Jesse Golfis: Artist Update

Jesse Golfis at jessegolfis.com

Jesse Golfis is at it again, this time, with skate decks, as part of his Organix Street Series. This guy pumps out great stuff with regularity, and it seems like a natural fit for him to move on to decks. He employs unorthodox techniques (who said brushes were for painting anyway?), and has a great sense of motion and landscape. I am proud to call Jesse a friend, and am even more proud to be able to help share his work. MN y'all....

Jesse has also created a fan page at Facebook, so make sure you get at him.....

Jesse Golfis Facebook Fan Page

Jon MacNair - IPMM Exclusive Interview

Jon MacNair

Jon MacNair's art has the dynamic of being accessible, yet uneasy; approachable, yet dubious as far as scope. When he's not creating extra-world's with unknown half-creatures and eyeballs, he's accessing a part of the illustration market that needs a singular mind to convey the realities of a system inspired by color and applique. His flexibility when moving from freelance illustration work to fine art, is seamless and impressive - I feel drawn in by his stuff, yet compelled to think a bit more....and isn't that what art is for in the first place?

My basic rule of thumb is - if the artist seems to have a cohesive vision, it's probably worth getting inside their head. Visions of parallel worlds with similar dilemma's, shows me a curiosity and intensity of mind that almost always yields great work. In this case, it definitely has. I am happy to have been able to talk to Jon about his work, the ideas that inform his artistic lens, and the possibilities for a dude who's not afraid to let his suspicion inform his practice.

- e: IPMM

You create environments that I'd never want to be a part of, but I am glad they exist. Your fine art feels like surreal folktales......how would you characterize these otherworlds?

Recently I was talking to someone about how I sometimes have a hard time describing my work. In the past when I have had to do this, I've used words like mystical, mythological and dreamlike. The worlds I draw are really in some ways mirrors of our own world. The characters that inhabit these landscapes deal with the same basic issues of humanity we do, but everything is cloaked in a rather strange and alien looking visual exterior.

Is there a starkness of b&w that you like more for the gallery setting?

I think a lot of my fine art is black and white because when I decided to start working on my own projects, I was using ink at the time. My illustration work was done primarily in ink (with digital color added later) and so when I made this transition to fine art, I stayed with the same medium. That's been about a year and a half now. At this point I feel very comfortable with pen and ink and so I am trying to add additional mediums to my repertoire (watercolor, acrylic, graphite, gouache). When I began to build up my fine art portfolio, I didn't know the black and white palette would lend itself to my style so well. I think it's something that people associate with my work at this point, but as I said before, I want to continue to experiment with other mediums too. Gotta keep the work fresh. Don't worry, I'm not thinking fluorescent colors anytime soon. So I guess to answer your question, the black and white palette wasn't initially chosen because I thought it would look good in galleries (I wasn't even thinking of exhibiting the work in the beginning). It was more about me staying within my comfort zone at that time.

"Under Skin" (just above) is a piece of yours i love.....can you tell me a bit about the thought process behind it?

The different scenes within the large cat figure represent various worlds within our own. There's the human world and the animal world, as well as one scene representative of the creation of life. The top scene depicts man trying to decipher the mysteries of life through scientific experimentation, something I find extremely interesting but also somewhat futile and meaningless. The rabbit in the center scene is symbolic of the natural world, from which we have separated ourselves from to a good degree. As an animal he is content to search out the basic necessities of life without excess. The bottom panel is the creation scene; an idea purely from my imagination. I've always thought the notion of the world beginning with water is a really interesting and striking image and wanted to illustrate that here, but with my own twist.

Do you have a name for that heart-shaped-face, cat-eared character?

That's another topic that has come up in conversation lately. No, I actually don't have real names for any of the characters I draw. I usually refer to them as just that. "Characters." I'll say "the cat character" or "the hill with the face character" or "the eye plant." Very technical I know. I guess it just never seemed that important, though I guess it would be a little convenient when referring to specific characters. I draw variations of characters that eventually evolve into new characters, so I'm reluctant to give names to things if I foresee them changing anyway. It's easier for me to come up with titles to works than names for characters think.

As far as works with color, despite the soft 1st impression of the pieces, you don't seem to be afraid to ask some hard questions, as in "Child Obesity" (just below) for example....

That illustration was done as a promotional piece for my website. So far most of my clients have been editorial ones, and I periodically make example work to show what themes I am capable of illustrating. Some of the themes are more serious in nature, although it can be fun and challenging to interpret these issues with a lighter approach visually. I try to show a range of subjects I can illustrate.

Do you prefer color or b&w, or is it more about 'a place for everything?'

