Let's Talk: Kathryn Layno

Our Current Condition is the second year of Fortuna Circuit, an annual exhibition featuring artists from all around the Philippines.  To give more detail on the artists and their work, we've decided to feature a few interviews with the exhibitors.

What art piece(s) are you bringing to the exhibit? What’s the story behind it? 

Quick sketches using pen and ink on index cards by my friends and I. For my part, they were the state of mind that I was in at the time I was drawing them. They can be anything from gratitude for certain things, political statements and struggles with depression and anxiety.

What school of art do you follow? Who are your influences?

I generally work digitally for comics and illustration but also do pen and ink on paper occasionally. Some of my influences are Rebecca Guay, Alphonse Mucha, Jo Chen, Daisuke Ishiwatari, Jim Lee, Kim Jung Gi, James Jean and a bunch of videogame, anime and animation artists.

What’s your art process? Do you have any habits or practices that you do before making a piece (eg taking a walk, or drinking beer before painting)?

I like to immerse myself in the themes I want to portray in my work. It also depends on what the project calls for. 

I collect images to make a “mood board” to guide me, visually. I also listen to music that coincides with the imagery. If I have time, maybe even watch a movie or delve into a videogame to get the gears turning.

Where do you want your art to take you? Where do you see yourself and your art in the future?

Originally, I wanted to be in animation but my route veered towards comics, professionally. I want to be able to do animated shorts or animatics in my spare time. 

I also want to put out my own comics and art books someday. I see myself continuing to work with comics and illustration. Story telling is essential to what I want to do with my art.

Advice to budding artists out there.

Explore outside of your comfort zone, do not be afraid to socialize now and then (that is how I got most of my professional work) and go at your own pace. Everyone progresses differently and as long as you are a better you, that is good enough.

Let's Talk: Miko Puns

           Our Current Condition is the second year of Fortuna Circuit, an annual exhibition featuring artists from all around the Philippines.  To give more detail on the artists and their work, we've decided to feature a few interviews with the exhibitors.

      What art piece(s) are you bringing to the exhibit? What’s the story behind it? 

“    Inner Aggression”and“Enough to go around”

           What school of art do you follow? Who are your influences?

      I guess I‘d say, it’s more on the realism side? But it does adapt into different styles, 

     depending on what is required. I have a multitude of influences actually but the few that really made an impact on my art are Frank Frazetta, Adam Hughes, Kim Jung Gi, and Alphonse Mucha.

      What’s your art process? Do you have any habits or practices that you do before making a piece (eg taking a walk, or drinking beer before painting)?

           

      I’m not sure if I have any. I just do it. But it has to be a good idea.

     Where do you want your art to take you? Where do you see yourself and your art in the future?

    

     I don’t know, I haven’t really thought about that.

       Advice to budding artists out there.

           

     Just do it. And keep on doing it. There are no shortcuts to getting good at your craft. 

Let's Talk: C M Y K a

Our Current Condition is the second year of Fortuna Circuit, an annual exhibition featuring artists from all around the Philippines.  To give more detail on the artists and their work, we've decided to feature a few interviews with the exhibitors.

1   What art piece(s) are you bringing to the exhibit? What’s the story behind it? 

     runExecuteCommand.mp4 is a glitch piece produced specifically for Fortuna Circuit: Our Current Condition. It’s made up of two components: (1) salvaged audio from a news report of a police chase—hence the title; (2) and a video clip of a random local ‘sexy’ dancer act, both sourced from the internet.

     Process-wise, the video was first broken down into frames, which then were glitched using the audio file. The same was done to the sound clip, but was glitched using the stills. The audio was glitched until it was just noise, and the moving images were glitched until they were completely corrupted.

These were then stitched together with the audio in ‘reverse’, in that the video starts with relatively discernible images of the dancer accompanied by noise in the background, and ends with broken images with the audio most comprehensible.

runExecuteCommand.mp4 is my answer to what I think the current communal condition is: being in a constant state of distraction and being misdirected, and being unable to process the real things that are happening.

2  What school of art do you follow? Who are your influences?

On the spectrum of the things I make, these glitches fall on the opposite end of the things that are formalist, academic, meaningful, relevant, functional, so these days I make it a point not to expose myself to any theory or readings on the subject matter that may shape what I make, in an attempt to keep output raw and the process selfish.

I do however have roots in film criticism so I’m afraid that’s one detail than can’t be divorced from the things I make.

        What’s your art process? Do you have any habits or practices that you do before making a piece (e.g. taking a walk, or drinking beer before painting)?

I have no specific rituals but I do have to remind myself of the things I like, and not what other people like.

And I have to work at night.

     Where do you want your art to take you? Where do you see yourself and your art in the future?

I have no idea.

       Advice to budding artists out there.

      Push yourself to have daily output. Be kind to yourself and set generous parameters but focus on getting something done every day—focus on finishing, not on making everything perfect.

Let's Talk: Siamese Rat

Our Current Condition is the second year of Fortuna Circuit, an annual exhibition featuring artists from all around the Philippines.  To give more detail on the artists and their work, we've decided to feature a few interviews with the exhibitors.

1. What art piece(s) are you bringing to the exhibit? What’s the story behind it?

"Bleak Contrivance"

I always expect that every plan is doomed to fail. I like to roll the dice and take the plunge on the river of uncertainty, buttnaked leaving behind unnecessary concerns and seeing where it takes me. It helps me to have a positive outlook on things that matter.  

2. What school of art do you follow? Who are your influences?

When I was a kid, I watched too many cartoons and animated series. It destroyed my will to study haha I always drew in class, making fun of textbook drawings, on notebooks, on armchairs but always on the lookout for the flying chalk. 

In college I was introduced on different art styles and was jumping one style to another.

Then one day I stumbled upon my old drawings on notebooks. I like how it was raw and off. Shows on Adultswim and the like really helped me develop the style I go after.

3. What’s your art process? Do you have any habits or practices that you do before making a piece (eg taking a walk, or drinking beer before painting)?

The only time I can think of awesome ideas to make art is when Im in the shower, taking a dump and riding on a jeepney.

I write my ideas up and really try hard to draw them the way I imagined it but it is also the time spontaneous shit keeps adding in until it ends up differently or really far from the initial idea which is cool.

4. Where do you want your art to take you? Where do you see yourself and your art in the future?

That I really dont know.. As long as I still got my left hand I’ll make art OR in any case 

get my left hand chopped then my right hand shall swoop in. My wife and my kid are my major inspiration right now.

5. Advice to budding artists out there.

I really find it very hard to express through words and gestures, (damn it took me 2 hours to answer all these questions) that’s why I want to express my thoughts and feelings through art. Have faith in your craft, it might be the only thing that makes sense to you.