ALTPICK.COM

What is your POD (point of difference) as an artist?
Yearbook photos will show that during the eighties, girls in Ohio wore very large curly hair. Twenty years later, it is quite shocking to see the once predominant style on the streets.

The artists of the Renaissance had every physical tool necessary to create an abstract painting. It is quite likely that at some point in the distant ancient past an abstract painting was indeed created but never appreciated. Today half the coffee houses, restaurants and hair salons in town have abstract paintings on their walls.

From head to toe, a person is a mirror. Take a New Yorker and put her anywhere else on the globe at any other time in history and she will stand out from miles away. Put the New Yorker back in her surroundings and she blends into the masses.

In many aspects of my life I actively reject the ways of my surroundings. In my craft, my predominant focus is giving clients what will make them happy. Having a distinguishing Point of Difference in my work is not a goal but a welcome accident.

We all require outside influences to push the boundaries of creativity. Where are your influences coming from right now?
It's a rather recent development that I've begun appreciating the need to push my style into growing. For a long time I was satisfied with what I created. I worked in a relative vacuum and did not pay attention to the work of other artists. At some point I looked up from my computer monitor and was finally deeply impressed by the art others had created. The mix of envy, respect, and awe towards the work of others has never been as intense as it currently is. The vector work of LimKis (http://limkis.com/) particularly breaks my heart. Her work does not compute. It seems technically impossible. Otherwise I have a new found appreciation that there is amazing art everywhere and that I am rather lost in the masses.

Artists are often asked who inspired them. I would like to know what sort of artists you hope to inspire?
That's getting ahead of the game too much. My biggest hope is that I can find a project that will pay next month's rent. The people I work to inspire are clients and potential clients.

Honestly: creating art for clients is a meaningful, interesting occupation, but I do have personal projects sitting unfinished because I am too busy hunting for paying gigs.

How does your work compare to the celebrated artists of the 21st century - Koons, Hirst, Jasper Johns, Gerhard Richter ...
I'm terribly out of the loop concerning the work of celebrated 21st century artists. There would be a lot to learn about possibilities of the medium by studying the art of people who have broken boundaries, but I do have a general understanding of what's what. Good art is not meek or lazy. It is bold with passion and spectacularly full and complete. Good art is not derivative but an invention of the creator. Good art is a great concept produced by confident skill. My stuff, on the other hand, is run of the mill website decoration. My Flash animations and animated gifs can transform any web page into an enjoyable experience.