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I gotta be honest, Luke, I wouldn’t tattoo Shitstorm on my neck. (Tattoos aren’t my style. I’d go for the giclee print if I had the money.) But really, was it a great feeling when you first saw a photo of someone with a tattoo of your work?

It's always extremely flattering when someone gets a tattoo of one of my paintings. If art is simply a form of communication between artist and audience, then I guess it means I succeeded. To create something that people feel so strongly for, something they identify with, so much so that they’re willing to have it permanently incorporated into their skin, really reaffirms my decision to pursue art as a career.

So what might a “flying fuck” look like?

I wish I could tell you, but I really have no idea. I think it would look pretty messy.

Twenty Monkeys With Hats (And One Squid) is another piece that stands out in my eyes. It reminds me of Gary Larson and Family Guy humor. What inspired it? Did you plan the squid from the beginning?

When I first started painting and showing in Los Angeles, my friend L. Crowsky (Founder and Curator of The Cannibal Flower) shared with me a theory he developed from his experiences while working at La Luz de Jesus and Cannibal Flower: paintings that featured skulls, monkeys, rabbits and/or girls (specifically the kind of girls that girls want to be and that guys want to fuck) were sure to sell, as long as the price was right. He then suggested I create a series of monkeys wearing different hats, and that's how the story goes. I chose the hats personally, and the squid simply seemed like a good idea.

In addition to Family Guy, you like Elimidate. I’m curious: Would you ever consider going on a reality show?

Elimidate is absolutely ridiculous. Would I ever go on a date show? No, I'm way too shy. Also, I'm not really “smooth” when it comes to things like dating. I prefer the slower, getting-to-know-the-person-before-swapping-fluids approach.

[Smiles] What about music? I’d like to hear more about your work with E.X.P. and interest in intelligent dance music.

I created E.X.P. back when I was studying graphic design at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. At the time, I wanted to be the next David Carson (the original art director of Raygun Magazine). But I realized that the chances of that happening, or of me being able to find a job that was interested in “extreme” or “experimental” typography was slim, if not impossible. The only way I saw it happening was if I made a market myself, so I created E.X.P., a publication that featured the experimental/intelligent dance music I loved while letting me vent my desire to experiment with graphic design. IDM is essentially experimental dance music. The experimental aspect revolves around the manipulation of time signatures or sounds. Artists like Aphex Twin, Autechre, Squarepusher, µ-ziq, Venetian Snares, and Gescom typify IDM.

What did E.X.P. look like?

There were a total of five issues. Issues one through three were magazine-style publications (folded down the center and saddle-stapled). Then I switched from a numerical numbering system to an alphabetical one, and experimented with magazine formats by stuffing all the contents into an envelope and letting the reader sort out the info for themselves. Issue
A was several 11” x 14” sheets folded down to 8.5” x 5.5.” Issue B had a couple of 22” x 28” sheets folded down to an 8.5” x 5.5.” I loved publishing E.X.P. However, geographic limitations (San Luis Obsipo is not the epicenter of IDM culture), coupled with time and work, eventually killed it. I still listen to IDM though.

Well, based on your website’s layout, the composition of your paintings, and your work with E.X.P., it seems like your graphic design education has had a big impact on your art today. Do you ever want to get back into graphic design, typography, or computer art?

Yeah, my education and experience as a graphic designer has played an integral role in my approach and techniques toward my paintings. As I mentioned before, my dream was to become an editorial graphic designer who expressed editorial components through compositional and typographical experimentation. However, when Ernie Ball hired me, I was forced to completely reconsider my approach to design, especially when designing print advertisements. The average reader’s attention span for the average print advertisement is approximately 2.3 seconds. If you can't catch the reader’s attention and deliver your message efficiently, then you’ve wasted tons of advertising dollars. Through my five years of working for Ernie Ball, my attitude and ambitions for design evolved, and my abilities for framing design projects around the concept of a 2.3 second attention span were strengthened. I think I carried this approach to my paintings.

I'm glad I can fall back on graphic design, but it's not something I'm interested in pursuing as a career. It’s something I employ regularly for both friends and myself. And I'm comforted by the knowledge that I don't need to rely on someone else to design my website, business cards, and other promotional products.

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