–Meet the Artist:Rich Lopez–

 

Q: What inspires you to create?

A: I’m inspired by a lot of different things. I’m mostly inspired by the cartoons I used to watch as a kid. Voltron, Transformers, Ducktales, GoBots.
A lot of other cartoons came along as I entered my teens. Batman the Animated Series came out in the early 90s, and I started to really get into the Max Fleischer Superman Cartoons from the 1940s. I think the robot (or “Lo-Bot,” as I like to call him) I created draws its components from all these cartoons.

I draw a lot of my thematic inspiration from religion, but mostly the core of religion- the heart. The heart’s search for something, whether that something is a person or a feeling of comfort, is what I tend to illustrate. We’re all looking for connections in life, and with that in mind, I started drawing this image of this floating Orb with 3 or more electrical cords hanging off of it. These cords are searching for an outlet. I think we all search for outlets.

I’m also inspired by the idea of the imaginary friend. Do we ever outgrow the imaginary friend, or do we just replace it with something else? When we think of angels, or a fallen friend, and we feel they’re still with us, I think that’s almost the same thing. Our imaginary friends are there when we feel alone, and they’re always looking out for us. The robots and angels in my work are used to illustrate the evolution of that imaginary pal.

Q: Name an artist you are wow’d by?

A: I’m wowed by a lot of artists, but I really love Keith Haring. Simple imagery with very complex themes. He’s a big influence.

Q: When you create, do you typically listen to music, and if so what?

A: Music definitely plays a big role. Just the other day, I was listening to a lot of Tiger Army (Psychobilly type music, if you’re unfamiliar. And I highly recommend you give it a try if you haven’t already), and I found myself painting with a lot of Reds. I think music affects color decision for me. I was listening to a lot of Explosions in the Sky when I did some other paintings featuring Angels… There’s a certain kind of music for everything.

Q: Any recommended reading?

A: Art & Fear by David Bayles. Great book. It’s more about how the art is made than how’s to make art. I don’t like books that try to tell you what to do. I like books that challenge you to think about why you create what you do.

There’s this part in the book that features a man who had a dream about the most
beautiful piece of art he’d ever seen, and then he woke up saddened, because he
couldn’t create anything like that. He tells a friend, and the friend tells him
essentially, “If you saw it in your mind, then you can make it.”

It’s almost as if we get in our own way sometimes, and we create these parameters for what we can and can’t do. That doesn’t just apply to art. In every aspect of
life we do this, and we need to start challenging ourselves.

Q: Are you an action, comedy or romance man, and what film would you then recommend? Of course you could also maybe be a documentary guy?

A: I think I like a little of everything… I have “Guilty Pleasure” movies like “Definitely Maybe,” and “P.S. I Love You,” but I’m mostly a comic book movie guy…
I love the Iron Man movies, and the new Batman films. I loved the Iron Giant. That’s
the movie that had the biggest affect on me, art wise. Super 8 was amazing. I love the kind of movie that can make you feel like a kid.

Q: We know being an artist is a lot of work, so what drives you to keep going?

A: I think the thing that drives me most is a feeling of restlessness. If I go too long without painting/drawing/creating anything, I get super restless, and then i have to DO SOMETHING! The end product isn’t always something good, but usually it’s enough to get my thought process going, and then I’m back at it again. I’m really driven by emotion. My wife knows me well enough to ask me, “Hey, are you okay? You’ve been painting A LOT lately…” It takes something in my life to be a little out of whack to get me to paint. Painting is my security blanket. The thing I go to when I’m having trouble figuring “real life” things out. Most of the time it helps.

Q: Most entertaining/interesting/boring story from a previous show?

A: ART & SOUL was a gig that I put together, that was to feature Soul Music, and good artwork. The idea kind of got away from me, as the promoter I worked with was more concerned with making money than having a good theme show. The group I booked, Nouvellas, were so good. I am a huge fan of theirs, and they are a great group of musicians. The promoter booked 2 other acts, to “fill the bill.” The first guy was an acoustic musician, and he was decent. The other group was a cover band

All in all, the show suffered because it was never about the artists or the musicians to the promoter. It was about money. So, I’m never doing that again. Next time I put together a showcase, I’m going to make sure the artists and musicians have control, and there will be no outside party trying to squeeze the money out of people. I strongly believe in the marriage of art and music, and putting together a show that best represents that marriage is a strong desire of mine.

Q: Best and Worst pieces of advice you’ve ever gotten?

A: The WORST piece of advice I ever got, I either can’t remember, or I just blocked it out on purpose. The BEST piece of advice I ever got came to me in the form of an AOL Instant Message back in 2003.

“Life’s too f***in short to always be responsible, always keep yer eye on the
clock, an ear on the boss, and nose to the grindstone….. once in a while i want my eye to new adventures, my ear to the music, and my nose to the wind of 70 miles an hour in an area i have never been, probably never will again, but for the moment, it’s the best place in the world, b/c im having great times with great friends…u wont remember some unimportant dates or math equations, the names of random professors, or even the classroom u were in, but u will remember the night your friends went somewhere, did something crazy, and exactly who was there”

My best friend Nick sent me that one night when I was down on Art, Work, and just life in general, and I really just couldn’t take myself out of this quandary I had imagined myself in. He passed away in July of 2005 of a heart illness he’d had since birth. Every time I put the image of a heart in anything I do, that’s for Nick. This little piece of advice is something I’ve applied to every aspect of my life. It’s not about ditching responsibility when life gets too hard. It’s about knowing you have the power to change your situation if you’re not happy. You have the ability to seize the day, and get the most out of life.

Q: You’re based out of the suburbs of Jersey, so what’s it like being an ‘outside of the city’ artist?

A: I like it. I like living in Northern NJ. I think we’re all products of our environment to a certain degree, and i wouldn’t do what I do if I were somewhere else. I’m meeting other artists, and other art enthusiasts that share my love of New Jersey, and I think something is starting to happen. Especially in Jersey City, Newark, Paterson, and other towns like Montclair and Teaneck, there is an art movement taking place. These days, it’s less about where you live. It’s who you are as an artist that is starting to matter more.

Q: How do you think the internet has changed art?

A: It’s all so accessible now. That’s a good thing and a bad thing. I think that sites like deviantart.com and artist portfolio type sites can help get you out there, but sometimes they cheapen the work. My main desire is that people get to see my stuff in person. Art viewing is an experience, and I think sometimes the internet makes things look so flat. The internet is still so 2-Dimensional, that it takes away from the work a bit. I DO, however, think that the internet is responsible for the trends in art. Ideas spread like wildfire on the web, and that’s very interesting to me. I think for exposure purposes, the internet is a very handy tool.