DCAY: Other than T-shirts, name 3 other things that you enjoy, starting with “T”.
Wotto: Turtles, Tin Men and Traveling.
Do you have any activities that help inspire you while creating new work?
Listening to music and looking around me constantly seem to be my inspiration. I find inspiration in the strangest of places, mostly when observing people.
Out of all the contests you have entered, how many winning T-shirt contest entries do you have under your belt at present?
Oh man too many to count to be honest. I don’t tend to keep a tally but I know I have had over 100 Tees printed now, the Billabong one was my 100th which was pretty cool.
Character design seems to feature in your work a lot, name a couple of your favorite characters.
I love The Mayor out of “Nightmare Before Christmas,” how he moves, talks and the darkness of his expression. Gizmo is another of my favorites because while he is cute he is also capable of cause mayhem and disorder. Moishe is probably my favorite character from “Where
the Wild Things Are.” Simply brilliant, his expression, his playfulness and the stripey body all make him a fantastic source of inspiration for me.
What is your most favorite achievement in tee design?
Winning at Threadless is always an achievement, the standard is so high there. My own personal accomplishment in T-shirt design was my recent Billabong tee. Seeing it in stores was cool and gave me a coy sense of pride.
Do you have any other artistic outlets, such as painting, sculpture, or interpretive dance??
I do like to dance! I paint quite a lot and I have a few group shows coming up, gallery shows are awesome and definitely something I intend to build on. I recently painted a skate deck too and that was a lot of fun. 3D objects are harder to paint so I enjoy that challenge.
Tell us something about yourself that is an unknown fact.
On thing people don’t know about me is that I used to be a teacher. Yep, I taught art for a few years and it was a very valuable learning experience for me. I really enjoyed working with kids and eventually I worked with kids with emotional and behavioral difficulties. I seemed to gel with them best. I did some awesome art projects and the kids taught me a lot about myself. Teachers are massively overlooked and the good ones can be life changing.
What’s your favorite pizza topping combination?
Yikes that’s a tricky question. I like all pizza but I can’t resist a Calzone, any topping.
Have you ever had any fans of your illustrations go so far as to get a tattoo of your designs?
Yes I have a guy who is currently getting a tattoo of a personal piece I did just for him. I find it very flattering and humbling that someone would want a piece of my art on their body forever. It’s very cool. I’ve always wanted a tattoo myself, well sleeves actually but I have never settled on exactly what I want.
I’m a music guy; music inspires me and is always playing in the background while working. What kinds of music have you been listening to as of late?
I have been listening to some old Smashing Pumpkins lately but I am in dire need of some new music. My tastes change so much so it’s hard to keep up with my fickle self. I like a range of music though and sometimes I wanna work to heavy stuff and other times I want to hear a tinkling piano.
Outside of being an artist, what would your absolute “dream” job be? (does not have to be a realistic answer!)
I always wanted to be a chef as a kid, I guess that’s pretty creative too. I wouldn’t consider that a dream job though. I’d love to be in a band, a really cool band like Radiohead that isn’t all about image. That or a food critic, I do love my food.
PLUG TIME: Got a contest entry up for voting that you’d like the reader’s help you out with?
I have lots of things out there at the moment but the best thing for me to plug would be my own shop.
Here’s a coupon code for you tilteed people, TILTEED will get you 30% off, you caught me on a generous day.
http://www.wotto.bigcartel.com
http://www.wottoart.com
http://wottopaints.blogspot.com/
