Dan Springer (CDN)

Dan Springer (CDN)

Ok, I know I promised many times before not to do it again, but, sorry guyz, I will take this little space before the interview, to tell you about my "not so easy" life once again. So, as usual, I was about to put Dan interview online, I just had to choose some nice pictures to, illustrate the text. And this is where the problems begun ! I went to Dan's blog to pick few other things than just gigposters and then....oh my God...it's been a nightmare, there was so many cool little drawings that I have been completly unable to choose anything...Tabernac' Bloody Canadians, I finally closed my eyes and grabbed some drawings randomly... 

Hello, of course as every Crewk interview, first question: what are we listening to when we come to visit you? Most likely Cock Sparrer or The Descendents will be on, but I am all over the place... Vince Guaraldi jazz, stoner rock, garage... pretty much anything but country and top 40. Can you tell us more about yourself, who are you, where are you from, what do you do? I'm Dan Springer, or Skulluxe... depending on how I feel, I am from Toronto, Canada and I like to make things that make my friends laugh and the ladies swoon! When did you start drawing? I started drawing as a little kid... I just always have, my dad used to sit down with me and draw and my mom too. Did you follow any course or did you improve by drawing in the margins of your schoolbooks? I think margin drawings were the only things in my schoolbooks because I never really did any homework or did very well in school... it was boring unless I was interested in it, then I couldn't get enough... as far as improving, I just kept drawing, at first I would try to copy other people's drawings but I gradually drifted from that and found my own style. Today are you living from your art, or do you do something else for a living ? Yes and no... I work as an art director for several agencies here in town which is my bread and butter, but I do get to do some illustration and sell the odd painting or poster here and there... I am pretty lazy so maybe if I pursued it more I could. Are you collaborating with magazines/fanzines, regularly? No, I do the odd spot illo here and there, but I would be open to it Homage to Jim Phillips Where does your influence come from? Is there any artists/graphists you particularly like, what are your influences? I was a skateboard kid in the 80's so big inspiration from guys like Jim Phillips,  Vernon Courtlandt Johnson and Pushead as well as punk rock album cover artists like Pettibon. I also really really like Bill Watterson of Calvin and Hobbes and Charles Schultz of Peanuts. What are the principal steps in your work ? The first step is a bunch of scribbles and doodles in a sketchbook, rough layouts and the like then I will go digital and use Photoshop or Illustrator... Illustrator mostly, I like really clean stuff. For paintings everything is laid out before I even start painting, my paintings are like single edition screen prints, I hand cut stencils and layer colours with tape and when I am finished I have a single painting. Do you do everything by hand or on computer? A bit of both, the original concept is by hand, then redone on the computer and then sometimes finished off by hand, depending on what the final is. How long does it take you to do a poster? Since I don't print my posters myself, it is purely the design which can take a few days or sometimes it will come like a bolt and it will only take a few hours... the ones that come quickly are easy because everything is already there in my head and I just have to lay it down, everything comes easy... the ones that take days are a struggle sometimes and I get finicky and tweak things endlessly. 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 ? I try to mix it up, I don't think I would do the sunset, but I have lots of ideas that I try to make happen. Designing furniture, toys, 3 dimensional works... anything that pops into my head is fair game... as long as I have the means and the dough to do it I will give it a shot. For which band have you already worked for? I have done work for Nebula, Bob Log III, Electric Frankenstein, Hanson Brothers and a bunch of local bands. For which band would you love to work? I would really like to do a poster for Fu Manchu or The U.S. Bombs or Turbonegro Do you choose the artists yourself? Yeah, I am not that big so I usually find out when a band that I like is touring and shoot them an email or their management and see if I can work with them, I have done posters for bands that have contacted me as well. What is the most difficult part in designing a poster ? Getting paid/recouping costs Do you think you are part of a "Graphic Scene", if so who else ? Yes, I think I am part of a great scene, I have met tons of great artists that I now call friends that I have either met in person or just from the net... people really pushing not only poster art but art in general, guys branching off into toy lines, painting, just about anything you can imagine and it is a pretty tight group that sprouted from the early days of gigposters.com, a lot of people have really come a long way and are doing some incredible things. 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? You can always see what I am up to at my website www.skulluxe.com or find me on facebook, I pop up in the odd group show here and there as well. The best praise you received lately? I was told I had a good game as goalie in my Thursday night indoor footy league... ha What can we wish you for the future? You can wish that I can keep trying new things and stay healthy enough to keep doing them... Thanks for answering my questions and see you soon on the website !! Thanks for spending a little time getting to know me!