Gondek.

in summer of '06, i spent a few days up in Toronto. while there was tons of things to do there, i was taken by this hip hop festival that was going on just a block away from my hotel. breakdancing. independent artists. i was mostly drawn to the artists. there were huge blocks of canvas set up with a graffiti artist on each side. i'd just sit there and watch them for as long as i could. and since i live in a town where 'art' done with a can of spraypaint is generally just a bunch of unreadable words, i never really saw anything like it again.

then i get this friend request on myspace from Gondek, a freelance artist, and immediately fell in love. the colors drew me in, and then i also noticed that there was a mass mixing of mediums. spraypaint, acrylic, markers, ink, whatever else. needless to say, i was thrilled when i checked out the store on his website, and also discovered that buying one of his paintings wouldn't completely murder my wallet. and for a limited time, he's giving away a copy of his D.I.Y book Husky Diver with the purchase of one of his paintings, though there are only TEN copies made.

i also found out that painting and drawing isn't only where his talents lay. he's also into web design, and has designed logos and t-shirts for various bands and clothing lines, and is also in a band himself (Doughnuts in November). he's willing to work with you to make sure everything is just how you want it. to check out details on buying some of his art or contacting him about webdesign or something of the like, check out his website at mattgondek.com, or his myspace.

I recently did an interview through e-mail with him, so here it is.

first off, how did you get into art and discovering your talent?
Ever since I can remember, I have been drawing. I would lay on my grandma's living room floor w/ my cousin and draw X Men comics and things like that when I was very young. When I started school, I drew on every single notebook I had and all over those paper bags you use as book covers. It also helped that I was very big into fantasty stuff like cartoons and comics growing up because all that stuff swirling around in my head kept me inspired to draw.

you're currently giving away copies of your DIY book with every purchase, is there any chance of these resurfacing again once the 10 are gone?
Husky Diver is a small book of drawings I put together myself. I've only made 10 copies of it, and there is no plans to make more of them. Even w/ little things like a DIY book, people want things that no one else has. That's what makes it special. If I gave away 500 of them, there wouldn't have been a rush to snag one up.

is there anything that inspires your paintings and drawings, or is it mainly things that just pop up into your head?
For the past year I have just been painting scenes and ideas that popped into my head. Recently though, I've stepped back and looked at re-occuring elements that I keep painting... Elephants, monsters, and these little human-ish things with an antenna. About a month ago I was just doing some sketching for fun and I drew this little purple bird. Something clicked in my head that this bird could somehow tie alot of my work together, and make all of it feel "complete". I'm working on a comic book right now in my spare time that will tell the story of this bird, and I've already done two paintings w/ him. I'm really going to focus next year on this idea of mine and see where it takes me.

you've done web design, paintings, drawings, and other things, is there anything in particular you like to do the most?
I like to jump around to different mediums. By doing this, it keeps my work fresh and I don't get bored. I just started painting alittle over a year ago, so right now, because it's still new and exciting, I would have to say it's my favorite.

how did you get into mixing the aerosol with the acrylics, markers, and ink?
I've always worked with markers and ink, and was looking for something different to do. I dug around my closet and found the almost untouched box of paints they gave me when I went to art school. At the same time, my roommate Adam was really big into spraypainting these big designs in our basement. I tried to do it and didn't get the results I wanted. Then, I realized that it was much easier for me to use the aerosol to make backgrounds which I can lay the acrylic over. The rest just happened naturally. Being drawn to ink and everything, I couldn't help but outline my paintings w/ it.

you're also in a band, you blog, you have a fulltime job, and you have your art. is it ever difficult to keep everything in line?
No, everything is on a schedule. If I didn't follow it, things would probably be a big mess. I do the blog on my free time at work, I have band practice wednesday nights, and I do my artwork Mon, Tues, and Thurs nights. Also, I never take on more freelance work than I can handle at one time. Making lists helps too.