Onsmith is a cartoonist and illustrator living in Chicago.
His comics, prints, and illustrations have appeared in numerous publications
and will have a collection of his work out in 2014, published by Yam
Books. His blog is
http://www.onsmithcomics.blogspot.com Also, see the collaborative artwork made
with fellow artist, Paul Nudd, at
http://westernexhibitions.com/westernXeditions/artists/OnsmithNudd/index.html
Vincent Wright: first
of all thank you for taking you time conduct this interview. What’s happening
work wise for you at the moment
Onsmith: I recently
finished 2 stories for 2 anthologies: Black Eye 2 and Linework vol. 4. The new Study Group Magazine also has 2 pages
of mine in it. The Graphic Canon vol. 3
just came out as well and features my adaptation of J.G. Ballard’s
“Crash”. I’m also currently putting
together a small collection of my comics and drawings for Yam Books, due out in
early 2014.
Vincent Wright: when
did you first know that you wanted to become a cartoonist/illustrator
Onsmith: Since
childhood, I haven’t stopped drawing. I
had different ideas over the years as to what I would make, the position I
would aspire to, and how I would pursue it.
This went from wanting to be a voice actor and animator for cartoons
when I was a kid to superhero comics artist when I was in my teens to “artist”
in my late teens/early 20s and then back to cartoonist nowadays. I suppose it was also in my early 20s where I
started self-publishing mini-comics and pursuing illustration so I suppose this
final incarnation started back then.
Vincent Wright: were
there any people who heavily influenced you growing up to make take an
interested in comics/art
Onsmith: My older
brother and I drew all the time when we were young. It was pretty competitive but also quite inspiring. I suppose he was the first person that got me
more into comics and art. In high
school, I had a group of friends that read comics and drew superheroes and
roleplaying characters so that too was encouraging. Having grown up in a small town in the bible
belt with neither of my parents being involved in the arts, personal comics/art
heroes were difficult to come by.
Vincent Wright: how
do you find your commercial illustration and own personal comics work effect
each other in terms of influence.
Onsmith: This is a
bit difficult to pinpoint, as the two seem to blur together at times in terms
of responding to art direction and creating narrative-based illustrations. Formally, I think the use of visual economy
in comics has certainly strengthened my illustration work. There are times where an illustration of mine
doesn’t vary much from say, a one-panel gag cartoon that’s more personal.
Vincent Wright: I
have seen that you have public talks and anthology’s with some of the top
alternative cartoonist that are about today how have you found that
experience.
Onsmith: The panels I've been on with Ivan Brunetti have been really quite great because I know Ivan and am comfortable with him. He's very articulate and helps the panel discussions flow very well. It has also inspired me to step it up a bit with my response to questions. I was once on a panel with Chris Ware as well, at The Art Institute of Chicago. It's been surreal, to say the least, to be on these panels with such comics luminaries and of course, it makes someone like me question his worth, his validity within the comics world. But since it just happened to work out like this, I'm fine with it. I may not have another chance at something of this sort so I really appreciate having been able to talk about comics with these inspiring artists.
Vincent Wright: do
you have many close cartoonist friends that you hang out with on a regular basis and
do find that it helps your artistic development to have cartoonist friends
Onsmith: I certainly
have several friends who employ different art disciplines, not just
comics. One of my best friends and
fellow collaborator, Paul Nudd, is an artist who works in various media such as
drawing/painting, sculpture, film/video, etc.
I’ve learned a lot from him for sure.
I’m also fortunate to be friends with Ivan Brunetti, who was also one of
my instructors in college. Then there’s
the Trubble Club, which includes SO many talented cartoonists. There’s always something going on in Chicago
so I’m lucky to get to spend time with all these great folks. Overall, yes, being here in Chicago and
having access to these folks has certainly effected my growth as a cartoonist.
Vincent Wright: your work some times has a very abstract construction about it, how to do you arrive
at that decision to when creating a piece.
Onsmith: Sometimes,
it’s to contrast with the content or embellish, when other times, I simply wish
to abstract the visuals and build the story around it. More often than not, I at least try to have
some sort of logic to the abstraction, such as emotional upsets in the
characters abstracting the figures. In
“Dispossession by Tornado”, I used abstraction to indicate the tornado coming
through as the couple is huddled in a storm shelter. Skewed or fragmented settings interest me
again, as a sort of emotional projection or some sort of existential
disintegration, if that doesn’t sound overly pretentious. A lot of the modernist works I’m drawn to,
such as German Expressionism, employ this schism between emotion and visual
rendering. Or, it could be that I’m just
not that great at rendering so I rely on lawless abstraction.
