In this artist showcase, we bring you the expressive, characterful work of Drew Davies.
Drew Davies, Mr Fizzy Drink
When did your interest in art/creating begin?
Since I was a kid. Painting and making things used to really give me a buzz.
As I got older and had more responsibilities I drifted away from being creative and have just recently got back into it.
Drew Davies, Mr Little Boy Blue
What is your starting point for each piece?
I like to watch people, so that is usually where it starts. I’m interested in everyday people, the ones that just go about their business without fanfare. For me, I always see something in them that ignites an idea. I’ll chew that over in my mind for a week or so then start a piece by spreading paint across the surface. I don’t have any preconceived ideas of how they will be represented, I like that to just come through the work as naturally and honestly as possible.
Drew Davies, Mr Roger
Who/what influences your work?
The process influences my work. It’s a lovely therapy for me.
Drew Davies, Mr Shuffles
What do you hope the viewer gets from your work?
A smile would be good and maybe they recognise something of themselves in the work, something honest, a connection to the everyday.
Drew Davies, Mr Cry Me A River
What do you think about the term Outsider Art? Is there a term that you think works better?
I think it’s a very apt description.
Drew Davies, Mrs Front Seat
What are you working on at the moment?
Three Italian women who walk past my window every morning (very early) who talk really loud. Can’t see it yet but hopefully they will emerge.
Where do you see your work taking you in the future?
I’d like to be able to paint and make enough money to survive frugally but I don’t have very good people skills to be able to push my work, so I’m happy to paint when I can and keep exploring the process.
The latest artist showcase highlights the work and life of Moontain.
Moontain, TITANOMACHIA
When did your interest in art/creating begin?
It’s always complicated to put a precise date on something that is more related to growing roots than a formal decision. I believe we all are interested in creating, it starts with the first thought, the first imaginary world, our feelings, then, we have the choice to expand it into this reality or not, and I always chose to expand them so it becomes my reality. For as long as I can remember, everything, from a stick of wood in the garden to a musical instrument, have been a subject to creation and expression. Art is just one of the many ways to practice an active thought, and it really started to be serious when I was a teenager, like many people, except that I never stopped.
Moontain, THE PATH OF LIFE
What is your starting point for each piece?
A sort of “call” (from the canvas, stone, wood, vibe etc.)… The intuition that something is already here, just hidden in the dimension of “becoming”. It’s not really an improvisation, but rather a cooperation, full of trust, into the ethereal and the unconscious worlds. Something guides the details and moves allowing the whole to be, I observe it as much as I assist it. The pleasure comes with the meaning revealing itself, and since I’m sensitive to synchronicities as a channel of the consciousness, I’m very interested in the interpretation, information and knowledge coming out of it. Very often, discovering characters, frames in the artwork, makes me think of x or y stories, and once I’m looking for a title or an aphorism to go with it, I find connections between already existing myths and the work in front of me. It is a special feeling, to realize, no matter the time or space, it seems that a universal Source is shared eternally with every life’s forms.
Moontain, AURORA
Who/what influences your work?
Influences obviously come from different levels; sensitivity, impregnation, experiences, tastes and feeling. Also, it can be the shadow of a plant caressing a stone or a ray of sun designing a line on the canvas. But mostly, it’s about Pareidolia. It’s the ultimate guide for my work. From a chaotic display of colours or forms, entities are waiting to be discovered and guessed. In the end, what influences me is the initial vibration, no matter where it comes from, it’s filled with the original flow, where nothing is good or bad, just a matter to renew your experience of this existence and go forward.
Moontain, FLOTS DES AMES (Flood of Souls)
What do you hope the viewer gets from your work?
I do not have a specific “hope” concerning what people can get from the work, because it’s up to each viewer to interpret it, with his/her own personal story. That being said, I have a wish, which would be to see the viewer peacefully let go of his/her tendency to automatically connect what they see, with what they once saw. This way, it would allow them to start a journey into some unknown areas of their mind. As they say, if you want to change the world, change the way you look at it. This is how we can renew our self, the answer, and the question itself.
