Wednesday

J.Erika Interviews Artist Friends



WHATS YOUR NAME AND WHERE ARE YOU FROM?
I'm Shaun and I'm from sunny old Cornwall, UK.

DEFINE YOURSELF IN 5 WORDS.
Odd, creative, volatile, laid-back, Jedward?

WHATS YOUR ART HUSTLE?
Illustration

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN making ART?
I always preferred it to other subjects in school. I remember drawing Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles to an immaculate standard in the late 80's/early 90's. It took me so long to get their heads right and their little tails always looked like penis's. It was always just fun to draw things. I don't think I'm that great at drawing but I always had some odd ideas. I was around 10 and I drew a dog on my friends head in biro because I thought when he was old and bald it would still be there. I hope it is!






WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN UP TO CREATIVELY? TELL ME WHAT YOU HAVE BEEN WORKING ON.
Recently I've been working a lot for skateboard/snowboard/wakeboard companies. Some in the UK, some in the US and a few in Europe. It's my favourite genre because firstly I love the sports and secondly I pretty much get free reign creatively. Some briefs have their specs and limitations but generally the guidelines are pretty loose. I get to use crazy 80's neons which I love and just draw a bunch of random stuff. I've been doing a lot of stuff for SlayshTank apparel who are a wakesurf company based in Texas, Ekta skateboards and I've just done some roughs for Ride Snowboards for next season. I'm currently talking to Nike 6.0 and Flip skateboards about some tees and boards in the near future. So all in all 2010 has been pretty productive.


ARE THERE ANY PLACES, EXHIBITIONS, SHOWS, GIGS THAT YOU HAVE BEEN TO THAT HAVE INFLUENCED YOU CREATIVELY, OR ANY YOU JUST REALLY LIKED?
When I lived in London I used to visit the Tate Modern a fair bit and as many small exhibitions as possible. I also found a cool exhibition near Camden a few months back called 'The Museum of Everything'. All the work on display was found in basements and sheds etc after the people who'd made it had died so it was never made public until the exhibition. Some really crazy stuff there.




WHERE/WHO DO YOU DRAW YOUR INSPIRATION FROM?
Back when I was 16 and in art college I got given a project to research an artist and their work. We just picked an artists name out of the hat and that was that. Go find out some stuff. I picked out Austrian artist Friedensreich Hunderwasser who at the time I knew nothing about. Turns out he's bloody amazing! The way he draws, the colours he uses and the bizarreness of the images he comes up with are just perfect. I love them. I have a bunch of his books so always look at his paintings and architecture for some ideas. Animals play a big part in my work. Maybe I'm lazy and I find them easier to draw than people! I think you can distort animals more and they'll still look like an animal. With people I find it's different. I am an animal lover also and own a dog and a rabbit who surprisingly get on pretty well. I'm quite a fan also of Simon Peplow, Elzo Durt and Lucy Mcloughlan to name but a few. I love the bold images and colours but they always have these amazing details which fully make the pieces.




WHAT DO YOU LOVE MOST ABOUT WHAT YOU DO?
For a start I just love illustrating. It's crazy that I can do something I'm so passionate about and make a half decent living out of it. I never thought it was possible. I'm not really a fan of the general public either so the less I have to interact with them the better. I used to work in shops and cocktail bars and just blow up at people because they were so irritating and rude. Screw customer service! Ha! I think it's best for my sanity that I don't have to deal with that anymore! So now I get to work from home, be my own boss and have a bit of freedom when it comes to work schedules. I get to see my girlfriend and my pets all the time and I can party with friends and sleep in. I get to have a life I enjoy. It's great!

This dude is rad right? Yes I think so! To see more of his work and what he's been up to go to http://shaungordon.blogspot.com/

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