Asking Artists Questions PART II

IF YOU HAVEN'T READ PART I 

YOU REALLY SHOULD!!!!

I've spoken to and met a handful of really cool artists over the years, so I figured why not ask them a few questions so others can get a real glimpse into what Being An Artist is instead of the typical 'Starving Artist' stereotype. This is PART II. CHECK BACK FOR PART III

"How has it been for you as an artist?"

Wolf Baker: It’s been alright. I’m happy with the work I’ve put out thus far, but finding an audience is always a struggle. To me, art feels like having sand in my shoe. If I go long periods of time without getting anything creative done I get all irritated. Gotta shake the shoe out from time to time. That said, things aren’t bad. I’m not losing money or anything. Still haven’t found a way to make art full time yet though.

RonDee Productions: Satisfyingly Tumultuous.

Gavin Hardin: Honestly I can't complain, I got lucky and had an artistic mom who always supported me and pushed me to do art more. Art is my escape and I'm glad I get to do it everyday.

I'm always playing around with new mediums and evolving as an artist so nothing ever gets boring for me. If I'm tired of drawing I'll paint and if I'm tired of painting I'll sculpt and so on. The hardest part is procrastonating on making shit and letting it sit for too long. This is why I like making stuff for the band, because we sort of have a deadline in a way so it gets our shit in gear.

Derelict_dum_dum: Honestly, I feel pretty guilty. There are a lot of artists who have gone through severe hardships to get to where they are. I just kinda put up an instagram and now, met people with incredible talent who are always pretty eager to talk to me. I know it takes pretty long for most people to get that kind of engagement, so why do I get special treatment? BUT its not all guilt, I own a lot of my old sketchbooks from when I was 8-12 and hoe lee sheet. The improvement from 6th grade-now is just beyond unreal. So I can also see the hard work I put in through all the years, yet I feel I dont deserve it. 

"Your first Triumph?"

Wolf Baker: My first triumph was back in 2014, when I did my first solo art show. I had done about 30 8”x8” acrylic paintings of horror movie monsters in everyday situations. The show was called “Horrordinary” and I managed to sell a lot of my work for the first time. 

RonDee Productions: Big triumph Gritty, I am One of the folks who worked on him, I managed the project and made his head.
Favorite triumph Mooby statue fix from Clerks 2, someone broken his arm off and the company I worked for had to fix it. because I was an intern I was brought on the job. 

Gavin Hardin: I think the first painting I ever sold was an 11x14 piggy for $100 and I remember being blown away that someone would pay that for something I painted. It was inspiring to do what I wanted to do and be able to get support doing it. For a while i was able to pretty much just draw what ever I wanted and make prints other people seemed to enjoy too. I need to do more prints, I'm mainly focused on tattoo stuff and the band lately so it usually ends up being one of those two subjects.

Derelict_dum_dum: I remember extremely vividly, I was about 8. I had been In the hospital for multiple strokes and lost all mobility in my right side AND im a rightie. My luck. Somone (probably one of my neighbors) had gotten me an XXL melissa and doug girly ass colouring pad and a 24 count of crayola crayons. My parents had to explain I couldn't move my hands let alone colour all that well. Of course, I freaked out and wanted them so extremely bad. I had always been a creative kid and needed any semblance of life back home. And so, albeit poorly, I opened and got to work. Of course, I could barely get wax on the paper but I did something. Everyone in that room including myself started getting misty eyed and eventually turned into a mush of emotions.

"Your first Roadblock?"

Wolf Baker: Lack of free time always seems to be the big one. Gotta pay the bills, working full time doing shit that has nothing to do with art and then trying to squeeze it all in on nights and weekends is difficult, but it’s a compulsion at this point. Art is so ingrained into my identity and how I see myself that I couldn’t stop if I tried. Doesn’t leave much time for social interaction though. I’ve tried to find ways to keep working on the go, like using watercolor brush pens and a sketchbook or making the bulk of my comics on my ipad so I can keep working on art wherever I’m at.

RonDee Productions: Lack of knowledge to pursue passions and gatekeeping.

Gavin Hardin: It's hard to think of something that really just held me back. I guess I would have to say the space limitations of living with my mom still. I remember trying to figure out sculpting and moulding in my bedroom and just absolutely wrecking that shit. Now that we have our own place I have the garage dedicated to storing tools and craft supplies.

We now have the abilit to just leave projects in progress in the garage without worrying about it being an eyesore. I've noticed, because of this, that I spend a lot more time on props and things when working in the garage. Or maybe this shit we're making is just getting more intense. Either way it's the best work flow ever in the garage now that I have shelves and tools right on hand and room to suspend large costumes to layer on rubber.

Derelict_dum_dum: Oh boy, it was probably my own frustration. For the longest time my hands were just not doing what I wanted them to do after all my dumb medical shit. Theres no real way to describe how mentaly damaging it is as an artist when your hand, something you've known for your whole life, don't listen to you and have a pretty bad delay. It was like every signal being sent from the brain to the hand was muted, boiled down to the most basic left, right, up, down movements.

"Is there a specific influence that has never 

lost it's charm and potency for you?"

Wolf Baker: There’s a few! Moebius, Geof Darrow, Frazetta, Otomo, Paul Pope, Wayne Barlowe. All of their stuff I feel like I could just stare at forever and still find new things that get me excited.

RonDee Productions: Muppets, Labyrinth and Dark Crystal, all puppet celebrities, Alf. I'm a Nickelodeon junkie and a Boingoloid, I'm obsessed with Oingo Boingo.

