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3DTotal: Which masters in particular do you attempt to “emulate”?
Kev: Though they would probably turn over in their graves if they knew this, I try to emulate bits from Velasquez, Sargent, Bouguereau, and Turner.
3DTotal: There is a fairly ‘dark’ feeling to your works, which becomes apparent through your use of colour and the mood that you create through expressions, colours, background effects, and so on. Would you say that you paint with your personal feelings and emotions? If so, is it on a subconscious level, or do you think that a part of the artist in the work can help bring it to life?
Kev: As much as I try to deny it, I have to face the fact that we cannot separate ourselves from our work. We put a little bit of ourselves in every painting or drawing, so yes, the ‘stuff inside’ does seep in... As for the darkness of the work, I have always found something sexy about the dark unknown and what can lurk in its shadows. I think that it’s very important for the artist to imbue some of himself in his art, whatever little bit that is. I think everyone is both astonished and afraid of what lurks in his or her own mind and soul, and as mad as that sounds I think that it is also extremely provocative and fascinating. |
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3DTotal: You explained that so beautifully! I dare to ask this; what is lurking in your mind, right now?
Kev: At this moment? Well, there is a bit of an abyss inside right now. There are lots of things I feel that should be in my life that aren’t... I dunno, or I may just be hungry...
3DTotal: You seem to work quickly – between ½ hour and 4 hours for each piece. Does this ability to work quickly come from years of experience, or do you believe that any longer on a piece could lead to ‘overkill’?
Kev: Yes I would agree with both points. I think it is important to emphasise that speed comes from experience. Working fast means working smart. I would not consider myself a ‘speed painter’ by any means, but I can certainly understand that; however it can only be achieved through years of experience. You need to know where to cut corners; if you’ve never done a long piece before, how would you know how to communicate the same amount by presenting less? It is very difficult and I am constantly struggling with that. With that being said, over-working a piece is just as dangerous as speed painting without experience. The best piece of advice is to learn how to do the long, hard, arduous way to focus on the techniques and all the other bits that make a good painting. When you have that at a working level where you are no longer struggling with the technical aspects of the artwork, you can speed up and focus on the expression. I am constantly amazed at the works of speed painters BaronTieri and Vyle. You can see the experience shine through all the loose, seemingly perfectly placed strokes. Brilliant! |
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3DTotal: So how long have you been working as an industry artist?
Kev: Wow, I guess it has been 6 years already!
3DTotal: We’ve talked a lot about your work, so what about you? When you need to re-coop from a long painting session at your screen, what’s your favourite way to relax and regenerate your thoughts?
Kev: Ah, the million dollar experience for an industry artist... The importance of the ‘away-from-work’ life is vital in maintaining your own artistic reservoir. I went through ‘burnout’ early on in my career and I was tapped out dry – artistically speaking. That was not healthy. I was pretty much creatively gone for about a year afterwards. I now understand that, like anything, a balance needs to be struck. Work hard, play hard is the best way to describe it. So now, a focus on building a healthy social life, spending time with friends and family, is very important to me. Travelling, martial arts and getting outdoors is equally proficient in helping me wind down. |
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3DTotal: I am sure many artists suffer such dry spells in their creativity at some time or other – and we possibly even have some readers who are trying to rediscover their passion for art right now, so how did you get yourself back into the swing of things? Can you give us any advice as to how to retrieve what was once lost?
Kev: Get passionate about something again. It can be anything, and not just art related. Sometimes this can be done through the strangest of situations. For example, sometimes I would hear a song that strikes up something in me and other times it is a smell that reminds me of something else. Most of the time it is simply getting inspired by seeing something cool. I can’t quite put my finger on it but I think it’s different for everyone. It gets trickier in a production environment where you are constantly required to be creative (that is the job after all), and it can become quite challenging at times. Sometimes ideas flow out and you can’t seem to get enough of them on paper, and at other times the ideas just don’t come at all. At that point it’s just a matter of brainstorming and asking the right type of questions from the right types of people. Luckily, in a production environment, there are lots of creative people to bounce ideas off. This usually gets the ball rolling.
3DTotal: Thanks so much for this interview, Kev. It has been a real pleasure.
Kev: It is my pleasure. Cheers. |
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