Lindgren & Smith: June 2010

Artistic Minds want to know....

An Interview with Gayle Kabaker

Hi Gayle, Your daughter is the Famous Musician Sonya Kitchell and now you have come out with an animation built around one of her songs! How does it feel to work so closely with your daughter?

I didn’t even show it to her til it was almost finished! Her song inspired me – and I wanted to show how my paintings and drawings could move – so I decided to just do it with no input from her. I was really hoping she’d like it and want to use it, and I did take some of her suggestions in the end. But I really just wanted to do this how I wanted – with very little input. Luckily she LOVES it and is very excited about it. I was originally inspired by some very primitive animated movies by Anthony Russo. I asked him to help me and he came and painted with me for a day – so some of the images in the video are his. He helped me conceptualize how it would look – and after I finished all the paintings, and did a storyboard, I handed it over to Evan Yeadon who did all the Flash. We were more limited in Flash then I’d thought – and had to make concessions because of this. But I am still thrilled with the end result. It took about 3 months to complete.

Could you tell us more about your art and design background and what made you become an artist and designer?

I’d always loved to draw ever since I was a little girl and always loved fashion illustration. I went to art school at 18 and graduated at 22 – doing all fashion illustration. Gradually I started branching out into general illustration – then into design as well – wanting to have more control over what was done with my art, as well as to just be able to have a broader range of what I could do. .

Your work is quite unique, can you tell us where your inspiration comes from?

Sometimes I look at illustrators and fine artists and take elements of their style that I really like and make it my own. Music inspires me. I do a lot of pattern and texture in my work so I love to gather labels and patterns from all kinds of things to use as inspiration.

What hardware and software are you using?

I paint in Acrylics, Acryla Gouche and watercolors – then scan my paintings into Photoshop and collage it all together. I love faking people out who think it’s all just one painting. Sometimes I draw my line on the computer ( with a pen and Wacom tablet) and sometimes I scan my line art . I use Indesign for design work. I can work in Illustrator a bit – but don’t love it.

How does your job as an artist and designer influence your life? Do you feel that you see things around you differently?

I never know when I am going to have money! But I feel lucky for all the flexibility in my life.

Where would you like to be with your illustration 5 to 10 years from now?

I’d like to have a team of people that I coordinate – a virtual design – marketing firm. We’d work regularly on projects that have many components for marketing a clients event, campaign or product. Our small agency would be able to manage all aspects of a campaign including, design, illustration, radio, web, TV, and film. We’d specialize in campaigns that are so strong they really make a difference in the world. As an illustrator - in 5 years I’d like to be able to have a demo reel of my animated movie and TV title sequences – and a page on L&S’s website with my New Yorker covers!

As Yes As It Gets

As all Torontonians know, the upcoming G20 Summit will turn the city into a miserable tangle of concrete, chain-link and pepper spray. The one bright spot? The opening of As Yes As It Gets, a new, eye-popping show from Trio Magnus at Resistor Gallery (284 College St., 2nd Floor). It's happening Thursday, June 24, at 7:00 pm, and yours truly will be in attendance, along with Steve Wilson and Clayton Hanmer, the other two-thirds of Trio Magnus. Aside from the six foot square drawings and one foot square silkscreen prints for sale, our good friend J. Bone will be exhibiting his fantastic yarn sculptures based on our characters. Come on out, and say YES to the ultimate anti-establishment event! Brought to you by Koyama Press.

Artistic Minds want to know....

An Interview with Doug Fraser

Hi Doug, we hear motorcycles are your passion, what kind of motorcycle is sitting in your driveway?

Yes, I do have a strong interest in motorcycles. I started riding them at 13 years of age. Since then, I've owned, and rode many different brands. I was riding them while living in New York, and also riding across Canada. There's a purity about riding a motorcycle that still excites me. These days I've been riding a Super Glide, it's a mid level Harley Davidson motorcycle.

Could you tell us more about your art and design background and what made you become an artist and designer?