Gavin Hardin: That would probably have to be GWAR. My whole childhood I was obsessed, my mom even claimed to have played AMBD on her pregnant belly. GWAR is all over the place. There's just so much stuff it never gets old. Dim times and early 90s will always have a special place in my heart, but when I want something different I listen to different albums and it flips the mood in a whole new direction. Lately I've been obsessing over the tentacle arm/ flesh column era. It's always been one of my favorite eras and I love the crazy dark sound of the TTE album. I don't always listen to GWAR though. I listen to all kinds of music. Lately I've been obsessed with this crazy psychadelic stoner band "King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard". They write so much music it's insane. They have all kinds of different albums from thrash to Lo-Fi and lots of middle eastern doomy microtonal stuff. I feel like I'm gonna be listening to them for a long time. Whenever I get my day off in the garage started I always put on some gizz and it helps me chill out and reset the work area before diving into a project.

Derelict_dum_dum: any type of ARG or interactive experience that spills out into real life is just so inspiring to me. When people go out of their way to put a box in a random forest in a random state on a random coordinate for some random person to find its just…AAAAAAAHH!!! I get frustrated trying to find the words to convey just how fucking cool it all is to me.

"How do you go about setting Art Goals?"

Wolf Baker: I try to set specific goals for myself that I think I can actually accomplish. This year it was “publish 3 new comics”. Next year I’m trying to focus on getting my stuff out there more, getting to more shows, etc.

RonDee Productions: Haphazardly, it's mostly based on project deadlines. I'm trying very hard to set time aside for my own work. 

Gavin Hardin: Lots of things just kind of permanantely live on my idea shelf somewhere deep in my brain. There's lots of things I think about but don't get around to doing often. One thing that keeps me busy is tattooing. People come in with ideas that I then have to turn around and have ready in a matter of days. It can be stressful sometimes but it really helps me understand my ability to produce art in a consistent timely manner. Sometimes I do find myself comparing things I do to things I did in the past like, "Damn I haven't done one of those full page black and white sharpie drawings in a while, maybe I should do some of those?" but for the most part i've been trying to stay focused on things to help the band like T-shirt designs and finally finishing the BUDMONSTER comic book. Like I said the band gives me a deadline so I can tell myself, "Ok... we're done with the costume so we're debuting it at this next show and if I can have a comic book done in time to help tell the story of this new monster that would be awesome!" then I'm really hard on myself and end up finishing it early because I over estimate how long it will take.

Derelict_dum_dum: I don't really set goals, never have. If I know I need to work on a specific thing like anatomy, ill keep incorporating those things inside of my drawings until i get at least a little good. Most my drawings right now have a lot of facial expressions. That in my opinion is the thing I need to work on.

"How do you work? Everyday? In Spurts?"

Wolf Baker: I have ups and downs. ADHD brain has me working like crazy sometimes and some weeks where I don’t get anything done. I think it’s important to take breaks and keep inspired. Whenever I hit a block where I feel like I’ve run out of ideas, I’ll usually spend a few days consuming a ton of media. Whether that’s going to the comic store, the library or just binging a bunch of shows. Been watching a bunch of the 90’s outer limits series lately, which like, isn’t technically good, but its so fucking wacky that I end up wanting to write my own stuff afterwards.

RonDee Productions: I work everyday but not in a consistent manner, some days are much more productive than others. But I tried to do something towards the business everyday.

Gavin Hardin: I'm constantly doing somethning creative as much as possible. I've always got so many projects going on weather it's band stuff or just normal clients for the week. I'll usually wake up and chill in the garage first thing in the morning. Usually just to straighten things up or tinker with an in progress project. Then I head up to the tattoo shop where I usually have two appointments a day (plus whatever walks in between clients). Usually I like to have my homework done so all my appointments go smooth for the day. When I'm not tattooing I'll usually doodle or tinker with some in progress paintings I keep at the shop. Sometimes I pull out my laptop and work on the website or gather and edit samples for our live show. Then after finishing with my appointments, we head home and cook some dinner. After that we usually smoke some weed in the garage and play around with props. This is when we come up with new ideas for skits and props or work on big projects like the Budmonster together, It's a vibe in there when we're all working together on stuff for the band with some music going. This usually goes on until about midnight when I work on any upcoming appointments stuff on my ipad in the bed. That's pretty much every day for me except Sunday I have a full day to clean house, run errands, work on props, or whatever I'm feeling. Then every Monday we have TERATOMA practice with the band members.

Derelict_dum_dum: At the time of writing (10/26/22) I have 5 more days to get the GWAR-itaive done so every day for me is working for 5-7 hours. From 2:30 usually to 9:00 or 9:30. Lineart and sketches take one day to complete and inking takes an additional day. So 14 hours to get one painting done in total. I am in constant agony.

"How many different mediums 

have you tried so far?"

Wolf Baker: I think I’ve lost count. I worry sometimes that doing too much there has made my style inconsistent and makes it harder to market myself, but also I make art to have fun, so like, fuck it. In June I really started pushing myself to learn blender. 3D has been really cool so far, still hoping I can manage to make something happen with that. I think my main mediums are watercolor, gouache, digital, ink (started learning to ink with nib pens recently), needle-felting, and now 3D. 

I used to be into acrylic painting and markers more, but both got to be too expensive to do all the time. Every once in a while I pick ‘em back up though.

