Give three cheers (or more!) illustrator Ian Dingman is here!

(Okay, so I guess I wouldn’t really want someone saying I wasn’t cryptic & enigmatic anymore, but you know how we writers like to twist words to sell our journalistic tell-all article, er, wait, I don’t work for Vogue. Anyway, my title didn’t come out of nowhere, you can find out what I mean in a tag-team Currently Obsessed post coming to you tomorrow.)

Hopefully by now you’ve perused my favorite Ian Dingman pieces, realized he is the man behind the new cover for Wes Anderson’s Bottle Rocket, and are now ready to enjoy an entertaining interview with the art-star himself.

Just imagine Ian (who looks exactly like Ben Folds) and me sitting down at a nice cafe in Chicago eating chorizo and drinking Coca-Cola. I have a Moleskin reporter-style notebook and a UniBall pen and Ian is obviously carrying Rapidograph pens and some notebook which is actually exuding coolness in visible, describable colors (but I won’t describe them, because you wouldn’t believe me anyway).

I ask incredible, thought-provoking questions that cause Ian to divulge his coolness in such a way that now I can use watercolors with such mastery that, like Ian, I’m asked to create a DVD cover for a Wes Anderson film.

Alright. So that didn’t happen. It was actually an email interview. But he does look a little like Ben Folds. And he does exude coolness, even over email. (PS He reads Stickers & Donuts! My heart melts!)

And now, the interview (there are MORE WONDERFUL IMAGES, so scroll on, my friend!):

1. Your life story. In a paragraph. Location. Education. Family. Crappy jobs.
I grew up in northwestern Illinois (Orion), went to college in the heart of Illinois (Illinois State University), and currently live in northeastern Illinois (Chicago). I have one brother and one sister, neither involved in the art. At one point we all lived about as far away from each other as possible within the United States (Portland, OR, Miami, FL, and New York, NY), but now we’re all relatively close again in the Midwest.

Until I finally got to the point of doing what I’ve always wanted to do, every job has been lame. Of course, the worst of the bunch came during high school. That said, I suppose vacuuming the “greens” at a mini golf course wins out.

I often incorporate the moon into my work as well, always thinking, “I haven’t drawn a moon in awhile,” when in actuality, I probably just did two or three pieces beforehand.

2. How would you describe the visual aspects of your artwork to someone who hasn’t seen it? How would you describe common themes in your work to, say, an English major?
Visually, I think my work tackles simple subjects and presents them in a mix of objectivity and subjectivity. My ink lines are usually precise. My watercolor is a little more on the awkward side. I try and let the medium run its own course (bleeding, striations, etc.) which I think produces a nice semi-controlled effect.

I believe my “stock” biography states my work has themes of humor, melancholy and season. I suppose these are all still valid, but more and more I think my work is centered around nostalgia and romantic ideals. I often incorporate the moon into my work as well, always thinking, “I haven’t drawn a moon in awhile,” when in actuality, I probably just did two or three pieces beforehand.

3. What are your favorite art supplies?
The essentials: Arches hot-pressed watercolor paper. Arches watercolor brushes. Rapidograph pens. Technical pencils. Dr. Ph. Martin’s concentrated water color. The fun stuff: Electric eraser. Cotton balls. Rolled paper. Vintage pencil sharpener. Crayons.

The first piece I ever had in the NY Times is probably my favorite commercial piece. It’s a relatively small drawing of a man floating on a lime in an imperfect block of blue water.

4. What’s your favorite piece of commercial work you’ve done, and your favorite piece of non-commercial work?
The first piece I ever had in the NY Times is probably my favorite commercial piece. It’s a relatively small drawing of a man floating on a lime in an imperfect block of blue water. (Maria’s Note: See first image in collage above.) I like it because I think it set a precedent or benchmark of how I wanted my style to look, so I’m always looking back to it as a reminder.

My favorite non-commercial piece I’ve done is probably a self-portrait that I completed in a day’s time. (Maria’s Note: See top right image above.) Again, it captured what I want my work to look like, so I sometimes find myself studying it. The work I’m always happiest with seem to be the pieces that I crank out without overthinking and overanalyzing.