In my works, at first sight, you can think it’s only a sort of accumulation of forms, but if you take the time to dive into it, you discover an abundance of lives, if you dive even deeper, you notice they’re all interconnected, dependent on each other to exist. The lesson to share would be that through a conscious observation of details animating this whole we live in, you can start to grasp the secret of an harmonious way of life. Ultimately, it gives a notion of infinite respect for every incarnation (ethereal, mineral, flora and fauna …) as they all allow us to be.
Moontain, SEMENTIS
What do you think about the term Outsider Art? Is there a term that you think works better?
I guess people need a word to put on something so they feel reassured. I don’t really care about it. As a French person, I kinda liked this word, the way it sounds, but I don’t think it’s the best way to describe this kind of art. Because it just comes right from the inside of a Soul, and if it’s outside of something, it’s only of soulless components of a society. Aspiration of creation is to reveal how things are all intertwined, not separated, so there must be a better word I guess, but words are not always required to share a message anyway.
Moontain, LES PORTEUR D’AMES (Ark of Souls)
What are you working on at the moment?
I always have many artworks in progress (some are waiting for months, we mature in parallel before we meet again). At the moment I’m focusing on sculptures. I like the connection I find in a stone, because it’s so linked with (out of) Time, it comes from a very ancient past, it has seen so many Earth’s events, and hopefully will continue to do so in the future. This organic interaction carries some authentic vibrations, which is relieving, it has a deep meaning to me… in a perfect world we would sculpt caves, mountains, just like the winds and rivers do, and would write each other stories.
Moontain, DREAMANTRA
Where do you see your work taking you in the future?
I don’t see a specific place or state… in arts or in life in general, it’s all about becoming the best version of our self. Hopefully both follow this path of a better understanding and self-development. To transform limits into potential, interactions into changes and being a part of a needed evolution considering the urgency the planet is in right now. This is even more important than simply making artworks, it’s about reminding people (and myself) why we are experiencing this existence, if not for more consciousness, positive echoes feeding a virtuous circle, then it’d mean nothing.
This latest artist showcase shares the life and work of Miguel Angel.
When did your interest in art/creating begin?
My interest began as a child; I liked to draw.
What is your starting point for each piece?
My starting point is surrealism, pop art and sometimes extravagant haute couture attires applied mainly to furry fandom.
Who/what influences your work?
My influence mainly comes from the costumes of designers like Alexander McQueen, or Galliano. Or from works of art like Romero Britto or Anthony Ausgang, and in the furry fandom artists like tamias6, paco panda, bitterkeit, jacato – among many many others!!
What do you hope the viewer gets from your work?
I like when the spectator finds my drawings strange, entertaining and funny – that causes joy and sometimes irony.
What do you think about the term Outsider Art? Is there a term that you think works better?
I see that this term applies to the art of those who did not have artistic academic training, or are naive. I am not sure about that, since it has expanded a lot and it is already art almost anything. In my case, what I do is for a more specific audience like Furry Fandom, but at the same time I want to take this art out of the niche.
What are you working on at the moment?
At this time I upload my work to my page of illustrations “Floky el caballito.” I will also resume an exhibition that I had planned for a long time ago about messenger pigeons that become smartphones so as not to feel relegated with technology.
Where do you see your work taking you in the future?
I don’t know yet, I have a lot of uncertainty about it.
The latest artist showcase comes from Robert Haggerty. If you would like to have your work featured on the site, please send an email to kdoutsiderart@yahoo.com.
“Art is the conscious making of numinous objects.” K. J. Bishop
“As an artist, I engage the grotesque in pursuit of the numinous. Sometimes I think of myself as an archaeologist digging in the bogs of the unconscious, other times as a child convinced that the coat hanging on the door is the boogieman. To evoke the numinous, I use common detritus, discarded plastic bags and dead branches. For my pallet I use the colors of the underworld: the black of dry gangrene and tar, the brown of mud and shit, the white of bone and maggot, the grey of clay and ash. For me a work is finished only when it feels haunted.”