RonDee Productions: Puppet and costume building requires you to be a jack/jill of a lot of different mediums but I tend to gravitate to all things 3-dimensional. Overtime I found a mastery in foam fabrication

Gavin Hardin: I couldn't even tell you honestly. I dabble with everything I can pretty much. I love clay, latex, plater, acrylics, oil, tatooing, woodworking, leather work, print making, japanese watercolor, and even filming and editing videos. I run the website and all the social media accounts for the band too so I'm always striving to be able to do anything I set my mind to.

Derelict_dum_dum: oh boy, i've done so. Freaking. Many. honestly, over the years id say i've tried 15-20 different mediums. My main mediums of choice right now are ink n watercolour. Mixing them makes a nice dulled/ dark winter look. I also do art in the sense that you don't end up with a product that you can hold. I have and still do work/worked with a good portion of theater. I've done advertizing, production, stagehand, performer, manager, stage manager, set designer, set builder, costume designer, and so many more I cant count.

"What is something you struggle with or never have been able to get the hang of?"

Wolf Baker: Robots/Mechanical stuff. I’ve always had an easier time drawing/sculpting organic forms over tech stuff. I can make it happen if I need to, usually with a lot of reference, or sometimes going as far as to model what I’m thinking of in 3D to get that perfect reference, but I’ve never been able to just come up with mechanical designs off the top of my head.

RonDee Productions: The needle crafts elude me.

Gavin Hardin: Sewing. I fucking hate sewing and working with fabric. Foam is already annoying enough but fabric is always doing something dumb, especially when you have no patience and a bunch of kitties.

Derelict_dum_dum: Hands suckin fuck. Though, it is rewarding when you get those little demon lumps right. Listen, I love anatomy like a child but I would rather jam a SOHO street art brush up my nose and into my brain then draw any kind of intricate pose involving hands.

"What was your first Art Sale?"

Wolf Baker: Back in 2014, I ended up pestering the local tattoo shop to display some of my paintings and finagled my way into having a little solo show. Made like $400 bucks and have been chasing that dream ever since.

RonDee Productions: Most likely it was a miniRONSTER 

Gavin Hardin: I recall selling small ball point ink pen drawings to people at my parents house parties when I was a kid. We had a big bay window and I would tape the drawings around it like a store front and swindle all of my parents friends into giving me money. I was probably about 6 years old then.

Derelict_dum_dum: So my first “sale” was a commission in instagram that involved dickie duncan, sawborg destructo, and Bonesnapper. But I didn't take money for it. I HATE taking money for comms. I wouldn't charge if i didn't need to pay for my own materials. Im currently working on a fully paid commission (hey cosmic crouton!) but I don't know how much im allowed to say about it

"Who are your favourite artists right now?"

Wolf Baker: Mostly comic artists right now. James Stokoe, Matt Lesniewski, Simon Roy, Frederik Peeters, Daniel Warren Johnson, and James Harren are some that immediately come to mind.

RonDee Productions: Claes Oldenburg is always an inspiration.
Barnaby Dixon for his unconventional puppet manipulation and his incredible puppet building. 
There's a puppet troupe called Imagicario, I love movement they get out of their characters.
Spiral Q in Philly the work they do is an amazing example of how puppets connect communities and their inspiring way they can create impactful puppets with reusable materials.

Gavin Hardin: Of course the remaining staples are: Chuck Varga, Dave Brockie, Hunter jackson, Don Drakulich, pretty much any pillar of GWAR. Peelander Yellow is amazing aswell. Lot's of tattoo artists are super rad, there's this guy Paul NYCZ from Iowa and I love everything he does. Alix Ge is another good one, and Timothy Hoyer. Musically I'm really digging the King Gizzard band I mentioned. They just have such a great way of composing full albums that seamlessly tell a really indepth story consistantly in multiple styles. Also their music videos are super awesome and trippy too. Some seriously wicked shit going on over there in the Gizzverse!

Derelict_dum_dum: Currently my fav artists are Bobert Gorman, Matthew maguire, Margret Rolicki, Leigh Avidan, Elton john, Pablo Picasso, Junji Ito, Sierra Boggess, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Distortions Unlimited, Poison Props, and anyone who bribed me to write about them.

"If you've worked conventions/events/art faires which were your favourite ones so far?"

Wolf Baker: Before the pandemic I was all about art shows. 2020 is when I really started working on comics hard, so I haven’t gotten into too many conventions yet. Detroit Zine Fest has been really awesome to me and the Xtreme Corp dudes. Just got word that we got accepted for next year. So I’ll be there March 4, 2023. Trying to get out of Michigan a bit more so I’m throwing out applications to stuff in Canada and Ohio now too.

RonDee Productions: All events have moments that make each one worthwhile even if they're not all lucrative. You never know who you may meet or inspire.

Gavin Hardin: Recently I got to participate in "Inking the Coast", a local tatoo convention, and it was a super fun experience! I got to work on this killer traditional Japanese back tattoo and got to connect with and talk to some really cool, like-minded artists. Plus it's super refreshing getting out of the shop and getting compliments fron artists I personally enjoy.

Derelict_dum_dum: N/A

"Have you met, spoken to, or befriended 

any of your idols/heroes?"

Wolf Baker: Not really. That would be pretty cool though!

RonDee Productions: I did get to meet Allen Lee and Brian Froud. They each signed my copy of a book they co-illustrated.

Gavin Hardin: One of my favorite of these type of situations was meeting Peelander Yellow. When I was on tour with Green Jell-O in Texas we had a day off in Austin and we were just chilling at a random motel 6. I decided to hit up Peelander Yellow on Facebook asking if there was any way we could meet up so I could get a picture with him. Surprisingly enough he messaged me back super quick with an adress that was only a few blocks away! I convinced one of the Jell-O guys to drive me and Scarlett over there to meet him and it was amazing!