Vincent Wright: are
there any artist/writers/musicians out side of cartooning that have had a
monumental effect on your work or creative decisions
Onsmith: Oh absolutely! I’ll try to keep this somewhat brief. From visual art, Chicago Imagist artists such
as H.C. Westermann, Jim Nutt and Karl Wirsum.
German Expressionists Otto Dix, Max Beckmann, and George Grosz (though
he was more aligned with Dada, I suppose).
Also other artist favorites like, Fernand Leger, Max Ernst, Philip
Guston, Stuart Davis, and illustrator Jim Flora. In literature, Nelson Algren, Philip K. Dick,
Harry Crews, Raymond Carver, Charles Bukowski, and William S. Burroughs when I
was younger. I have been reading much
more poetry recently such as, Fernando Pessoa, Robert Walser, Georg Trakl, and
others. In music, it’s all over the
place and always evolving. I find a lot
of inspiration in Sun City Girls, the releases on the Sublime Frequencies
label, early The Fall albums, Current 93, Townes Van Zandt, lots of old psych-rock
and garage rock, old country and roots music, obscure and tragic folk singers
(such as Jackson C. Frank, Robbie Basho, Val Stoecklein), and much more. Obviously, film has also made quite an impact
on me. Most especially films by Andrei
Tarkovsky, Elia Kazan, Stanley Kubrick, as well as documentaries by Errol
Morris and Werner Herzog.
Vincent Wright: you
work in many mediums illustration, comics, writing and installations, does this
help keep your creativity fresh and reduce the risk of stagnation?
Onsmith: I suppose so, yes. It’s just that when I start to feel like a
total failure in one medium, I might give myself a project that’s in another
medium. It all comes back to comics
though, especially when I look back at all the editorial (narrative-based)
illustration work I’ve made.
Vincent Wright: how
did you find working on the afterimage exhibit? Would you ever want to do something like that
again?
Onsmith: The Afterimage exhibit was a great
experience. Being asked to install my
collection of toys and junk in the former studio/home of Roger Brown was quite
a treat. I would certainly do it again
but the next time, I would like to try and exhibit more of the prints and
drawings from other artists I’ve collected over the years. Maybe even set up a display of some of my
treasured mini-comics as well.
Vincent Wright: what tools and equipment do you use to create
you comic and illustration work?
Onsmith: I mainly use the Pentel “Pocket Brush”, which
works like a real brush because of its handmade bristles. No dipping though, just an even flow from the
cartridge. I’ve been using this pen for
probably 12 years and haven’t had to replace it. For finer lines, technical pens like Microns
or Staedtler pens. I’ve also made some
traditionally colored work lately using watercolor pencils, ebony pencils, and
inkwash.
Vincent Wright:
what’s your take on the comics industry at present?
Onsmith: Yeesh, I try not to voice my opinions, nor
follow the trends in the comics industry too closely. But I do think there’s been a lot of work
from obscure talents being published more so now than ever. It’s a really great time for comics now. Having said this, I also think there’s been a
lot of mediocre, derivative work that’s been published as well. Sometimes, this bothers me but mostly, I
ignore these sort of comics. I’m mainly
speaking of North America here, as I don’t know much of the industries in other
countries.
Vincent Wright: is
there any plans to bring out a collection of all your collected strips at any
point soon?
Onsmith: Yes, actually I’m putting together a book
right now for Rina Ayuyang’s Yam Books.
It’s called, Diminished Returns
and is due out in Spring 2014. It will
include selections from my comics, drawings, doodles, and collaborations I’ve
made in the past 8 or 9 years. It’s not
a comprehensive collection but will highlight some of (what I consider) the better
work I’ve made.
Vincent Wright: what
would be your words of advice to any younger cartoonists starting out?
Onsmith: Since I’ve started teaching comics here in
Chicago, I typically tell my students to start small, keep it attainable, and
keep it sincere. Self-publishing
mini-comics teaches a person the fundamentals of what one might do with a
larger work (such as a graphic novel).
Again, I would tell cartoonists starting out to try to keep it sincere
to their visions/feelings/perspectives and not to force something that isn’t
somehow personal to them. But hell, I’m
still figuring things out for my own comics as I make them, so this is what I
tell myself. Just keep it sincere and
keep making more work. Hopefully you’ll
hit on something that really resonates.
Vincent Wright:
thanks again for taking your time to answer my questions.
