Featured artist: Jack YoungBlood

What was the idea behind the piece you created for Pantone My Art?

I am in an uncertain relationship to ideas at the best of time. The idea did not come behind but after. It is only in autopsy that I get any kind of grasp on what I am doing. That is not an answer. I shall, as elegantly as I am permitted, avoid answering your question.

Tell us a little bit about your process for these pieces.

I am a simple-minded fan of the tools of the digital trade. I used Photoshop and Modo (a 3D app) to make the crayon. I wanted to make it as reasonable as possible yet also imbue it with the attention to formalities that a painter would give it. For the video I used Nuke (which is sort of like a Photoshop for the moving image). I wanted to play with light and Nuke's tools are very suitable for this.

Where is your studio/where do you do your work?

I work in my office at school where I am academic chair. I am never happier than working in front of my computer.

Where do you ?nd inspiration for your artwork?

Mostly sci-fi movies. I am deeply and profoundly in love with visual effects. It's where the magic is.  Advice: always fall in love the biggest and most impressive thing in your field of view no matter what it's provenance.

What other creative projects are you involved in?

Too many to be equal to. Doing a lot of writing as well. Currently helping to develop a workshop on Death and the Digital at NUS. Also finishing a piece for LaSalle to show next month.

What advice do you have for other independent artists in Singapore?

For goodness sake, be original. Looking to the current flavour of the month in deviantart is not enough. Be the next big thing or die.

Featured artist: Malvina

What was the idea behind the piece you created for Pantone My Art?

I wanted to work with the idea of time.  The idea of how time is timeless.  And the ability for one to have control over time.  Ultimately, the idea was based on what ‘purple’ represents most of the time.  Usually, in my case, I consider purple as a colour of authority, a colour that is usually associated with the aristocrats or royalty in that sense.  Hence, I wanted to showcase the idea of how time does not really portray time but rather, it is just a mere equation that man has defined as to be time.  Time is a never ending cycle, so how real then, is time?

Tell us a little bit about your process for this piece.

I was experimenting with the possibilities of using different mediums for the ‘purple’ that I had to include in my work.  I figured I should stay away from paint when I knew I wanted to have ‘purple’ depicted in a liquid form.  The entire process gave me the opportunity to explore my art, it did take a while to put everything together, in terms of solidifying the idea especially.

Where is your studio/where do you do your work?

I work at home, in my bedroom currently! Definitely not sufficient space for me, I hope to get a studio of my own pretty soon.

Where do you find inspiration for your artwork?

I tend to stand at the sidelines while watching the scenes pass me by – pretty much how I get inspiration for my works.

What other creative projects are you involved in?

I am currently dabbling a lot more in performance art these days.  I will probably be part of Substation’s Rites and Fetterfield sometime this year – both performance art events.

What advice do you have for other independent artists in Singapore?

Find a solution to get out of a washing machine, when you’ve figured it out, let me know, I’ve been stuck in it for ages.

Featured artist: Zxerokool

What was the idea behind the piece you created for Pantone My Art?

I created a series called "Anti Heroes With Long Hair", this was because by way of luck...I got pink, a color I've not used as a base / major component in my work for some time. At first I was terrified then, I got an idea whereby I would

do a series of works based on all my favourite anti-hero pop culture characters of all time....and coincidentally all of them have long hair ! you can the series here:

http://www.zxerokool.com/wordpress/index.php/2011/01/anti-heroes-with-long-hair/

Tell us a little bit about your process for these pieces.

For this series I did a process called paper soaking of the canvas which I found by accident. Not too long ago I was working on something and I found that you could enhance the texture of a canvas by layering a coat of glue, followed by paper...then sprinkle it with shower of water on top and leave it to bake in the sun for abit. After that you could spray paint the surface, scruff it up using a brush or sandpaper which resulted in a sort of
"distressed" aesthetic, which we see in denim culture, with lots of holes, creases and stylish scratch marks. I thought it would be cool to do something along the lines of this together with spraypaint, and some mixed media mayhem for this set of art works.