We got a private tour of his art studio and he was so nice and shy. He even pulled out the old kaiju costumes and let me try them on. I told him we would be playing in Austin the coming week and asked if he would be interested in checking out the show. He said he definitely would and a week later after a whole ton of crazy Jell-O train nonsense and a broken down mini van, HE SHOWED UP! and hung out at the back of the crowd. I grabbed another picture with him and thanked him for coming to our show. A few months later we saw them live in NOLA and he pulled me up on stage and let my play his guitar, crowd surfing me afterwords. I will never forget Peelander Yellow and he will always be one of my most respected idols. 

I recently also got the opportunity to have a one on one video chat with Don Drakulich about TERATOMA. It was super exciting and he had lots of good things to say about the props we made. It's always humbling when an artist you respect values your time and interacts with you.

Derelict_dum_dum: I have met the vocalist (Mike Bishop / Blothar) of GWAR and we talk from time to time. Hes a super duper quiet and kind person. When we talked pre-show he definitely noticed I was shitting pant (I was shaking so fucking bad) and got down to my level. The best part is he showed genuine interest in my art! He was even looking at handouts I was gonna give people. My guy started FROTHING at the mouth. He saw the tattoo concept I had drawn of his character so, of course, I gave it to him. I had also met Jerry Only when I was like 5. The only thing I remember is how nice he was and how one of the spikes on his battle jacket poked my eye.

"Any final words to new and upcoming artists about to enter the Hellscape that we exist within?"

Wolf Baker: Keep at it and find a way to make it fun. Don’t be too concerned with trends or what other people are doing. Life’s too full of frustrating bullshit already to make yourself miserable over something like art. 

RonDee Productions: I am a fan of affirmations and mantras, these are a few I've picked up.
You can't dream all day with no action.
Small wins are still wins.
Keep moving forward.
It's going to be hard find joy in the journey.

Gavin Hardin: All I've really got to say is if you wanna do anything do it. If you want to be the guy that can draw, draw everyday, find something you think is fun and make it. It doesn't matter if it's not perfect you just have to embrace it and make it your style. If you do art everyday you'll surprise yourself.

Recently Dylan has started tattooing and now after only a year he's went from not having any confidence of being able to draw to knocking out awesome tattoos he never thought he could do. It's not about how good you are at doing art, it's about the commitment of doing art everyday. I also want to say thanks for taking the time to interview me, I hope I've taken the time to go above and beyond on details with these paragraph answers hahaha. I don't understand why anyone would really care about what I have to say but I'll sleep happy knowing that this exists now somewhere on the internet and will live on and be read by people long after we're gone!

Derelict_dum_dum: Guys, gals, non-binary pals, if you have a burning passion PLEASE never let anyone or anything soil it. Keep that flame lit, no matter how many days ya just wanna throw everything away and declare yourself a failure. You're going to eventually start to make things you like as skill level improves. If someone tells you you cannot pursue what you like, know those people are just miserable and want someone to stoop as low as them. Uh… don’t break the law, don't use questionable porta-potties, listen to your parents, and definitely DO give me five dollars for a little sweet treat.

Evil Kim Evil Interview

Originally meant to be included in the Asking Artists Questions series but became too big for it's britches and got it's own post! 

I was provided with artworks and now it just looks like a cool little zine. 

So thanks EVIL KIM EVIL for letting me pester you about art related nonsense!

If you haven't seen the Zine Swap I did with EKE, check it out HERE!!!!

How has it been for you as an artist?

It's been a wild ride! I come from an extralunar plane in Galaxy Zero, which is a long way from Earth. There, we are all rockstars. One day, I was playing a solo as a crowd of other creatures cheered and threw me the devilhorns. 

I jumped sky high and . . . accidentally exited the extralunar plane, winding up in SPACE (I was using a wireless guitar doohickey). 

Fortunately, I got picked up by a passing space ship. They were going to Earth to cool off in Antartica. They told me they could not return me to the extralunar plane, but they could loan me a human costume. 

I ended up disguising myself as a tiny human, showing up at midnight during a rainy California spring in 1979. Two years later, I was transported to Baltimore where I continued to learn the Earthling ways. 
I began making art, music and writings as soon as this planet would allow. I am still adapting to life on Earth. Removing my human costume has helped a lot. Now the Earthlings see me for who I am and I can talk more openly about my history.

Your first Triumph?

Being a rockstar on the extralunar plane was a constant triumph. But I'll talk about life on this planet because this is for Earthling audience.

When I was in the humans third grade, I wrote and published my first novel, making all the copies by hand and doing all the cover art. It was a humans "zine," but I did not know this then. It was popular at the humans school so I wrote another one, then published poetry in a humans "lit mag," was interviewed by an Earthling journalist, went to humans "Young Writers Workshop" at Chautauqua, won art contests at humans state fair (even in adult humans division!), began playing humans guitar and making songs in the humans languages, started a zine that would publish anything submitted, left humans high school and TA'd writing class at humans college. 

As music dragonoid, I have chosen the underground. I am not accepted in humans society and I will not be anything other than myself. I will not sacrifice my creative freedom to please the humans. So I am DIY. I have played shows in almost half of states in humans "U.S." plus a Canadian province! All as a weirdo one man band with barely any social media presence! I've made many records! And gotten to make music with Earthlings from famous Earthling bands - Stooges, Dead Kennedys and Controllers! 

And met a lot of amazing humans, humans bands and other creature bands while touring and not touring! The bands I love the most are unknown, out there pushing boundaries right now and doing new creative things. I am on my own path and all Earthlings are equal in my eyes.

