Tilteed

Artist Interview: Drakxxx

Curator’s Statement:

Creation and creativity, and truly any intellectual endeavor, must stem from a willingness to fail hard and push forward. We get nowhere from simply doing the same thing as everyone else. The power of being able to say we are our own blend of influences, and not simply the bland face of the same old thing, is worth the occasional snag in the creative process. Even if it means a few pages of scribbles getting in our way.

We’re glad to welcome Drakxxx back. We feel he’s a great taste that still refreshes even after Halloween.

Welcome back, Drakxxx! What have you been up to since we saw you last?

For the most part, generally pursuing artistic glory in whatever ways I can get myself closer to it. I was recently commissioned to do the artwork for an iPhone / iPod game called “Brutal Fantasy”, which has been lovingly called “Draxxx The Game” by a few who follow my endeavors.

While the title of this piece is Illustrator’s Block, the final product seems to come from a wealth of ideas at once. Do you recall the inspiration behind the drawing itself?

I wanted to depict the struggle of getting the pencil to move that I imagine many artists experience. right outside the block, as the design depicts, is a collective stream random ideas, but you sometimes have to make your way through an army of rough sketches and doodles first.

How do you, personally, overcome illustrator’s block?

My mind is typically not as sharp as others, but my imagination never quits. I consider a strong imagination one of my most vital tools as an artist.

We all know that the average Drakxxx piece owes a certain debt to horror (and if we don’t, we should go get familiar with the man’s work, now shouldn’t we?), but it seems from some of your designs that classic Grindhouse has a particular place in your heart. What are some of your favorite films in the genre?

Since most Grindhouse films where created with a hundred dollars and a prayer, the sheer abundance of them has made me categorize them in favorites usually by director. The works of Lucio Fulci, Jesús Franco, and Mario Bava, to name a few, have made a wealth of terrific crap cinema. Some random selections that I find timeless: The Beyond, Black Caesar, Deep Red, Lone Wolf & Cub, Master of The Flying Guillotine, Cannibal Ferox, and probably the most influential film to me personally, Suspiria.

You’ve done some excellent work of late in collaboration with others. If you could work with any other artist on a collaborative work, who are some people you’d consider and why?

I’m always open to collaborative efforts, as I think they are a great way to see your own work in another light, and learn from the other artist your working with.
Since I’ve gotten into these shirt designs, I’ve discovered a lot of wonderful talent that I would be excited to go into something with, and have actually had the honor to work with quite a few excellent artists on some pieces that I really love. From that realm of art, I would love to see one of my illustrations with Jamie Marshall’s (BootBoots) gloomy and cheery at the same time colors, or a crazy composition where Mr. Edgar McHerly and myself try to out weird each other to the tune of his amazing water color effects.

Otherwise, Arthur Rackham is in the top 5 people I’d resurrect if I could, and if I did that, I’d hope he’d let me team up with him for something.

Just to put the rumors to rest: given the “xxx” in your handle, are you or are you not safe for all ages?

It started as just “Drak”. But somewhere along the way I signed up for something and someone beat me to the name. I didn’t feel individual anymore! Silly, I know. I tried several numbers and additional letters to follow the “Drak” and xxx “looked” the best. I’m a very visual person, apparently even with my letters. There (fortunately?) isn’t any secret sexual innuendo with the screen name.

Any final thoughts you’d like to share?

I’ve said it many times, but whenever there is an opportunity available to do so, I’m pretty sure I will. I’d like to again thank everyone who has followed my work in this medium since I started it a few short years ago. The growth I’ve achieved as an artist through this and the support I continually receive has made this whole t-shirt endeavor extremely invalulable to me. It’s pretty much certain that the art thing is what I’m meant to do, and I’ve never felt more sure of that then now. Also, thanks to the one very special person for not only getting me into this wacky world of t-shirts, but believing I can actually do something with all this.