Interview with MariNaomi
q)So, can you tell me a little about yourself? Full name, age, some background info, etc.?
a)My name is MariNaomi. I’m a 33-year-old artist and writer. I was born in Texas and I grew up in Northern California. I currently live in the beautiful city of San Francisco.
q)How did you get started making art?
a)I’ve always loved drawing and painting. Growing up, I wanted to be an artist or a writer. I followed the writing dream for a number of years, intent on writing bestselling novels. Well, I wrote the novels, but then didn’t have the energy to get them published. Then one day I found out about alternative comics. Sequential art seemed like the perfect balance between both of my passions, and soon enough, in 1997, I began drawing my own stories.
Then, about five years later, I was invited to participate in an art show for Ladyfest Bay Area. I was exhibiting some of my comic book art at the Pond Gallery, and the Ladyfest people asked if I had any paintings to show, as they had space available in another gallery, too. I didn’t. In fact, I hadn’t finished a painting in years, but this seemed like a good opportunity to start. And once I got started, it was impossible to stop, I loved it so much.
q)How would you describe your art?
a)My paintings have been described as “creepy and cute” and I think that’s a pretty good description. The artwork in my comics have a simple, stark style to them, and the stories are embarrassingly true-to-life. They make some people uncomfortable, even.
q)Who is your biggest influence, both art and non-art related?
a)My aunt Maryalice has always been my biggest role model in life. She’s an amazing, intellectual person, unafraid to go against the grain. In a time when it was very controversial to be an independent woman, she was a single, working mother and bought her own house. She is amazing. As for art influences, Mary Fleener probably has the greatest influence on my style, as well as all the cartoons I watched growing up. And I’ve always been inspired by Yoko Ono’s ability to think outside the box.
q)How do you approach the creation of a new piece… how does everything come together?
a)It depends on each piece. Sometimes, I’ve already got an idea of what it should look like in the end, so I sketch it out and build from there. Such as my comics, which I write out first, then thumbnail, then pencil, then pre-ink, then ink again. That means that there are at least five versions of each comic, evolving with each version. The same goes for my sumo wrestler paintings, for which I have very specific ideas beforehand.
With some of my collage pieces, the process is more organic. I might have a vague idea of where I’m going with it, but creating the piece is like putting together a puzzle, only without knowing what it will look like in the end. I’ve spent hours just moving around little pieces of paper, hoping to strike gold. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don’t. I have a ton of unfinished collages sitting around in my studio.
q)What’s your favorite medium to work in, and why?
a)I’ve been in love with watercolors lately, but I go back and forth a lot. Putting together a collage taps in to a different part of the brain than, say, painting with acrylics. I like that there are so many different ways to create, and there are lots of mediums I still haven’t tried. One medium that I’m excited to experiment with is encaustics. Those can look amazing.
q)What is your favourite art related web site?
a)I think fecalface.com is probably the one I visit the most, with artbusiness.com being a close runner-up.
q)Is your work all hand done? Or do you use any computer tools to help out?
a)It’s all hand-done, although when I scan artwork into the computer I usually have to play with the levels so that it doesn’t look washed out. But it never looks as good on the computer as it does in real life.
q)What, in your opinion, are the best and worst places to exhibit artwork?
a)Best: You just can’t beat a brick-and-mortar gallery when it comes to displaying artwork. The focus is entirely on the artwork—making it look nice, promoting it, etc.
Worst: Restaurants, although they can give you good exposure to a wider audience. Still, I loathe cleaning coffee stains off of paintings.
q)I’m always interested in where an artist finds their inspiration. Where do you find yours?
a)My comics are all about my life, specifically my love life. Even when I was a reckless youth, when I’d do wild and crazy things, in the back of my head I’d think, “One day, I’m going to write about this.”
As for the paintings and collage, that’s a little trickier to pinpoint. Some of my artwork is a response to events or emotions occurring directly within my own sphere; others are a response to events going on in the world. Sometimes they’re just things I come up with and think are funny. They really run the gamut.
q)How are the reactions on your work in general?
a)People looking at my sumo clown paintings usually laugh. I like that.
When I’ve watched people reading my comics, they’ll laugh at some parts, and go “aww!” at others. It’s interesting watching people react to my life.
q)What are you doing when you are not creating art?
a)I spend a lot of time socializing, much of it with other creative types (artists, writers, musicians). The creation of visual art can be a very solitary thing, so it’s important to my sanity to maintain a creative network, for inspiration and support.
q)What are some of the greatest challenges that you think artists face today?
a)Getting recognition, finding a community, keeping the faith. One thing I’ve seen a lot of, is when artists get really caught up in the business side, if business doesn’t go well, they start feeling like they don’t want to create any more. They forget why they wanted to create in the first place, which probably didn’t have anything to do with monetary gain.
q)Do you believe that a person is born with a talent to produce art or can anyone be taught?
a)I think that anyone can learn the skills, but chances are they won’t create unless they love to do it. And not everyone loves doing it.
q)Are there any particular works you’ve done that stand out as your favourites?
a)I’m always the most in love with the projects I’m currently working on. Aside from my current projects (the graphic novel and the sumo clowns), I am still very fond of my cow porn paintings, which tie together the objectification of life forms found in the porn and livestock industries, and my Broken Heart series, which are paintings on found windows with some very personal collage backgrounds. The collage backgrounds of those include letters and jewellery from old lovers.
q)What are some current/upcoming projects you are working on or excited about?
a)I’ve been working hard on my graphic novel, which is a series of true short stories about my love life. You can see some of them in my comic book, Estrus 4. I’m also doing a lot of sumo clown-themed watercolour paintings, which I’ll continue doing until I stop finding them funny or run out of watercolour paints, whichever comes first.
q)What advice would you give to younger up and coming artists?
a)Don’t focus on “making it.” Instead, focus on always getting better and doing the best you can. Also, it will help if you find or create a community of artists, people to share your woes and inspiration with. Also, don’t be so competitive! As my wise friend Shannon O’Leary said to me once, “There’s enough success out there for everyone.”
q)Who are your favourite artists and galleries?
a)Artists: Edward Gorey, Andrice Arp, Bill Dunlap, Mary Fleener, Lark Pien, Banksy
Galleries: (in San Francisco) Catherine Clark, Jack Fischer, White Walls Gallery.
And I know it’s not a gallery, but I adore the Tate Modern in London.
q)Tell us a little about some of the different types of jobs you’ve had over the years, before/while doing what you do now. For someone who is starting out in art, how would you recommend they go about making a career out of it?
a)Because I was so focused on writing for so long, most of my jobs in the past have involved words: proofreading, editing, writing for video games.Most of the people I know who survive on their art skills alone end up doing work for big companies in graphic design, illustration or animation. I do think it’s possible to make a living entirely out of fine art, but it’s not easy and I wouldn’t recommend it, particularly if you have a family to support or expensive tastes.
I have a friend who sells paintings for tens of thousands of dollars apiece. He advised me to always have a backup plan as far as income is concerned. He himself still has a day job, which gives him the power to control his art career, instead of letting the galleries tell him what to do. Personally, I’m not very fond of day jobs, but I do always have a pool of freelance jobs to draw from. I haven’t found the art business to be a very reliable source of income, although it can be a very nice supplement!
q)Your contacts….E-mail…links
a)Email: marinaomi(at)pobox.comWebsite: http://marinaomi.com
