Interview with Patrick Haemmerlein

q)Please introduce yourself. 

 a)Hi - my name is Patrick Haemmerlein

q) Where do you live and work? 

a)I live in Los Angeles CA and work out of my apartment turned studio

q) How would you describe your work to someone who has never seen it? 

a)Informational

q) How did you start in the arts? How/when did you realize you were an

artist? 

a)Well I always did draw - fire trucks, race cars, family members and such -

but looking at the pieces now I see I wasent very good at it - it wasent

until I moved to Los Angeles and picked up a camera and started shooting

and then designing with those pictures = that's when everything began for

me - that was back in fall of 2000

q) What are your favorite art materials and why? 

a)Paper - im a collager

q) What/who influences you most? 

a)My surroundings - most strong the actual city of Los Angeles - as I wander

the city I take pictures and then design around them and then make my

art.....most of my work is produced by chance - for example - I was

driving to a meeting a few months back - in santa monica - as I was

sitting at a traffic light - I see the most unusual tree - so I grabbed my

camera - which is always on my lap as I drive - shot the tree - got home

later that afternoon - downloaded the image and made a design around it =

which started a whole tree/city series - and if I dident go that that

meeting that day - would I have saw that tree some other time - or a

differnt tree that inspired the idea - maybe - so it was all by chance =

that how my work works

q) Describe a typical day of art making for you. 

a)I wake up between 6 & 7am everyday - make coffee - eat fruit - and am

working soon after that - while watching sports center - I usually work

until noon or so and then go on a bike ride to forage for food - I dont

cook much - mexican, italian or Thai usually = then I get back home work a

little more and then take a nap - have to have it – I’m 34 and have to nap

- sad I know - but then i awake and it's like a new day and I’m ready to go

-after a cup of green tea- have to have it and it has to be green - as you

can see I am a creature of habit = I can re-adjust when needed - but for

full force creativity - I must have a regimen   - then I work for a while

and go out or stay in or whatever - always different

q) Do you have goals, specific things you want to achieve with your art

or in your career as an artist? 

a)Oh yes - sell art and find design work of all kinds - for the rest of my life

q) What contemporary artists or developments in art interest you? 

a)Well I show with alot of great artist - I mostly like people who work with

paper in some way - paint or collage or whatever - as far as a particular

artist - I really like Swoon

q) How long does it typically take you to finish a piece? 

a)Well my pieces work in layers - and each layer must dry before I can work

on the next - a day or so - so what I usually do is start 3 or 4 at the

same time - depending on the size -

q) Do you enjoy selling your pieces, or are you emotionally attached to

them? 

a)I LOVE selling art work - been doing it for 7 years now and will do it til

I die - I used to become attached - and still do sometimes - but gotta pay

the rent = and selling art is my primary source of income

q) Is music important to you? If so, what are some things you're

listening to now? 

a)Oh yes - always have my pandora internet radio on - everthing from Led

Zeppelin & neal young to the white strips/silver sun pickups

q) Books? 

a)Ya know - I use book pages alot in my work - and do read some of those -

but I mostly use old dictionaries and encyclopedias. The  last book I read

was the lord of the rings trilogy = and that was back when the movies were

out - I do read the news everday thought - love current events -

q) What theories or beliefs do you have regarding creativity or the

creative process? 

a)Work - work all the time - and you better love it - because you will loss

things & relationships over it

q) What do you do (or what do you enjoy doing) when you're not creating? 

a)Think about creating

q) Do you have any projects or shows coming up that you are

particularly excited about? 

a)Oh yes = well I am a resident artist at the hive gallery and studios -

which means I have 26 feet of wall space to sell from - and I like to keep

it full - then I have a solo show in Anihem in october and a 2 person show

here in LA in november - and a bunch of group shows in between  - Los

Angeles has a thriving art scene - so yes very busy -

q) Do you follow contemporary art scenes? If so, how? What websites,

magazines, galleries do you prefer? 

a)Art shows here in town - and art blogs and such on the web = I try to stay

connected

q) Any advice for aspiring artists? 

a)Kinda same as above = work - create all the time - and pick a style to

work in - but dont be afraid to change it down the road

Interview with Mitchel Spider

q)Please introduce yourself.

a)My name is Mitchel Spider. Im 21

q) Where do you live and work?

a)I live in Sydney, Australia. I work part time at a second hand/antique bookstore.