When did your interest in art/creating begin?
My mother introduced me to molding clay and the possibilities of cardboard and Quaker Oats boxes before I went off to school. When I began a second career, teaching Art at an Early Childhood Center, I realized that I was now doing professional what my Mom did instinctively.
What is your starting point for each piece?
The starting point for my work occurs in my praxis or it doesn’t occur at all. When heated, plastic bags expand, contract, congeal and curl. This malleability permits spontaneous images, especially faces, to emerge. Such images are my starting points.
What do you hope the viewer gets from your work?
Simply put, an epiphany. While working on a piece there comes a moment when I can go no further, a moment when the work stares back in its naked wonder and I am left dumbfounded and baffled. I want the viewer to experience that moment, to stop in his or her tracks, startled.
What do you think of the term Outsider Art?
The term covers a broad range of styles and subjects. For me, the question is, “where do I see myself on this spectrum.” When I think about Outsider Art, I see a Venn diagram with two overlapping circles, one representing Outsider Art, the other “Insider Art.” For me the overlap is the sweet spot.
What are you working on at the moment?
I’m working on a piece for a Local Arts Council Exhibition celebrating “The Day of the Dead,” the Mexican holiday when the souls of the departed are believed to walk the earth. For obvious reasons, I seldom participate in exhibitions with defined themes. But this one is too hard to resist.
Where do you see your work taking you in the future?
My work will evolve and change over time. At present, I’m content with what I’m doing and have no desire to go off in another direction. Hopefully, at some point I will acquire gallery representation.
Who/what influences your work?
Alberto Giacometti, “The subject of every work of Art is primordial.”
Paleolithic Venus Figurines, awe-inspiring and less than 10 inches high.
Tribal Art. The first time I saw a Kafigeledjo Oracle, the hair on the back of my neck stood up.
Bog Mummies and other naturally occurring numinous phenomena.
This latest artist showcase highlights beautiful, haunting drawings and zines by Cloud Parliament.
I’d like to be shod
When did your interest in art/creating begin and what is your starting point for each piece?
I don’t recall having an interest: it was always something integral, something I did. When I was about three I used to lift the kitchen drain cover and plunge my feet into the water then pad about making filthy prints on the garden flagstones (parents installed a convex car mirror so they could spot me about to lift the grid!) Then I progressed to making ‘boats’ out of soil, digging holes in the garden and mounding the displaced soil to make a ship around the hole in which I’d sit for hours. I used to see whirls, spirals spinning across the ceiling (eidetic imagery, I think) and lights and shapes and forms and patterns and people and things. I always drew, often with words alongside. The images rise up out of a kind of darkness -not sure how to describe it. Sometimes in the darkness is an eye watching/keeping watch – not always a human eye. Then I know there’s an image about to rise. It’s often sort of spotlit or, if it’s black-and-white it has a filigree fineness to it, a 3D lace-like quality. I try and sketch them when they arrive. Then I work on them, sometimes drawing great blocks of very dark graphite and carving into it with an eraser. Others are fine-pencil to match the filigree origins.
Comb-Toothed Wolves
Who/what influences your work?
I have a world and everything I create pertains to that world, is part of it. I get sudden connections – there’s a whole thing with steam-genies created out of hot food steam – they dissipate as steam does but can be collected and saved from immediate obsoletion in jamjars. When they do revert to water – it’s their blood – and their blood is homeopathy. Pieces of information arise. Alongside images. I love comedy and a lot of my pieces are inspired by the need to create something comedic, wry and awry. But I love Chagall (his colours, his mysticism!), Van Gogh, Paul Klee, Leonora Carrington, Remedios Varo — Eddie Izzard, Ivor Cutler, Lisa Hannawalt, Gabrielle Bell, Dominique Goblet, Kitty Crowther. I have an ever shifting pantheon although no one ever vanishes from it, they may just be given a slight red shift :)
Death having undergone cosmetic surgery replacing their ribs with vertical blinds
What do you hope the viewer gets from your work?
