Issue One - Cover Artists
Ricky Watts
Ricky Watts has been an artist his whole life, but it wasn’t until his early teens that he found his true passion. Through peers at school he was introduced to graffiti, which would later mark the essence of his desired art form. Later he went on to graduate from the Art Institute of California in San Diego. Since this, he has completed numerous pieces, in multiple mediums, and has had his work displayed in many shows.
When Ricky isn’t making masterpieces or coordinating shows, he’s working a 9-5. During the day he does graphic design and pre-press for a local print shop. But, after work with any and all free time he is drawing or painting. “I have a lot of influences these days. Not just people though. Places I go, things I see or grew up around- life in general,” Ricky said. “Burning Man really opened my eyes to a lot of things this year.”
Open eyes he has and an open mind as well; Mr. Ricky Watts has many definitions of the word “canvas.” You and I would think of a white, blank space; while he might see it as a car, a skateboard deck, a US Postage label- sky’s the limit and the ideas always fresh. One of his most incredible works on a very unusual surface, “Pieces of Me,” is made up of 100 consecutive drawings, each on their own USPS Priority Mail label. The entire work was completed free-style with a Sharpie. When put all together, the piece is 45 feet long.
Painting cars seems like it would be a trying task and a strange assignment, but not if you’re R.Watts. “That one fell into my lap like most ideas. I was approached by some friends of mine to re-paint their truck after some people had vandalized it. I had posted photos of it online and sure enough, a few months later I get approached to paint a delivery van. I've done a few of them now and they've been great publicity for me,” he said.
He makes it look so easy, but is it? Is he ever at a loss for ideas or creatively stifled? “All the time - some days worse than others. I always try to do something else for a little while and take my mind off what I'm working on. Go for a walk, stretch, play online poker for a little while. This usually helps but not always. I've got unfinished paintings that have been sitting around months,” he said.
In addition to his job and his career, Ricky offers a wide variety of freelance services: Graphic design, pre-press and printing, custom art, illustrations, event flyers and posters- just to name a few.
With his favorite medium, spray paint, 14 years experience and endless other creative skills, Richard Watts is an artist you should surely check out. So where will it all go? I asked Ricky what his thoughts were. With Mr. Watts we shouldn’t worry too much. There is no doubt in my mind where ambition like this ends up- there’s no place for it to go but up. “Sure I dream of making it big with shows in Paris and London and then over to New York City for a book signing but honestly, if I make a living doing MY art for the rest of my life, I'd be happy. The wealth and fame are certainly desirable but they're not necessary for me to be happy,” he said.
(interview by: Adrienne Smith, azydoesit.blogspot.com)
Chris Jehly
Chris' myspace "about me" description pretty much sums him up.
"About me:
Mixed media drawing... ...Riding a dead Life Boat thumb wrestling lobsters... ...battling repetious days with a bread stick.... losing bets with deep sea fish... backhanding hampsters... stung by a swarm of jelly-fish... high fructose corn-jehly... ...this is all brought to you by the number "31"... "
Chris is a twenty-something college graduate, letting his life take him wherever his art decides. Currently living in Oakland, California Jehly spends a majority of his time dedicated to developing his own unique style of art.
Below is a interview Chris had with a friend about himself and future art endeavours.
Castles and Catastrophes: Your last couple or art shows have been filled with bugs and fish. What's your fascination with these creatures?
Chris Jehly: Having collected insects for a long time, I saw how they operate, grow, and reproduce. Every little thing about them seeped into my art completely. The fishes, well, I grew up in a family of fishermen so I always used to go fishing and the best bait was always the caddisfly. You always caught the biggest fish with a caddisfly.
C.C: Where has your art taken you, imaginatively?
C.J: I think it’s gotten a lot more psychological. Before it was just making the meanest thing- with the biggest teeth and the most saliva, and eyes bugging out. It was about creating the craziest. Now it’s definitely more about the images and the symbol. Its becoming more and more about meaning, vocabulary and all the things influenced by life- like the jesus fish on the back of somebody’s car, a giant flock of birds, or having some sort of dream and waking up thinking I was having a heart attack you know, its definitely more personal and its getting more forensic.
C.C: What's your inspiration?
C.J: I think the human experience is what really drives me. The human experience is composed of dreams, situations that have happened, your interactions with people- whether it be artistic or sexual, or just conversations. It's a whole bunch of things, parents, teachers, friends, things you have battled, whether it be yourself or other people. Graffiti was an influence, printmaking was an influence, my friends, being drunk, eating too much cake before bed- a whole lot of things, and just deconstructing all of that.
C.C: Who's your favourite local artist?
C.J: That's a really tough one...When I think of favourites I think of people I relate to, or someone I'm swimming in the same pool of water with. It would definitely be either Ricky (Watts), or Alex Pardee.
C.C: What do you think of the Sonoma County Art Scene?
C.J: I think it needs to get out of this whole "Wine Country " theme. I think younger artists need to be featured because there's alot of talented people out there. It's too bad that you get clumped into this whole thing where if your art isn't Sonoma County vineyard, chicken coop, mustard field, imposta thick paint than nobody cares. I think there needs to be more chances for the people not doing that.
C.C: What are you working on now?
C.J: Right now its all the insects I've been painting that look like they're mounted but are in all white shadow boxes. The work started out as being insects and spider that look like they are mounted but when you look closer they appear to be potentially alive. Then it started turning into these weird arrangements of beetles and flies, and creating these relationships that aren't even in nature but just my own twisted sense of where everything goes. I'm putting those relationships in different words and almost creating sentences and captions for these beings inside the boxes. It's all about the "1's" and "0's" that have been here forever and live with constant change.
C.C: What have you been listening to lately?
C.J: Alot of movie soundtracks- "Schindler's List" soundtrack, "The Royal Tenenbaums" soundtrack, alot of ambient music. Especially with the drawing, listening to music I've never heard before and being high as fuck really makes a difference. It moves you in a certain way. I think drugs supplement the drawing, they don't control your hand. You have to know how to draw, to draw.
(interview by: Tiffany Glover, castlesandcatastrophes.blogspot.com)