q) How would you describe your work to someone who has never seen it?

a)Controlled scribbles. Mark making with the purpose of finding something out.

q) How did you start in the arts? How/when did you realize you were an artist?

a)I never studied anything creative at high school. When the time came to apply for university courses I enlisted in design, which I thought would be at least partially academics based and would allow me creative exploration. I learned some interesting things about myself, but the course wasn't really for me. At the moment I am just working to pay rent and drawing and playing music with the rest of my time. Next year I will be applying for a Fine Arts Degree at SCA here in Sydney.

q) What are your favorite art materials and why?

a)I seem to have the most success with plain pencils so far. Charcoal and pastels too.

q) What/who influences you most?

a)I wouldn't be doing what I am doing if not for my talented and creative female acquaintance Maria. My younger brother made me a Spongebob sculpture which is incredible. In terms of inspiration within the creative process itself, I think I create things in an attempt to find something out rather than illustrate something I am already certain of. So its this searching that is the inspiration.

q) Describe a typical day of art making for you.

a)If I try and force something to happen, planning to "make art", I will fail miserably. Success is finding myself drawing late at night and not wanting to sleep. I like working on a bunch of similar things at once, multiple attempts to find similar things out.

q) Do you have goals, specific things you want to achieve with your art or in your career as an artist?

a)I want to work out with some degree of clarity what I am doing and why I am doing it. I want the work to gradually reflect more closely the ideas that are emerging. I want to work large scale. I want answers, but only if they come with more questions.

q) What contemporary artists or developments in art interest you?

a)An amazing contemporary Chinese art gallery called White Rabbit opened up a block from my house just last week. Its a great four level space and a great insight into a lot of work I had never seen before. Great sculpture by Chen Wenling especially. Also here in Sydney there is a collective called Bababa international. These guys have the broadest understanding of art imaginable and it translates into a depth of work that seems limitless. Its humble and genuine and THOUGHT OUT which is rare and fucking admirable. (http://www.bababainternational.com/)
Allison Schulnik (http://www.allisonschulnik.com/) is also blowing me away, especially her beautiful stop motion "Hobo Clown" short film.

q) How long does it typically take you to finish a piece?

a)If something hasn't come forward to me after half an hour then it is quite safe to say that I'm going about searching the wrong way. These are instantaneous things for me so far, and working mostly small scale I don't have the pressure of a polished finished piece. When I do start to produce larger pieces, I would hope that they continue with this sense of immediacy that conveys the process of searching.

q) Do you enjoy selling your pieces, or are you emotionally attached to them?

a)Often I like the process of making a lot more than the finished pieces, so when they change hands I don't feel I have lost too much.

q) Is music important to you? If so, what are some things you're listening to now?

a)Don Caballero, Storm and Stress, Ghoul (Sydney), Seekae, Ry Cooder, Bruce Springsteen, Flying Lotus, Tom Waits, I've had "Grievances" by Dan Johnston in my head for two weeks.

q) Books?

a)I work in a second hand bookstore so I collect a whole bunch of stuff when its cheap. Great for artist monographs that I'd never afford otherwise. Right now I'm reading mostly non-fiction and essays. "About Looking" and "Ways of Seeing" by John Berger have been great, and a few Sontag books as well. "Notes of an Anatomist" by F. Gonzalez Crussi was amazing and a huge inspiration for drawings. "Mutants" by Armand Leroi was incredibly interesting to, explanations of genetic mutations.

q) What theories or beliefs do you have regarding creativity or the creative process?

a)I believe in immediacy, but am humbled by planners. A combination of the two seems to me the ultimate aim.

q) What do you do (or what do you enjoy doing) when you're not creating?

a) Reading, making music with my friends, visiting my family, tea with my girlfriend on the balcony.

q) Do you have any projects or shows coming up that you are particularly excited about?

a)I'm working on some album art at the moment. Hopefully more exhibitions next year, when I am a little clearer about my aims. I'm also going to actually study drawing and painting which should be interesting.

q) Do you follow contemporary art scenes? If so, how? What websites, magazines, galleries do you prefer?

a)Through Flickr though I have found a whole group of people who's work I admire, who's reason for creating is selfless. These people are developing bodies of work with substance, where every piece presented furthers an idea. It is incredibly humbling to find people with this kind of an output, and amazing to be able to interact with them.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/paperandme/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/driftwould/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/standingonachair/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/williamhundley/

