Outrun!
The license plate reads LM1008...my initials and the month and year completed. You can’t get any newer than that but the idea came from a phone conversation that happened several years ago with the art director of one of the illustration directories. ..."You've got this otherworldly, very brainy, very intelligent quality to your work…” I thought she was complimenting me, then she continued… “but our clients would never get you. Our clients want simple, generic images like coffee mugs and flowers not…this…whatever you’re doing.” “This…whatever I’m doing” I said, “is called Lowbrow or Polynesian Pop…it has a lot of names…but those who engage in it are among some of the most well known, highest paid artists in the world.” I listed off about a half dozen names off the top of my head including Mark Ryden, Shag, Robert Williams, Todd Schorr and Coop. “I don’t know who any of those people are”, she said. “That’s a shame”, I replied.
After a long silence she chimed in, “you know what is really trendy right now? Garlic Cloves…oh, and images of two guys shaking hands, like guys in business suits. Our clients eat that stuff up! If you have more images like that in your portfolio you can get into Money magazine, Better Homes and Gardens…all kinds of great stuff!” “Those publications really don’t thrill me”, I stated flatly.
“And you marked in the keywords that there are animals in your pieces and I don’t see any animals at all.” I was trying not to get pissed at this point. “Actually, you see there I have jellyfish, frogs, bugs, octopus, toucans just on that one tear sheet alone. My work is filled with animals.” “Oh. Oh, but bugs and jellyfish aren’t animals, are they?” “Yes, they are”, I told her. She couldn‘t see me rolling my eyes but I‘m sure she heard my tone. “Ok, maybe you‘re right but…that’s not what our clients want to see as animals. They want kittens, dogs, horses…normal stuff like that. Can you do more normal stuff like that?”
“Maybe there’s a problem with our clients”, I said. “That could be right”, she replied, “but they pay our bills so we sort of have to do what they want. In order for you to be marketable in this field you need to dumb your work down…A LOT!”
For some reason still unknown to me I began to think about the old 50’s era alien invasion movies…but somehow a bit more modern, dark and gritty…and how I wanted to high tail it out of this situation at top speed. “How about a bunch of UFOs chasing after some suped-up muscle car”, I chimed in. “That’s pretty dumb, ain’t it?” After a long pause she said “I don’t know. That doesn’t sound quite…our speed. And no one likes UFOs or cars anyway…I mean…who likes that kind of stuff?”
“We’ll see”, I said.
We’ll see.
Now, years later as the conversation resurfaced in memory, I hated to admit that she was both right…and wrong. In spite of working hard and spending a lot to get my work into various illustration directories, my phone wasn’t exactly ringing off the hook to give me art jobs. Yes, my style was a bit too odd for the average client but a couple of planes crashing into the twin towers helped shatter the economy…and the dreams of even some of the “normal” generic artists out there. But the artists I listed as inspiration years ago are still among some of the most highly revered artists today. There is a definite market for this work, I though as I was drawing up the sketches for this current piece but, as the cliché goes, I was barking up the wrong tree. Money magazine, Better Homes and Gardens? What would they want with me…and more importantly, what would I want to have to do with them? It was time to chase a better set of clientele. This image harkens back to the old pulp movie posters. Its stark, gritty and lurid. I suppose the ‘69 Charger in the foreground (because Brock Samson from The Venture Bros. has one!) symbolizes me high tailing it outta dodge and the alien invasion destroying the backdrop can be…conformity, oppression, fear, the past…the present. This painting marks my reentry into the art scene and it serves as my big, high speed, adrenaline fueled fuck you to anyone who’ll try to set me back! I’m coming back into the art scene, and this time…I’m doing it my way!
See this painting and many, many others in person at my art opening…Sat. Nov 8th, 8-1030pm…a solo show called Exotic-Atomic…The Art of Lino. Zero Zero Gallery. 1525 Summit Ave. Seattle, WA. Thanks for reading. It means a lot. Before you go tell me…who likes UFOs and cars anyway?
