Interview with Mark Todd
q)Let’s start with the basics; what’s your full name, where do you live, and how old are you?
a) Mark Andrew Todd. 36, L.A. area
q) Do you have any formal training?
a)Graduated from Art Center College of Design in 93
q) Did the place you grew up in influence your image making?
a)Grew up in Las Vegas. yes it did quite a bit, especially in school and early in my career. Influenced by the tacky quality of Vegas lights, neon, and obsessions to ridiculous things such as clowns. In Vegas there is an entire museum devoted to clown history. Kind of cool, but also kind of strange.
q) How do you come up with your concepts?
a)Early on it was tough. I would sketch out ideas, etc. follow the "rules of the game". For the past 4 or 5 years I am much more loose with my image making. I grab a brush and ink and just start doodling around.I look online for reference if I need it. I let things that happened that day trigger thoughts and patterns. A lot of the time music helps. Then I take all the successful drawings, scan them into the computer and start arranging, cropping, and editing until it works for me. In the end I always end up with one good sketch and a bunch of scraps of ideas and doodles that go into a big file box, sometimes used later for other projects.
q) Describe your creations in a clear, concise and understandable sentence. What do you call them?
a)I create work for people who want strong visual imagery that doesn’t overly simplify thoughts and emotions. I call it art.
q)What other mediums would you like to explore in your image making?
a)Lately, I have been more interested in layers and using multiple process. Spraypaint, xerox, collage, iron ons, paint, all mixed together.
q)What is the best time in the day for you to work on a project? Is there one, or is it more about the environment — maybe the right mood?
a)When I can, the evening is best although that’s tough because I have a 6 year old to contend with. But sometimes although I know I will pay the price in the morning I will have a cup of coffee and work till late night. It seems to take me all day to get to the point of inspiration. I get too distracted with day stuff like calls, e-mail and whatever. I am talking about personal paintings and work. If its a job for a magazine, I usually do those in the mornings.
q) What are your artistic influences?…and …generally who or what influences you the most?
a)Environment is an influence. We lived in upstate NY for a while and now we are in sunny California. and it seems to alter the work a lot. what we see on a day to day basis. signs, people, plants, all that stuff.
q) Who are some of your favourite artists/designers/photographers?
a)I’ts hard for me to say. I like a lot of peoples work. early on I was influenced by people like Philip Guston, George Baselitz, Henry Darger and a lot of pop artists. Lately its been a bit harder to pin down. I like my friends work like The Clayton Brothers, Gary Taxali, Tim Biskup, Seonna Hong. I’m not really influenced by the work they do, it’s more about how and why they do it. I see the passion involved. Raymond Pettibon, Terry Winters, are nice to look at as well. Donald Baechlor, big influence.
q) What is your next project?Exhibition?Collaboration?
a)I have a show at La Luz De Jesus Gallery in november. Working on a book called "bad asses" with Blue Q. Lots of other little things. I have a bunch of new flower paintings up at a Malibu beach house called "the poloroid house".
q)What are your plans for the future?
a)Not sure. Just keep working, seeing what happens. That’s what I like about this business. It never gets stale and boring.
q)Are there some web sites that You would like to recomend? Artists, art communities, xxx,…!?
a)I rarely look at websites. There are a bunch of links on our store website.
q)What sort of music do you listen to?
a)My wife calls it sad music. I guess I like the mellow stuff like bright eyes, etc. But I would go nuts if thats all I listened to. For working in the studio that stuff is good. I like lambchop, kings of leon, little wings, feist, white stripes, magnetic fields, the knife, that’s what I have been listening to most lately. But I also love the old stuff, coming from Vegas that makes sense, Dean Martin, etc. Honestly, my friend Souther Salazar (also an artist) and my brother Jason (photographer) keep me up on the good stuff. I can’t keep up.
q)Do you collect anything?If so what?
a)Not really. The only things I have maybe more than 12 of is sock monkeys.
q)What do you do for fun?
a)Tennis is fun. We like driving trips. wine with friends. Traveling to places we never been.
q)Any advice you can pass onto aspiring artists/designers?
a)I was naive about the whole thing when I first started which in a way was good. I didn’t feel overwhelmed. I just gradusted from school, moved to NY, and started showing people my art. And it worked. a lot of our students (I teach at art center) get so stressed out. I totally understand. If I knew now what I knew then. It’s hard not to freak out. But that doesn’t really help things does it? You just got to go for it. have confidence. People like that. This business is forgiving. They like the new kids. They want to see what you can offer. Be inspiring, be excited about yourself and what you can offer. Go in there full of energy and people will listen.
q)Your contacts…
a) www.marktoddillustration.com
626 836 2210