A viewer! Blimey, what do I hope they get from my work? The kind of sudden shift you get when something makes you laugh. A new set of synapse connections… the images arrive, the place they rise from feels real real. Maybe one of the viewers will also recognise something and, who knows, by viewer triangulation we can pinpoint exactly where it is and, together, set off on an expedition.
Critter Tie Seller
What do you think about the term Outsider Art? Is there a term that you think works better?
Outsider Art? It’s fine as a portmanteau description. It’s an inclusion zone for we normally excluded bods and our outre output: it suggests a place of acceptance as long as we accept what we are. Sometimes acceptance is tough since it’s acknowledging an unbreachable gulf. I think it is a term more to enable people who are not outsider artists to feel that it’s okay to gain something from seeing work that isn’t conducting itself with the usual propriety and that can’t be understood by bringing the usual keys-to-the-understanding-of-art to it — it lets them pick the lock. And that’s good.
Bayeux Tapestry
What are you working on at the moment?
I’m working on my Map Battalion — the actual personnel and their effects. I’m — as always –creating Cloud Parliament: capturing the exploits of my troubadors who are a kind of water-larvae and part of the Perpetual Choir, and on bottled (as in liquid in bottles) journeys and the journeywomen/men who bottle them, working in giant fountain pans: I’m drawing the moon’s liposuction scars: and a sequence of binbag mermaids who steal from people who are turning into boats on the moat infested with troubadours…
Mediums as Bolts of Cloth
Where do you see your work taking you in the future?
Oh, that’s a difficult question to place in one’s head and pick at! It’s been a surprise how much joy I get from people seeing my work, although when no-one saw it (and if no one sees it) the work will continue and continue because, to misquote Emily Bronte, I am my flipping pictures/doodles/verbal snippets. I’ve been letting the words diminish. Sometimes these days I have problems speaking. I’ve always thought in images. Now I’m letting them through, not blocking them in any way, I’m growing silent. Except for the sound pieces (which I’m making less of). I think the art (or, rather, the world from which they emanate) wants to be seen. Wants to wander about and establish an embassy in this other, greatly excluding world. It wants a spot of detente. I want my art to take me.
Cloud Parliament’s Zines: (to be read from top right, zig-zag down, and end at top left)
The latest artist showcase comes from Maranda Russell. If you would like a post about your work on the blog, please email kdoutsiderart@yahoo.com.
When did your interest in art/creating begin?
I’ve always had somewhat of an interest in creating art, but as a child I thought I had absolutely no artistic talent because I was often compared to my sister who was a much better artist, and my art teacher in elementary school was definitely not supportive and made me feel like I could never be a good artist. Luckily, in middle school I had an art teacher who showed me that I could improve my art skills and that I did have some talent. It was around that time I started drawing for fun and I have been more artistically inclined ever since. I do tend to go through cycles where I am inspired and make a bunch of art and then I may not make art much for a while, but I always end up coming back to it eventually.
What is your starting point for each piece?
Usually I just “feel” my way through it. I don’t necessarily have a strict process or idea in mind, although I do often have a vague idea of what kind of imagery I want to include, especially if it is a collage of some sort. Paintings tend to be more spontaneous and I have a lot of “happy accidents” that end up turning into pieces I like. I don’t have a particular end in mind for most pieces, I just keep working it until I feel it looks good.
Who/what influences your work?
My favorite classic artists are Van Gogh and Munch. I also have a deep love for outsider artists, art brut, naive art, and abstract expressionism. I get inspiration from all types of places: art magazines, scrapbooking supplies, nature, photographs, advertisements, toys, or whatever else happens to catch my creative eye.
What do you hope the viewer gets from your work?
I hope they find it visually appealing. I hope that they can sense what I was feeling or what feeling I was going after when creating any particular piece. I hope that it makes them feel like they can create art as well. No artistic snobbery or gallery hierarchy here! I just like to express myself and want others to be able to do the same.
What do you think about the term Outsider Art? Is there a term that you think works better?
