SERISCOPE Charlotte Cynthia - Interview + Print

I've had the good fortune of spending time with Charlotte Cynthia Walton on and off over the last 12 years. That's along time at this stage in life. And in that time frame I've never met anyone like her. She has passion unrivaled, which translates into her intricate immersive artworks. Usually where passion reigns sincerity wanes. In Charlotte's case this is far from the truth. I've recently come to a realization that the most important aspect of any art is sincerity. With passion and sincerity amazing things can happen.

Charlotte Cynthia Walton Email Interview - Friday August 15th 2008.

As a kid did you have any outside influence that directed you towards art or did you just find yourself doing it?

My parents think for themselves, this I could not help adopting. Art was always a part of my life right from the get go when I use to draw on the walls of my house as a kid.  My room was filled with these heart characters with funky eyes and I use to kiss the inside of them with my moms lipstick for there mouthes.

When did you first realize you wanted to be an artist?

I have always been in the visual arts, singing, performing, dancing, acting, but the visual I found the most challenging.  I went through a period of time when I was 17 when I kept calling myself an artist, it drove my dad up a wall.  I have always realized the danger of labeling yourself, but I needed to do that because I did not take my work or myself seriously enough.  It helped me discover what I loved to do every day.  Now I allow myself to just be.  That way you liberate your thinking, action and love.

Have you had a formal art education? What do you think about going to school for art?

Any way works as long as you are doing it.  Let the juices flow, and bless you for your beauty. I have had a mentor in classical oil portraiture and I have been to art school and University, but that way was not my calling. I found I worked better doing it myself at home.  I also have done some traveling and I believe that was a great teacher for my heart.

In one sentence, how would you distill your reason for making art?

First of all, art to me is a lifestyle, therefore:  I have to do it to keep my sanity.

You put a tremendous effort into your current show "Givers" at El Kartel in Vancouver, and it shows. How do you feel after the show? Do you get that "what next" feeling or do you have plans for things to come?

I have a vision and it is so strong my body "feels" the image before I make it.  Beau (Charlotte's Partner) had me write it down before I lost it to my dreams the night I got back home.  We were about to fall asleep, but the beast had awakened.  (Giggle).  So I end up chewing on that sandwich for a while to see if the new idea is possible.

What I really liked about "Givers" was that it combined all the different processes I've seen you develop over the years. From painting, to paper cut-outs, to sculpture. Do you think those three separate mediums will be incorporated as one in your future work? Like they were all stepping stones for what you will be doing.

I am sure they will.  But I love originality in basic visual media, such as drawing. So I will strive for this every time.

Do you ever feel your treated differently by male artists? Like your missing out on the "BRO" factor?

Ha ha ha ha of course, but I tend not to take notice nowadays that I don't have a penis.  I have breasts, a mind, and love to make art, I am very lucky.  I also have so many amazing guy friends, I feel like a person with the ones who are my closest friends.

You spent time traveling solo through China, how did that trip affect you & your artwork?

Being fully aware of yourself allows you the freedom to explore.  To humanize with people you can not necessarily speak to. I have always had a global appreciation for the world around me.  I follow my heart and this leads to compassion.

Where would you like to go next?

Every where. India for its spirituality, but I would like to see my country too, I take it for granted. India is a calling and it has been beckoning to me for a while, and I would really like to see painted cows. Yet there are many ways to travel, I would like to go within as well, sitting in silence and reflection.

Right now, if you could only see the artwork of one artist for the rest of your life, who would it be?

At the moment BLU, I find his work striking and provocative, yet my eyes eagerly await others work from moment to moment and love it all.  I admire his time restrictions, his ability to produce quickly and his story telling.  So dark, yet so vital.

Which do you think make good art good? Originality, concept or style? or? And, why?

Originality and craftsmanship, even if the piece is raw and made to look unmade.  Concept will develope through originality.  Style is personal taste.

What else are you interested in other than art?

Living acts of kindness. People who care, inventiveness.  Many things, robots, literature, ballet, climbing, ha ha ha this sounds so resume!

What do you do to pay the bills? Does it affect your art? What’s your dream job?

I sell my work and I serve seniors food at the moment.  Yes you can get paid for this. Life is my masterpiece.  As long as I have the ability to do what I want with great health, then traveling and making art with others around the world would be ideal.  I already do this and am working on developing it furthermore.

What is your most beloved object?

I do not believe in material possesions, yet I use them to do the things I love.  My computer allows me to contact people I might not have otherwise had access to 10 years ago, so this tool has been quite useful.  I also enjoy my oven because I love to bake things for friends and my lover.

What’s one thing you have learned as an artist that you could share with other artists?

Do not be so critical, you can be your worst enemy and you need to love yourself deeply not hurt your self with over analysis.  I have allowed my self to grow by letting go of a lot of self doubt. As well everything you have learned can be relearned so you can reinvent the way you truly want to live your life.  Risk everything, and follow your heart.  Be kind to others on their path and be around people who love, and live it.