Your first Roadblock?

Ejecting myself from the extralunar plane was a big roadblock. But as for life on Earth . . .
From the very beginning, my art and writings were considered wrong for depicting violence - the same things that exist in human societies and on human tv's. I was not allowed to be in humans "school plays," which hurt me because I loved to perform, and I was sent to humans "child psychiatrist." 

Humans family was violent, starting when we moved to Baltimore. That got worse. And then I was not allowed to do art. Not until I was "adult human" and then not until I could afford supplies for it.
I did the last 2 years of humans college at a school with evaluations and a final project for the whole last year. All was good until, in my writing, I exposed humans violence against me. At that point, my academic options were severely restricted, the evaluations were used to attack me personally (as opposed to academically) and my final project was assigned a title that was meant to insult and discredit me. This put me in a tough place because I was also still dealing with violence from my humans family. And the humans high school had had the same reaction to me - chose not to give me a diploma and for no logical reason. 

I had just found out that my humans "family" had used a fake social security number for me for my entire time on Earth. This made it hard to get humans jobs and get paid in humans money to pay humans bills. 

So I wound up in a bad situation that took nearly two decades to escape. At that point, I started eating humans.

I still don't understand them.

Is there a specific influence that has never 

lost it's charm and potency for you?

The music of my home galaxy, and of the extralunar plane in particular. Humans would not understand. I have also always loved the first humans rock and roll music, played by its inventors. This was my first love on Earth.

How do you go about setting Art Goals?

I eat art mixed with other materials and then vomit. I give the Earthlings that.

How do you work? Everyday? In Spurts?

I work on my projects when I am not hunting and eating humans.
How many different mediums have you tried so far?
All humans mediums! Guitar, songwriting, fiction, non-fiction, poetry, painting, drawing, sculpture, comics, film, photography, acting, dancing, comedy, costume design, wacky unskilled drumming and other humans mediums too! 

I make all my own merch and do all the recording. I do street art. I've also played other humans instruments, like their bagpipes and keys. I'm a one man band - I stand on the drum pedals while playing guitar - making sloppy noisy punk metal . . . thing! It has spanned many genres, but it's always a little weird. Not pleasant to the ears of humans.

What is something you struggle with 

or never have been able to get the hang of?

Communications with humans. Essential to doing anything in human society. 

But I come from another place. I'm a dragonoid. I also get distracted by how tasty they look to me.

What was your first Art Sale?

4,996 years ago, I sold a painted banana peel to a five-headed glooogmuush on the extralunar plane. 

Who are your favourite artists right now?

Many! Some bands to check out if you're a human or other sentient being - these are bands I've recently played shows with, seen live, or encountered on humans internet: Psy Op, Frida Kill, LeRiske, Manoz Zuziaz, Consumer, Trunk, Keefchamber, Constituents, M.A.L.A., D. Selvagi (one man gang!), Andy Warpigs, The Owen Guns, Landis Harry Larry, Non Residents, Powerwasher . . . Plus! Trust (the French metal band), The Amazing One Man Band, Newtown Neurotics . . . just to name a few! I listen to many bands. Many Earthling bands.

I also have a soft spot for 80's radio metal because it was the first metal I encountered on Earth and I am a rockstar just like those humans. I have been returning to this in the past decade - it brings comfort in uncertain times. 80's pop and hip hop too. When I was new to Earth, the radio was my best friend. It taught me a lot about Earthling society.

I have a weird fixation on 80's Helloween, but so do a lot of Earthlings.

If you've worked conventions/events/art faires which were your favourite ones so far?

Humans music shows are best for art tables - punk shows, metal shows, ALL UNDERGROUND SHOWS! I love and support all genres of humans music. 

Have you met, spoken to, or 

befriended any of your idols/heroes?

Yes! 

Any final words to new and upcoming artists 

about to enter the Hellscape that we exist within?

Follow your inspiration and do what you want to do!

Smoll_BB SUNDAY

I found smol_bb on Zines Reddit when she uploaded her first batch of panels from her mini comic "CARDS" and then found her on Instagram shortly after. 

Contacted her about CARDS, asked if it would become a mini comic, and then suggested a zine swap (something I just had found out about and was trying to do with every zinester I liked since I had just released KYOOTI PIES). She agreed and a week later we ended up snail mailing some goodies. 

Her first package got lost in the mail, and the wait was hellish, but when the second package arrived all the anticipation exploded into happiness. I was so happy to be holding these things in my hands, as well as an Original Art Piece!!! (as seen above ^^^) So cool.

A quick breakdown of the Zines...

CARDS: I like History, Archaeology, and languages so this made me laugh a bit harder than someone else might. I've read so many things debunking 'Scientific' or 'Historical' facts left and right, new finds completely changing the way we view things, and even a Star Trek Voyager episode where they 'Re-Created' a Historical Scene from Data and it had all these inaccuracies. The difference is those were seen as Ancient sources, just like human history is to us, but the Aliens had Eradicated Humanity only 7 years ago and even with Human Museums they couldn't figure out what Humanity was like. Maybe all they found were memes. Anyways, you experience a 'Historian' go through a wacky Human Display onstage with a curator and man it looks so fun. Way better than Magic The Gathering I can tell you that. 

Affirmations For Your Monsters: Came for the Art, Stayed for the Truth. I agree with each point made. If you follow these simple States Of Being you will live better. You can reprogram your thoughts, take a new perspective on things. See how everything is and can be beneficial to you, and with a ripple to others. The courage to follow your dreams takes strength, but being patient with yourself when treading new territory takes even more. Change your life today, with help from a Monster!