I like the name personally. We are outsiders from the mainstream, intellectual royalty of the art world, and I am perfectly OK with that. I like being able to use whatever materials I wish, without worrying about whether they are “real” art supplies. I like being able to embrace the eager child in me that is creative and wants to make whatever they want, regardless of what others think about it. I do like the term naive art as well, since I feel I use a lot of child-like curiosity and imagination in my own art. Personally, I find children to be the most pure form of creativity in the world.
What are you working on at the moment?
Whatever inspires me. I don’t have any big plans right now, but I have a lot of art supplies that I like to get out and play around with until I have something I think works. I only make small artworks, from ACEO artist trading card size art (2.5″ x 3.5″) to 9″ x 12″, probably because I tend to have a short attention span and like to be able to finish any particular artwork in one sitting if possible.
Where do you see your work taking you in the future?
Hopefully I will enter and win more art contests and be featured in more art shows. I try to keep track of each country I sell art to, and so far have sold art to collectors in at least 11 countries worldwide. I have also had my art featured in shows in at least 3 countries, and have placed in several art contests for outsider artists. Since I am autistic, I participate in many art shows promoting autistic artists as well.
This latest artist showcase comes from Mike Brieger aka Henry Ohio. If you would like a post about your work, please contact kdoutsiderart@yahoo.com.
Heading to the Barbecue
“Once, when I was seven and living in Germany, I saw a an old anatomical etching in a museum. As soon as I came home I drew the figure from memory with all the glorious blue and red veins and the carefully penned notations. Also when I was seven, I remember drawing biblical scenes in religion class. There was a kid there who held his colored pencils bunched in his left hand, ready for his right hand to choose from. This kid was a real artist you could tell; no time to waste picking pencils up and down from a tray, he seemed to be unwilling to let his connection to the drawing be broken. I went ahead and used the same approach. I didn’t want my connection broken either, there were seven lean cows and seven fat cows to draw, the dream of King Saul.
Scene With a Bear
When I was ten, my mom took me to see a Matisse exhibition at the Detroit Institute of Art. It was the two dimensional cutout shapes of his. Now, I love shapes cut out with scissors, but I hated this show so much I felt sick and asked my mom if we could leave, she was surprised because I usually liked to look at art. I realized then, that I had to protect my eyes. Art for me wasn’t just a matter of looking at everything and then choosing what was good. To look at bad art made me sick.
White Tiger
Another time, after cleaning out an apartment I dumped all my paintings to date in the apartment complex dumpster. I was only twenty one and these paintings weren’t that good. Nevertheless driving by the apartment complex a few weeks later I looked up the long driveway just past the dumpster and noticed that one of my paintings had been fished out of the dumpster and screwed to the fencing of the garbage corral. An appropriate gallery for my work at the time. The painting looked good there.
The Professor and the Nymph
What I have noticed about beginning a painting is that no matter what the idea for the painting or the plan, it all usually gets thrown out the window after the first brushstroke. Having said that, however, several reoccurring themes do appear. Early American history scenes, specifically slavery in the south, as well as current race relations. Also strange, zoomorphic scenes of many types.
Factory Scene
Some influences of mine include: The expressionist paintings of Max Beckmann, specifically the carefully painted works from 1920-21 as well as the later large triptychs, early American political cartoons, Alfred Wallis’ ‘Chateau in the Forest’, Romare Bearden’s cityscapes and interiors with the blocks of color mixed with black and white elements, El Greco’s ‘View of Toledo’, Georges Rouault’s early water colors of prostitutes, all of Bill Traylor’s paintings, Eugene Von Bruenchenhein’s chicken bone chairs, Gerard Richter’s squeegeed black and whites, northwest coast Indian carvings and plains, Indian ledger drawings, the hallucinatory landscapes of Chiem Soutine – and so on and on…
Born Again
The, ‘Outsider’ for me, strictly speaking, is someone who makes art but is not affected very much by the norms of the surrounding art-making culture. Loosely speaking, I would say the outsider is anyone who achieves a good measure of honesty in the work. Spiritually speaking, to be in the groove is what a musician wants. When visual artists make art in the groove I think the terms ‘Outside’ and ‘Inside’ fall away. Also, it’s important to note if the art viewer has an ‘outsider’ or ‘insider’ perspective. I remember seeing a Rosemarie Trockel show. She is one of Germany’s post Joseph Beuys conceptual artists. One of her pieces was a clear plexi box with a couple of white men’s shirts and a few black widow spiders hanging in their webs all around the shirts. Now that moved me. However, the placard said that the tag inside the shirts had a reference to the Marquis De Sade and this was important to understanding the piece. Anyway, I’ve always had a hard time reading when I’m looking at art and wasn’t really able or interested in grasping the concept. So in this case you could say that I was looking at it from an ‘outsiders’ perspective.
