- When it comes to art, do you think that artists should describe the true message behind their piece of art? Or should it be up to the viewer’s imagination?
-I don’t necessarily believe there should be a message set in stone and that’s all the viewer can think about a certain piece. The message that I had when I was painting it really only applies to me. Yea, maybe I try to push a person to think in a certain direction, but ultimately the painting could bring to light a new message to someone. I think it’s a beautiful thing when something that I paint can make someone think or feel a certain way, whether it’s the same way I feel or not.
- Jean-Luc Godard said it best, “Art attracts us only by what it reveals of our most secret self” Throughout your years of creating art, what have you taken away from it? What life lessons have you learned from creating?
-Every year that goes by I learn a thousand new things. Here’s some that I remind myself all the time.
1. Do what makes you happy otherwise what’s the point?
2. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, even if it hurts sometimes. Plus, who cares? If you’re worried about it, then you’re making art for the wrong reason.
3. Don’t make enemies. You should be more concerned with being friendly and learning from people around you. You’ll get further and better faster.
4. The classic “It’s all about who you know.” Whatever it is you want to do, submerse yourself in it and start making friends. I’m a super quiet guy and am not really a big fan of meeting/talking to new people. I know it’s hard, but get yourself out there. Get noticed and be friendly.
5. Make shit happen. No one is going to do it for you. And, why would you want them to? You can do it, and better anyways.
6. Never give up.
1. Do what makes you happy otherwise what’s the point?
2. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, even if it hurts sometimes. Plus, who cares? If you’re worried about it, then you’re making art for the wrong reason.
3. Don’t make enemies. You should be more concerned with being friendly and learning from people around you. You’ll get further and better faster.
4. The classic “It’s all about who you know.” Whatever it is you want to do, submerse yourself in it and start making friends. I’m a super quiet guy and am not really a big fan of meeting/talking to new people. I know it’s hard, but get yourself out there. Get noticed and be friendly.
5. Make shit happen. No one is going to do it for you. And, why would you want them to? You can do it, and better anyways.
6. Never give up.
- Those are all great lessons, I truly believe 4. is the best advice for people. Get out and network with people, you never know what that person can do for you. Last year at Lollapalooza I saw your artwork for the first time. How was that experience? Did they just randomly contact you to do those murals?
-Funny story… I actually emailed the general email address asking if they were looking for artists to paint at the festival and that I was really interested. Never heard back from anyone. A couple of weeks later, Patrick at Vertical gallery emailed me saying a client is looking for an artist to paint something for Lollapalooza and he mentioned my name and they liked my work. (Lesson #4 – It really is all about who you know.) That was cool, but really hard. The container had corrugated sides so it was hard to paint a face on that. It was a little frustrating but worked out in the end. Plus, doing something for a big festival like that was really cool.
- Yeah I’m sure that was awesome, a festival like that you probably gained a ton of new fans. Paper Crown Gallery, explain a little bit about your gallery.
-Paper Crown Gallery is an urban/street art inspired gallery in the suburbs of Chicago. “but it’s not in the city!”… I know.. I grew up in the suburbs and I always had to go to the city for anything cool like this. So, since it’s my own business I can do what I want! I wanted something awesome for all the people like me that wanted something like this close to where they live. Plus, we sell spray paint and other supplies which the city galleries can’t do. We feature all the Chicago urban and street artists as well as other national artists. We have a monthly show, normally the last weekend of the month. And, it’s huge. You’re not gonna find anything like PCG in the city. Take a peek at our website – www.papercrowngallery.com
- Haha I love the I can do whatever I want line, so tell us, why did you create it and how can artists get their work into your gallery?
-I was always just drawing in my bedroom and never took selling my work seriously. After college, even though I graduated with a degree in Game Art, I did graphic design for a large ad firm in Chicago. We did package design for big companies. I’m ok at design, but it was just never my strong point. They soon started using me to do illustrations for packages (ex: Radio Flyer, Wrigley, Aldi). During this time the industry was getting slammed financially, and illustrators are normally freelance anyways so I was soon unemployed. Hating searching for jobs every day, I decided I wanted to start my own thing and it became what is now Paper Crown Gallery. The best way to get your work shown here would be to get in a group show when we have open registration. We have one every December where we let in pretty much everyone. The rest of the year, we jury all the shows (group shows normally still have open registration), but we like to give everyone a shot at showing their work once a year at our Smalls Show. I created this place for artists as a starting point. If you’ve got talent and fit in with the style gallery we are, we’d be happy to have you. Registration will be announced on social media and our website…probably in October.
- Awesome, I definitely want to come and check out the Gallery sometime soon. What advice do you have for any new artists trying to make their brand successful, or just come up in the art scene?
-I’m the curator for PCG so I look at artwork all the time. The things I look for in someone’s work are subtle things. For example: how an artist draws a line, how they fill in big blocks of color, and how many layers they have put down in certain situations will tell me if they have confidence in their work or not. Whatever you decide to make, have some confidence in yourself and make things with a purpose. Another big thing for me is color combinations. People are going to hang it in their house which means it shouldn’t be an eye sore… It’s ok to get crazy with colors, but before you do read up about color theory. And finally – Try to impress yourself. If your artwork doesn’t impress you, why would it impress me or anyone else?
- Bingo, there you have it artists, ^^ read that if you want to learn how to impress others with your art. What’s next for The Lie?
-I have a couple of group shows planned for the winter including Paper Crown Gallery and Vertical Gallery and then I have a Solo Show at Black Book Gallery (Denver, Co.) that will be opening in April 2016. Possibly another solo show in Chicago next summer, but we’re still talking. We’ll see. Probably some randomness mixed in there too.
The Lie’s Artwork
