davi
January 11th, 2008, 09:08 PM
1. Who are your influences?
The list is very extensive as my interests tend to shift as years progress. To narrow
down the field I can comfortably say that I have 3 artists that I respect and influenced
by deeply: Beksinski, Brothers Quay, and Dave McKean.
2. Where do you want to see your work headed in the future? What do you see yourself
doing five years from now?
I love and embrace all the new digital tools that are around us. There was a
period of time where digital photo manipulations were to avant-garde for any market. I
want to see my work headed towards exploring more with my digital transmutations and film
shorts. It?s such a liberating media and honestly I feel unconstrained by the limits of
my own imagination. It?s a new frontier that needs exploration and I want to be within
that abyss of the unknown.
In 5 years time I see myself dividing time between producing more personal
projects with original IP?s (art books, children books, and graphic novels) and expanding
into other fields such as film.
3. How do you feel that conceptart.org is influencing artists today?
It?s a ripple effect where it has started out small, but has evolved to an
amazing scale of influence. For myself, I would not be where I am at with my career
without Conceptart.Org. An artist journey is lonely and finally we all have a place
where we feel a belonging to. A close nit community that fosters creativity, nurtures
artists in need, and most important inspires ones self to evolve.
4. What was the inspiration for your new book: Salvaged?
At first, my dabbling with photoshop was more about exploration and honestly
trying to enjoy creating artwork once again without limitations, constraints, or the
needs to market the material for jobs. Dave McKean had shown me that the new digital
media is geared up for the next step in the history of artistic movements.
I started to mimic McKean in hopes to understand his process. There was less
interest on my behalf in knowing how to achieve the end result; rather I was more
interested in the process and his influences. There came a point where I had to put away
all my influences, inspirations, hide my collections, and shut myself off from the world
to dig deep into my own essence of creating. That is where I found a hidden place or a
part of myself that was undiscovered which is allowing my subconscious to guild the work.
Within my thoughts during the creation, I embrace mistakes, encourage accidents, and
feel ?I can do no wrong?. It was the most liberating experience I have felt to this day.
5. When does it come out?
The official distribution date set by Random House is February 27th, 2008 for
a nationwide release. Fortunately I am receiving a stack of books and will be selling
them thru my website on January 21st, 2008. Each book will be signed and caressed by
yours truly. My personal supply will be limited, but you can always get a copy later if
I run out. My website addie is : www.jasonfelix.com
6. Are you having any events around the publication of your new book?
Happy to say, yes! The unveiling of Salvaged will happen at the Virgin
MegaStore in the downtown center of San Francisco! Its open to anyone whom wishes to
attend and will love to see you there! Please pass on the word to anyone whom you think
will be interested in attending as well. Friends, co-workers, family, classmates, school,
and loved ones. I'm beyond excited to have Virgin host this special event. Mark your
calendars for:
Virgin Megastore. February 22nd 2008. Friday nite. 6pm!
2 Stockton Street (between 4th St & Ellis St) San Francisco, CA
Here is the official web link to the event on Virgins site:
http://www.virginmegamagazine.com/default.asp?vms=6In addition! I'll be appearing,
greeting, selling, and signing Salvaged all weekend at the Wonder Con right here in San
Francisco. Feb 23rd-24th.
7. What is a typical day for Jason Felix?
Each day is always peppered with surprises and mysteries. Currently I work
full time as the lead creature designer for Flagship Studios. Given my past experiences,
I maybe be called up to create character suit designs, animations, textures, and even
models(hence the surprise and mystery part). Not 2 days are alike!
To generalize a given day, I wake up at 8am to push the snooze button till
9am. It?s a horrible habit in which I actually trick myself into thinking I am getting
more rest which is actually the opposite. But, I LOVE the feeling of falling back to
sleep.
Anywho. I arrive in the studio at 10am and begin the day reviewing emails and the
schedule. Then transition into work and start designing. For lunch, it can last
anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour. My day is at the studio comes to an end around 7pm
and commute home on a train. The commute takes 1 hour so I usually spend that time
sketching.
When I arrive home, I greet my wife and play with our two adorable feisty cats. They
love to play and really enjoy seeing them go crazy. I?ll enjoy a nice dinner and back to
work by 10pm. I've always been nocturnal and seem to thrive on late night working
sessions. My creative flow peaks around 1am and crawl into bed by 3am.
8. Who are your favorite contemporary artists?
Beksinski, Rick Berry, Jenny Saville, and Dave McKean. For motion design and
film will be Matthew Barney, Brothers Quay, and Chris Cunningham.
9. Anything else ya want to share? Do tell!
Salvaged has been in production since January 2000 and has faced many
obstacles. At times, the whole project all most collapsed upon itself which would have
resulted in this book never seeing the light of day. JS Rossbach was brought on as the
graphic designer in 2005 which helped immensely to complete the book with unconstrained
artistic integrity and style. It?s a relief to have the final book in hand, excited to
share with everyone the work, and very proud of the end result.
One lesson that I have learned is this: The journey in life is about knowing
your goals and where you want to be. The most difficult road to follow is being true to
yourself and never forgetting why you do what you do. Never giving up, never loosing
focus, and persevering has lead me from the deepest depths of depression to the brink of
bliss.