Jalopy
Currently I’m working towards completing a small black and white painting every day. I am keeping them small so that I can complete them in a single session. I keep them black and white so I don’t have to suffer the coitus interruptus of squeezing out more paint onto the palette all the time. I can go at it with just a tub of white and a tub of black paint.
Penn and the Indians
Art has been therapeutic for me. I think when you make art there is a very special reorganizing and re-calibrating that takes place within yourself. I am grateful for this. I would like my art to take me to cities that I would like to visit such as Detroit, where I’m from, or New York, where I like to visit, or New Orleans where I have never been. Thank you for reading my thoughts about art.”
This artist showcase comes from Brandon Piper, who has been making creatures, monsters and aliens since he was two years old. If you would like a showcase about your work, please email kdoutsiderart@yahoo.com.
When did your interest in art/creating begin?
Since I was two years old I’ve made creatures, monsters and aliens.
What is your starting point for each piece?
I only start thinking to make one different each time.
Who/what influences your work?
The residents, Javier Campos, Cabello, Floky El Caballito, and my own nightmares.
What do you hope the viewer gets from your work?
To see how people seek the fake reality, and that they understand how I feel inside.
What do you think about the term Outsider Art? Is there a term that you think works better?
Yes because they are so many painters like me, with too much fear of the people and of the world and we don’t know how to make our work public, or how to survive making our work in an honest way. I have always been afraid to sell my paintings because I am afraid to talk to people in person in the galleries, or in the art shops because I’m too shy and poor, and it is illegal to sell work in the street.
What are you working on at the moment?
I always paint every day. I make animated video clips and I make my own music every day (see my music channel by clicking here). I have been making things every day for five years, but I don’t get paid for it.
Where do you see your work taking you in the future?
To be a big producer and make big animations and big painting for all around the world.
The latest Artist Showcase comes from Andy Dykeman, who’s work is inspired, amongst other things, by forensic autopsies and Punk Rock. A fan of the term outsider art, Andy feels that labels can help direct people to their tastes.
Uncertainty
When did your interest in art/creating begin
I have always drawn and written as long as I can remember. Growing up, my family life was uninspired as far as art was concerned but I wrote and drew constantly. My parents were not sure where I came from. I didn’t start playing music until 8th grade and didn’t start painting until college.
But, I loved you
What is your starting point for each piece?
With my newest paintings, I have been using a template that was outlined from various anatomical charts. I spray paint an outline, then start getting messy with house paints and acrylics.
No eye deer
Who/what influences your work?
After my father passed away, I became driven to paint more and have not slowed down since. Working in a clinic, I am surrounded by the human element as well as anatomy charts and biomedical/histological pictures which seem to make their way into my work.
Having spent time completing forensic autopsies has obviously influenced me, as well as great artists like Mikey Welsh, Butch Anthony, Matt Sesow, all of the members of the COBRA movement, Frank Netter, Basquiat and Norris Embry. And of course, Punk Rock is always an inspiration.
Putin was in my anatomy book
What do you hope the viewer gets from your work?
Some people may “get it.” Many may not. If you like it, that’s the one for you. If not, move on. Some people like mustard, others don’t.
What’s up with the new…
What do you think about the term Outsider Art? Is there a term that you think works better?
Outsider art is just a label. And labels usually suck. Especially when it is pertaining to art. But on the other hand, labels do help direct people to their particular tastes.