SERISCOPE #002 - Charlotte Cynthia Walton - Limited Edition Screen Print This 4 colour screenprint is in a tiny edition of 25.

SERISCOPE has produced a very limited edition screen-print of Charlotte Cynthia Waltons artwork. This print is titled "Father & Daughter".  The drawings in this print were created while Charlotte was traveling China. These drawings were then reworked to produce this print. Prints 1-13 are now available for purchase for $30.  After the first half of the edition sells the price of the prints (14-25)  will increase to $50.

We strive to provide high quality handmade artwork at a price that allows most people to collect these up and coming artists work.

Charlotte has also produced a beautiful book with Islands Fold called "The Pawns Queen"

Charlotte Cynthia Walton - Givers

If your in Vancouver you definitely have to check out "Givers" an art show displaying the work of Charlotte Cynthia Walton. The show runs from July 26 through till Sept 01, 2008 at El Kartel on Robson Street in Vancouver.

This show is all about the givers in my life the ones who have kept me strong and sentimental, the people who give constantly and don't ask for anything in return, bless your hearts this is a celebration for you!  Each of us brings inspiration and guidance to this beautiful world. We are all brilliant as brilliant as we want to shine. Much love has gone into making this for you, and I hope much love will continue to inspire others to do just things in this life. The more you practice your ideals the easier it will be for you to become them. For me it is being sincere, creative, and taking care to give more than I take from this earth.

Abracadabra ScreenPrint Poster Process

I had the opportunity to design and screenprint the Abracadabra art show and book launch poster. Here are some  photos from the screen-printing process. The poster is a 4 colour design, the third colour being a faint gloss spot colour. The poster was screen-printed at the Seriscope Studio. First I started out with a quick sketch which was then realized in Adobe Illustrator. Illustrator is great for creating geometric shapes, it's quick and easy to resize images and makes for a good program to mess around with. Photoshop can be a little more static because your actually painting pixels, which can be hard to make changes. The colours of the design on screen are only a guideline when choosing colours for printing. The final decisions happen when mixing inks right before the print. Here is the final design.

When screenprinting you must separate each colour, which is then "burned" to separate screens. These screens are used one at a time to lay down individual colours. You will notice an olive green colour that was created by overlapping the light green and peachy/tan colour.  I'm not gonna go to much into screenprinting because all the info is out there on the internet. Here are the four stages of the poster printing.

1. First Colour - Peachy / Tan

2. Second Colour - Bright Green

3. Third Colour - Transparent Cotton Candy Pink Gloss

4. Fourth Colour - Black

The Abracadabra posters will be available to purchase in the coming days through our online shop.  The edition is signed & numbered / limited to 30. Pre-orders are being accepted via email.

SERISCOPE Scott Malin / Interview + Serigraph

We are very excited to present the talented Scott Malin to kick off our new Seriscope series. Scott Malin (b. 1974) is a self-taught artist living in Vancouver, BC. His drawings explore ideas of narrative and blur the line between real life experience and imagination. Most of his art utilizes straight-to-ink drawings, both celebrating and damning choice. It's been a pleasure working with Scott on a limited edition serigraph. Without further adoo. ( Interview June 5th 2008 )

You’re originally from Vancouver, BC but lived in Northampton, MA for a while. What brought you there? My partner, Aretha, went to do her MFA in choreography/dance at Smith College. It was a perfect opportunity for both of us because we were looking for a change from Vancouver. I would visit her for 3-6 months and then return to Canada for 3-6 months.

What are the differences in the art communities in Northampton and Vancouver? Did you find your art was influenced when you moved? I don’t feel like I know much about the art community here or there. I do know, however, that Northampton has more diverse venues for all types of art, be it drawing, dance, music, etc. Another nice thing about Northampton is it’s only a 2.5 hour drive to NY and 1.5 to Rhode Island.

It was my first time living outside of Vancouver, so it was fantastic. Different weather. Different people. Different trees. It was really inspiring and I rapidly filled sketchbooks, about 6 a year. The experience shaped my art in that I had a kind of sabbatical to just draw. I definitely felt a renewed sense of being while I was there.

There’s a lot of collaborative drawing happening in Vancouver, have you done any collaborative art with anyone?

I’ve done some animation for bands (The Beans, Great Aunt Ida) and for a dance show with Aretha a while ago. Mostly I collaborate for/with people I know. I ought to branch out, but am not very good at the social side of things.

You’ve done the comic “Kick Around” for Discorder Magazine and inked “Way Off Main” which was printed in The Georgia Straight. I assume comics have been an influence in your art. I see a narrative layering in your artwork, do your drawings have a narrative story? I think of my current drawings as narratives. Messing with time, memory, and vision. I still love comics and have been trying to get back to completing a longer narrative I started in Northampton, but the momentum hasn’t come yet.

Is there anywhere online or a published format people can check out your comics? I did have some samples up on my website and maybe should do that again as my self-published comics are older and sold out. The inked work I did for Way Off Main is very different than my own comics, but those are available through my pal Josue (www.freshbrewedillustration.com) who wrote and penciled the strip.

