Interview with an Artist
Ever wondered where a band gets the artwork from? Well, now you can hear it 'staright from the horse's mouth' so-to-speak. See the CD covers above! I had had the pleasure of chatting with bradfield, the artist of Effigy's "Caught" CD cover and got to ask a few questions of my own.
Q. How did you get chosen to do the cover artwork for Effigy's latest single "Caught"? Did you actually know who you'd be doing the work for, or were you just handed a brief that said something like "Draw a picture of a cartoon cat"?
i got the Effigy job via Black Widow Graphics, a friend's company who do a lot of cover/poster/etc design work for the music industry here in Melbourne. Elly (THE Black Widow!) has used my cartoon skills for almost ten years now, she knows my style so I guess she just figured i was the man for the job.
i'm always told which band the art's for, but the brief was pretty skeletal - i was given a copy of the lyrics (no demo was available at the time as they were still recording) and told there should be some reference to siamese cats and a fish! they also wanted a cartoon image that was a little darker than cutesy, that had something a little disturbed about it without just being a gross-out. the first few roughs had tom'n'jerry style cats torturing each each other and stuff, pretty overtly warped, but the final illustration is more ambiguous.
the band were recording the album in the city, so i went in with Elly and met them...the only image i'd had of them was decked out in frilly shirts so i was relieved to find them being t-shirts and jeansters. we showed them the roughs, they agreed on one and i toddled off home to paint it.
Q. Are you a professional graphic artist (is that what you call yourself or something completely different)? What sort of art background / training do you have?
i am a professional creative shapeshifter and funky space elf! my passion is creativity in general, especially applied to inspirational education and self-realisation. my underlying skill is in being able to absorb someone else's basic style, idea, conceptual situation or vision and translate it into the visual (or into music too). i work best in collaboration with others, where i can spark off their raw data and expand ideas.
i've always had an interest in the esoteric, in philosophy and psychology and other processes of self-expansion, so i've applied this to things like personalised symbol and tattoo design, fantasy portraiture, art therapy workshops, shamanic mandala paintings etc..
i'm basically self-taught - started drawing obsessively for no (apparent) reason when i was four years old and focused on cartoon art until adolescence. i learn best by trying things out for myself - no art diplomas here! these days i'm returning more to my cartoon art because it's so much more spontaneous and refreshing than sticking my head in my navel. and i'm also very passionate about creative education - cartooning is a perfect language for showing kids that learning can be easy, irreverent and pleasurable.
Q. Have you done any artwork for bands? Any artwork for other sources?
i spose i'm overlapping questions a bit here - i've done heaps of logo/lettering/poster/flyers etc art for bands over the years (we're talking almost 20 years i've just realised!), but it's mostly been obscure smaller stuff - the first 'real' CD covers i've done have come this year - Effigy and a Melbourne techno outfit called U.R.B.
too much other art to mention - ranging from commercial T-shirt design in the Whitsunday islands, to newspaper cartooning, to theater design, tattoo design, fluoro body art at festivals and raves, a few private exhibitions......i love to plunge myself into a particular art 'flavour' and capture the essence of its style, then add it to my bag o' trix.
my ambition is to be a total embodiment of creativity and be able to apply that to any form, visual, music, performance, conceptual - a renaissance man, some might say - the fact is, creative energy is pure and unfathomably infinite, and at our fingertips every moment of our lives! life itself is a work of art, so why not experience that as diversely as we can?
(ahem - i'll get off my soapbox now..)
Q. Are there any other projects you're working on now (or in the future) you can tell me about?
re projects:
in 1999 i plan to focus on my 'Cartooning 4 Kids' drawing workshops in
primary schools - i've been building up a little reputation for two years
and now it's time to go the hog. in 2000 i want to get major sponsorship
to take it on tour to remote schools across Australia, building a creative
internet trail of kid's art en route.
also in 99: i want to start publishing my own funky toon art as groovy sticker books/calenders/activity box etc..thru my business "Heart Goes BOOM!'
and maybe there's some room to record some music even...
and of course The Force has an uncannily warped sense of humour, so who knows what's really in store?
all shall be revealed.....
Well there you have it. If you want to see more of what bradfield's been up to, you can check out his website Toonzone.