I had no idea these paintings were so big.
The other ones, the more recent ones, are a little bit smaller. They’re 3' by 3'.
Wow. I had no idea.
Surprise! This one I'm still working on a lot, so it's really, really strokey. So please don’t pay attention to it. Look at these ones. They are mostly done. I still have to clean the lines a little bit.
It's crazy how flat they look, but they're clearly hand-done.
Accuracy is what I strive for, but I usually settle for OK.
Why the blood boogers?
It’s kinda personal. Earlier this year I broke my foot and then I got anemia at the same time. I kept getting nosebleeds. I still get really tired all the time. My therapist was like, “You’re anemic ‘cause of the nosebleeds.”
Does it relate to anime?
In anime, a lot of the times like when a male character is attracted to a female character, he'll get a nosebleed. It’s like he’s about to get an erection. So my starting tagline in my head was, “My therapist says I’m anemic, but anime tells me I’m about to have an erection.” I’m also kind of obsessed with bōsōzoku which means violent running tribe in Japanese. There’s this documentary I was watching a lot when I was trapped in my boot from the '70s called God Speed You! Black Emperor about these 16, 17-year-old High School dropouts. They’re just on motorcycles, causing a lot of trouble. I like to think the kids in my nosebleed paintings are in a gang, but they’re the violent anemic tribe and they don’t really do anything but sit and bleed. They’re too tired.
They’re a little threatening.
I’m kind of always trying to find like the right balance between cute and creepy/aggressive. I don’t want it to be too much of one or too much of the other.
Do you design the colors on your computer?
No. I predetermine in my head what the colors are going to be before I make the painting. All the colors are mixed by me.
You must be really good at mixing colors.
At the end of the day I feel like I’m a colorist more than anything. It’s almost like a super power for me. I can see a color in my head, mix it really fast, do another one.
And there can be zero streaks.
Yeah, totally.
You’ve got a ton of colors. Has your color palette changed over time?
I would say it’s gotten a lot better. I’m learning how to paint flat while creating dimension through color. So the subject matter is almost an excuse to work in color. When I think about color, it’s more of my first language than English. I have a personal association with every single color in the spectrum- just like with a word, more so even. I’ve even thought about kind of coming up with like a dictionary of what each color specifically means.
Do you name your colors?
I should. I do internally. It’s more like an emotional feeling or something that reminds me of an experience. There’s this specific shade of purple that always makes me hungry because it reminds me of Flintstones pops- it’s got that exact shade of purple.
Why are most of your paintings of kids?
For me, that was the easiest time for me to make friends. Making and maintaining friendships has been the biggest struggle since leaving childhood. I don’t know how to do it. When I was young I didn’t have to think. I could just make friends. In a way I’m painting my ideal sets of friends, but I can only do it by going back to that time when it was easy for me.
I love the titles of your paintings. How do you come up with them?
I talk to myself a lot while I'm painting to the point that I come up with chants that I repeat in my head. Usually these end up as the titles, and the chants are typically just inside jokes with myself, or subtle references to stuff I like.
You’ve sold your work through Instagram, right?
I’ve gotten commissions, yeah. I have a hard time figuring out how to get any sort of exposure or attention so Instagram is the easiest way for me to get any support. You know, I’m alone in this room a lot. I don’t really like leaving this room, and I don't really want to. Twitter and Instagram make it easier to stay inside, for the most part.
The other ones, the more recent ones, are a little bit smaller. They’re 3' by 3'.
Wow. I had no idea.
Surprise! This one I'm still working on a lot, so it's really, really strokey. So please don’t pay attention to it. Look at these ones. They are mostly done. I still have to clean the lines a little bit.
It's crazy how flat they look, but they're clearly hand-done.
Accuracy is what I strive for, but I usually settle for OK.
Why the blood boogers?
It’s kinda personal. Earlier this year I broke my foot and then I got anemia at the same time. I kept getting nosebleeds. I still get really tired all the time. My therapist was like, “You’re anemic ‘cause of the nosebleeds.”
Does it relate to anime?
In anime, a lot of the times like when a male character is attracted to a female character, he'll get a nosebleed. It’s like he’s about to get an erection. So my starting tagline in my head was, “My therapist says I’m anemic, but anime tells me I’m about to have an erection.” I’m also kind of obsessed with bōsōzoku which means violent running tribe in Japanese. There’s this documentary I was watching a lot when I was trapped in my boot from the '70s called God Speed You! Black Emperor about these 16, 17-year-old High School dropouts. They’re just on motorcycles, causing a lot of trouble. I like to think the kids in my nosebleed paintings are in a gang, but they’re the violent anemic tribe and they don’t really do anything but sit and bleed. They’re too tired.
They’re a little threatening.
I’m kind of always trying to find like the right balance between cute and creepy/aggressive. I don’t want it to be too much of one or too much of the other.
Do you design the colors on your computer?
No. I predetermine in my head what the colors are going to be before I make the painting. All the colors are mixed by me.
You must be really good at mixing colors.
At the end of the day I feel like I’m a colorist more than anything. It’s almost like a super power for me. I can see a color in my head, mix it really fast, do another one.
And there can be zero streaks.
Yeah, totally.
You’ve got a ton of colors. Has your color palette changed over time?
I would say it’s gotten a lot better. I’m learning how to paint flat while creating dimension through color. So the subject matter is almost an excuse to work in color. When I think about color, it’s more of my first language than English. I have a personal association with every single color in the spectrum- just like with a word, more so even. I’ve even thought about kind of coming up with like a dictionary of what each color specifically means.
Do you name your colors?
I should. I do internally. It’s more like an emotional feeling or something that reminds me of an experience. There’s this specific shade of purple that always makes me hungry because it reminds me of Flintstones pops- it’s got that exact shade of purple.
Why are most of your paintings of kids?
For me, that was the easiest time for me to make friends. Making and maintaining friendships has been the biggest struggle since leaving childhood. I don’t know how to do it. When I was young I didn’t have to think. I could just make friends. In a way I’m painting my ideal sets of friends, but I can only do it by going back to that time when it was easy for me.
I love the titles of your paintings. How do you come up with them?
I talk to myself a lot while I'm painting to the point that I come up with chants that I repeat in my head. Usually these end up as the titles, and the chants are typically just inside jokes with myself, or subtle references to stuff I like.
You’ve sold your work through Instagram, right?
I’ve gotten commissions, yeah. I have a hard time figuring out how to get any sort of exposure or attention so Instagram is the easiest way for me to get any support. You know, I’m alone in this room a lot. I don’t really like leaving this room, and I don't really want to. Twitter and Instagram make it easier to stay inside, for the most part.