Clint Wilson (US)

Clint Wilson (US)

Our Gigposters 2 review is going on and I am really pleased to welcome Clint Wilson today, I must say that I am particulary fan of his art and I was really happy to receive his mail back. Unfortunatly for all of us, it took me more time than first expected to have the whole interview online. I must apologize to Clint and give him a warm welcome on the blog !!

Hello, of course as every Crewk interview, first question:  what are we listening to when we come to visit you?

My playlist always changes but at the moment I have St. Vincent's "Strange Mercy" on repeat and I've been listening to a lot from a band called Starfucker out of Portland, Oregan. Los Campesinos! tends to pop up in my playlist a lot.

Can you tell us more about yourself, who are you, where are you from, what do you do?

I graduated with a bechelors in Fine Art in Nacogdoches, Texas with a focus on Advertising and Digital Media and did a lot of printmaking and interning at silkscreen print shops while I was in college. After I graduated I moved to Austin, TX and built a screenprinting shop with my buddy Tim Doyle from scratch. I have been designing limited edition screenprinted gigposters and artprints since 2006 in Austin, TX. I am currently going back to college to earn a degree in foreign language (Japanese).

When did you start drawing?

I think the first time I remember drawing was when I was about 8 years old. I remember trying to draw a cotton ball and making an effort to get the shading on it just right. Ever since then I remember doodling in my notebooks and making crude characatures of my teachers. I'm pretty sure I got caught a few times.

Did you follow any course or did you improve by drawing in the margins of your schoolbooks?

I was required to take 4 or 5 drawing courses in college. One of them was still life the other was advanced still life and then 2 semesters of nude figure drawing. They were pretty tough. I also took an "expressive drawing" course. I took art in high school as well. I think that I didn't start feeling more confident about my drawing skills until after college though, when I started being more selfish and drawing things that I wanted to draw...the way that I wanted to draw them.

Today are you living from your art, or do you do something else for a living ?

I also have a day job. I work for the Legislative Council. Basically I prepare and deliver legislative documents to State Representatives. It is actually a really good gig. The pay is good and the benefits are really good. I would make enough money to live off of my art but I really like to have something that is reliable so that I know that money will always be there.

Are you collaborating with magazines/fanzines, regularly?

No, I would be interested in doing so, but haven't really explored this avenue quite yet.

Where does your influence come from? Is there any artists/graphists you particularly like, what are your influences?

From many, many places. I discovered the Gigposter scene from my friend Todd Slater and I would never have entered this realm of tomfoolery had I not met him, his work is also amazing so I am definitely influenced by him. Most of my influences are coming from friends of mine that I have met that do the same thing as me. Little Friends of Printmaking, DKNG, Hero Design, Rob Jones, Billy Perkins, Methane Studios, Guy Burwell... so many amazing artists that I couldn't possibly complete a comprehensive list.

What are the principal steps in your work ?

I start with sketches and thumbnails most of the time and then move on to drawing finalized images. Sometimes I compose a poster all in one drawing and sometimes I draw many different images and bring them all together in the end. I then scan those images in and color them in photoshop and illustrator. I sometimes have to draw more and then scan that in and sometimes I print out the finished work and then work manually on that and then scan it back in. I then set everything up for press (separating colors and setting up registration marks) and print out vellums to be burned onto screens. I hand print all of my posters and if you know anything about screenprinting each color is printed separately. The final touch is hand signing and numbering each one of them and doing quality control. There are a lot of steps.

Do you do everything by hand or on computer?

A mix of both. It's tough for me to say which one I spend more time on. I usually start with creating by hand and then finesse the image digitally and sometimes I bring it back to doing things by hand after that. Then again the whole screenprinting process is all done by hand to so if I consider that then I would most definitely say that most of my time is spent doing things by hand.

How long does it take you to do a poster?

It varies from poster to poster and it depends on which part of the process. From initial concept to finished design it can take anywhere from 5 hours to 70 hours. The printing part is a little more predictable. It usually takes me about an hour to setup a color and print 100 or so prints and clean up. So depending on how many colors are in the design it can take from 2 hours or so to 8 or 9. So, basically an entire poster from start to finish can take between 10 hours and 100 hours. It really depends on a lot of different factors.