Stars And Mud: Intense surreal nightmare sequence with heavy atmosphere draws you in immediately. But is that truly what it is? Do you believe what you see? Is what you see the reality of things? Trying not to spoil anything is difficult, even though this preview is exactly that. It is the prologue chapter a far longer work. It ends right where the story begins, hungry for more. Intense images but, just like I noticed with her other zines (and even artworks) there are layers of comedy, tragedy, and a mirror image of our own reality. I feel like it gains potency by allowing us to see ourselves but with a monster's mask, eliminating our defenses, to explore vulnerability and interpret the imagery deeper.

Siiiiiiiigned

Her creature that she draws just drew me in, fell in love with it, its just totally insane and whacked out of it's head looking. Do not be fooled by it's extreme visage, for it fits all types of situations and emotions, whether large or small, violent or loving. Just look at her Tarot Card artworks!

Now she isn't mainly or only a Zine maker, her main focus/talent seems to be with Painting. She has done small to very large pieces, been in art exhibitions, and even did a custom job on a motorcycle helmet! So if you're under the spell of her creatures you should grab something from her! A painting, a zine, or custom job you wont be disappointed!

If you would like to read an interview with her click HERE.

Another interview with her, done by me this time, will be featured on this blog very soon!

You can go view her Instagram HERE her TikTok HERE her Etsy HERE her Reddit HERE

Are you a Smol_BB fan as well? Do you own any of her originals or her zines? 

Tell me your story about how you met her, your favourite work of hers etc!

My Instagram HERE

Asking Artists Some Questions PART I

I've spoken to and met a handful of really cool artists over the years, so I figured why not ask them a few questions so others can get a real glimpse into what Being An Artist is instead of the typical 'Starving Artist' stereotype. This is PART I. Check back for PART II (when these slowpoke motherfuckers send me back answers).

"How has it been for you as an artist?"

Scalenepumpkins: I think overall things have been pretty good. Drawing has always been a passion for me, a way for me to express myself, be creative, a way to let my mind relax and roam free. I love just letting my mind drift and let my hand just draw whatever it wants. The best designs or ideas come out when im not thinking about it. As for crafting, I love building things and figuring out how props work and what theyre made of. I have come a long way in my crafting skills and while commission work can very stressful, it has helped me hone my skills, and I am very proud of everything ive made so far.

George Durbin III: Throughout the years it's been up and down for various of reasons. The positive is that I work primarily with bands though and through that i've gotten to work with some great people and help out a lot of my friends and even discover some bands I had never heard of and become a fan of. When I first started doing band artwork, i made these cheesy black and white horror themed posters for a lot of bands and would give them the design for free. That ultimately led to me getting paid work and a bit of recognition. 

Orange Zeppelin: Actually getting work is always tricky, since I’m competing with thousands of other people trying to do the same thing. That’s why it’s so important to develop a distinctive style that helps you stand out from the rest, people will want you if you stand out! But overall it’s always been a fun journey, I love making art and learning new things so it’s never hard to work up the motivation to practice. 

Tehlubs: I'm a hack...I don't what you mean 'artist' lol

"Your first Triumph?"

Scalenepumpkins: The first thing that comes to mind is when I made this Green Jello art project when I was in highschool, Bill Manspeaker saw it when I posted it on facebook and he made a whole post about it on his page! That was how he and I became friends, hes been an awesome friend to me ever since then. Super supportive. Its an honor when one of your idols loves your artwork.

George Durbin III: I'd say any artists first triumph is overcoming that insecurity of not being able to put a price tag on their artwork. This is still something i struggle with to this day and I get told a lot that i don't charge enough, but art is subjective and so for me that's hard to do. With that said though, that first time someone is willing to pay good money for a piece of your work is such a great feeling and helps make you feel more comfortable with charging for you work. 

Orange Zeppelin: One of the first commission jobs and to this day my biggest gigs was making a poster for a three-band tour featuring Metalachi, Okilly Dokilly, and Mac Sabbath. It ended up being a huge tour that went all over the nation and the design was featured heavily in all the promotion. I got the job from doing a ton of Metalachi fanart and befriending several band members. 

Tehlubs: Designing a beer label, and seeing it in stores. That was a bucket-list item.

"Your first Roadblock?"

Scalenepumpkins: I think my first roadblock was when I started doing commission work. Art has always been something I just did for myself, when I felt like it. So having to draw or craft something for another person, not getting to choose what i'm making, make it look as perfect as possible and all in a timely manner, was definitely difficult for me at first. It still is, I'm just more disciplined now. Some projects are definitely more fun than others though. But nothing will be better than doing art for myself.

George Durbin III: My first and pretty common roadblock is just simply not knowing what to do. Especially when you're on a time crunch. Often people will want me to work on a t-shirt or album cover and their only request is "Just do something in your style." When working for someone i like to know the narrative or inspiration for what they want because if i just go with my style, all you get is a weird face with a big tongue and funny eyeballs. 

Orange Zeppelin: I don’t think I’ve ever faced any really major roadblocks other than just the struggle of getting my work seen and trying to find an audience. Though I’ve had a few commissions completely implode on me, one of which was an album cover for a band dealing with in-fighting and miscommunication. I ended up getting dropped in favor of a different artist, but neither myself nor half of the band found out until the album was released with someone else's art on it!  

Tehlubs: Everyday overcoming myself. It sounds hella douchey, but it's true. I'm my own worst enemy.

