1. Hi Steve, looking at you paintings it seems like you have been pretty much influenced by Giger although your paintings have their own unique style. Am I right with this guess?

Yes . In my opinion he is one of the few artist who painted with an air brush , not spray painted , he painted beautiful paintings with a air brush
He is also the grand daddy of bio morphic…

2. Let us know something about your background. Are you a „natural” talent or have you been studying art at a school?.

I had no training in art school, I am a self taught artist ,
I am dyslexic so me and the education system didn’t working out too good.
In fact I was expelled from school for an art project I created when I was 15.
So I worked as a carpenter, repaired motorcycles; lots of different jobs to pay my way. I was always good with my hands
I was used to seeing my dark images ,but tried to suppress them . I drank alcohol heavily, to try to stop these nightmarish images.
Eventually at 29 year old , I woke up in a mental hospital after alcoholic black out .
The doctors told me that if I didn’t stop drinking I only had weeks to live…
hmmm... I thought I must be pretty fucked up, I’m drinking myself to death.
Waking up in there was good in one way as I had a moment of clarity.
I realised artists would used drugs and alcohol to get high , trip out, get inspired ,and see visions of inspiration.
What I had been doing though was the complete opposite, I was drinking myself to death trying to stop them.
However it obviously wasn’t working out to good for me ,my liver was fucked , and I had nearly died that time, so I stopped drinking and started accepting myself, and expressing my visions.
That was 15 years ago, and I’ve never look back.
Since that day I’ve never had to drink , and I’ve never been back into a mental hospital.
This quote is very special to me...
'If you bring forth what is within you , what is within you will save you .
If you don’t bring forth what is within you , what is within you will destroy you.'
From the Gospel according to Thomas…
I guess I fit well into the vein of visionary art as it is called, because I get a vision/inspiration and then find a way to express it.

3. When you start working on a new project, do you have the painting that you’re about do already in mind or does it develop within the process of creation?

I see it in my mind and then sketch it quickly and then I work it up into the painting so as to tell the story as beautifully as I can.
I’ve always a sketch book in my pocket,
In my mind I see my visions in 3D. I can smell, talk or even drink tea with them .
I then paint them to show them and share them with you .



4. What kind of materials do you use when you’re working on a painting?
I use acrylics , sometime Indian ink and airbrush

5.
Where do the creatures that you paint come from? Is there a story behind them? Where they inspired by nightmares, drug fantasies or maybe sci-fi and fantasy literature?

God only knows where they come from , I couldn’t show you on a map!
I believe they live in the world I call THE LONG SHADOWS
It’s the world that is between day and night , the limbo between night and day . That is the time of the long shadows.
When the sun is setting there is a magical time .It is the pause between an in breath and an out breath.
I meet my visions there.
Or sometime I will be having a conversation with someone and I just get a flash of inspiration, and I then quickly sketch it down .
The Horned God, I painted him a lot last year for my last show .He kept presenting different aspects of the masculine prinicipal. to me , I panted him a lot: the first painting was 'Pans Pipe',another painting of him was 'HOMAGE'.
I feel this devilish horned creature is the expression of every thing that is masculine , primitive and goatish ,but not evil. The opposite in fact, he is the guardian of nature sprits and protector of woman and children.
The first edition of the print of 'Pans Pipe', sold out entirely to ladies! One lady liked it so much , the original is now sold to a collector , and it hangs in pride of place in the boudoir!
I guess the ladies like this horny devil!!

Some of my creatures tell a story, some just want to be seen.
I’m not consciously inspired by literature or film ,my visions come from the long shadows. .Sometimes in a flash, or sometimes in a dream like state.
When I glimpse a new painting in my mind, I get a great adrenaline rush, and get quite excited, and need to sketch the image down quickly.
It then normally leads to non-stop painting and no sleep for weeks on end. . [ I have a very understanding wife ; I can disappear into my studio and not emerge for days!]


6. Your creatures seem to be really strange but they never appear to be evil or vile. This could mean that things that are mean looking doesn’t have to be bad? Is this something you want to express?

