things I wanted to put together, but I never thought this would have happened.
To check out more of his work and hear about upcoming shows, check out his facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/JIMIBONEDADDY
No comments:
Post a Comment