"Is there a specific influence that has never 

lost it's charm and potency for you?"

Scalenepumpkins: GWAR will forever inspire me, I have such an intense feeling of inspiration every time I watch GWAR videos or movies, listen to their music, go to their shows, etc. Ive never felt such an intense love for a band ever in my life, not until I found GWAR. I dont even know how to describe the feeling. Its so many emotions, I feel inspired and happy, but I also get this feeling of adrenaline, its like a violent vicious love in a way hahahaha. There is so much that goes into GWAR that I absolutely love, its too much to get into here. I think another thing that has continuously inspired me would be MediEvil for ps1. That game is not only nostalgic for me, but it has such iconic characters, cool spooky themes, and overall is just a fun world to be in. I love that game so much.

George Durbin III: Ed Roth will always be a big inspiration to me. He sort of was before I even knew his name just bc Rat Fink is so popular and so many people rip off his style. When it comes to fancy art, im not a big fan of stuff that looks exactly like it should so I tend to appreciate Surrealism more and love Dali. I try to combine my love for the cartoonish style and surrealism when it comes to my more unique and original designs. 

Orange Zeppelin: The animated movie Heavy Metal was a huge influence for me when I first saw it years ago, when going back and re-watching it it’s every bit as cool as I remember it being. It’s a visually amazing movie that also doesn’t take itself too seriously, which is the sort of energy I want in my own comics. 

Tehlubs: Comic books. Music. Cartoons.

"How do you go about setting Art Goals?"

Scalenepumpkins: I try to write up short term and long term goals. But my notes are always very spastic and messy. But I always have a to do list for whatever my current project is, or I'll give myself a time frame to get a costume piece done. I have so many things I'm working on and it feels like I get nothing done unless i am seeing my progress. It helps to write everything down.

George Durbin III: I sort of don't. I'll get an idea and just sit on it for however long it takes for me to finally do it. I'm very impatient so i don't have any pieces that have taken me years or hundreds of hours, most of the time i sit around until i get that urge to work and then ill pump out a few paintings or crunch down on digital art that ive been wanting to do. When i work for someone i try to be more responsible time wise though.

Orange Zeppelin: When I get an idea for a project I write it down and then schedule time to work on it, even if it’s not a commission job with a timeline I like to set deadlines for myself. I also make a list at the beginning of every month of what I want to accomplish, and then a smaller list at the beginning of the week. Comics have to be planned out long-term since there’s so many parts of the process. 

Tehlubs: Survival, ego, or getting smacked in the head by something I want to draw.

"How do you work? Everyday? In Spurts?"

Scalenepumpkins: I work on something every day. I tend to switch between projects, commission work first, then later in the day ill do personal work.  I enjoy working every day, it feels good to make progress on all my projects, I also don't like staying stagnant for too long . I like to keep busy. But I do tend to go overboard and burn myself out pretty often.

George Durbin III: Definitely in spurts. I haven't painted in months and my digital work has fallen to the side as well. There will be a week or two here and there where im on the computer every night. 

Orange Zeppelin: Inspiration often comes to me all at once and I’ll get really motivated to work on a lot of things at once, but I do work on something every single day, even if it’s just a practice drawing. My goal is to always keep improving at what I do. 

Tehlubs: I make shitty doodles everyday...but big stuff in spurts for sure.

"How many different mediums 

have you tried so far?"

Scalenepumpkins: Uhhhh lets see.... Pencils, Charcoal, Paint,  and since I mostly use ink I've tried different kinds, Pen & Ink, Zebra Pens (my current favorite), Microns, used to use thin Sharpies in the past.

And for crafting.... EVA foam, Upholstery Foam, Latex, Plasti Dip, Faux Hair, Faux Fur, Fabrics of all different kinds. Theres probably more that I'm forgetting.

George Durbin III: Mostly digital and acrylic on canvas. I love to doodle with pens and play with shading and stuff with the inks, but i've never done that as an actual art piece. Maybe someday. Some little crafty things here and there but nothing notable. After seeing that Mr. Doodle guy online, i have been thinking about using that paint pens and canvas and doing my desk doodle but on a larger scale like he does but im not sure if it will translate well. 

Orange Zeppelin: All of them! It would almost be easier to list what I haven’t done. I’ve used all kinds of paint, lots of pens and markers, graphite, colored pencil, paper mache, and even some bronzecasting in college. I also work digitally for some comics but I prefer traditional way more. 

Tehlubs: I'm try-sexual. I'll try anything once.

"What is something you struggle with or never have been able to get the hang of?"

Scalenepumpkins: I've always struggled with painting. I hate painting because i have to work really hard to do a decent paint job since I'm kind of stumbling in the dark with it. For crafting, I struggle with altering existing patterns/making patterns in general. It takes me a lot longer than it should to make a final pattern.

George Durbin III: Lighting isn't my best feature and I can not highlight to save my life so i just make things darker in areas to make it work.

Orange Zeppelin: I’ve never been good at self-promotion, it’s something I’m really actively trying to improve in the last year. I spend too much of my art-making life not actively promoting myself and trying to network with other artists so my audience has stayed small, but I’ve noticed a lot more growth and exposure recently. 

Tehlubs: I suck fat donkey dicks face painting...don't ask me to face paint at your shitty picnic...

"What was your first Art Sale?"

Scalenepumpkins: I can't remember exactly, but it was most likely some GWAR related art that I sold to some random bohab. I remember thats where my art sales started, was within the GWAR community.