5. If you were another version of yourself, and you could buy one piece of your own work that’s currently on your “Art for Sale” page, what would it be?
That’s hard… I suppose it would be the small drawing of a vintage medium format camera. (Maria’s Note: See top row, middle image in the collage above.) It’s pretty hard to screw up a drawing of such a pretty little machine.

6. What are you creatively inspired by?
Painters David Hockney and Luc Tuymans, and also photographer Uta Barth. I’ve always felt a connection to Hockney’s work whether it presents itself in my pieces or not. His compositions have always interested me as well as his color palette. Tuymans and Barth are influential in a more subliminal way. The atmospheres they create are genuinely moving, and I try to capture that in my work.

Things to look forward to [in the Criterion Collection release of Bottle Rocket]: on-screen menu pages galore, my awkward hand-drawn version of Futura, and among other things I’m leaving out, a 24-page booklet that might interest even the most casual Wes Anderson fans.

7. How did you get to do the cover art for Bottle Rocket’s Criterion Collection? Will we see your work just on the cover, or is it on the booklet, too? (Also, do you have a favorite Wes Anderson movie?)
I received a message from Criterion outlining the “Bottle Rocket” project and asking if I was interested. Of course I was interested as well as excited. I had seen the movie a long time ago and have always been a fan of Wes’ movies as well as Eric’s artwork. He unfortunately was unavailable for the project.

The assignment turned out to be a massive undertaking that was slowly crafted over eight months. Wes was involved in every aspect of the project and nothing made it to final art without Wes’ approval. Things to look forward to: on-screen menu pages galore, my awkward hand-drawn version of Futura, and among other things I’m leaving out, a 24-page booklet that might interest even the most casual Wes Anderson fans. Favorite Wes Anderson movie? Rushmore, hands down.

8. What do you have on your walls at home?

I’ve got prints by Evah Fan, Justin Gabbard, Luke Ramsey and Amanda McCorkle. A fantastic collage by Rod Homer. A couple of Edgar Allen Poe postcards that are framed. My centerpiece is a print by an unknown artist (thrift store!) of two pink flamingos at night beneath a starry sky.

Above: An an entirely made up image of what is probably not actually on Ian Dingman’s wall. See below for image credits.

9. Do you have any exciting projects or pieces or events coming up that I should look forward to?
It’s all so secretive. Something involving Tiny Showcase. Something involving the Gramercy Park Hotel. Something involving Nahcotta. I’ll show my hand eventually. Locally, I’ll be doing a Valentine’s themed solo show at a fantastic furniture store that I live right around the corner from.

Above: Ian’s last piece for Tiny Showcase called “French Film.”

Lastly, I’ve been taking something of a break from commercial work and getting back into my studio to do some oil painting. So, before the end of the season you can expect to see some work on canvas, as well as my usual work on paper.

Name a favorite in the following categories:
Food: Chorizo
Drink: Coca-Cola
City: Philadelphia, PA
Book: The Old Man And The Sea by Ernest Hemingway
Museum: The National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. (Maria’s Note: This is why George Washington is in the top collage.)

Maria’s Notes & Picture Credits

The handwriting font is Jellyka - Estrya’s Handwriting by Jellyka Nerevan who runs cuttyfruty.com, free for personal use and downloadable at dafont.com. In the top image I also used Edwardian Script & Futura.

The image of people running along the bottom of the top-most picture is a cut and pasted (over and over) from Ian Dingman’s piece Varsity Cross Country, available for sale here.

Ian Dingman’s made up wall: Left to right, top to bottom: Evah Fan, Justin Gabbard, Luke Ramsey, picture of Edgar Allen Poe, from ColorQuarry web-page. Center: Entirely made up Flamingo picture with background image by Barbara Downs. Wall & frames from Stock Exchange.

    Other Posts You Might Like:
  1. Introducing Ian Dingman (1/3)
  2. Currently Obsessed with Ian Dingman! (3/3)
  3. Wes Anderson Criterion Collection #4!
  4. poster party day 4: Mike Klay
  5. Exploding Dog. So Relevant.