The list is very extensive as my interests tend to shift as years progress. To narrow
down the field I can comfortably say that I have 3 artists that I respect and influenced
by deeply: Beksinski, Brothers Quay, and Dave McKean.
2. Where do you want to see your work headed in the future? What do you see yourself
doing five years from now?
I love and embrace all the new digital tools that are around us. There was a
period of time where digital photo manipulations were to avant-garde for any market. I
want to see my work headed towards exploring more with my digital transmutations and film
shorts. It?s such a liberating media and honestly I feel unconstrained by the limits of
my own imagination. It?s a new frontier that needs exploration and I want to be within
that abyss of the unknown.
In 5 years time I see myself dividing time between producing more personal
projects with original IP?s (art books, children books, and graphic novels) and expanding
into other fields such as film.
3. How do you feel that conceptart.org is influencing artists today?
It?s a ripple effect where it has started out small, but has evolved to an
amazing scale of influence. For myself, I would not be where I am at with my career
without Conceptart.Org. An artist journey is lonely and finally we all have a place
where we feel a belonging to. A close nit community that fosters creativity, nurtures
artists in need, and most important inspires ones self to evolve.
4. What was the inspiration for your new book: Salvaged?
At first, my dabbling with photoshop was more about exploration and honestly
trying to enjoy creating artwork once again without limitations, constraints, or the
needs to market the material for jobs. Dave McKean had shown me that the new digital
media is geared up for the next step in the history of artistic movements.
I started to mimic McKean in hopes to understand his process. There was less
interest on my behalf in knowing how to achieve the end result; rather I was more
interested in the process and his influences. There came a point where I had to put away
all my influences, inspirations, hide my collections, and shut myself off from the world
to dig deep into my own essence of creating. That is where I found a hidden place or a
part of myself that was undiscovered which is allowing my subconscious to guild the work.
Within my thoughts during the creation, I embrace mistakes, encourage accidents, and
feel ?I can do no wrong?. It was the most liberating experience I have felt to this day.
5. When does it come out?
The official distribution date set by Random House is February 27th, 2008 for
a nationwide release. Fortunately I am receiving a stack of books and will be selling
them thru my website on January 21st, 2008. Each book will be signed and caressed by
yours truly. My personal supply will be limited, but you can always get a copy later if
I run out. My website addie is : www.jasonfelix.com
6. Are you having any events around the publication of your new book?
Happy to say, yes! The unveiling of Salvaged will happen at the Virgin
MegaStore in the downtown center of San Francisco! Its open to anyone whom wishes to
attend and will love to see you there! Please pass on the word to anyone whom you think
will be interested in attending as well. Friends, co-workers, family, classmates, school,
and loved ones. I'm beyond excited to have Virgin host this special event. Mark your
calendars for:
Virgin Megastore. February 22nd 2008. Friday nite. 6pm!
2 Stockton Street (between 4th St & Ellis St) San Francisco, CA
Here is the official web link to the event on Virgins site:
http://www.virginmegamagazine.com/default.asp?vms=6In addition! I'll be appearing,
greeting, selling, and signing Salvaged all weekend at the Wonder Con right here in San
Francisco. Feb 23rd-24th.
7. What is a typical day for Jason Felix?
Each day is always peppered with surprises and mysteries. Currently I work
full time as the lead creature designer for Flagship Studios. Given my past experiences,
I maybe be called up to create character suit designs, animations, textures, and even
models(hence the surprise and mystery part). Not 2 days are alike!
To generalize a given day, I wake up at 8am to push the snooze button till
9am. It?s a horrible habit in which I actually trick myself into thinking I am getting
more rest which is actually the opposite. But, I LOVE the feeling of falling back to
sleep.
Anywho. I arrive in the studio at 10am and begin the day reviewing emails and the
schedule. Then transition into work and start designing. For lunch, it can last
anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour. My day is at the studio comes to an end around 7pm
and commute home on a train. The commute takes 1 hour so I usually spend that time
sketching.
When I arrive home, I greet my wife and play with our two adorable feisty cats. They
love to play and really enjoy seeing them go crazy. I?ll enjoy a nice dinner and back to
work by 10pm. I've always been nocturnal and seem to thrive on late night working
sessions. My creative flow peaks around 1am and crawl into bed by 3am.
8. Who are your favorite contemporary artists?
Beksinski, Rick Berry, Jenny Saville, and Dave McKean. For motion design and
film will be Matthew Barney, Brothers Quay, and Chris Cunningham.
9. Anything else ya want to share? Do tell!
Salvaged has been in production since January 2000 and has faced many
obstacles. At times, the whole project all most collapsed upon itself which would have
resulted in this book never seeing the light of day. JS Rossbach was brought on as the
graphic designer in 2005 which helped immensely to complete the book with unconstrained
artistic integrity and style. It?s a relief to have the final book in hand, excited to
share with everyone the work, and very proud of the end result.
One lesson that I have learned is this: The journey in life is about knowing
your goals and where you want to be. The most difficult road to follow is being true to
yourself and never forgetting why you do what you do. Never giving up, never loosing
focus, and persevering has lead me from the deepest depths of depression to the brink of
bliss.