Outrun!
The license plate reads LM1008...my initials and the month and year completed. You can’t get any newer than that but the idea came from a phone conversation that happened several years ago with the art director of one of the illustration directories. ..."You've got this otherworldly, very brainy, very intelligent quality to your work…” I thought she was complimenting me, then she continued… “but our clients would never get you. Our clients want simple, generic images like coffee mugs and flowers not…this…whatever you’re doing.” “This…whatever I’m doing” I said, “is called Lowbrow or Polynesian Pop…it has a lot of names…but those who engage in it are among some of the most well known, highest paid artists in the world.” I listed off about a half dozen names off the top of my head including Mark Ryden, Shag, Robert Williams, Todd Schorr and Coop. “I don’t know who any of those people are”, she said. “That’s a shame”, I replied.
After a long silence she chimed in, “you know what is really trendy right now? Garlic Cloves…oh, and images of two guys shaking hands, like guys in business suits. Our clients eat that stuff up! If you have more images like that in your portfolio you can get into Money magazine, Better Homes and Gardens…all kinds of great stuff!” “Those publications really don’t thrill me”, I stated flatly.
“And you marked in the keywords that there are animals in your pieces and I don’t see any animals at all.” I was trying not to get pissed at this point. “Actually, you see there I have jellyfish, frogs, bugs, octopus, toucans just on that one tear sheet alone. My work is filled with animals.” “Oh. Oh, but bugs and jellyfish aren’t animals, are they?” “Yes, they are”, I told her. She couldn‘t see me rolling my eyes but I‘m sure she heard my tone. “Ok, maybe you‘re right but…that’s not what our clients want to see as animals. They want kittens, dogs, horses…normal stuff like that. Can you do more normal stuff like that?”
“Maybe there’s a problem with our clients”, I said. “That could be right”, she replied, “but they pay our bills so we sort of have to do what they want. In order for you to be marketable in this field you need to dumb your work down…A LOT!”
For some reason still unknown to me I began to think about the old 50’s era alien invasion movies…but somehow a bit more modern, dark and gritty…and how I wanted to high tail it out of this situation at top speed. “How about a bunch of UFOs chasing after some suped-up muscle car”, I chimed in. “That’s pretty dumb, ain’t it?” After a long pause she said “I don’t know. That doesn’t sound quite…our speed. And no one likes UFOs or cars anyway…I mean…who likes that kind of stuff?”
“We’ll see”, I said.
We’ll see.
Now, years later as the conversation resurfaced in memory, I hated to admit that she was both right…and wrong. In spite of working hard and spending a lot to get my work into various illustration directories, my phone wasn’t exactly ringing off the hook to give me art jobs. Yes, my style was a bit too odd for the average client but a couple of planes crashing into the twin towers helped shatter the economy…and the dreams of even some of the “normal” generic artists out there. But the artists I listed as inspiration years ago are still among some of the most highly revered artists today. There is a definite market for this work, I though as I was drawing up the sketches for this current piece but, as the cliché goes, I was barking up the wrong tree. Money magazine, Better Homes and Gardens? What would they want with me…and more importantly, what would I want to have to do with them? It was time to chase a better set of clientele. This image harkens back to the old pulp movie posters. Its stark, gritty and lurid. I suppose the ‘69 Charger in the foreground (because Brock Samson from The Venture Bros. has one!) symbolizes me high tailing it outta dodge and the alien invasion destroying the backdrop can be…conformity, oppression, fear, the past…the present. This painting marks my reentry into the art scene and it serves as my big, high speed, adrenaline fueled fuck you to anyone who’ll try to set me back! I’m coming back into the art scene, and this time…I’m doing it my way!
See this painting and many, many others in person at my art opening…Sat. Nov 8th, 8-1030pm…a solo show called Exotic-Atomic…The Art of Lino. Zero Zero Gallery. 1525 Summit Ave. Seattle, WA. Thanks for reading. It means a lot. Before you go tell me…who likes UFOs and cars anyway?