Artist of the Week: Julian Callos

I've often wondered how formulated the creative can become. By nature the proces should be free and unihibited, but in reality well done properly it can be much more delibrate. When browsing through the blog of the artist Julian Callos I noticed how well documented his sketches were. It's a method of planning and processing, of slowly growing a spark of an idea into something grand and expansive.

Don't get me wrong art is still at its core a wildly inventive and exploring function that only a few can perfect. However, through watching the piece of Callos unfold I am mezmerized by his process and planning.

Recently, Jullian Callos was kind enough to answer a few of my questions.
Orange Alert (OA): From reading through your blog, it is clear that a majority of your work begins as a sketch. How important is that step in your process? How do you know when a sketch is going to be something bigger?
Julian Callos (JC): The sketch stage is probably the most important part of my process, and sometimes the longest. Because of the way I paint – using washes of ink and acrylic, and outlining in ink – It's really hard to try to paint over mistakes or adjust the drawing; once a color or line is down, it's down for good. So it's really important for me to get the final sketch as close to what I envision for the final piece as possible. I know a sketch is going to be something more when I can tell that it's something I would enjoy painting.

OA: One of the themes that ties your work together are your canvases, or should I say the way you prepare you canvases. Do you paint those in advance of adding images (I mean like ten at a time or something)? Is the background color and texture vital to the image as a whole?
JC: No, I paint everything one at a time. I sometimes have a color palette in mind during the drawing stage, but often it changes once I actually have all my colors out and am ready to start painting. As for the background color, I just try to pick one that would complement the colors of the foreground, or at least one that wouldn't detract the viewer's attention from the foreground action. The same goes for the background texture – something interesting, yet not distracting, is best.

OA: You seem to like to incorporate nature into your work, but unlike others you seems to see a harmony between man and nature. What role do you see nature playing in your work?
JC: Man's interaction with nature has been a big theme in a lot of my paintings for several reasons. First off, nature is simply a fascinating subject; it provides so many different elements as potential subject matter. Second, just seeing how man interacts with nature is like watching a drama unfold: sometimes man is its protector, other times he is the destroyer; nature always fights back or finds some beautiful way to adjust. Ultimately, though, the story is that of man vs. nature (as in my piece, "Fall of the Forest King"), so often the tone of these paintings is melancholy or bittersweet. Finally, my lines and the way I paint are very organic – very rarely do you find harsh angles and sharp edges in my paintings (although I'm exploring ways to incorporate these elements into my paintings in a harmonious way), so using nature as my subject matter seemed, well...natural.

OA: One of the things I find fascinating in your pieces are the limbs of your characters. It make their perceived movements more fluent, how did you come to draw limbs that way?
JC: I guess when I draw figures this way, I'm drawing from my cartoon influences. They are what inspired me to start drawing in the first place. The art and the sense of humor of the cartoons I watched when I was younger, and some of today's cartoons, continue to inspire me.

OA: Do you feel it is important for an artist to share the details of their process with the viewer? Have you received any feedback on your blog?
JC: Personally I think it's great when an artist can give others insight into their thought process and their work process. For me, creating art is a constant learning experience. My work is ever-evolving, but I'm happy to share what I've learned so far, and I appreciate any advice given to me!

OA: What's next for Julian Callos?
JC: Right now I'm painting pieces for group shows at different galleries while doing some freelance illustration work on the side. I'd definitely love more freelance work, so I'm hoping to get some responses soon!

I'm just going to keep growing and learning and making art, because so far the journey has been amazing.

Bonus Questions:
OA: If you could sit down to coffee with anyone (alive or dead) who would it be?
JC: Oh man, I'm not good at this game. I imagine I'd be really shy meeting anyone I admired, even in a hypothetical situation...but I guess I could muster up some hypothetical courage and have some coffee with Kevin Barnes, the lead singer of the band of Montreal. His onstage/musical persona is just so outrageous and fascinating, so I'd be interested to listen to him muse on random topics of conversation in character.

OA: What type of music do you enjoy and who are a few of your favorites?
JC: I enjoy a lot of different music, and my tastes are often changing, but a few of my constant favorites are of Montreal, Sufjan Stevens, and Beirut. I like songs that involve what would seem like too many instruments yet still sound so harmonious.

FOr more information on Julian Callos please visit his website.