interview with kevin tran
I 1. Your first show was titled "Between Two Worlds". Does this describe how you see yourself?
KT Well, the title of my first show was actually based on some graffiti I found in my old art studio. When I first moved in, I saw the words scribbled on the wall next to the door and throughout my time there, I noticed it in different places like on the windows and even on the ceiling. And because I was experimenting with two different styles at the time, I thought it was perfect.
I 2. Have you always drawn & painted, or did you develop your interest in art & illustration whilst studying graphic design?
KT When I was a kid, I'd ride my bike or rollerblade around my neighborhood during the day but when it got dark, I'd draw with my little brother. I also remember watching Art Attack and trying to do that in my backyard with the hose and buckets and other things. In primary school, I remember drawing cartoon basketball players and trying to sell them for a dollar or two so I could get chicken nuggets from the canteen. And then, one Christmas, my mum bought me a box set of 72 Derwent watercolour pencils so I started mucking around with them. I still have that box set now and actually used those same pencils for '61/3 Hoot' and 'Turtle'.
I was introduced to street art and illustration while studying Visual Communications at the University of Technology, Sydney. Magazines and publications like Empty, Monster Children, Curvy and the Semi-permanent book showed me a bunch of young people who were just doing their own thing and making a name for themselves. I guess this convinced me I could do the same and gave me confidence that other people had a similar appreciation.
Finders Keepers (2009) by Kevin Tran
I 3. Like many creative people, you seem to have many different projects on the go. What do you enjoy doing the most?
KT I'm interested in many things so I guess I enjoy the variety of starting a project, refining it to a point and then moving onto something else. I guess if I had to choose, I'd have to say I enjoy writing and playing music the most. I definitely feel a great sense of accomplishment when I finish a drawing or painting, or when I launch an exhibition, but when I've written a song or am playing along to something I've recorded, it's the live, in the moment element that I get a rush from. I'm hoping to pull together the ideas I've recorded over the past year, finalise a few details and get them all recorded properly early next year. I've also just got hold of a Nikon FM2 manual SLR camera but have been too busy to get film and muck around with it yet. I really like the tones and textures of manual photography so that's something I'm keen to get stuck into when things finally calm down.
I 3. Do you still play drums? Does music inspire your art practice, and vice versa? Where else do you find inspiration for your paintings?
KT I hate to admit it but I haven't played for about 8 months now, ever since I moved out of my art studio where it was set up. Drumming was something I was obsessed with during university. I was in a few bands and just loved writing and recording original songs, and it peaked late last year when I was in an ambient indie-rock band called Goldenwood. Now it's all packed up in storage because I don't have the space in my bedroom, or the consenting neighbours, to play where I currently live.
Lately, I've been mucking around on my acoustic guitar and roughly recording some simple guitar riffs and adding beats in Garageband. Most of it is ambient and quite melodic, but I've had a go at some more electro type tracks. It's really satisfying to record an idea, flesh it out and play it back with a bass line and drums. Also, just got news today that my old bassist is moving back to Sydney next week. Clark and I have similar musical tastes and have been in a few bands together now, so hopefully we can get something started when he gets back.
I don't know if I can say I find inspiration for my paintings, they are all rather spontaneous and never pre-planned. For me, it's not so much what the subject matter ends up as but rather how I stumbled on that particular composition and the textures, shapes and colours that give it character and personality. So I wouldn't say music inspires my art practice but I'll always have music on while I paint or draw. I hadn't really thought about it, but I guess the music I'm listening to affects the types of paint strokes or pencil marks I make.
I'm quite calm and introverted when I'm line drawing, so I'll usually have earphones on while leaning close into the piece of paper late at night. I'll start with a line and just let it go. I try not to think about what it will end up as, but rather focus on completing detail areas of patterns or texture and branch off them. I enjoy not knowing what it will end up as because there is no pressure. When I'm not sure where to take it next, I'll turn the page upside-down and work from that.
When I'm painting I like to stand back and psyche myself up, and playing upbeat music does help. I'll tell myself to loosen up so I can throw gestural marks or stick things down randomly on the surface without too much judgment or reservation. I like sticking awkward shapes or patterns down and forcing myself to work around them; applying thick blocks of colour and eating back into them, pulling thick lines across the surface, getting in close and working up intricate patterns, and ripping up then sticking down random things like bank receipts or band aids from my wallet or the bin. It's a much more aggressive and carefree process, just seeing the image as a combination of lines, shapes, colours, and textures.
I guess my two different aesthetic styles are complemented by and reflective of the vibe I'm trying to create when drawing or painting, and music plays a part in creating a mood or energy to feed off.
Turtle (2008) by Kevin Tran
I 4. Your artworks are primarily figurative, with intriguing characters and animal forms, and many backgrounds are filled with solid colour or empty space. Are your subjects isolated in their own worlds, or have you taken them out of context to allow their component shapes to take on a graphic or abstract quality?
KT I guess the reason my figures and characters are on black or white is because I don't want to be too literal or depict a scene. I don't want to draw or paint a situation where the figure interacts, but rather bring focus on the textures, patterns and line-work that give the image points of tension, form and personality.
I 5. How did hiring a studio space influence your work? Did you start producing more work, or find you had the time & space to develop your concepts further before starting a piece, or a little of both?
KT Hiring a studio gave me a space to get away from the comforts and distractions of home and focus on developing my technique in an environment where other people were doing the same thing. I hired a space in St Peters in an industrial area where 60 or so artists were already set up. Because I was quite new to it all, it was always great to speak with other artists about their practice or the upcoming exhibitions they had.
