Sink or Swim

Julian Callos is a Los Angeles based artist who creates beautiful dreamy water coloured illustrations full of flexible limbed humans and water washed backgrounds. His unique style has led him to exhibit widely across the globe from San Francisco to London, building an  impressive and consistantly brilliant portfolio of sculptures and paintings.

Julian is one of those artists who never produces a bland piece of work, I absolutely love everything he’s done so far and cannot wait for his next show over here in the UK. Julian recently took time out from his extremly busy scedual to answer our questions, heres what the talented young artist had to say:

You regularly blog ideas and early sketches of your work; how close do your finished pieces match what you aimed to achieve in you mind?

It really depends on the project…sometimes my final piece, after various stages of sketches and revisions, is completely different from what I had originally conceived in my mind. Other times I’ll come up with an idea that I’m happy with from the very beginning and just stick with it through the entire process. I just try to make sure that my final sketch is something that I would enjoy turning into a finished painting, regardless of whether or not that sketch was exactly what I had in mind in the beginning.

How long has it taken you to develop your style to where it is today?

Well I’ve been drawing ever since I was about three years old, and my style has evolved throughout the years along with changes in what inspires me, what interests me, etc. I guess what you see now has mostly been developed in the past couple years in college. I’ve really tried to take all the inspirations I’ve had in the past and the present — cartoons, comics, pop culture — and mash them up into my own thing. I’m still learning new things all the time, though; my tastes are changing, different things are starting to inspire me…I think these changes will certainly influence my work, as change has always done.

What is your typical work process and what conditions do you work under? Do you like to draw and paint to music for example?

I love to work while music is playing. Sometimes I’ll work with the TV on in the background, or with a movie playing. Other times I’ll work in complete silence. It really just depends on my mood.

Looking on inprint.com i noticed that you will sell any one print in a varity of sizes and prices. How important do you think it is to make your art accessible and affordable to everyone?

I think accessibility and affordability, especially in this economy, is very important. And it seems like art prints are a good market these days…It’s nice to own something by an artist, but not everyone can afford an original, so it’s pretty cool when you can buy a print.

What has had the biggest influence on your work recently?

Recently I’ve been looking to a lot of indie comics for inspiration. Pen/brush and ink stuff. You can create such beautiful lines with a brush; combine that with bold colors and lots of contrast and you’ve got a stunning piece of art to look at.

One thing i’ve noticed from reading comments on blogs and various sites is how impressed the audiance is with your ability to create soft movement in your pieces. Do you have any plans of creating an amimation?

Actually when I was younger I wanted to be an animator because I love cartoons, but I never really pursued developing that particular set of skills. I’d love to see my characters in motion, though!

Do you have any exhibitions planned for the near future, either as a group show or on your own?

I’m in a few shows in different galleries coming up before the end of the year. Off the top of my head there’s a group show with Black Maria Gallery in Los Angeles called “Skip the Mall,” as well as “Paper Pushers” at Gallery 1988 San Francisco. If you follow my blog (http://juliancallos.blogspot.com/) I’ll keep you updated on any and all shows I’ll be participating in. And I’m hoping to have my own website up soon, so look out for that as well.

What Develops

You can check out more of Julians work at: http://www.society6.com/studio/juliancallos/