What label do you put on a band like Slayer? Heavy metal, thrash metal, black metal, death metal, speed metal? Who knows? Nowadays, just type in any of the labels and start looking (or listening) for what you like.
You can go down the rabbit hole and discover whole new worlds with a simple label. Outsider art, Art Brut, Neo-Expressionism, whatever you wanna call my art is fine with me. However, I prefer outsider art since it usually emphasizes the lack of formal art training/education.
Harpy
What are you working on at the moment?
I am currently prepping for a show on 29th March. That means I am painting a ton.
Breakdown
Where do you see your work taking you in the future?
I have no idea. I am always thrilled for new adventures. Let’s see where this goes. In the meantime, I am keeping my day job.
In this post, you can find out more about Will Conway’s ‘Wastes of Ink’ works – what inspires them and what the artist would like you, the viewer, to take away.
When did your interest in art/creating begin?
I’ve always drawn but did a lot of copying things from comics as a child and never thought I really developed a style of my own until I began to illustrate my own words. Maybe I still haven’t.
What is your starting point for each piece?
The Wastes of Ink ones start with picking apart common phrases people say without thinking and making new senses of them. The accompanying image usually springs to mind a little after and I try a few things out. Other times I start with an image that I just can’t leave alone. I get very inspired by techniques and materials but this doesn’t always produce work. It’s just nice to see people who actually know what they’re doing sometimes.
Who/what influences your work?
I grew up on comics and I read a lot of fiction. At any time I have about 30 books on the go. I love slightly macabre illustrators like Edward Gorey and Maurice Sendak. Comics with a visual side like Simon Munnery, Demitri Martin and Ivor Cutler give me a nice boost. I’m recently coming to terms with how influenced I am by pop culture despite pretending to myself that I’m somehow above it.
Some collage work that I’ve been looking at more recently is Hannah Hoch, as well as some more contemporary artists like Isidro Ferrer that my friend Diego recommended.
I’m always really inspired by people I collaborate with, for example Diego (Mallo), Stephen Ong, Marc Olivent and Joe Cook are all fantastic artists. I especially like people who try not to constrain themselves and simply make.
Lastly, I work in a school so I’m always getting inspired by the children and looking for ways to teach the curriculum creatively.
What do you hope the viewer gets from your work?
I want viewers to think, I’d like them to enjoy my strange connections and make their own. I don’t know if my funny ones are laugh out loud but I’ll settle for a snort.
What do you think about the term Outsider Art? Is there a term that you think works better?
We can pick apart any phrase I suppose but I think ‘outsider’ meaning not classically trained or in the west end gallery art world is a useful phrase. I also like the association with mental health. Art as therapy is extremely important, getting what is inside and looking at it ‘outside’ is immensely valuable.
What are you working on at the moment?
I’m making celebrity mashup portraits called slebnamechains and some other little illustration projects but the most exciting stuff is probably my collaborations with other, better artists. The first part of a graphic novel Steak with art by Marc Olivent is nearly finished which is exciting, as it’s been a bee in my bonnet for a while. I’m collaborating with Diego Mallo on a series of pieces called Importmanteaux which are looking very promising. I want to get my children’s book published too but I’m trying to figure out the best way to do the art. Finally, my friend John Parker and I are also making an anthology style zine which will hopefully be very weird.
Where do you see your work taking you in the future?
We shall see but I’m happy for now that it takes me out of my own head for a bit.
![20190308_134202~2[1]](https://kdoutsiderart.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/20190308_13420221.jpg?w=1189&h=1743)
![20190405_152638~2[1]](https://kdoutsiderart.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/20190405_15263821.jpg?w=1754&h=1156)
![20190405_152709~2[1]](https://kdoutsiderart.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/20190405_15270921.jpg?w=1112&h=1578)
![20190405_152717~2[1]](https://kdoutsiderart.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/20190405_15271721.jpg?w=1542&h=1158)
![20190308_134212~2[1]](https://kdoutsiderart.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/20190308_13421221.jpg?w=1185&h=1672)
KDOA 