For me the visual pleasure of the old library, magazine & newsstand, for that matter the printed image was a huge draw. Visually I am intrigued by the single framed image, or subject. I still have that interest of just looking, thinking, and producing. Graphics were my first love. Growing up in a small prairie community the excitement felt from a brightly colored printed image was very enticing. I studied communication arts for four years at the Alberta College of Art & Design in Calgary, Canada. The course was very intense, and broadly based with a mix of developing design skills for use in the graphics industry. I took painting and screen printing classes as well. Next I attended the School of Visual Arts in New York for a masters degree. It was a two year course focused on illustration. My very early years were spent living and working in New York. New York's publishing industry made it a great firsthand continuing education.

Your work is quite unique, can you tell us where your inspiration comes from? What hardware and software are you using?

My work has evolved from a number of changing influences. I've always had an interest in structural aspects of subjects. Mechanical, and architectural themes were definite childhood interests. My Father was a civil engineer, and influences many of my early interests. It was in art college that the abstract qualities of art & design were introduced. I think up till college my thoughts were typically adolescent. I think the combination of art history, theory, and design abstracts opened many doors. Initially in college the two schools of painting really had impact in thinking. The abstract minimal paintings of Ad Rienhardt, Mark Rothko, and the regionalist Thomas Hart Benton, also Diego Rivera. In the background contemporary film too has been an influence. Since then it's grown, and evolved. Today I'm more interested in the abstractions of working. My main software is Adobe Illustrator. I use Photoshop lightly.

How does your job as an artist and designer influence your life? Do you feel that you see things around you differently?

As an artist/designer I do tend to deconstruct the things I observe. I've read some books lately that have affected the way I presently work. I do feel the desire to evolve my work. There are elements that make up what we see, and are in themselves quite abstract, even bizarre. I suppose the term, "transfiguration of the commonplace" sums it up for me.

Where would you like to be with your illustration 5 to 10 years from now?

Well there's a question. I'm still very much enjoy the process, and product of a well executed graphic. Also I have starting to show & sell my own paintings in a gallery. The combination of the two sides tend to feed each other. The digital images I've created recently are where my passion lies. As a digital print they are contemporary in feel. Still the gallery world values the hand painted, I've developed a process that utilizes my digital knowledge with an added development in oils for gallery. In 5 to 10 years I hope to have continued growth.

Artistic Minds want to know....

An Interview with Coco Masuda

Hi Coco! Coco is such an interesting first name, can you tell us why did your parents chose it?

It is actually nothing special. My real first name is Midori, which means “green”, but my father started to call me “Coco (or Koko)” when I was a toddler. My parents don’t remember exactly why but maybe my name was too difficult to pronounce for a toddler and I answered, “Koko!” (means “here!” in Japanese) . Eventually, everyone, except my mother, started to call me “Coco”, and it became my nickname all my life. When I came to the States, I didn’t like how American pronounce “Midori” stressing “do”, so I started introducing myself as “Coco” instead. Now I have a mixed feeling about it.

Could you tell us more about your art and design background and what made you become an artist and designer?

This answer will be a long one! I was a graphic designer first, and I still consider myself a designer who can draw, which can be a problem because my brain works like an art director and tend to come up with different solution (in term of drawing/painting style) for different project. I SHOULD have been an art director.

Firstly, being both artist and designer is more common in my country. Creators go from one discipline to another without being questioned, even acting! So, I grew up wanting to be an “multi” artist. I never thought of choosing one specialty.

When I was being interviewed to attend Parsons School of Design, I told them that I can’t really choose Communication Design or Illustration department. They advised me to major in Illustration and take Communication Design classes, so that’s what I did. I also took photography classes, too. In hindsight, I wish I majored in Communication Design.
I believe that one doesn’t need to major in Illustration to become a good illustrator.

