MANTIS ART

S~ “What is your most dominant characteristic?”

Andrew- "I am a very patient person...sometimes to a fault. But there's nothing wrong with flying off the handle on occasion!"
 

S~ “Who would you say are your heroes and inspirations?”

Andrew- "My friends and family are the ones who keep me grounded and inspire me the most...there's nothing better than having good people support and motivate you on a daily basis...I'm truly fortunate."

S~ “Where do you find inspiration?”

Andrew- "I find myself inspired by the things I see everyday...because they may not be there tomorrow."

 

S~ “Can you describe your work process and what media you use?”

Andrew- "My primary medium is oil painted photography. Each picture I shoot and and print becomes my canvas. The original way to colorize photographs before color film was with oil paint. I use a similar technique with the same materials...the results keep me motivated every time! I tend to work abstractly when I'm illustrating, painting, sculpting or making short films...whatever works!"

S~ “How do you feel about a structured art education?”

Andrew- " I did the whole art school thing for a couple years...wasn't for me."

S~ “What do you hope to accomplish as an artist?”

Andrew- "My goal as an artist? I'll keep making art and tell you when I figure it out. Right now, I hope to never loose the drive to create and bring new ideas to the table..."

S~ “What do you consider your greatest achievement to date?”

Andrew- "This past summer, I organized a group of people to participate in Artopia 2010, an all day music and arts festival in Seattle's Georgetown neighborhood. We painted for 10 hours to the music of five seperate bands and, had it not been for the asshole who kicked us out of his parking lot, would not have been able to mural a van that afternoon on Airport Way in front of 200 people! It was amazing...the stellar amount of support from audience and the festival itself was huge! "

S~ "FYI, My employer Seattle Weekly hosts this festival every year and 2011 it is going to be in a new spot...July 16th. My crew will be painting live there and it's going to be a blast!"

S~ “Do you prefer collaboration and painting for an audience over studio painting?”

Andrew- "Live painting has created a tangible venue for showing off the artists' indivdual process and gives spectators an idea of how much energy and respect we have for what we do. Personaly, I have gained more confidence in my work by being in a live setting...it's fantastic. But I do love my alone time to work on my private studio work!"

S~ “Who are some of your favorite artists to collaborate with?”

Andrew- "Collaborations are the tops! They present themselves in so many varying ways...from film to music to canvas...Whether or not everyone I collab with considers themselves an artist is secondary...Here are a few, in no particular order: Ryan Henry Ward, Dave Bloomfield (Starheadboy), Brandon Baker (Narboo), Xavier Lopez, Jr., Maggie Harbaugh, Max Perry, Jason Reid, Darren Lund, Colin White, Camp Jones and Ian Connors."

S~ “Where can your fans go to see your work in person?”

Andrew- "I've been focusing on the mural and public side of art as of late. The Sloop Tavern in Ballard has a piece of mine in the bar along with a 70x12 foot mural on their building! Also, Ballard, Loyal Heights and Delridge Community Center's all display my work. I have a current show at Conor Byrne Pub on Ballard Ave and will be contributed to Art Farm VII,  Dec. 10th and 11th."

S~ “Where are some places on-line that your fans can view your work?”

Andrew- "My site is Mantisart. I have links to my Flick, YouTube and Vimeo accounts there. I've been involved in film making for the past decade with Reidster Reid Productions...a plethora a short films and oddities...fun viewing for all those fans!"

S~ “You’ve recently published two books, how can your fans purchase those?”

Andrew- "I've been illustrating a medical book with my dad (the author) which covers swallowing and a number of neurological functions therein...crazy! My personal book, 'Mantisart's Perceptual Oughts', is a piece I self published on blurb.com. I'd been seaching for a forum to self-publish for the past five or so years and I stumbled upon this...perfect! Purchase is available through a link on my website, Mantisart.com."

S~ “Where in Seattle’s current art scene do you picture yourself?”

Andrew- "All I know is that I feel that I'm currently producing some of the best work I have ever generated...where all this falls in the grand scape of the Seattle art scene, I have no idea. It is amazing the number of prolific and talented artists whom I have been lucky enough to surround myself with. There is a great amount of respect and support from every angle that, as a whole, Seattle as and arts community is at the top of its game...and I'm right there leading the charge."
 

S~ “Where do you hope to be in 5 years?” 

Andrew- "I answered this question five years ago by saying that I wanted to be creating new ideas in art that are original and innovative. I suppose this hasn't changed. Five years is a ways off...I think I'll stick with where I hope to be tomorrow...and I have no idea!"