Also there is a great online collective I am lucky enough to be included in, which has some of the most amazing people painting and drawing today. The Company of People is run by Landon and Hanna Metz in NY. They are just committed to sharing good ideas from the past and the present and the effort they put in is ridiculous. (http://www.thecompanyofpeople.com/)

q) Ask yourself a question you'd like to answer, and answer it.

a)Should I watch the entire second season of Alan Partridge today?
yes

q) Any advice for aspiring artists?

a)Buy a book on Cy Twombly

q) Where can we see more of your work online?

a)http://www.flickr.com/photos/chicken_dinners/

http://artofmitchellspider.blogspot.com/

http://www.thecompanyofpeople.com/

Interview with Denise Alba

q)Please introduce yourself.

a)Denise Alba, a person who insists to believe that the art can modify

something or someone, even living in a third world country, in 21
century.

q)Where do you live and work?

a)I live and work in São Paulo estate, Brazil.

q)How would you describe your work to someone who has never seen it?

a)It's very hard to describe a visual work, but I define my work as
something ludic, surrealistic, with characters from everyday life who
could be me, you, or the lady from the deli shop. This makes it
enjoyable even for non-academic viewers.

q)How did you start in the arts? How/when did you realize you were an artist?

a)Like most, since I was a kid, drawing. I dont remember the exact age.
The funny thing in considering myself an artist is that it can be
pretentious and miserable at the same time... It's different from when
you introduce yourself like "Oh Hi, Im a dentist". When artists say
that it may sound arrogant because people presume that its something
special and spiritual, like a gift for special people or something
like that, but at the same time they probably think "oh, poor one,
this one'll starve to death". It's weird.
And that when they dont mistake it with fame and celebrities.

q)What are your favorite art materials and why?

a)For now, my camera and photoshop are good enough to materialize my emotions

q)What/who influences you most?

a)The cinema, no doubt about it. Once I read an interview with Hitchcock
where he says that cinema is the way how he freed his doubts and
fears, and I thought "thats what I want to do".

q)Describe a typical day of art making for you.

a)Usually when I am introspective and not very "tuned in" with the
world, it's time to stay quiet for a while and let the world pass by.
Then put it together the way I wish it to be, (and when I finish is
like I gave birth to a child.)

q)Do you have goals, specific things you want to achieve with your
art or in your career as an artist?

a)I have plans to direct video clips and movies.

q)What contemporary artists or developments in art interest you?

a)Anke Merzbach, she is very mysterious to me and at the same time I feel a very
big trueness when I see her arts.

Eugenio Recuenco, each of his photos is a piece of art who deserves a
spot in any room, they are timeless and he can make them commercial at
the same time, this is genial.

David Lynch, for directing movies so disturbing and surrealistic.

q)How long does it typically take you to finish a piece?

a)A few hours... 2 or 3 at most. But the conception usually takes place
in my head for weeks or months. It's like sewing a bed quilt. When you
already have all the desired pieces, all thats left it to sew.

q)Do you enjoy selling your pieces, or are you emotionally attached to them?

a)Im very emotionaly attached to them, but Im working on this issue. I
dont want to be a kind of artist who cant pay her bills. Artists got
this stigma of being someone who faces difficulties in life and then
after they die their works become commercial. I dont admire this image
that was planted along history.

q)Is music important to you? If so, what are some things you're

listening to now?

a)Very important. Music reaches our most ethereal side. Like Nietzsche
once said, life without music would be a mistake.

Im married with a musician, he plays guitar in an amazing band called
Mazkzero5. Living with his musical side makes my artistic side more
vivid too.

I listen to Mackzero5, Radiohead, Bjork and Pink Floyd.

q)Books?

a)One Hundred Years of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marques), Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte) , The Picture of Dorian Gray (Oscar Wilde), Crime and Punishment (Fedor Dostoievski), On The Road (Jack Kerouac) and many more.

q)What do you do (or what do you enjoy doing) when you're not creating?

a)I like to be close with good friends having nice conversations.

q)Do you have any projects or shows coming up that you are

particularly excited about?

a)I have nothing planned yet, but I hope to have the opportunity to show
my works in some places in europe.

q)Do you have any projects or shows coming up that you are

particularly excited about?

a)I do but in a very loose way. Im old school, my researches are focused
more on old art than new trends.

q)Any advice for aspiring artists?

a)Do what makes you happy and true to yourself. The person you are, free
from criticism or praises.