Yes, I think everything has it's place. For illustration, digital coloring is obviously quick and convenient and lends itself to the inevitable changes the client will ask you to do. For fine art, I love both black and white and color. The black and white has a certain mood it sets for the piece. I'm still in the process of experimenting with color to achieve this effect as well.

Describe the perfect client for freelance work.

The short answer here would be one that pays well and on time, is professional in their communication with you, and respects your vision as an artist. I think it's just important that you and your client are a good match for each other. I've had freelance jobs where it was not the best match and I felt like I couldn't quite be myself artistically. Unfortunately the work can turn out a bit lackluster if this is the case.

Have you ever done album art? I can definitely see your work on a lp cover....

I've never done album art but have always wanted to. The simple answer is I've just never been approached to do any. The closest thing I've done is a t-shirt design for a band. That was one instance where I think my style was a good match with the client.

I've always liked drawing eyes, it seems you do too. Any idea why?

Well, I like drawing faces in general, and eyes are definitely one of the most enjoyable features to draw in my opinion. Mouths and hair are pretty fun too. I just love how eyes can bring a life and self-awareness to non-living objects. It can instantly humanize them in a strange an often amusing way I think.

Name one artist my readers and I should check out.

A really talented illustrator by the name of Donald Ely who has some wonderfully eye-catching illustration and design work!

www.donaldely.com

Dive into Jon MacNair's cerebellum at JonMacNair.com and at his Flickr page ....

Wu-Tang Meets The Indie Culture Vol. 2: Enter The Dubstep

All I have to say is, this is out as of today, Nov. 10th - 2009, and you better get smart.....

Jeff Luker

JeffLuker.com

Jeff Luker's photos achieve the poignancy of being able to draw the essence out of the scene he's capturing. He gives each moment the benefit of the doubt, as far as being benign and normal, yet colorful and important. From what I have seen of his work, he tends to be able to coax a comfortable dream-like state from the images, which give the photographs an incredible vibrancy and real-world feel. A trick or two here and there, but mostly, he seems to have an amazing concept of light and proportion, properly yielding each view with it's weightiness, as well as appropriate timing and space.

Printeresting.org

Printeresting.org

Printeresting is a very cerebral site that offers great info on upcoming events, and really anything considered part of the printing world. They don't keep it limited to screenprints, but they always hilight cool stuff, offer helful tips, and create another outlet for printers of every stripe.

"Printeresting is an online resource for “interesting printmaking miscellany.”

From “fine art” prints and limited edition multiples to xeroxed flyers and cheap inkjet printouts, we take a broad view of printmaking; all manner of printed matter has a place at Printeresting. Authored by multiple contributors, the site features regular posts on a range of print-related content, including artwork, news, reviews, technology, and critical discourse. While our primary goal is to highlight innovative print work, the site is also a place to keep abreast of developments in the field, and to take note when printmaking intrudes into popular culture.

Printeresting’s growing collection of posts form the web’s most comprehensive, searchable database of contemporary print.

Printeresting is for artists, designers, printers, curators, collectors, teachers, students, and the generally curious. As such, we welcome your comments and suggestions.

Let us know what you think, and please spread the word!"

The Vinyl Frontier: Trailer + SDCC '09 Sneak Peak

The Vinyl Frontier by Daniel Zana

"The Vinyl Frontier is a documentary film exploring the world of vinyl toys.
Featuring some of todays top designers, collectors and toy producers including: Attaboy, Tim Biskup, Luke Chueh, Dalek, Tristan Eaton, Ron English, Huck Gee, Thomas Han, Jim Koch, Frank Kozik, Haze XXL, Joe Ledbetter, MCA, Ferg, Van Beater, Brian McCarty, Dave Bondi, Bill McMullen, Tara Mcpherson, Gary Baseman, Sket One, Joey Potts, Jermaine Rogers, Bwana Spoons, and many many more..."

I was in contact with Daniel Zana about screening possibilities, but the release date has not been nailed down yet. Look for it by the end of this year or early 201o. Check out more short "Spotlight Videos" of various artists in the film HERE.

The Vinyl Frontier Sneak Peek SDCC09 Exclusive from The Vinyl Frontier on Vimeo.

Raja Shahriman: Killing Tools, Dancing Warriors via Nafas Art Magazine

Here is a cool article about Malaysian artist/sculptor, Raja Shahriman, which appeared recently in Nafas Art Magazine. Nafas covers contemporary art from Islamic influenced countries and regions. I tried to find Raja's personal website, but I don't think he has one. If any of you find info on him, respond to this post with a link.

Cheers!

Raja Shahriman: Killing tools, dancing warriors

By Nur Hanim Mohamed Khairuddin