George Durbin III: I knew an elderly gentleman named Bill who had one eye. Dude was a character and a lot of fun to be around. One day he opened a store called "One Eyed Willy's Antiques", or something along those lines, and he paid me to drawing him a mountaineer style man with an eye patch.

Orange Zeppelin: I think I might have done a sketch of Johnny Depp in exchange for some gummy snacks back in the 9th grade! 

Tehlubs: Pretty sure it was a logo for a company that is no longer in business, that was tight. It came at the right time and was a course correction.

"Who are your favourite artists right now?"

Scalenepumpkins: As for crafters, I really love instagram artists like WillowCreative, Kazplay, MaggotGrace, CavitySam, all artists who make excellent costumes and show their progress, I've learned so much from studying all of their work. There's also RadulaCastion who makes puppet masks, that have really cool movements like eye blink, lip snarl, eyebrow movements, etc. All done with pulleys that you attach to your fingers. Their work is absolutely incredible.

George Durbin III: The Art Of Skinner. It's all fantasy and monsters with amazing linework and colors. 
Ghoulish Gary. In my opinion, the dude makes the best horror movie posters to date. 
Terry Ifern Owens. He's been on and off instagram so his work is a little hard to find, but his style is unique and really amazing. He does a lot of black and white pieces with gold highlights that just pop.
I love tattoo art and some of my favorites are Badfellow Tattoos in Fort Lauderdale Florida, Almagro Tattooer from Madrid, Jeremy Askew from Diamond Thieves in Asheville NC. 
I follow this weird artist that always makes me laugh too called Weaselfaceart. It's all skateboard stuff with dicks and tits and its awesome. 

Orange Zeppelin: I love Simon Bisley and how powerful and striking his art is. He’s who I would most like to emulate when painting and drawing.

Tehlubs: Jean Giraud, Alex Ziritt, Andrew MacLean, Pieter Bruegel, Albrecht Dürer, Mike Giant, and Skinner.

"If you've worked conventions/events/art faires which were your favourite ones so far?"

Scalenepumpkins: I haven't sold much of my own work at events until recently, I sold some of my eyeball props at Punk Rock Flea Market while I was with RonDee Puppets. I sold all 16 of the eyeballs I had. I was super proud of myself that day. The people loved them!!! It made me so happy. I didn't think they were gonna sell out like that.

George Durbin III: I've not worked anything.

Orange Zeppelin: The one time I’ve had a table at an event was the 2019 Mid-State Metal Fest in San Luis Obispo. The event was ran by the creators of the now-defunct Hail Yourself metalzine, which I did a comic strip for. It was a great experience, though I was at the time recovering from a bad case of scabies and spent the whole day wanting to tear my own limbs off.

Tehlubs: I have not worked any conventions/events, but I probably should.

"Have you met, spoken to, or 

befriended any of your idols/heroes?"

Scalenepumpkins: I've gotten to meet some of the guys in GWAR, but specifically Matt Maguire. I always love chatting with Matt after shows, He and I will talk about different crafting techniques and materials and Im totally in my element whenever we have a conversation. I absolutely love it. I've gotten to also meet people like Bill Manspeaker from Green Jello, he is the sweetest person ever. Seriously. He gave me a huge hug at one show, and said to me "never stop doing what you do." And I nearly cried. It was just so genuine. You had to be there!

George Durbin III: Music Yes, Art No.

Orange Zeppelin: Frank Frazetta’s ghost once showed up in a dream, revealed some great secret to me, and then left. I’m still trying to remember what the secret was!

Tehlubs: I've spoken with Skinner a few times, he's a dope human.

"Any final words to new and upcoming artists about to enter the Hellscape that we exist within?"

Scalenepumpkins: DO ART!!!!!!!!!!!!

George Durbin III: Get a job, you bum.

 Orange Zeppelin: Never give up, and never stop having fun!

Tehlubs: GTFO noobs. Jk, try to be nice to people. Love is the best policy. Don't litter. Call your mom.

PART II COMING SOON!!!!!

Tehlubs For The Ones I Love

The Aptly Named Sir Not Appearing In This Colouring Book

Making zines for yourself is always fun, selling and trading them is even better, but when you make a Zine (if I can even call it that!) for family members it becomes a whole new level of art. And this isn't just a zine, it is a Colouring Book! Who doesn't love interactive books? I know I always did as a kid and even nowadays as an adult. 

Tehlubs is an Artist who I discovered (or he discovered me) on Instagram and right away we bonded over Naked Men With Weapons and how cool zines are. I was sending out zines of mine for free, and he came in around the time Dying Race was released and I was trying to get reviews from people in exchange for a free set of them. He instead just bought it. He was the first person to ignore the Free Route. Mad respect for that! 

Anywho, I was (and still am) into Zine Swapping ever since I saw a few posts on reddit and especially Crash's Zine Swap. He said he wanted to make a zine, didn't, BUT blew my mind when he told me he made a Colouring Book for his siblings, warned me some of the designs are child friendly compared to his Usual Fare. He whipped one together for me and mailed it out soon after. We (scalenepumpkins and I) sent him as many zines as we had at that time which included Kriegshund Chaos #1, Kyooti Pies, Dying Race, I think I had a copy of the Corpse Carter vs Beefus zine and the Kriegshund Chaos button pack which his boy ended up taking a big liking to and now wears them on his school backpack. Yes. Children just ADORE undead dogs!

Below are just a handful of pages from the book with some editing to keep identities concealed. 

Have you ever made anything cool for your family or friends on this level? 

If so hit me up on INSTAGRAM and let me know all about it! 

I am very interested in hearing about cool shit people make!

Toot Toot