@hi_garrett

Instagram: @hi_garrett Tumblr: garrettfest.tumblr.com  

1. What's your story? Where are you from?

Hi, I'm Garrett. I grew up in the central valley of California where all of the state's agriculture is. Currently living in LA and working as a painter at Cartoon Network.

2. Tell us about your aesthetic.

Oh I think I'm all over the place stylistically. I enjoy trying a lot of different approaches, but some key things I go for are minimal perspective and simple, graphic reads. I have a lot of opinions on what is appealing, but I also try to not repeat myself too much so I stay challenged.

3. What is your favourite medium and why?

For traditional paints I like gouache because I can make big, loose washes but also super crisp edges. It's really versatile and doesn't leave a big mess either. Most of the time I'm working in photoshop though--it's often a job requirement for me and the convenience of Photoshop tools are unparalleled.

4. What is your artistic process like?

Well after all the self-doubt subsides it's just a smooth process of getting an idea, convincing myself 'no seriously it could look interesting', scribbling some shapes in, hacking away until it looks finished. The technical process is always changing but I always follow this strict MO.

5. Who and/or what inspires your work?

A ton of things inspire me but I'll try to just list a few people and things that tend to sit on the back of my mind these days. Landscape painters Joaquin Mir Trinxet and AJ Casson, comic artists Christophe Blain and Mignola, films by Miyazaki, Chomet, and Laika, Samurai Jack and Calvin and Hobbes. I don't really see any similarities to my work (other than the image where I'm doing a really sloppy Mignola) but these are just kind of always there and maybe they'll come out later as I make more images.

6. What role does art play in your life? How does it change the way you view the world?

Well for me, making art is this itch that I've been scratching since we were all doing it as kids. It gives me a reason to continue learning and trying to look at things in new ways. It also gives me the power to communicate more better since I'm bad at words.

7. Where did you study?

I studied illustration at California College of Arts in San Francisco for a couple years, then transferred to Art Center in Pasadena for entertainment arts. I also took a few animation-related classes at Concept Design Academy in Pasadena.

8. Where do you see yourself in five years? Working in an agency?

I work at an animation studio now, and I hope to continue that sort of work for a long time. It's exciting work and really cool to see everyone's art come together in the final product. If I won the lottery, though, I'd probably be making comics and landscape paintings full time. It just seems very daunting to be both good at those things and figure out a way to make money off of them. Hats off to those who do.

9. What about in ten?

Well assuming the singularity hasn't happened, I'd like to be making comics and paintings for fun in my lagoon cabana because of the lotto thing.

10. What do you hope to achieve with your art?

I just hope someone finds it interesting and relates to it on some level.

11. Now, tell us a little more about you as a person: what is your favourite food?

Noodles in broth make me pretty happy. So stuff like pho with tendon and tripe, boat noodles, ramen and so on.

12. Favourite book?

At the moment I like Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson, Gus and His Gang by Christoph Blain, The Lost Thing by Shaun Tan, and some dark short story collections by Roald Dahl and Rudyard Kipling. You know...kid stuff.

13. Favourite genre of music?

I played drums growing up and mostly listened to jazz but the last 3 people I listened to were Kraftwerk, Danny Brown, and Billie Holiday so I don't think I really have a favorite genre these days.

14. What are your hobbies?

Cooking, self-loathing, napping. I guess in that order too.

15. If you weren't an artist, what would you be?

I'd own a tiki bar-fish market-comic shop-dinette and be my own best customer. Poker table in the back.