1xRUN Thru Interview
Room With a View by Joseph Crone
1xRun: Tell us a bit about this piece. For instance, what materials were used to create this piece?
Joseph Crone: The materials I used for this drawing along with the others in the series include black Faber-Castell Polychromos colored pencil, a handful of erasers to achieve a variety of textures, a dry brush, and a sheet of 0.05 Dura-Lar film. Typically I use a white thermoplastic board to draw on since the film is semi-translucent and quite smooth.
1xRun: When was the piece drawn?
Joseph Crone: I completed Room with a View this past December to have on hand while the other three in the series made their way out to the LA Art Show with the heavy hitters in Arcadia Contemporary. Having been able to show in the same booth alongside the artists I view as inspirations was definitely a mind blowing experience.
1xRun: Anything immediate you would like us to highlight?
Joseph Crone: The photos I take for reference typically have a small amount of tweaking through Photoshop, but this piece contains the most to date. The photo shoot took place during a cold, rainy night which made the original shots difficult to work and since I’m a nice guy, I didn’t want to torture the model by having her half naked on the fire escape. So I stacked tables and studio easels to replicate the perspective of the original scene in a warm, cozy studio for the model to pose. The angles matched up perfectly.
1xRun: Tell us how the idea and execution came about?
Joseph Crone: As I’ve mentioned above, this piece was a part of a series in a story that I had sketched out. I have a few of the original concept sketches available through here as well. When I was creating the story for the series, I was having a difficult time creating an ending until my friend and fellow artist Lowell Hildebrandt moved into an older building that had just about everything I could work with. We went around the back towards the alleyway and saw the fire escape. I immediately knew in that moment how the story ended. 
1xRun: How long did this piece take?
Joseph Crone: It took me roughly 125 hours to draw, plus the time it took for the photo shoot, digital tweaking, etc. You have to be patient when working with colored pencil on film.
1xRun: What is unique about this piece?
Joseph Crone: The most unique aspect besides being a bit more risqué than previous drawings is the amount of eraser used. One of the downsides of working on film is working it too much, jeopardizing the surface beyond saving, especially when erasing. Once the tooth is erased to a certain point, it is no longer able to pick up the colored pencil I work with. I try to be sober when handling the eraser.
1xRun: Why should people buy this print?
Joseph Crone: Did I mention I’m the father of a two year old? Beyond that, if you’re a fan of cinematic narratives within the realm of film noir, I think this one is for you.
1xRun: Describe the piece in one gut reaction word.
Joseph Crone: Whodunnit?
1xRun: When did you first start making art? What was your first piece?
Joseph Crone: I started to doodle when I was in the single digits, being influenced by my older siblings. Typically I would draw what action figures I had on hand which always seemed to be the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. My first piece that was displayed for the public eye was a drawing of Jessica Rabbit on my desk in elementary school. The teacher wasn’t too fond of it, but I was pretty proud of myself.
1xRun: What artists inspired you early on? What artists inspire you now?
Joseph Crone: The one artist that inspired me early on was Todd McFarlane. I came across a single page highlight that talked about the industry at the time when he was drawing The Amazing Spider-Man which was in the late 80’s. They laid out the facts about his gig such as pay, hours, etc. which you normally wouldn’t read about. This was a pivotal moment in my commitment towards becoming an artist. As for now, contemporary artists that I’m constantly wowed by are Vincent Xeus, Jeremy Geddes, Alexander Timofeev to name a few, but I could sum it up by giving a shout out to individual galleries that contain a multitude of artists that inspire me like Arcadia Contemporary, Thinkspace Art Gallery, Spoke Art and Maxwell Alexander Gallery.
1xRun: Do you listen to music while you work? If so what?
Joseph Crone: When I’m at the drawing table I tend to listen to an assortment of electronic music ranging from the sounds of Deadmau5 to basically anything that the OWSLA label puts out. Soundcloud is my go to. When I’m setting up or breaking down my space, I’ll throw on some ragtime jazz. A bit random, but it’s kind of a ritual now.
1xRun: If you could collaborate with any living artist who would it be and why?
Joseph Crone: There are a few, but out of relevance towards moving my process forward would be Gregory Crewdson. He’s a brilliant photographer that has a cinematic approach towards his staging and I could learn a great deal from that.
1xRun: If you could collaborate with any deceased artists who would it be and why?
Joseph Crone: Without a doubt I would collaborate with Kent Bellows. If you haven’t seen his photo-realistic drawings, do yourself a favor and take a look.
1xRun: What was the first piece of art that you bought? Do you still have it?
Joseph Crone: This is difficult to answer since a majority of my work has been swapped out for prints of my own, but I have finally started to purchase work over the past few years. Jeremy Geddes had a limited edition run of large postcard sized prints which are now framed and hanging throughout my apartment.
1xRun: What was the last piece of art that you bought?
Joseph Crone: The latest piece of art that I’ve purchased is Audrey Kawasaki’s Where I Rest, a giclee print. Beautifully executed as all of her work is and it was great to see the detail up close.
1xRun: Where else can people find you?
Joseph Crone: Website – Facebook – Instagram@josephcroneart – Blog
-1xRUN