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Interview with Drew Morrow
Featured Artist for February 2002
Would you introduce yourself and give a little personal background?
My name is Drew Morrow, and I'm one of those things...you know...with the brushes. An artist! That's it. But if anybody ever asks I say I'm a pizza delivery guy. I'm mostly from Australia, but I'm also a recent resident of Arizona, and a soon to be resident of Portugal.
How long have you been an artist? How long have you been creating fantasy art?
Hmmm...tricky question. I remember doing some drawings of spaceships catastrophically smashing into each other when I was 7. It's possible that I started before that, but for arguments sake we'll say I've been doing it for 22 years.
Have you had any formal training in the fine arts?
I did 3 years of Graphic Design at Curtin University, but that wasn't really an illustration or fine arts based degree. It did teach me how to finish things though, and how to interpret the gibberish that passes for art descriptions. Since then it's really been a case of teaching myself how to paint, which I'm sure is the case for most artists. Nobody can really teach the abstract concepts behind painting, but you can learn an awful lot by just working all the time.
What are your biggest artistic influences and inspirations?
This is a hard question. Every time I see a good painting I want to be able to do something just as good. In my formative years it was the artists from the golden age of 2000AD (British comic book). Cam Kennedy, Kevin O'Neill, Brian Bolland and especially Glen Fabry. All of whom are even more famous today, so I suppose they still inspire me. Alex Ross is god. I'm very jealous of Keith Parkinson (mostly because he gets the most gorgeous models :-)). Mike Mignole is ALSO god. Hmmm, some theological problems there. Music, things around me, driving, and just plain old wanting to impress people also help keep me inspired.
Can you describe your creative process - how you come up with ideas for a new drawing and how you take those ideas and create a finished piece of art.
I guess I just like to fuse different ideas together. That's how the ideas usually start anyway, finished pieces often bear no resemblance to the original concept. Then I butcher dozens of innocent sheets of paper by scrawling illegible rubbish all over them, sinking deeper and deeper into despair until my brain finally gives up the fight and does something I can accept. Most drawings start with the silhouette of the various elements. If I can get the silhouettes looking interesting, then generally the details just fall into place. Then the colouring starts and it all gets a little complicated.
Do you have a favorite fantasy artist or an artist you admire?
Kow Yokoyama. He's the Japanese designer of SF3D and Maschinen Kreiger, among many other things. He's the absolute master of lateral thinking in design.
What advice would you give to young artists who are just starting out?
Just like any other profession, the art world tries to exclude people with jargon. In our case it's words like 'talent' and 'inspiration'. Don't pay any attention to art jargon, as it's all myths and lies. Painting and drawing really is something that anybody can do. Just do it! Also, this is very very important, don't try and stay awake all night to finish a painting by loading yourself up with chocolate. You'll throw up. Trust me.
If you could be a character from a fantasy novel, movie or game, who would you be?
Ash. From the Evil Dead movies. "Well hello Mr. Fancypants." Bruce Campbell signed his book for me last year. It was the greatest moment of my life.
Finally, what cartoons did you watch as a kid?
Space Ghost Coast to Coast, The Brak Show, Sealab 2021. Oh, hang on. That's now. Back then it was Astroboy, Robotech and Star Blazers. And Beer Squad.
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