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1 – To Start, tell us a bit about yourself where you were born and where you live…
I was born in east-central Pennsylvania and grew up in a house on a dirt road. My parents still live there and it’s a great place to be, but as a kid, I felt really isolated from the rest of the world. It is, in fact, a very culturally-isolated place; the nearest big city is Philadelphia and it’s almost a three-hour drive away. After a terrific four years at Penn State University, I graduated and moved to Los Angeles, where I’ve lived for the past eleven years.
2 – How did you get started in the arts?
Since I grew up in a pretty rural area, our school wasn’t large enough to warrant classes geared toward advanced students. I’m not trying to sound superior or anything, but school was often too easy for me and I spent a lot of time trying to ease my boredom by doodling. Teachers either didn’t notice or didn’t care (I got good grades), so I think a lot of my inclinations toward art started there. Also, my older brother is an amazing artist and he and I would draw together during the summers, creating massive science-fiction battle scenes packed with spaceships, robots, and monsters.
I didn’t really take my art seriously until I was in college and took a few art classes. One was a sculpture class. The teacher assigned something I wasn’t too enthusiastic about and I sketched out an awful, mundane concept in my sketchbook that she noticeably disliked. She noticed I had drawn other things in the book, so she flipped the pages and saw my doodles. I remember feeling embarrassed, because I never thought my drawings were anything good or special. She asked me if I had drawn them, I said yes, and she told me that I should ignore her instructions for the rest of the semester and “do more stuff like this.” I guess that’s when I started to think of my work as “art.”
After I graduated college with a degree in film and video, I moved to LA and every job I’ve had since graduating has incorporated illustration or design. Eventually, I drifted away from the film industry and illustration and design have become my focus.
3- Where do yo draw your inspiration from?
My work is mostly imagination-based. When I’m walking around, running (I run three times a week to clear my head and exercise), or just sitting around, ideas just seem to materialize in my head. I love the outdoors and nature and I think a lot of my ideas are inspired by hikes and trips to forests and deserts. Urbanity and people usually inspire my darker pieces, so I try not to go there too often. Lots of smashed buildings in my work!
4- Can you describe for us what a regular day is like for you?
I wake up, check email etc., exercise, spend time with my daughter, clean up, work, eat lunch, work some more, spend more time with my daughter and wife, eat dinner, work some more, relax if I have time, and go to sleep.
5- What is your most common approach for completing a project?
I start with an idea or a very rough concept sketch (just for reference). I sit down at the computer, open up Adobe Illustrator, and rough out the composition I want, using flat, brightly-colored shapes. Once I have a rough composition, I start adding details to the shapes, often leading to the original concept morphing into something new. I try to pin down a color palette early on, because colors so often dictate mood. I work on the entire composition, trying to bring each element to life at the same pace, until I have to focus on individual elements. It’s my experience that spending too much time on the minutia of a particular element or portion of the composition can often slow and belabor the process of creating something, but to each their own! After I add details, I usually add shading and textures/patterns at the end of the process, mostly because they have a tendency to negatively impact the performance of my computer.
6- Out of all your work what is your favorite piece and why?
Wow! It’s hard to say. Out of my recent work, I feel really good about “In a Clearing” because I spent a lot of time on it and I think the details and perspective came together really nicely. There’s also a collage piece I did about a decade ago that I really like, but it doesn’t look anything like what I’ve been doing recently. Numerous people have offered to buy it from me, but I don’t think I’ll ever sell it. If anything, I’ll give it to a very kind friend of mine who’s been there for me and my family when we’ve needed help (he put us up in his house when we were evacuated from our house during the recent wildfires here in LA). It’s got a lot of personal meaning for me, so I’d never be able to sell it.
7- Is it easy to make a living in the work that you do?
It’s been getting easier, but I don’t know how long that’s going to last! I’ve been very fortunate throughout my career and recently, clients have been seeking me out fairly frequently, which is both very convenient and a massive compliment. It’s a bit humbling, actually! As for the work itself, lately I’ve been mind-bogglingly busy and I’ve been working seven days a week, which is a real strain on me physically and mentally. In that way, it’s not so easy.
8- Who is your biggest influence?
I’d have to say Tim Biskup, especially his work from five or so years ago. I picked up his first Gama-Go postcard book and I thought it was great. I loved the style and the colors and it inspired me to start creating personal artwork again. Also, the cartoon “Samurai Jack” and the illustrations of Jim Flora had a pretty big impact on me. I keep a book of Jim Flora’s work near my desk for inspiration and ideas.
9- How important is technology for the work that you do? What tools could you not live with out?
Technology is very important to me. I use Adobe Illustrator for 95% or more of my work. It’s my favorite artistic tool and the medium I’m most comfortable with. Painting is alright, but the flexibility just isn’t there and you have to clean crap up. Vector art is mess-free!
10- How important is color in your work and why?
Color is central to what I do. Permutations, contrast, and relations between colors make up major components of what I’d call my style.
11- Whats your favorite color?
Orange. It’s become part of my core identity. One of my first memories is of loving the color orange when I saw it on a card given to me for my third birthday. It’s something that will never change.
12- Where can people get in contact with you?
My portfolio site, http://www.chrisleavens.com, my flickr stream, http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrisleavens/, and via twitter, http://twitter.com/chrisleavens.
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sooooo awesome!!!!
Your work is amazing, specially the fluid shapes and the warm colours. Amazing.
You stuff is real cool man!
Chris’s work is so well constructed and has a distinct charm. Chris is also a total gentleman.
I really like your art and this interview!
[...] Chris with two further interviews, all with more and more of Chris’s artwork, at Colorvision: Interview with Chris Leavens and Vectips: Interview with Vector Artist Chris [...]