Larry West is an exciting artist grooving in Philadelphia. Sick of the over reaching claw of local government, Larry ran for Mayor in 2007 and although he didn't clinch the position, he shook things up quite a bit, which was no doubt his intention. His art is provocative and daring, often crossing political party lines. He wants us to feel and above all THINK...complacency is not an option when you are viewing Larry's work. 1. When did you first realize you were an artist?
Call it modesty, or call it being honest, but I still don't consider myself an artist. Artists tend to go out, push boundaries, do crazy stuff, and challenge convention... but then again, that's exactly what I've done my entire life. So I guess since I was 10 when I picked up a pencil and started doodling for fun. Sometime in 7th or 8th grade (11 - 13) I decided to really do something with it, but honestly, I'm not sure.
2. Could you tell us some more about your work?
This has to be one of the weirdest questions I ever get because I never know how to answer it. I'll focus on the technical aspect because it tends to scare people the most. This may scare some folks, but I like to use an ancient tool called a "pencil". A lot of artists these days seem to have completely abandoned the traditional method of using a pencil to even sketch, but me? I love the thing! When it comes to Illustrations, I tend to start with a sketch, do a pencil finish, ink it, scan it into my computer, and color it there.
3. What artists have influenced you, and how? Always one of my favorite questions! Peter Chung may have the biggest single influence; he created Aeon Flux and despite not understanding any of it when it came out, which was when I was 11, it basically changed every rule of drawing and creating the human form, as well as challenging the perceptions of reality. Jhoen Vasquez, as cliché as it seems to mention him, was an influence too. Great humorist, lots of fun and introspective work... it inspired a few of my more scary pieces. Finally, and I'm going to count her because she was an artist in a sense, Wendy O. Williams, outsider artist and front woman for The Plasmatics. She basically influenced me because of how outrageous she was and how she basically did what she wanted and made it big because of it.
Other than them, I'm always checking out new artists and styles. I'm always counting more and more people into my inspirations.
4. What other interests do you have outside of painting/art?
I love playing the guitar! Sometimes drawing and doing art can be so stressful because of either pressure you put on yourself, harsh criticism you may have gotten from someone... none of that exists when I play the guitar. It's important to have a creative outlet outside of what you normally do because you get to be creative in a whole new way without any stress. I run an internet-only metal and punk radio station called Mark Skull Pirate Radio where I do periodic live shows, I love to read comic books (Bone, Preacher, and Cerebus are my favorite series!), reading anything by George Orwell, and just researching stuff about Nazi's and Satanism and really anything kinda creepy and weird that I can.
5. What inspires you to do art and how do you keep motivated when things get tough in the studio?
Anger tends to dominate, but it's actually a really large mix. Recently it's been a lot of political and propaganda art, stuff done during Communist Russia, the Nazi's, WWII art from the US... I'm starting to study Horror and Sci-Fi Poster art. In the beginning it was really any animated cartoon I could watch, from "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?", "Cool Worldâ€, "Heavy Metal", and a few others. "The Neverending Story" did a lot.
Motivation is the hardest thing. I spent over a year and half not drawing anything and it’s only been since January that I really picked up a pencil again. Sometimes it can just boil down to the saddest thing; needing money to eat. But the best motivation I've ever had was just other artists. Whenever I see an artist’s work that I like, I go, "Wow, that's awesome! What are they doing that's so cool that I'm not?!" Checking out a lot of artists is a great motivator!
Right now, there's an 11-year-old kid who started following me around. He plays the guitar, draws, and skateboards. He's starting at 11, and I didn't even pick up a guitar until I was 20! There's always someone willing to take your spot the second you trip, and for me, that tends to be a good motivator
6. How have you handled the business side of being an artist?
Well, not as well as I had hoped so far. I think it's important to know early on that, even if you do expect to fail from time to time, it still stings when it happens. I had a rocky start because I was young, naive, and didn't know what I was doing. Meanwhile, I have a friend who now gets work without having to do a ton of self-promotion, and I'm happy for him. Handling the business side of things has its ups and downs. Right now, I'm going through a rather quite phase in my freelance work (I work full time at a company doing graphic and web design) so it's annoying not getting the clients I want to just do things like go to a show or buy a CD or go out to dinner.
But I do have advice for anyone out there; head over to Freelance Switch. They have more great articles and advice than I could ever give! But a few good rules that I live by: Don't devalue your work (it's worth something to you, as well as time!), never say anything unprofessional about another artist online or in person (I've had someone do that to me, it wasn't nice) and always treat your clients as professionally as possible. Those 3 basic rules will solve 90% of all your business problems.
7. Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
On a throne somewhere with 2 naked blond girls tied to it with a big pile of cash behind me.
