This interview with Chris Visions originally appeared in the Spring issue of RVA Magazine, but we're reprinting it now to let all of you know about RVACON, an upcoming convention focusing on anime, comics, gaming, technology, design and electronic music. It'll be taking place from September 27-29 at Plant Zero, located at 0 E. Fourth St in Manchester, and Chris Visions will be in attendance, along with a whole bunch of other artists from RVA and beyond. Check out RVACON.org to learn more about the convention, and to learn more about Chris Visions, read on!
Chris Visions is a freelance artist based in Richmond. A VCU grad, he has tremendous style and his range is incredible. In particular, I am drawn to his ability to convey action and provide his illustrations with an abundance of emotion. I think he’s a phenomenon, and I can’t wait to see where his talent takes him.
I’ve been working on my first novel, Trailer Park Trash & Vampires, for years now, and I had always envisioned releasing it as an illustrated version. I had tried unsuccessfully to find an artist who was up to the challenge, but when RVA Mag’s publisher, Tony Harris, put me in contact with Chris Visions, I knew he was the man for the job. He absolutely killed the illustrations for my book. He did an amazing job of interpreting the material, and the images he provided represent a superb addition to the manuscript. Sometimes when I would stop to examine the artwork he sent my way, I had to wonder whether or not the dude was psychic. It was like he was could see exactly what I was describing, and anyone who has ever been involved in a collaboration knows how hard that it is to achieve. It’s not just that the atmosphere in his work is so rich or that the characters are so vivid, either. A big part of it is the simple fact that his wealth of talent allows him to adapt to the subject matter with ease. Chris is a guy who specializes in everything.
When Tony asked me if I would like to interview Chris for RVA, I was more than happy to do so. Hell, if you ask me a question about Chris Visions, I’m apt to start gushing, so I was definitely interested in learning more about this stellar up-and-coming artist.
Where does your passion for art come from?
I guess the roots of my passion go back to when I saw my Mom draw for the first time. I was three or four. It was at my grandmother's house at the kitchen table. She took a ballpoint pen and drew this rose on a napkin. It was at that point something clicked. I had been fascinated with Disney cartoons, comic strips, and coloring books up to that point, but seeing someone in person draw those lines blew my mind.
Who are some of the artists whose work inspires you?
Moebius, Eric Canete, Norman Rockwell, Will Eisner, R.M. Guera, J.C. Leyendecker, Jim Lee, Michaelangelo, Chris Bachalo, Gustav Klimt, Jean Michel Basquiat, N.C. Wyeth, Dean Cornwell, Adam Hughes, Otomo Katsuhiro, Ashley Wood, Sergio Toppi, George Pratt, The Kickstand Kids, Sean Gordon Murphy, Paul Pope, Alphonse Mucha, Jamie Hewlett...
What keeps me really going are my friends, my "RVA Fam." We have a sketch night once a week, where we just take some time to see what everyone's working on, inspire and push each other. We all want to see each other succeed and are honest with each other's work, and that keeps us moving forward. They are my A-Team; I love 'em.
I find your work to be extremely vibrant—there’s so much energy in the mix that the images practically jump off the page. How do you inject such excitement into an illustration?
That's in my personality--I’m a performer at heart. I love movies and the theater, and part of me wants to go down that road. I see the paper as my stage.
You do a great job of framing your work in a way that really brings it to life. Tell us a bit about how you go about deciding how to present your subject.
I'm constantly trying to challenge myself when it comes to composition. I like thinking about how it reads as an abstract, as basic shapes, before fiddling with the details. And I do lots of thumbnails.
How do you know when a piece is truly finished? Is it difficult to put a project you’re really engrossed in aside when that time comes?
The deadline tells me it's done, whether its the one given to me or the one I give myself. I find if I linger on a piece too long, that “jazz” is taken out of it, and it turns into a corpse.
How long might it take for you to complete a project?
It all depends on the project. The deadline always has the last word. It can range from an evening, like my pin-ups, to a couple weeks, depending on the size and number of pieces.
Do you listen to music while you work? If so, what type of tunes are you apt to be rocking out to while you work?
I like to make playlists for my projects. A few artists as of late: Flying Lotus, Radiohead, Kendrick Lamar, Bon Iver, Wu-Tang Clan, Nickelus F, Outkast, Hans Zimmer, Otis Redding, Star Slinger, Gil Scott Heron, Frank Ocean, Grimes, Cowboy Bebop soundtrack, Jeff Buckley, Jack White, Lana Del Rey, Active Child, Gorillaz--and usually a lot of what friends will introduce me to.
When it's very serious work, I just loop Justin Bieber.
I hope you’re kidding about Bieber. You were at the New York Comic Con just a few weeks ago. Tell us a little about your experiences there.
NYCC is always a phenomenal experience. It’s awesome to see an event for comics getting this huge on the East Coast. It was my first time with a table this year, and it has been by far the best time I've had. It was great setting up with friends and showing work to people who became fans. And meeting amazing artists like Rafael Albuquerque, Sam Wolfe Connolly, Matteo Scalera, Becky Cloonan, and others was a true treat. I can't wait until next year!
We're both big comic fans; right now I'm in love with the Swamp Thing reboot DC has put together, and Marvel's New Avengers. What comics are you following these days?
Oh man, I'm actually doing some more of my homework and going back to reading some of the essentials. Right now I'm filling in the gaps on Neil Gaiman’s Sandman, and Moebius. Some of my favorite titles as of late are DC's Blackest Night series, Vertigo's Scalped, [and] Marvel's X-Force. [I’m] looking forward to reading Mignola's Hellboy in Hell, via Dark Horse.
What’s your favorite scary movie?
Spice World, hands down.
Evil Dead, The Exorcist, 28 Days Later, The Thing, The Mist, Se7en, and Silence of the Lambs are all right, too.
Speaking of things that go bump in the night: whether you’re talking comics or television, everybody seems to be talking about The Walking Dead. What do you think of that property?
Robert Kirkman [writer of The Walking Dead comic series] is great!! I'm reading his Invincible series, just started Walking Dead, and am struggling to read more because I'm enjoying the show that much. Carl gets on my nerves though. Lock that kid up!
When you decide to do the illustrations for Trailer Park Trash & Vampires, I really encouraged you take the material to the limit. That led you to some really dark places. What was that like?
It definitely was a trip, especially for “The Good Life” image. I'm used to taking a subtler approach, using metaphors and holding back on certain subjects. Given the material here and the fact that it was a novel, I knew that these few illustrations had to hit hard initially, especially when an image competes with movies and other material viewers have been exposed to. It took a tough hour to take that direction, but after that it fell into place and I was able to “play that character.”
What are you working on now?
I'm sending work out to the larger comic houses, working on some personal comics to put out right now that I'm pretty excited about, and working on some comic covers and freelance. The oven's always on.
Last one is an easy one. Not only is it a “fill-in-the-blank” question, but it’s also short and sweet. If someone was going to describe one of your illustrations in one word, what would you want them to say about a Chris Visions piece? Note: this isn’t a test, so I can’t take any points off if you use more than one word.
This illustration by Chris Visions is __________________.
I don't ever want to fill that gap. I feel others who view my work can always surprise me [with] what they get from the images I create. All I want is that period removed, and to keep people talking and thinking.
www.chrisvisions.com