Join us this Friday, 6-9 PM for the reception of Subliminal Conjurations, featuring new artwork by Daniel Aguilar.
We at Bows and Arrows love Daniel! We sell his screen-printed shirts, by popular demand, at our new location. Originally from San Jose, Aguilar now lives in Sacramento. Daniel works at Ink Monkey Graphics, and he also has an online shop where he sells his wares; he is literally surrounded by art and design every day. Here are some questions Daniel answered for me about his art.
Daniel likes cats.
Most of my life I suppose. When I was a little kid I spent a lot of time drawing animals, dinosaurs, and my favorite cartoon characters. Towards the end of high school and throughout college I focused more on computer graphics software. I did a lot of flyers for shows and artwork for bands. During college I learned how to screen print so that I could affordably make tee shirts for my own band. It wasn’t until after I finished school that I really started drawing with a pen again. Now, I find myself working with all three tools together on most projects.
Your art/design pseudonym is Archradish. Whats up with that?
The Archradish was one of several important figures in a vegetable based religion that my friend Chris and I invented in high school. I eventually used it as my first screen name when my parents got AOL. It has stuck with me as a nick name of sorts ever since then.
A teaser of Daniel's work.
You make screen prints, tshirts, tattoo designs, posters, and who knows what else. Which is your favorite to create?
Right now I’m having the most fun screen printing onto paper, but my focus is always shifting around. In general, the most rewarding projects are the ones which take the longest to complete. Usually by the end of a really involved project I am pretty burnt out and ready to move on to something totally different for a while.
When I’m working on a design project I have to keep the client in mind at all times. They usually have some idea of what they want, and my goal is to put something together that both of us are happy with. Some clients give me a lot more freedom than others, but at the end of the day it comes down to their personal taste, and getting them a product that accomplishes everything that they need it to.
When I’m working on an art project, I am the client. I have unlimited freedom, which usually means I end up spending a lot more time working on it, obsessing over various details. I have an image in my head of what I want the final piece to look like, and I try my best to realize that image on the page or on the screen. Throughout the process that image is constantly evolving in my mind as my eyes see what it really looks like in front of me. Kind of like a feedback loop. At some point I just know that it is done.
When I was in elementary school I was pen pals with Paul Kirchner. He was one of the artists that worked on Dino-Riders, which was a cartoon about animal-headed aliens riding armored dinosaurs into battle. Anyone who remembers the show (and the accompanying toys) can attest to the awesomeness of Dino-Riders. In our letters we would talk about the characters in the show and trade drawings back and forth. He was involved in a lot of other projects as well, mostly comics and toys. He was quite an inspiration, and always encouraged me to keep drawing.
A teaser of Daniel's work.
This event is free and all ages. Check out the Facebook event page.
For more information on Aguilar check out his blog.