Your recent show with musician Chris Harris was based on the music of John Fahey. How did Fahey’s music shape the art you produced for the show? That show was meant as one story of Fahey based on limited research of Fahey’s life. Several drawings were based on interviews or his writing. And others were based on song titles or repetitive listening to songs (I listened to one song 93 times straight to finish the drawing). My favourite part was drawing or painting the mural while my buddy would practice the songs. The art made more sense hearing the songs being played.

The Fahey shows drawings were straight-to-ink. This unforgiving method seems to work well for your narrative layering works. Is this how you usually draw? I rarely use pencil. I got so used to using an ink brush in my sketchbook that I became really comfortable with just jumping in and not premeditating anything. I still tend to work that way (the two prints are from straight-to-ink drawings as well). The energy of the first drawings has always been the strongest for me.

I’ve gone straight to ink for my own comics as well, but find it’s better to pencil because I want the structure more formal and refined. So that’s really the only time I use pencil. And I have recently started doing linocuts and am penciling a rough sketch before carving away.

Your sketches have characters awkwardly interacting with nature/animals. Can you tell us more about any underlying themes in your work? It’s funny because I think so many artists my age use that exact theme. Perhaps it’s part of living in a city and romanticizing/lamenting the woods and lack of interaction with nature. For me it’s also remembering the forest when I was young. Always loving nature shows, cats and dogs. Loving children’s literature that involves animals. And loving the physical structure and beauty of animal forms—they are so satisfying to draw.

Who/What do you feel has most influenced your artwork? My girlfriend is a huge inspiration and critical eye. My friends. Dreams. Music. A phrase from a book. Looking at and learning from others’ drawings/comics.

If you could only see the artwork of one artist for the rest of your life, who would it be? I’ve thought about this because most of my art/comics have been boxed away for a couple of years and are still boxed up. The one artist whose work I brought with me to Northampton was Taiyo Matsumoto. He’s a cartoonist and is totally inspiring. There was a buzz about him the past year or so because an animated version of his comic “Black and White”. The film was ok, but not as invigorating as the comic itself. When I read it for the first time I felt like I shrunk to a child again and felt the thrill of being able to move.

Image Above from Tekkon Kinkreet -Taiyo Matsumoto Which do you think make good art good? Originality, concept or style? And, why? Damn. Maybe sincerity behind the work. Or the humanness. The line quality of the drawing. I appreciate the human hand in drawing and prefer that over other art forms, so I like to see the line represent spirit.

Other than art you play music in a couple bands (Great Aunt Ida and The Secret Three). Does your music and art have any relationship? Music is my social time. I love playing bass, but it’s the only instrument I can play. It has given me amazing opportunities (touring across Canada with Great Aunt Ida last year was incredible), but I connect with it in a different way than with drawing, which is my solitude time. I don’t practice bass, except with whatever band I’m playing with. I do, however, “practice” drawing and feel awkward and stressed if I go too long without doing it.

What else are you interested in other than art? I enjoy cooking vegetarian meals. Drinking beer with friends. Walking. I also go through periods of reading a fair bit of young adult literature. “The Chronicles of Darkness” by Michelle Paver is a standout so far. I’m interested in learning more about animism, types of whisky, and gardening.

What do you say if someone asks you if you’re an artist? I’ve recently become comfortable in saying, “Yes.”

What is your most beloved object? Pentel brush pen.

What do you do to pay the bills? Does it affect your art? What's your dream job? I’m a substitute elementary school teacher and have been for about four years now. The kids definitely inspire me to tap into my imagination and remain curious. It’s a fantastic job that allows me time to travel, draw, and return to Vancouver to do a job that I’m proud to do. I think ideally I’d teach part-time and draw full-time.

What’s one thing you have learned as an artist that you could share with other artists? Trust.

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SERISCOPE has produced two limited edition serigraphs of Scott Malins work. These two prints are available for purchase as a set for $25. We strive to provide high quality handmade artwork at a price that allows most people to collect these up and coming artists work.

The first print is based on a John Fahey song and is entitled "Prince Georges County Line". This signed and numbered one colour serigraph is 9"x12" & printed on 120lb archival/acid free paper.

The second print is a test print which was used to experiment with the transparent layering of Scott's artwork. It is a 4 colour print utilizing different shades of grey and transparent base. This print is 8.5"x11" and printed on archival/acidfree paper.

For limited time purchase both prints by Scott Malin for only $25

50% of the sales of the prints will go directly to the artist. The other 50% will be used to produce more Seriscope artist showcases. We appreciate your support.

Seriscope 2008 #1 - Scott Malin

*Image above is not the upcoming Seriscope Print.

I'm proud to announce after a long hiatus the Anteism Screenprint Showcase series has re-rooted. The new series has been titled "SERISCOPE". More about SERISCOPE in the coming days.

We are putting the finishing touches on our first print by artist Scott Malin. Scott is an artist based in Vancouver, British Columbia. Check out the artwork on his website then come back here in the coming weeks to read an interview and see the limited edition screenprint ( Signed&Numbered / 3 Colour / Edition of 50 ).