You have a very distinctive style, are you doing only what you feel like or if tomorrow somebody asks you an oil painting with horses running out of water with a sunset backdrop, is it a problem or are you up for it ?

Hahaha, I love this question. I don't think I would like painting horses much so I'd probably have to say no to that. I mostly do what I like. When I design a gigposter I am usually given a lot of artistic freedom, which I love. However, I always try to tailor the artwork to the band's aesthetics. As far as art prints go I definitely just do what I like. I will occasionally pick up other work and fill a client's specific needs but since I have a day job I am content with creating gigposters and artprints the way I like when I have the opportunity.

For which band have you already worked for?

Smashing Pumpkins, TOOL, Neko Case, The Get Up Kids, Tokyo Police Club, MIA, The Cure, Green Day, Alkaline Trio, The Mars Volta, They Might Be Giants, The Polyphonic Spree, Saves the Day, St. Vincent and many more.

For which band would you love to work?

Cibo Matto...this band is really high on my list. I saw that they reformed and were touring so I hope that I get the chance to do something for them. Starfucker, Ra Ra Riot, Blink 182, Wilco, Bright Eyes, The Pixies, Radiohead, Discovery, Sunny Day Real Estate...just to name a few.

Do you choose the artists yourself?

Sometimes. Often promoters need posters to put up and get the word out around town and I am asked to design for them and other times if there is a show I am particularly interested in I will approach either the promoter or the band themselves. Either way the band itself and the management team is involved in the process.

What is the most difficult part in designing a poster ?

When I hit a road block. A lot of times I can manuever myself out of a creative block fairly easily by listening to music or finding some sort of inspiration but there has been a time or two when I struggled to find any mind blowing ideas, if there is such a thing. Also the printing part is hard. It is very labor intensive. In a way it's nice though. Creating a design involves using the brain and printing involves using your muscles, maybe a few brain cells here and there.

You feature in the new gigposters 2 book, how did you find yourself involved in it ?

I have been making gigposters for a good 5 or more years now and I contribute to gigposters.com as often as I can. Clay Hayes, the owner of gigposters.com contacted me and asked me to be a part of it and, of course, I was interested. I highly, highly recommend checking out gigposters.com. If it were not for that website I would not be doing what I do today. I am so stoked to be a part of such an awesome community of artists.

Do you think you are part of a "Graphic Scene", if so who else ?

I definitely think that there is a community of people that do similar types of work...in that sense I could say that it is a graphic scene, and I am glad to be a part of it. The really great thing is that everyone in that particular "scene" seems to have their own style and preferences. It's awesome that there are so many artists that create gigposters and so many different styles of work.

A bit of self-promotion, take advantage of it, it's free, where can we see your work , on the web or in real life?

Well, definitely check out my website/blog http://www.clintprints.com/, I often write posts about each new piece as I release them with links to where you can purchase them. Go there and hit subscribe to receive an email each time I release a new print. If you are interested in checking out what I have already released and purchase something check out Nakatomi. If you would like to see me or my prints in person there are several places to do so. I always do as many Flatstock events as I possibly can (Seattle, Austin, Chicago, Germany) and I sometimes make it out for Renegade Craft Fair. My posters are available at Signed and Numbered Gallery, Salt Lake City, UT, Poster Cabaret, Austin, TX, Parts and Labour, Austin, TX, Insound, New York City, The Flood Gallery, London, and soon will be available for retail in Japan. You can also subscribe *hint hint* to my blog to hear about exclusive art shows that I will have work featured in throughout the year.

The best praise you received lately?

"That's a Fucking rad-ass poster" -some random guy while working my poster booth at Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin, TX as he was chewing a huge chili cheese dog.

What can we wish you for the future?

Good health and much success. You can expect many more posters from me. I look to be well booked up with work for many months at the moment.

Thanks for answering my questions and see you soon on the website !!