1xRUN Thru Interview
Make ‘Em Laugh by N.C. Winters
1xRun: Tell us a little bit about this original piece, is the original still for sale?
N.C. Winters: This was a specific commission from a repeat buyer. He already had acquired a painting from my Abandoned Menagerie show last year and wanted another one featuring Pee Wee Herman. He has paid in full and is quite pleased with the final original. I’m pretty sure he’s not willing to part with it anytime soon.
1xRUN: What materials was this piece created with?
N.C. Winters: This painting, along with most of my recent works, was done with liquid acrylic ink on paper. I make the drawing on paper with pencil and pen, and then start laying in color washes with the acrylic inks. Near the end I incorporate some opaque acrylic white for the highlights and to beef up some of the opacity of certain areas. The white is used straight or mixed with some of the acrylic ink to even out tones was needed. Once complete, the painting is varnished and mounted to a custom made cradled wood panel. The edges are sanded even and painted, and the finished mounted painting is then varnished again before a flood of resin is applied for a final “under glass” effect.
1xRun: When was the piece drawn and created?
N.C. Winters: This piece was started late 2012 and finished in February of 2013.
1xRun: Tell us how the idea and execution came about?
N.C. Winters: As a watcher of Pee Wee Herman as a child, I wanted to capture the zaniness of the comedian. I always thought of him as someone who wasn’t afraid to commit 100% to the comedic performance, a natural full fledged “clown.” I wanted to try and capture the essence of Pee Wee with his iconic smile that borders on insanity.
1xRun: How long did the piece take?
N.C. Winters:Always hard to pinpoint the total amount of time on any given piece, as I work very sporadically, on and off on multiple projects at once. This piece probably took a grand total of two weeks of solid work time, but again, I can never be sure. And the time is never all at once.
1xRun: What is unique about this piece?
N.C. Winters: This was a fun composition to make in that I tried to focus on the most important elements and strip out everything else. The face, the smile, the makeup, the bow tie and a bit of the iconic suit were all that were truly needed to capture Pee Wee’s essence in my opinion. That, and the detailed flourishes that I do so love to make, hopefully gave a bit of a “classical” feel to the composition. I had a lot of fun with this one, which isn’t always the case when it comes to specific commissions.
1xRun: Why should people buy this print?
N.C. Winters: Because they like it, and/or they like Pee Wee Herman. Other than that, there’s no reason anyone ever SHOULD buy anything.
1xRun: Describe this piece in one gut reaction word.
N.C. Winters: Wacky.
1xRun: When did you first start making art? What was your first piece?
N.C. Winters: This is the classic response- since I can remember holding a crayon. I was always drawing, and continue to be always drawing. I started pushing my “fine” art career about nine years ago. That was my first gallery show, and gradually I’ve accepted that I’ve wanted to push my art more in that direction. I can’t remember my specific first piece. It was most likely a drawing of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in grade school. I specifically remember selling to friends and classmates them for a quarter each- my first paid gig.
1xRun: What artists inspired you early on?
N.C. Winters: I was inspired by many of the classical masters, but what really got me jazzed about making images were cartoons and shows like Aeon Flux and The Maxx on Liquid Television. The amazing fantastic imagery that was a little weird, and a little counter-culture really hit the right inspiration buttons for me.
Aeon Flux
1xRun: Do you listen to music while you work? What is your environment like when you work?
N.C. Winters: I often listen to music while I work, but lately have made a switch to try and incorporate more meditation and relaxation into my workflow, in an attempt to calm down my mind. While you’re not supposed to do anything else at all in a traditional sitting meditation practice, I try to do a modified form of internal breathing awarenessing, calming meditation or even work to no music, and focus on my breathing or stillness. It’s been an amazing new discovery in my standard workflow exercise.
1xRun: If you could collaborate with any living artist who would it be and why?
N.C. Winters: There are far too many to list, and they are constantly shifting as I get drawn in to an artists’ current batch of work. Some of my current faves include CRAOLA, Kent Williams, Dan Quintana, Eric Fortune, Dave McDowell, and many, many more.
Craola
1xRun: What was the first piece of art that you bought? Do you still have it? The last?
N.C. Winters: Honestly can’t remember. Sadly, most of the art I buy is prints, which are all sealed up because I’ve yet to ever get around to framing them, I’m embarrassed to say. I honestly haven’t been buying a lot of art lately, though I do try to trade works with other artists whose work I admire. It’s a great way to support each other, get some art while everyone is building their career, and eliminate back stock all at the same time! Probably the last piece I purchased was from Ana Bagayan- a print of her “Silence” painting- inspired by Silence of the Lambs. It’s been matted, framed and hung in a special place of honor in my bedroom.
Ana Bagayan
1xRun: What else have you been up to lately?
N.C. Winters: I have a solo online show coming up entitled PURGE of older unfinished works that I’ll be tightening up in an attempt to clean out the studio of the massive piles of unfinished or half-done work. The remainders of unsalvageable pieces will finally be discarded, and the whole show is an attempt to clear out the clutter of half-executed ideas of works that had promise that I never finished with the goal to get interesting artworks into interested buyers’ hands. PURGE is coming in spring of 2013, with a definitive date/time still TBD.
My 100 Drawings Project is nearing the end. I’m considering releasing all 100 Drawings together as a book through Kickstarter, but not sure yet. Open to thoughts from others!
1xRun: Where else can people find you?
N.C. Winters: – Website – New Facebook FanPage – Instagram @ncwintersart – Tumblr – Twitter @ncwinters
-1xRUN