The Art of Casey Weldon

27/05/2009 11:09

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Arabella Proffer-Vendetta

Brooklyn based Casey Weldon is an illustrator whose work takes you to a pastel hued surreal world full of toys, animals, dinosaurs, beautiful girls, and some really bizarre hair styles.

Brooklyn based Casey Weldon is an illustrator whose work takes you to a pastel hued surreal world full of toys, animals, dinosaurs, beautiful girls, and some bizarre hair styles. His style floats between mannerism and neo-realism, and while much of the symbolism contains hints of seriousness, there is plenty of room for humour and absurdity in his narratives. There are plenty of affordable prints through his website as well as small orginals. Here is how our little Q&A went down:

What are your materials of choice when it comes to supplies?

Liquitex medium viscosity (soft body) acrylic paints. I like the 2 oz. squeeze bottles they come in. I paint on birch wood mostly, framed out with a cradle. Lately I've been using watercolor paper for the smaller pieces.

How long does a piece typically take? Does it depend on the surface you are painting on?

The size obviously factors the most, but the deadline can speed or slow things up depending on how soon things need to be done. The surface doesn't seem to affect the timing unless it is something I'm unfamiliar with. Three 16 hr days for a 30x20 painting sounds like a good estimate.

How did the collaboration with Daytrotter.com come about?

Sean Moeller contacted me through my site. I had been a fan of their site and can geek out about many of the musicians they feature. He throws me random artists and I try to paint them, though it has been a while since I've heard from them. It was a lot of fun.

Being that you've done a lot of portraits of bands, do you listen to the music the band has produced while creating the work or just in the initial stages for a concept?

If I don't know the musician, I definitely check them out prior to the concept stage. I try to get some of their vibe in there or else relate the concept and composition to something that I have read about them or hear in their music. However after the sketch/comp stage, it's all NPR from there.

Between the cat heads, wolfmen and girls with surreal headpieces, I take you have a fixation with hair?

Good call. I don't know, maybe it is because mine is rapidly evacuating my own head and I have to live vicariously through these paintings. Honestly, I think it is just a bit of a coincedence. The headresses were about celebrating shitty modern culture like an old civilization would. The wolfmen were about celebrating bad style. The kitten hats were a quick perversion of the Davey Crockett cap. Real women hunt kitties.

You've moved from SoCal, to Vegas, and now Brooklyn. How has each been as a working artist?

They are each surprisingly on a somewhat equal plane. In an age of Fed Ex and high speed internet, you can be anywhere and get things done. LA and NYC understandably have a more active art scene to get out and be immersed in, but Las Vegas was very good to me and there are a lot of great artists, buyers, curators, and writers floating around.

What's better, personal work or illustration gigs? Or do you find a happy medium where they can meld together?

Both work fine for me. I like illustration as long as I can set my mind on it. It only gets rough if I have limited input on the concept. Personal work is preferable, but a bit dicey when the first of the month is coming and you are wondering if what you have been working on is really going to pay the rent.

The "Only Child Syndrome" girl done in black & white has appeared in a few of your works, is there a story behind her?

Its my version of the generic big eyed girl. I used it a couple of time to try and symbolize the vintage model of perfect pretty adorable youth.

What kind of ephemera, books or magazines do you keep around that you are interested in, or gather inspiration from?

I have to admit my apartment is lacking when it comes to books and magazines. I wish I had more but the internet has really number on my drive to go out and purchase those items. I spend a lot of time reading random blogs and scouring art and photography sites. New York also provides enough stimulus to get the gears turning. The television, like it or not, is also a good source of starting points for ideas. There is just so much media out there.

Any exhbits coming up we should know about?

I have a some work in a few upcoming group shows at Gallery 1988 in LA and SF, as well as their "virtual" gallery 88.5 online which opens the 23rd. A ways away is solo show in October at the Trifecta gallery in Las Vegas, and hopefully more until and after then.

www.caseyweldon.com

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