Evil no..powerful yes , I never get a sense of evil from them.
In fact for me the opposite applies , I’m at peace when I’m with them .


7. In some of your paintings we can find real life objects like apples, tea cups and news papers. What’s the meaning behind that?

These are some of the props that my creatures use to tell the story of themselves in the painting.
In my painting 'Sanctuary' which I painted that last year it seems uncanny that the creature is reading the Financial Times News paper while sitting on the toilet! In his own sanctuary.
If you look close, on the front of the paper is the author of the Harry Potter books.
Now we are witnessing financial meltdown in our world.
Is he worried about his investment, is he laughing at our games we play in our world with money , I don’t know.
I guess we all have to look into the painting to see what the images tells us personally.
I don’t try to analyse my work , I just go with my heart and what feels right , and then try to paint it as beautifully as I can.


8. You started to do sculptures a while ago, could you imagine to do creature or production designs for movies one day? Like Giger has? Would this be an appealing challenge or is this not your kind of interest?.
Maybe in the future, it would be good to go into moving pictures.
At the moment I’m happiest as a painter. And creating the installations for my shows.
I love the challenge and process of bring a painting to life , Its magical, beautiful.

To me the magic is that paint in a painting when it come to life.
It’s a strange moment , the only way I can describe it, is it feel like being able to park a real car in a painting of a garage!!
So painting is my passion,
Some of my paintings are being made into 3D models, Charlie, one of the model makers from the SIFI TV show DOCTOR WHO is making them, I’m excited and flattered by this. As it was his idea!
They will be in my next show, at the Horse Hospital in London next year.

9. Have you thought of doing industrial designs? Like painting motorbikes and cars?
Maybe in the future , my art is evolving as I do, it’s an organic process,
but I like to ride motorbikes, and drive fast cars, it’s the only drug I do these day [ and the occasional fat cigar ]

10.  Are there any other artist you were inspired by?

I love indigenous and native American art,
I lived with the Huron tribe in Canada for 18 months , I’m impressed by their art, and stories of life, death, sex, and creation and their whole approach to life ,
Living and working among them was a great inspiration and influence in my life as well as my art .
I really identify with their understanding of life and art.
Of modern painter, the surrealist Hans Belmer; I love his twisted dolls, I like the work of Beksinski the polish painter.
I like art that has taken effort and love to produce , Myron Conan Dyal , springs to mind…


11. A guy creating such infernal images surely doesn’t look Disney Movies. (Or do you?!) What are your favorite movies? What was the last movie you saw in a theater?

I’m not a great movie fan , I prefer music, or silence when I work ..
But a couple of movies that touched me are:
'The Cook the Thief His Wife and Her Lover '
'Elephant Man'
'The Fountain'
The last movie I saw was with my wife [ 'Batman Dark Knight' ]

12. Your images sometimes show visions of hell. Have you ever thought of writing a script for movie or even create an animated movie?
It is a possibility, I thought about it , maybe in the future.
My installation are become more grandiose , in my exhibitions I’m becoming more extravagant in creating the right environment to experience my paintings in,
[ my last show was in a mortuary chapel ] so I’m still very busy.
I’m still parking the car in the painting of the garage!!!!

13. What are your plans for the future? Will there be art book?

Yes there will be a new art book published to consider with my London show in May next year., [ 'Saturnalia the Feast for fools', in Horse hospital in London ]
I have my art gallery opening in December this year in the UK ,
so there will be a permanent exhibition of my art and a big party
Then I’m focusing all my energy on the London show in may 09 , I don’t want to say to much about it , but it will be fucking wild .



14. For all our readers who really fancy your art, is there a chance to by originals or prints?

I do sell originals and prints of my work; they are available from me direct. Or online at www.darkblackart.com
Also from my new gallery, which opens to the public on December 6th 08. There will a permanent exhibition of my original work on display here.
For more info on my art and exhibitions , go to www.darkblackart.com

 

 

All images are the copyrighted work of S. V. Mitchell. from the studio of S.V. Mitchell Fine Art INC and may not be used or reproduced without the sole permission of the artist.