Craola's art can be seen across the world thanks to his work with clothing companys such as To Die For and Zerofriends, but fans can now get their hands on merchandise direct from Craola from his new Imscared label.
I caught up with Craola and asked him about the label, his art and more:
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MS: So, what attracted you to creating your own clothing brand?
Craola: I have been working on graphics for various brands since about 1992. It just made sense to work on something more focused.
'Mary Becoming Annette'For a long time you've worked on designs for other clothing companies, how different is it working on designs for your own label?
The majority of companies I worked on in the early years weren't always things I would wear myself. It was good to be working, don't get me wrong, I appreciated the opportunity to earn some income while making art. There was a lot of art direction and watering down that went on, as well as my own limitations. The exceptions being in more recent years "To Die For" , "Upper Playground" and "Zero Friends" who I enjoyed a great working relationship with and plenty of creative freedom. Working on my own label is very similar to working with them, but instead, it is my ideas and my name at stake. I started my "Imscared" website in 2002 or so as a showcase for my artwork. Greg Simkins.com was already taken, so "Imscared" just made sense with the type of work I was making. When we started talking with my friends at "To Die For" who head up the production and are the driving force behind the line, about what we would call it, many different names came up, "Blak Rabbit" was one I liked, "Ima Monsta" made sense as well as a few others, but "Imscared" worked best. It is great to have such an awesome team who I share so many interests with and live relatively close also.
Your art style is very distinctive, what's the inspiration behind your characters?
The majority of them are a good mix of animals, cartoons and comics with a little fine art, tattoo imagery and graffiti thrown in. It seems like they keep changing though and I don't hold to one set of criteria, just let the imagination lead me.
'Winter On The Sea Of Glass'Having included everything from Batman to Pacman in your work, what, for you, is the appeal of using pop culture images?
I believe that I am a product of my environment, having grown up with these images has forever infused them in my creative data base. It isn't always a conscious process. There is that readily accessible bank of emotions and feelings associated with a pop icon as well that can add to the story if placed appropriately. Throwing Yogi bear in a scene brings his back story into the image you see in front of you. Using pop culture imagary brings there backage with them into your juxtapozition.
Your paintings also include a lot of surrealist and renaissance elements, are you influenced by any artists in particular?
Yes, Caravaggio has always been a favorite as well as Hieronymous Bosch, Salvador Dali, Rembrandt, Jan Van Eycke, Albrecht Durer, Magritte, as well as others.
'It Wanders'As both a fine art and graffiti artist, have you found that any of the skills and techniques transfer from one to the other?
Yes, but I think that is true with just about any skill set in life. Making art is a practice in problem solving and one aspect always lends itself to the other. Working as a texture artist on video games for five years day in day out on Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator and some 3D Studio Max I thought was going to dull my manual skills with a pen, brush and can. It just enhanced them.
There are a lot of young artists out there who'd love to make the jump to painting for a living, was it a difficult step for you or was it your ambition from day one?
I didn't start painting with the intention of doing it for a living. I did it because making art is the only thing I have ever been somewhat good at and completely obsessed with. I can't not paint. It still blows my mind that I am doing this and I thank God everyday for the opportunity to d so. It wasn't easy wrapping my head around it and quitting my stable job in video games. But it was a now or never situation and I am glad we (we being my wife and I) made the choice to try it. I wouldn't say it is for everyone, lots of hours and stress like everything else in life, but it is the most fulfilling work I have ever done.
'The Puppet Pathos'Do you have any tips for any aspiring artists out there?
Make sure it is something you are obsessed with and can picture yourself doing for a long time. Don't try to take short cuts but take the time to learn and do it right. Don't expect to be rich from it either. Make sure you are making art for the right reasons, it needs to be something you can't live without doing.
Are you working on anything new you'd like everyone to know about? Any collaborations coming up?
Still pressing forward with the "IMSCARED" line and everything that goes along with it. I have my first book being released later this year with Presto Publishing and working on some larger scale paintings. In June I will have a new body of work in a solo exhibition at Joshua Liner Gallery in New York as well, so lots of work to do.
The GenieAnd finally, if you had to name 5 artists that you think the readers might not have heard of, but should check out, who would they be?
How about I give you 10. You probably already know these artists, but they are my favorites so I am going to name them anyways: Alex Pardee, Gunnar, Adam Hathorn, Deph, Bob Dob, Mars-1, Oliver Vernon, Lola, KMNDZ, and Steven Daily...that's not to mention Dabs and Myla, Matthew Bone, Travis Louie, Jason Maloney, Augor, Kris Kuksi, and Belin, whoops that makes 18...
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Thanks alot to Greg 'Craola' Simkins for the interview, and you can view his work and browse his online store at www.imscared.com
All images included in this post are © Greg Simkins
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