By the time I was graduating, I was leaning more toward graphic design and fashion (another one!). My boy friend and I formed a company called “Unit”, and started to sell hand printed T-shirts and one of a kind clothing in street fairs, which sold like hot cakes!
Our apartment turned into a sweat shop! I had to paint quicker and that’s when I started using airbrush, not to paint realistically but to paint flat and fast using stencils. We eventually switched to having silk-screening.
We borrowed $3,500 from my father, and rented a booth in a trade show. It was an unexpected success! We got huge orders from all over U.S., Canada, including an order from Bloomingdale’s. We didn’t know how to fill so much order quickly and the business failed. Really. Can you believe it? What a shame.

Then I got a job to draw comps with a small graphic design studio, David Curry Design, and that’s where I learned everything about graphic design, and my ability to draw came handy, too. It was pre-computer time and David taught me how to do mechanicals (production), layout, and eventually trusted me to work with the client, too. Knoll and LeSportsac were few of our clients. I was with David for 2 years went on my own.

Three years after graduating, I formed a graphic design studio, Quatorze Design, in Union Square. I took a big space and invested in renovating it to attract big clients, but instead of hiring full-time staff, rented cubicles to few creatives. First, it was an interior designer who designed the space, then came illustrators, Mary Lynn Blasutta, Sergio Baradat who were my classmate at Parsons, Sue Blubaugh who became fine artist, and Carry Meagan who was a toy packaging designer. It was a lot of fun sharing the space with these creative people!

I hired part time stuff for my own graphic design project. I had good eyes for talent, so they never stayed! My clients were mostly fashion related. Toward the end of it’s glory, the Italian fashion label, Fiorucci became my client, and I decided to use my own illustration. That was 1988 and it set fire on my desire to illustrate. I went to see John Jay at Bloomingdale’s in 1989, and by the time I got back to my studio, I had a call from him with an assignment. I became busy with illustration right away but I continued to take some design jobs the following 5 years or so. I tried to keep up with design skills, but the continuous upgrade of layout programs, and introduction of web design made it impossible for me, and I eventually gave up.

However, while I was trying to venture into licensing and planning to develop products, I have been trying to brush up my design skills the last few years. I would love to work with talented young designers again.

Oh, yes, my painting! I started painting last year. I knew I wanted to start painting but didn’t know what and how. It really took me long time to get going. So, I found a gallery in Tokyo to have a solo show, and figured out what to do then. I needed a deadline! It still took few more months until it all came together.
My painting is completely different from my illustration. I specialize in portraits and New York Cityscapes.

Your work is quite unique, can you tell us where your inspiration comes from?

I would have said “travel” in old days, but I don’t travel much anymore because of having a young daughter. Now our life is tied to her school schedule and her liking.
I’m lucky to be still living in New York City where one can find inspirations everywhere.
I need to breath different air, otherwise I go crazy. In this city, each neighborhood offers different culture and energy, so it’s great.

I have deep love for Middle Eastern culture, and instead of going all the way to Middle East, I can go to Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn and have a meal next to Yemenis who are dressed in traditional clothes; I can go to Neue Gallerie and immerse myself in the world of Viennese Secession. Visiting Barney’s helps, too! I know it’s not the same with traveling, but I can at least keep myself from going dehydrated of inspiration.

What hardware and software are you using?

I have 24” screen iMac at the studio and at home. I also have iBook, too. I use Photoshop for illustration.

How does your job as an artist and designer influence your life? Do you feel that you see things around you differently?

I guess. It has pros and cons. My work is basically my hobby. There is only a fine line between the two. Being creative can make you picky and it can create conflict if your spouse is also a creative who has a different taste (my husband is a former art director). You live in constant compromise. A wrong color of kitchen brush can make me (or him) annoyed. I feel that we both deserve to live in environment of our liking. How? is the question.

And both skills come in handy also. My daughter is definitely a beneficiary of my skills, and I tell her not to take it for granted, but she does. I’ve organized art projects for her class, too. Now she wants me to paint all her 23 Webkins. I bet you don’t know what that is, do you? I’ve done 4 so far.

Where would you like to be with your illustration 5 to 10 years from now?

I would actually like to be on the client side hiring illustrators to illustrate my bilingual education products. I guess I will finally become an art director. How is that?