Rudy Fig

What's up let everybody know your name and what you do.
Alrighty. My name is Rudy Fig. I'm a 20 year old artist. I paint pictures of forest nymphs, space babes, ice cream and magic.

Where did you grow up and what was the environment like as a young kid, teenager and young adult?
I'm a native minnesotan, though ive done a lot of growing up in a lot of places. My parents were toy designers, working for tonka, tyco and mattel. When i was young I would have to ask my parents which toys were "work toys" and which toys were "play toys" It was a very creative environment. I played with a lot of prototype toys as a kid- and strange concept toys that didn't have eyes and hair yet. High school was a little weird for me... I was in and out of the psyche ward a few times... Then I ended up at an art college where i flunked out with flying colors. I worked at a bakery for a while too somewhere in the midst of all that...Today i spend my time traveling around the U.S. for art shows and shenanigans.

How did you get started? Did you start doodling at a young age and it just stuck or was there a different artistic trajectory for you?
Ive always been an artist. It just happened that way, i cant really explain it. When i was a kid people were always like "your going to be an artist" and i was like "what the hell is that supposed to mean..." Turns out they were right.

If a random person were to open your sketchbook, what drawing would be most puzzling to them?
hmmm....many things perhaps
What’s the greatest compliment anyone’s ever paid you and your work?
I think all compliments may be of equal value, but i get a lot of really nice emails from people around the world. It is good to know someone somewhere is appreciating my time enough to spend a minute of their day to actually write that email that i end up reading....
What’s your preferred medium? What best suits you?
Well, I'm pretty young and im still doing a lot of learning... so i may not have found what best suits me yet. Right now i prefer painting in oils but i have also worked in plastics, printmaking, dead fish, sculpture, photography, custom toys, and occasionally fashion makes its way on the list. You could probably throw a pile of garbage in front of me and i would give it back as something else.

"I ended up at an art college where i flunked out with flying colors."

Do you listen to music while you work? If so, what music moves you?
Yep i listen to music or audiobooks. I like everything from gregorian chant to aesop rock. Pink floyd, David Bowie, The Flaming Lips, The Pixies, a good Randy Rhoads solo... I really like classical music. I taught myself classical guitar by ear when i was younger but i still can't actually read sheet music.

What challenges you as an artist?
I like challenges. I think my biggest frustration is that I have too many ideas and not enough time for everything. I hate ideas that are lost due to lack of time or manpower.

What’s the longest time you’ve spent on a single piece? Have you ever begun something and had to walk away from it and come back again later? Have you ever abandoned something all together, never to return?
Hmmm the longest ive worked on a painting... Its hard to say perhaps 7 or 8 months, but that is unusually long. I'm a pretty fast worker and i get bored VERY easily. I work on about 12-20 paintings at a time, that way i can keep myself amused. I abandon work all the time, sometimes i come back, sometimes i just paint it white again and start over.
"Well, this sounds crazy butI'm moving to the woods to live in a tent with my boyfriend, 200lb dog, and cat."

Is there a reason in particular that you draw lots of
characters?
Well, i paint a lot of different characters. Some of them have names and stories, and some do not. I have a lot of reoccurring characters and some who only hang out for a blip. Sometimes they will represent really hard core stuff like love, hate, humility, faith, peace and some times they are dumb and represent absolutely nothing. Its a time and place kind of thing. When i was young my mom painted the eyes on dolls, i think those dolls may have been a sort of subconscious base prototype for my characters if that makes sence.

What is your most recent work of art?
That changes every day.

What are your plans for the near future?
Well, this sounds crazy but im moving to the woods to live in a tent with my boyfriend, 200lb dog, and cat... We havent locked down on our exact location yet, but i have sold off all my furniture. Ive also got a group show coming up in early May at Halogen in Seattle with Jeramiah Ketner and Kendra Binney. I have big plans...

Any last words?
CHeers and Peace and People are People. And thanks for having me of course :)

For more on Rudy vist myspace.com/bigdeadvanillafish