Rudy Fig Returns With Merbabes

1xRUN Thru Interview
Merbabes of Marshmallow Cove by Rudy Fig

1xRun: Tell us a little bit about this piece, was it part of a recent theme or series of work you had?
Rudy Fig: I’ve been really in to mermaids as of late.  This piece features two merbabes doing their hair.  I was inspired by a John William Waterhouse piece as well as the Pastoral Symphony portion of Disney’s Fantasia where the fantastical woman centaur creatures are doing their hair.  Hair and getting ready are sort of a weird lady ritual and I like to think mermaids would go through something similar.  I’m not sure what they are getting ready for, but its something magical.  Any time I’m drawing mermaids, I think of the Neverland mermaids from Peter Pan who were lovely and whimsical but also a little bitchy.  You never know with mermaids…

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1xRun: What materials were used for this piece, is the original still for sale?
Rudy Fig:  The original was painted using oil on panel, and it is spoken for, but I have some small framed drawings available.

1xRun: When was the piece drawn and created?
Rudy Fig: I started this piece when I was about 21 and I found it in my garage when I was moving, I got excited about finding it and finished it 4 years later so it is sort of special because of the funny time gap during its creation.   I pretty much reworked the whole piece twice.

1xRun: Anything immediate you would like us to highlight?
Rudy Fig: Only that Mermaids are awesome.

1xRun: How long did the piece take?
Rudy Fig: This piece took about 4 years to finish because I set it aside for a long time.   If I had worked on it consecutively it would have been much less time.

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1xRun: What is unique about this piece?
Rudy Fig: This piece started out as a study and was left aside, when I found it again I was suddenly really into mermaids so I started it up again and couldn’t stop.  It is also a little different from many of my pieces in that it features two characters together rather than a solo portrait style piece.  The mermaid on the left is a study from a John William Waterhouse piece that features a mermaid combing her hair.   The dark haired girl on the right is.

1xRun: Why should people buy this piece compared to your other work?
Rudy Fig: Everyone needs some mermaid magic in their life.

1xRun: Describe this piece in one gut reaction word.
Rudy Fig: Mysterious.

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1xRun: Tell us about Noctilucent Redezvous, is this show all new work?
Rudy Fig: Noctiluscent Rendezvous is my most recent body of work.  The pieces are available at the Auguste Clown Gallery in Melbourne Australia.  It is all new and themed around the idea of a magical midnight tea party.  The paintings represent all the weird guests, some of them are alien babes, some are coquettish human girls and some are animal hybrids.

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1xRun: What was the prep like for the show?
Rudy Fig: The usual!  The painting process is fun, inspired and organic.  The packing, shipping and tracking  work overseas is always a little crazy until you know everything has arrived where it needs to be.   Auguste Clown did an awesome job presenting the work, they always do!

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1xRun: What was the reception like and how did you like Australia?
Rudy Fig: I didn’t attend the reception in person; I stayed home with my two year old!  :D

1xRun: What have you been up to this summer?
Rudy Fig: Lots of stuff! Making art, visiting crystal caves, sewing tiny doll dresses, making my hair funny colors, wallowing around in my studio. I took some classes and played with my son a lot. I did a live painting with the Walker art center’s Cat Video Festival which was a big highlight of my summer. I also have been designing some paper dolls which will hopefully be done this month.

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1xRun: What else is on your schedule for the next 2-3 months?
Rudy Fig: Lots of things!  I’ll have a small piece in the Lil’ Bub art show at Spoke art, as well as new pieces in several other group shows.  I’m also going to spend a month focusing on ceramics which will be a bit of a deviation from the “flat” stuff.  I also have a mural project and some curatorial stuff in the works… and a ton of custom Blythe doll commissions that I need to catch up on.

1xRun: Where else can people find you?   
Rudy Fig:  WebsiteBlogFacebookFlickr  – Instagram + Twitter @RudyFig

-1xRUN