Derek Nobbs “Dead Men’s Tales” @ Roq La Rue

The 2nd official piece for Project 43.  “Of Paradox and Paradigms” by Brian Despain.  Oil on wood. 

Lindsey Carr’s beautifully rendered animals and fauna.  See them at Roq La Rue in Seattle.

Handiedan’s amazingly detailed and three-dimensional pin-up girls.  On display now at Roq La Rue.

Moods

I interviewed my friend Sail in February and just recently received this piece from him after purchasing a “Sketch Edition” of his book Small Hotel.  He also obliged my Project 43 at the same time.  Happy!

Mandy Greer’s “Pelican Goddess” on display at the Red Current show at Roq La Rue

Christian Van Minnen’s “Always”

An interview with Seattle artist Sail -

How long have you been doing what you do?

I’m 31. I’ve drawn my whole life, but I was 24 or 25 when I started taking it seriously.

Ink seems to be your preferred medium?  Do you sketch with pencil first?

Yeah, I do, but those are usually pretty minimal and throwaway. I do most of the drawing in the inking. It’s a pretty pass or fail affair.  I do have several sketchbooks and I’ll use those to test out an idea. I’ll also do photoshop mock ups sometimes, but I don’t really like using the computer much. I’m more interested in the tactile experience of creating physical art.

Are the women inspired by anyone in particular?

No one and everyone.

Is there any significance to the masks, or even just the birds in general?

They’re totemic. Beyond that I’ll leave their significance up to the individual. The masks… I just like masks. They look cool.

Do you picture the girls in their own world, or do they share our own?

They exist in our peripheral vision. The moment when you’re just waking up and the dream is still real and makes sense, before it fades and is lost to the day.

Last year you self-published a book titled Small Hotel.  Will 2012 see a sequel?  If so, will it be published the same way?  Any sketch editions this go around?

Yup. Small Hotel | volume two is coming. Soon as we can get to it. I’m going to get a very small print run done this time and sell it myself. so being able to afford that is another part of the ‘soon as we can get to it.’  Charles Brock  does all my layout and design, so some of it is dependent on his time, as well.

No sketch editions. that was just for the first edition. I’ll sign and hand number the first 50 or 100. That’s enough. It’ll be a much cheaper book this time out, too.

Your recent 30 Days of drawing was shared with Ashley Wood.  Who was the instigator for getting that going?  Is it fun or more tedious?  

I instigated it. Ash was willing to play along. We had fun. No reason to do it if you aren’t. Still, there are days where it’s harder than others, like anything else. But that’s part of the challenge and fun, I suppose.

The 30 Days work, as well as Ashley’s is going to be in a book published by ThreeA.  Do you have any details on the time frame for its release?  Will it be available through any other distributor?

It’ll be on Bambalandstore and that’s it. Maybe at a ThreeA event, but I can’t speak to that. Ash has a couple of his own books pending, so it will be out after those. These things take time. Check out the ThreeA blog, Ashley Wood’s blog, and my own site for info. We’ll keep you updated.

You’ve done a couple shows in the Seattle area.  Do you like doing them?  Is the pressure worth it?

I don’t, really. Ha! Something happens to me once the show is up and I get into a funk. Fucked me up for several months last year. At this point doing shows isn’t my priority. If there’s work to show, and an opportunity to show it, I’m game, but I’m not chasing the gallery scene.

It seems like your art is picking up some steam and getting good recognition.  Do you consider yourself an up-and-comer?  

I don’t worry about labels or any of that. I just do the work and put it out there best I can, then move on and do some more work.

Any long term art goals?

Just keep drawing. I’d like to paint more often. Make more books. Get to a place where I don’t have to bar tend anymore, ideally. Mostly I just enjoy making pictures. I’d like to keep doing that.