"Monstrum" (Detail) by Andreas Martini

Looking at some of the drawing art of German Andreas Martini, it might be a bit surprising to find out that he was schooled as an architect, and even more surprising that, as he states on his website, “andreas works in the field of 3d-design and cg. he simply loves to work and play with the machine.”  Indeed his 3-d art and animation is compelling in its own right and worth your time.

When it comes to Martini’s drawings, they are no less compelling.  Consider that the images above and below are but details of the larger image, and that each square (I presume) is a full sheet of paper.  His abstract collages are varied and entertaining to study, and if there’s one complaint I’d have, is that there isn’t more work available.

"Monstrum" (Detail) by Andreas Martini

He graciously agreed to take part of the Drawn in Black Artist Interview, so here goes:

What’s your name?

Andreas Martini

Where did you grow up? Where do you live now?

Germany

How old are you?

30

What is your educational background? What, if anything, did you study?

I had 9 years Latin in school.  After that I went to university to study architecture, but instead of designing paper houses we took our chances to reprogram ego-shooters and build wooden sculptures. I graduated as an engineer of architecture and design with the focus on new media.How do you make a living?3d visualizer, animation filmmaker

What does “art” mean to you?

To select between one million possibilities.

Live Drawing at Agency Achter by Andreas Martini

How long have you been making art, and what role does that play in your life?

Maybe forever. But since people told me I could draw, I developed an attitude, which is sometimes good, but mostly disturbing.  Art is important like food. It comes and leaves.

What role does drawing play in your work?  Is it a means to an end, or an end in and of itself?

The less I speak about the importance of drawing, the more I feel, that I do justice to it.

Are there any people that influenced you that stand out? What current artists do you follow?

Kenneth Anger, Stan Brakhage, Robert Breer, Bruce Conner, Lutz Dammbeck, Guy Debord, Marcel Duchamp, Germaine Dulac, Fluxus, Hollis Frampton, Sheila Graber, Raymond Salvatore Harmon, Co Hoedeman, Ken Jacobs, David Lynch, Norman McLaren, Jonas Mekas, Yoko Ono, Man Ray, Hans Richter, Frank Stauffacher, Andy Warhol, Zeitguised, Matthew Barney, Henry Darger, Johnny Hardstaff, David O’Reilly, Bitter Films, Thomas Hicks, Dürer, Toccafondo…

Way too many to be helpful for my productivity.

Thanks again to Andreas for taking the to talk a bit about himself and to share his artwork here on Drawn in Black.

Editorial Illustration by Andreas Martini

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Axodendriticore by Paul Stanek

Fillmore by Paul Stanek

As part of this local talent spotlight series, animator Paul Stanek got in touch with me and shared with me some of his amazing work.  Although primarily an animator, Paul also composes large black and white drawings as shown above.  Large-scale trippy drawings are always a personal favorite of mine, and the two above are no exception.

Paul came to Philadelphia after growing up in New York and living in Los Angeles for six years, where he attended the California Institue of the Arts and worked on his Master’s in Experimental Animation.  During that time Paul and a friend of his decided to make cell animations using t-shirts, and the U-Shirt Project was born:

Paul: “We really liked the idea of shooting each frame (shirt) on different people so when the animation was played back it would unify all these people in to one entity, with the animation in the middle being the glue.  The projects and the accompanying U-shirt Party were a smash hit, and we ended up being approached by Viacom to use a similar concept to make a few 30 second spots for Black History Month to be used on their t.v. channels (nickelodeon, vh-1, etc.).”

You can see some of the video clips and additional information on the U-Shirt website.

Thankfully Paul also shared with me a couple time-lapse videos in which he paints directly on a pair of beautiful nude ladies, as seen below.  Take a look for yourself here and here.

Untitled (Painting on Nude Female) by Paul Stanek

Ever the Renaissance Man, you can also find Paul creating music under the Johnny Longmind pseudonym, and he’s recently been signed with a small London label by the name of End Daze Recordings.  You can find some of his music (which is actually pretty damn good) on his MySpace page.

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1. Philadelphia Artist: Tom Mulholland
2. Selecting Between One Million Possibilities: Drawings and Interview with Andreas Martini
3. Steel City Artist: Drawings and Interview with Charles Ott

If you have a fragile self-image, don’t ask Sean Gardner to draw a caricature of you – his no holds barred style might dent that pretty ego of yours.  Seriously, he captures the essence of a person’s face and persona to the tee while injecting his own undeniably hard-hitting style.  Check out his website where you’ll fine a ton of caricatures, tutorials, and tips and tricks of the trade.  You can send him pictures of yourself to be drawn (for a modest $30) and even request to be drawn like a zombie – now how cool is that?

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Few artists are as appealing to me as Mike Giant.  His clear, crips black and white drawings and illustrations coupled with his unmistakable tattoo-art influenced visual vocabulary make him one of my all-time favorite artists.  As a matter of fact, one of his Rebel 8 T-Shirts is in the mail now for me.

How many people do you know that have a sharpie named after them?

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2. "The Feeb" by Mike May

Nurse Hypo by Phillip Jackson

Phillip Jackson, aka Jolly Jack, creator of the memorable “Sequential Art” and other online comic strips, has a great little sketchbook section to find a little inspiration.  His drawings are fresh, sexy, and humerous – not a bad combination.

More below the jump.

Rain Rider by Phillip Jackson

Ribbon by Phillip Jackson

Panda Fishing by Phillip Jackson

Pilchard the Dragon by Phillip Jackson

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"Force" by Justine Ashbee

Justine Ashbee creates these wonderfully organic, oversized drawings with Sharpie pens. As she puts it:

Through this intuitive visual language, a negotiation of the visceral and everyday human experiences of beauty and pleasure, and feeling are given voice.

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"Introducing Manolo" by Pupil

By Pupil via Flickr

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