Oh, you meant in reality, didn't you? I plan on pursuing as many avenues of art as possible and, by the time I'm 33, I want to have at least started doing animation, and have a line of comic books, toys, sculptures, and other stuff in my command. I really see myself becoming the next Walt Disney, at least in some form. I always was inspired by the man and, while my art isn't as cute as his, I still think I can do a lot with it! It's always about applying yourself and making connections, isn't it?
8. What's the best and worst part of being a full time, working artist?
I'm going to answer this as both a freelancer and a full-time in-house artist: The best part is doing what you love, and the worst is always having to be "on". If you’re not having a good day, you can't exactly let it go if you've got a bunch of projects to do. But you do get to do something you love and enjoy for a living, though!
Freelance-wise: Best is making your own hours and being your own boss, and the worst is the downtime... unless you come up with a million awesome ideas to do for yourself in the meantime.
In-house wise: Best thing is I'm making a living off what I love and the company I work for is great and wonderful (a rare thing to say in this day and age!) and the worst is when I have an “off-dayâ€.
9. What advice would you give to an artist just starting out?
First piece of advice: Be careful of advice. No, really. When you’re starting out, anyone and everyone who draws, does graphic design, or anything relating to art at all (pro or hobbyist) is more than happy to give you all the advice in the world. I've learned early on that not everyone knows what they're talking about! No examples, but I will say that it nearly cost me a lot of money and I lost a lot of possible clients because of it.
Other than that, just have fun! To me, the most important rule of art is to just have fun! When you don't enjoy doing art anymore, take a break if you can and go back to it. But as long as you enjoy what you do, you’re already on the road to success!
10. What are the most important mentors and sources of inspiration in your life?
Hands down, my mom was my most important mentor. When I look back at what I was trying to pass off as a comic book when I started college and she still encouraged me to draw... wow, just wow! She was a wonderful woman (she passed in 2005) and did more than anyone else to inspire me; she created me. Second is my high school art teacher, Mrs. Shupack. She let me go into the art room before class and let me do just about anything I wanted. I had a ton of fun, and while I was still only OK when I left, I learned more about art and creating it from her than anyone else. I went to Catholic School for 13 years, and after the first 9, I decided to just become a Satanist, Satanic Bible and all that. My largest inspiration is really just religion in general. Right now, I'm working on two series; one about sick nuns and one detailing my personal thoughts on religion (which is actually a bit weightier than you would think).
But the reason I picked up a pencil and even started sketching in the first place was because of this girl I had a crush on for about 10 years. When she told me she was dating someone when I was 13 (I knew her my entire life), I was heartbroken. One thing led to another, and I started drawing to try and escape. It's been my home ever since.
11. Every artist has a personal ‘creative process' ... explain yours.
I guess all I really can say here is that I really don't have one. I'm very much right-brained; I tend to just rely on random ideas. I'm very intuitive and just let ideas come. If I get an idea I like, I'll do a thumbnail, then my pencils, inks, scan it in, and color it. I never know when an idea is going to come, so I always carry a sketchbook.
12. How long does it take for you to do a piece of art?
On a good day, 3-5 hours. Bad day... well, a few days, weeks, months.... years? I tend to work fast because I enjoy it. ADD can be a good thing sometimes, I guess. My pieces do tend to have a bit of weight and meaning to them, though. On average, a piece takes me about a week to do since I like to take my time and double-check things.
13. And of course what are your political views?
McCain sucks, Obama would destroy America, the Republican party is evil incarnate, the Democrats suck, and I don't exactly like Bob Barr from the Libertarian Party that much based on his past voting record. It's sad when even the Libertarian Party's candidate sucks. The Green Party has Cynthia McKinney, and she actually is the best of the 4 largest parties in this country and the only person I currently would vote for.
Overall, my political view is that democracy is great, but carrier politicians, the people who think they deserve to be a politician for life, are ruining America. They spend decades in office and, in the end, most of them hurt Americans rather than help them. Best examples I can give are the politicians in Philly, namely Darrel Clarke on City Council. This idiot has been in office for longer than I can remember, and basically became so obsessed with "protecting Philadelphia", he's become a Czar! He wanted to ban displaying burning crosses, nooses, and swastikas, which I think is nuts! If you’re banning things you don't like, tough! This is America, pal! Not only that, but he also wanted to pass legislation stating that the city would track, and I'm not making this up, track every time you bought a marker! He did it to make sure "graffiti use went down."
Career politicians are like the common cold; you get them periodically, there's a few cures, but they always seem to come back. I don't believe in political parties, just good hard-working folks who want America to be better.
Larry West. Check out more of his work here and don't miss the first in his new line of custom sneaks
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