Where is your studio/where do you do your work?

In a cave, next to my batmobile...next to my array of iron-man armor costumes which reside at the base of my stealth fighter jet plane which exits from a basket-ball court which opens in half during emergencies to reveal proton surface to air missiles in the event of alien invasion..

Where do you find inspiration for your artwork?

Inspiration...like the Jedi way and The Force Is all around us...in the internets, in the fried kway teow you eat...in the air....in your happy meal.....inspiration exists everywhere...

What other creative projects are you involved in?

Being an avid sneaker head, I was fortunate and very honored to have had New Balance Singapore commission me to work on a visual art piece as well as art direct a motion video for the release of their Vault 577 Made in England sneaker done in collaboration with local sneaker store Limited Edt. You can view the project here:

http://www.zxerokool.com/wordpress/index.php/2010/09/new-balance-x-limited-edt-577/

What advice do you have for other independent artists in Singapore?

Don't be afraid to take on commercial projects so that you can feed / fund your artwork. Of course there will be people who think that art and commerce don't mix, but as history has shown, a starving artist gets no glory, but one that is able to make a livelihood making art for others whether it is a big company, collector or a small business, lives to create another day. Very few people make their living doing only art or anything creative, so if you've made it halfway that's pretty good already. Start with the small jobs like flyers and posters etc, then move up to bigger stuff, never be afraid of failure because even the mighty fail, even heroes fall, but it's what you do after that truly matters. You just try to find what works for you and stick to it. All this probably sounds terribly cliche and you've probably heard this from a-lot of people giving interviews, but it's actually much harder in practice. The classroom of life is still open to anyone who wants a fruitful education where the bills aren't written on a sheet of paper. I'm still learning all this myself...we all have a long way to go...

Featured artist: Msxi

What was the idea behind the piece you created for Pantone My Art?

Ants are a common sight in our everyday lives, but a taboo especially in an environment such as a cafe, which in particular has to be clean and neat. That being my muse, I have created 2 pieces of artworks using red ants as my subject, a confrontation with a taboo.

Tell us a little bit about your process for these pieces.

Instead of creating a piece of artwork with a fresh canvas. I wanted to use cliche landscape paintings are often displayed on walls in restaurants, homes and etc. Thus these artworks were created using recycled paintings which I painted over, to create a make belief that the ants have conquered the paintings their habitat.

Where is your studio/where do you do your work?

My work studio shares a portion of my bedroom space. However limited, I try to make the workspace conducive and discipline is a must.

Where do you find inspiration for your artwork?

I always ponder about my role and purpose as an artist / illustrator, what do I want to communicate and how can I affect others through my work. So some of my work deals with issues of the modern society, consumerism and personal misadventures.

What other creative projects are you involved in?

Right now I am working on some illustrations for a up-coming gelato shop. I have most recently completed a collaborative stop video animation for Kizuki + Lim second anniversary.

What advice do you have for other independent artists in Singapore?

I belief that one should never give up without a good fight, as cliche as it sounds, perseverance pays.

Featured artist: Jamie Paul

What was the idea behind the pieces you created for Pantone My Art?

The themes are on- going in my work, but these particular paintings are thought provoking reflections of either misconstrued or misunderstood sensationalisms.

Tell us a little bit about your process for these pieces.

Just simple painting techniques using varying media

Where is your studio/where do you do your work? (pictured)

Currently based at Sun Yu Li’s place, Emily Hill, perfect for that out of the city experience in the heart of the city. (Will try and get a pic for you)

Where do you find inspiration for your artwork?

I don’t tend to find inspiration it’s just there.

What other creative projects are you involved in?

Always involved in as many things as I can possibly get involved in – currently organizing shows overseas.

What advice do you have for other independent artists in Singapore?

I’m in no way qualified or experienced enough to be handing out advice – I would rather encourage artists in Singapore to push the boundaries and break the rules to breathe some much needed life into the art scene here.