SINGLE O: COFFEE BAG INTERVIEW
In 2016 I worked with Single Origin on some rad flaming-skull coffee bag artwork. I sat down with the legends and we talked shop. Here’s a link to the interview.
YOU’RE INTO BEER, SHIT JOKES, DAD JOKES, POSTERS. WHAT ABOUT COFFEE?
I love coffee. I drink a long black first thing in the morning, usually before having said anything to anyone. I’m a sucker for strong coffee, which is how I landed on the LB’s. It helps me get through the daily grind. See… shit jokes, bloody love them!
COINCIDENTALLY, LIKE PREVIOUS GUEST ARTIST ON OUR BAGS, KENTARO YOSHIDA, YOU DO YOUR FAIR SHARE OF SKULLS. WHERE DOES THAT STEM FROM?
Kentaro is an incredibly talented artist and a good friend of mine. And yes, we share a love of skulls. I’ve just always drawn skulls. I guess it stems from a childhood of 80s horror-movies and Goosebumps books. I appreciate the challenge and freedom of doing my own interpretation of a skull. I’m definitely not a doctor, so making it up is fun. Plus, there’s the creepy DEATH element, which adds a bit of gore to whatever you’re drawing. Skulls, monsters, pirates, zombies and the dead all live in the same world of illustration.
PAINT? PEN? PENCIL?
Sketch with a pencil then fill in the line-work with a huge felt-tip marker. I love drawing with Sharpies. I don’t rely on anything too crazy, I keep my process and tools simple and streamlined. So my brain is figuring out what to draw, rather than how to draw it. That said, my day-to-day process is digital, so most of the marks on my desk are from coffee.
WHERE DO YOU WORK? WHERE DO YOU LIVE?
I work from (and run) an art-studio in Newtown called Snake Eyes Studios, we’re located INSIDE the Young Henrys beer brewery. So we’re working from a creative cubby-house in a Willy Wonka style beer factory/fountain. Beer is a big part of our lives, and Young Henrys make great beer. I also live in Newtown, I live with my beautiful girlfriend Beth a short-walk down the street from the studio. So Newtown is my day-to-day bubble.
EXCITING PROJECTS ON THE HORIZON?
I’m incredibly lucky to always be working on a handful of pretty amazing and inspiring projects. At the moment I’m wrapping up some huge work with Universal Music, which saw me illustrate a t-shirt for The Rolling Stones. I recently did the poster-artwork for Parkways Drive’s latest tour, plus designed all the merchandise for The Ruben’s sold out tour. Very excitingly though, I just put together my very first solo exhibition. Titled ‘WASTED LIFE’, exhibiting screen printed art inspired by a life of drinking and self-inflicted decay.
