There was not a lot of art in my house growing up. A few posters my mother had framed here and there. But for the most part I never even noticed that it wasn’t in my life. I just made things. It seemed pretty normal and I did it a lot.

 

My favorite days were when I pretended to be sick and my mom would let me stay home. She was a single working mother and (from what I hear on the news) times were different, so even at a young age I stayed home by myself. I would build a fort out of the couch cushions, gather all of my art supplies and just watch TV and draw. Still one of my favorite activities.

So the journey started with me just being a kid with an imagination. Having fun in art class and drawing a lot. My mother always supported my work. She saved the first two drawings I ever made. She said she was blown away by the fact that they were not the scribbles I should have been making for my age as they were figurative.

 

Then I had a teacher who changed my life (as many of them did). Her name was Ms. Zalanski and I had her for 4th grade. She was young and creative. I had a huge crush on her, just being around her made me feel amazing. She gave me so much confidence it was amazing but still I just felt like a kid in school watching the clock tick very slowly.

Then when I hit my teens I tried to be cool. I don’t remember drawing. I had a lot of fun getting into trouble which lead to one debaucherous night ending with myself and two friends in jail. One by one my friends parents picked them up leaving me alone contemplating my life. I looked down at the bench I was sitting on, it was covered in names scratched into the wood. I recognized a few of them (fuck). I had to get my act together. So I found grunge music, grew my hair, started playing Dungeons and Dragons and drew, a lot. High school came with brilliant art teachers that supported my every move. Just the power of people believing in you can mean everything, I had that all around me. I could go on forever.

Then I went to art college. And I worked. Suddenly everyone around me was amazing. So it made me work super hard. I wanted to be as good as everyone around me and the only way I was going to do that was to go deep. So I did my school work and my own work, just making all the time. Trying to learn and take it all in.

Things are pretty organic in the studio. I make something, it sits around. I make something else. Work is always around me so I’m examining it and trying to understand what it is and what it does. Then I change things, move them around, let them evolve into something else. Over time simple ideas turn into new ideas that take new shape.

 

I'm constantly trying to understand different mediums so I can continue to grow my visual language. It has taken me ages to understand that what I am doing is not making one single thing but a growing body of work that represents my relationship with the universe.

I had no idea how important my space would be to the work I make. But turns out its an essential part my creative process. Its safe, has everything I need to make anything, and inspires me. It half science lab half teenage bedroom. This week has been a bit unusual for me. I just finished a massive project that kept me indoors isolated from the world. So I have been trying to re-socialize. Catch up with friends. Do some thinking. Find my footing.

Community is very important. I have learned this from living in a city. Simply having to coexist with others really changes your relationship with the world. I get agoraphobic sometimes when I think about how I can’t find a quiet space (which I have found with my studio). But then other times like now, I'm sitting at home in my backyard and I can hear kids at school playing. It reminds you that you are not alone in the world and the work you make is and needs to be a part of the world around you.

I spent most of my time drawing in my sketchbook. Just decadently spending hours and hours on one single page. So The Jaunt put me on the street. Walking around alone. Almost bored, but in the best way!

My journey into the nude started with a desire to introduce the figure into my work. I felt like my figures / character drawings were weak. I had ideas that needed characters so I started drawing a lot. I also felt that my drawings of women lacked confidence. So for years I just drew people and they slowly began to come to life.

 

I was asked by a small UK publisher to propose a book. So I thought why not reveal all of these provocative drawings. It will give me an excuse to organise them. Make more. I was thrilled. Shit hit the fan with the publisher six months later. So the book was shelved until I had the resources to publish it myself. And here we are. There is nothing more powerful then having an idea that 'must exist'. So you do whatever you need to make it happen.

Just be yourself and if people are not into it, don’t stress.

I hope in twenty years time I am still pushing myself to make new things. I hope I'm still walking down the street wide eyed. Still wandering around wondering.

I met Abbi at Art Basel a few years back. Then I got a call from Comedy Central and they really wanted to work with me. I actually had to turn down the project at first. My calendar was packed. Then a month later they reached back out and it was game on. My relationship with the show is inspired. They trust me. We talked about season three a few weeks back. The comments were “Just keep going!”

Harry Nilsson : Coconuts.