Club International Holiday 2004 issue

Scroll down to read the interview....

 

The Revved-Up Art of Stainboy

 

The artist known as Stainboy is a self-professed good guy loner with a dark side. He's a no-bullshit hustler who likes his cars and his women strong and dangerous. With a profile like that, CI's resident art mavin, Lydia LaVey had to go talk with the man...

 

CI: When did you first get interested in art?

I don't remember a specific moment. It was always just there. I soaked up anything and everything creative ( that was ) visual and noisy. Having always been into music, album cover art probably had the earlist impact on me.

Any other early artistic influences?

Cinema posters. Way early on I thought illustrating trash movie posters just had to be the coolest job in the world. They used to be so loud and full of completely insane imagery. I collected pinup art - magazine centerfolds and calendars. Still do. Aside from pinup art, the whole punk rock aesthetic probably had the most impact on me.

Your work is full of sex and rock n' roll. Do those themes reflect your personality, or are they simply the ones that you find most visually appealing?

Both. Some of the themes reflect my personality, ( but ) there are times when my only drive is to make something that just plain looks cool, or an image that I know will get a reaction, positive or negative. When I design a poster for a rock show my job is to represent the band and get as many people as possible to look at it, and hopefully to go to the show. If I can do that and also put across a bit of my "flash" in the process, then it's a success.

How did you make your art career happen?

It was accidental. I started out doing posters and designs for whatever band I was in out of neccessity, simply because I was the one with those skills and there was never money around to pay someone else to do it. Then other bands and promoters started noticing my stuff and they would hire me. I never thought I'd actually make a living out of it - I just did it for kicks and a little extra dough. I've been making rock posters for almost 20 years, but it's only been in the last several that it's become a full-time job along with my other freelance work.

Cars, in particular hot rods, feature heavily in your work. What's the deal there?

I grew up during the golden era of muscle cars. Loud, fast, bright paintjobs and pure intimidating attitude - what's not to like?! I wouldn't call myself a gearhead, but you could say I'm obsessed with American muscle cars and drag racing. My current ride is a 2003 Mustang Mach 1. I'm finally getting a little time and dough to put some bolt-on power to it.

What inspires you to create?

Anger. Having someone tell me that I can't do something or trying to get in my way - that's a sure winner to get me going. ( Also ) there's that unexplainable energy - sometimes I'm exhausted and I'm feeling tapped, like I'll never have another decent concept again, then a few hours later I've got a hundred things in my head. The best thing about doing rock posters is that they get displayed in public. I know that people are going to see them in their daily routines without having to go to an art gallery. That in itself pushes me. I like making art that people on the street can see and hopefully relate to.

How would you like people to remember you?

Hopefully my trail of bad taste will speak for itself!

 

Amen to that! There's a whole world of cranked-up art at www.stainboyreinel.com. If you wanna drop the artist a line, then address it to stainboy@stainboyreinel.com Be sure to tell him Club International sent ya!

 

 

Stainboy's "Screaming Bollocks" Featured In Concrete Wave Magazine

 

The Santa Cruz Screaming Hand created by Jim Phillips almost 20 years ago still remains one of the most recognizable images in sketeboarding history. Jeral Tidwell rounded up some of today's most messed up minds in the art world to create a tribute to Jim's enduring image and the results can be seen in the latest issue of Concrete Wave magazine - Vol. 3 No. 2, Fall 2004. Stainboy's " Screaming Bollocks " made the cut along with the work of The Pizz, Mike Fisher, Paul Imagine, Tara McPherson, Mike Martin and Mr. Tidwell himself. Click the above hand to see a larger pic of Stainboy's interpretation. Elsewhere in the issue you'll also find a cool artist profile on Linsey Kuhn.