| HF Feature Interview with Chris Reccardi - Page 2 |
| Written by Matt Holdaway Monday, 06 October 2008 21:52 | ||||||||
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Chris Reccardi's studio MH- Are there animation elements you like to work into your paintings? CR- I suppose the composition, depth and design is unavoidably influenced by years of storyboarding, layout and character design in animation but most importantly, simplicity in design which is crucial in storyboarding---how well something reads from a distance, as if it were on a small TV screen----thats how I try to approach each piece. If it doesnt read as a 1 inch drawing, it aint gonna make a difference as a 4-foot painting with gorgeous colors. That tends to work in any painting style. MH- Which current artists work do you appreciate? CR- I like Chris Mars, because his work exudes pure misery, and he can paint real well. Glenn Barr is another Bastard (a highest NY compliment). MH- How did you approach your first solo show? CR- I waited until the last minute and tried to finish on time. Oh, you mean artistically? I tried to keep it simple. I did what I always do, draw a bunch of shit in a sketchbook for months and pull the best stuff, and then work the color out in Photoshop first---which saves wasting paint. But Im doing less and less planning nowadays, more straight painting. MH- Do you notice a different type of response and reaction from people to your work between animation and painting? CR- The people who come to art galleries smell better. Unless they work in Animation. Theres some crossover in fine art and animation taste, but gratefully, many of my collectors are mid-century modern homeowners who are looking to embellish their living space, which I am honored to participate in.  MH- There are currently many artists approaching painting from a direction near yours, yet your work always feels unique. How do you avoid being cliché? CR- You mean . it isnt cliché? Wow. Well I try to invent stuff instead of copy it, but a Rickenbacker 4001 bass is too damned cool to ignore. MH- Your work is very fun and playful. Are you ever tempted to create more sinister work? CR- Not for the sake of it That doesnt naturally lend itself to painting for me. I had enough of it in my childhood, so I dont have the urge to relive it on canvas. I get a lot of that out in animation. But theres a piece or two in the next show that can probably be considered unpretty," on a content level, that is. MH- Which cartoon has been your favorite to work on? CR- Certainly one of the most interesting projects to come my way, was storyboarding for Rob Zombie's upcoming animated feature "The Haunted World of El Super-Beasto" which had an all-star crew of industry heavy-hitters. My assignment was to storyboard a super-violent and sex-ploitative girl fight between the film's two female main characters. Naturally, I turned to YouTube for reference, and once again my innocent and naive mind was stunned at the sheer volume of "Cat Fight" material available. Anyway, it was a unique project because I had to reference alot of girl fight and porn stuff, which you usually don't get paid to do, and then intelligently plan and stage twelve-15 minutes of high-action from a script that might as well have been written by a 14-year-old boy. But it was just raw, immature guy fun. I hope they make a sequel.... with live models this time. And beer. 
Reccardi Storyboards for Zombie's "...El Super-Beasto" catfight scene MH- Which animation show was the most rewarding and why? CR-I would have to say Ren & Stimpy. But rewarding like getting ten root canals, and then growing new super-teeth later. There was the torture in the beginning of being young, inexperienced (and lousy) and trying to learn under an emotionally disturbed genius (John K.), and later directing shows (at Games) and staying up all night doing everything myself because the talent was spread too thin and new talent was scarce. The rewards came later, in the form of improved drawing skills and the personal stylistic discoveries that can only come from the experience of working on such a creative show.
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