Your best critic is yourself, when you look at what you've done and
can see yourself in it. If it looked best on your head than in the
paper or pc, then you lack the technical part, just study a lot.

q)Where can we see more of your work online?

a) www.flickr.com/imagenesempiricas

Interview with Dermot McConaghy

q)Please introduce yourself.

a)Hello, My Name is Dermot McConaghy and I am a visual artist. My work is found on www.manchini.co.uk

q) Where do you live and work?

a)I live and work in Northern Ireland. I live 25 miles outside the city of Belfast and I work within

Ireland. It changes from week to week but I have a small studio at my home which I use as a base for all my freelance work and commissions.

q) How would you describe your work to someone who has never seen it?

a)I would describe my work as a dirty graphic art. A mixture of subject marks, lines, textures and space.

q) How did you start in the arts? How/when did you realize you were an artist?

a)I loved art at school and I found I got a good reaction from people when they seen my drawings. Plus I was really shit at football so it made sense to stick to something I was good at.

q) What are your favorite art materials and why?

a)Spray paints and paint markers. 100%. I love the marks and range of effects you can achieve.

q) What/who influences you most?

a)I love work by artists like Eduardo Recife, Feargal O’Malley, Neasden Control Centre and Conor Harrington. If you haven’t seen their work……… google it. I like dirty stuff, I am a fan of gritty artwork.

q) Describe a typical day of art making for you.

a)I work best at night actually. I love working while everyone else is sleeping. It’s a lot more peaceful with little distractions. I would get into my studio at the side of my house and start experimenting with textures and marks. Then start looking at compositions and the subject matter. I always leave my work for a while and then take a fresh look later. I seem to be more focussed when I come back to my art after taking time out.

q) Do you have goals, specific things you want to achieve with your art or in your career as an artist?

a)Not really, I would like to keep working and exhibiting as an artist. If I can keep making a living I don’t care what is around the corner. That is what I love the most, not knowing too much of where things will lead to in the future. It is more exciting that way.

q) What contemporary artists or developments in art interest you?

a)None in particular but overall I am interested in developments within street art and tattoo art. I like low-key things that aren’t in the media but art lovers are talking about. I’m not into big names like Damien Hirst. I like artists who do paint their own paintings.

q) How long does it typically take you to finish a piece?

a)Sometimes days, sometimes weeks.

q) Do you enjoy selling your pieces, or are you emotionally attached to them?

a)I enjoy the thought of someone liking my work enough to buy it but I’m not big into sales. On my website I don’t push sale of work or put prices on pieces. I used to give work away to people if they liked it. I’d rather they had it than it gather dust in my house.

q) Is music important to you? If so, what are some things you're listening to now?

a)Not as much as art. My ipod has bands like Kings of Leon, The Prodigy and The Libertines.

q) Books?

a)Only art books. I dont read much, It bores me. I love the images. I just recieved a copy of Illusive II. I got a feature in it. My favorite book is the first book by Neasden Control Centre. I found it to be so beautifully wrong.

q) What theories or beliefs do you have regarding creativity or the creative process?

a)I have found that the creative process is not a 9am to 5pm thing. It comes at weird times and strange places and it is important that when it does happen to record it and act on it. Be experimental and get your hands dirty.

q) What do you do (or what do you enjoy doing) when you're not creating?

a)I like to spend time with my wife and kids. It is important to step back from work and relax. I love going to the city too. I love to see the different people rushing around. Cities excite me.

q) Do you have any projects or shows coming up that you are particularly excited about?

a)Yes, I just had some work in a show in Dublin, Ireland. Also I have got a lot of mural work at the minute so I can’t wait to get spraying. I love seeing my work large scale. It gives me a buzz.

q) Do you follow contemporary art scenes? If so, how? What websites, magazines, galleries do you prefer?

a)At the minute I am following JUXTAPOZ magazine. I love the variety of stuff they feature.

q) Ask yourself a question you'd like to answer, and answer it.

a)Q . Would you swap your love for art with a love for something else?

No.

q) Any advice for aspiring artists?

a)Yes, Don’t give up. Keep doing it. Tell everyone about what you do and show people what you do. If no one knows that you are an artist you can expect to be treated like one. Things will happen for you if you are living it.

q) Where can we see more of your work online?

a) www.manchini.co.uk

www.theinternationalillustrated.com

www.candycollective.com