The first couple of months were definitely the hardest. It was quite intimidating to see other people's artworks lying in the corridors packed and ready to be shipped to the galleries, and notice how everyone seemed to know what they were doing. They all had their signature style figured out and would come day in, day out with a definite direction with where they wanted to take their work and how they would go about doing it. I felt the need to create something grand to match the huge oil paintings or detail charcoal life-drawings I'd see, and would pressure myself to paint or draw faster to catch up with them and justify me being there. I found this led to forced brush-stokes, lazy line-work, and static compositions. My mum was also adding pressure at the time, asking why I was putting so much money towards the weekly rent just to experiment and throw paint around, but I knew I needed the studio and to surround myself with other artists and get comfortable with my art practice.
To ease this pressure and expectation, I made the studio feel like my bedroom, more like a place I could relax, hang out with friends and rehearse with my band in. I started ignoring what everyone else was doing around me and just locked myself inside for the day, starting with reading a magazine or relaxing to some music. I guess I just had to calm myself down, stop feeling like I was in competition with these people and just enjoy creating new images and not see it as a work place. Once I change my attitude towards the space, things came easier and that's when I started producing more work.
Memory (2007) by Kevin Tran
I 6. Your style varies from fine detailed pen work to a textured painterly approach combined with collage. How did you develop your personal styles and what direction do you think your future art practice will take?
KT I bought myself a sketchbook back in university before I set up my studio and would scribble simple pencil line drawings them. I also found myself repeating detail patterns late at night as a way to fall asleep. I would look at a section of repeated pattern and say, "That looks like an ear, or a leg" and work form there. The images I drew in these sketchbooks were rarely planned and I compared this process to Mr. Squiggle, where I'd set down some shapes and work up areas of detail, then turn the page in different directions to find elements of a figure. Then I would scan the drawings and combine them with paper textures, patterns or flat tints of colour in Photoshop. The layers of collage slowly increased as I collected more bits of paper or ephemera I had in my bedroom or lying around the house.
The breakthrough moment for my collage mixed media works occurred when my guitarist and I were waiting for the last artist to leave the studio complex late at night so we could have band practice. I was still at a stage where I wanted to move away from pencil drawings and play with heavier mediums like acrylic paints and Indian ink. We had two hours to kill, so my guitarist suggested, "Why don't you paint something?" I was a bit reluctant at first because I had been really struggling to find a painting style or approach I was confident in or excited about, and felt a bit of pressure with him just lying there on the couch watching over my back. So after a few deep breaths, I tore apart an old cardboard box that was lying in the corner, painted it white and propped it up on the easel. With no idea where to start and getting quite nervous, I searched through my wallet pretending to look for something and noticed an old Commonwealth Bank ATM receipt. I'm not sure why but I tore it in half and stuck a long thin yellow section in the middle of the piece of cardboard. Then I let some Indian ink dribble down the right side of the paper and stood back to have a look. It was yellow and tall, so I thought, "It's going to be a giraffe." After another hour of throwing bits and pieces onto the cardboard piece and working up some pencil detail, all it needed was a head. I thought I'd leave it until later because the complex was empty now and we could rehearse, but when I looked at it days later, I quite liked the fact the neck disappeared into a cloud of white so that's why it's Charles the Giraffe is headless. Oh and Charles was the name of my guitarist who prompted me to start this method of art-making, and was watching me from the couch the entire time.
The spines and teeth of 'The Last Dinosaur' were created in a similar way with a purple paper bag Charles and I received after op-shopping down King Street, and was named after a band name we were considering at the time. 'Clark the Whale' was painted on an old IKEA furniture box. Segments of the product sticker and barcodes make up the tail and jaw and the piece also features an aluminum foil flipper from my lunch that day. It was named after my bassist who also asked me to paint something before band practice on night. 'Turtle' was the first piece I did in my own time with no-one watching over me and includes a Band-Aid leg from my wallet and a printer box sticker as the stomach plate. These first 4 images were the pioneering artworks that led me to discover and develop this mixed-media collage style and I'm really excited to see what other figures come out in the future.
For the future, I'm pretty keen on translating my art practice to sculpture or ceramics. I'm thinking about using scrap weathered industrial materials to construct figures or creatures, but still keep the focus on combining patterns and textures to convey personality and character.
I 7. What was the best thing about having your first solo show?
KT 82 bottles of cheap white wine.
Have You Seen My Pencil (2009) by Kevin Tran
I 8. Did participating as a featured artist at the Finders Keepers markets in November 2008 and May 2009 raise your profile and attract more interest in your work?
KT Being part of the Finders Keepers markets has done amazing things for me and my art. The markets have been a great place to talk with people who enjoy my work and meet other artists and designers doing creative things of their own. Both Sarah and Brooke from Finders Keepers have been really nice people to work with, and I really appreciate all the opportunities they've given me- firstly by inviting me to feature my artworks at the past two markets, but also giving me complete creative freedom when designing the current Spring/Summer flyer. I'd have to say being part of the Finders Keepers markets has helped me establish a presence in Sydney and as a result of it's popularity, my mailing list is looking pretty healthy. The Finders Keepers are doing so much for people like me trying to share creative work and I'm sure I'm not the only one who is thankful for their generosity and good will.
I 9. Where do you think your art practice will lead you?
KT Hopefully overseas.
