The first thing that you’ll notice about the work of Scott C. is how adorable it is.
No matter how twisted or strange, everyone is smiling.
But it’s also a testament to pop culture, capturing familiar faces in new and unique situations.
Amazing Everything, the first collection of his artwork, is available now and is a must buy for pop culture and art aficionados. According to the book’s press release, Amazing Everything has a few important warnings:
- There are monsters in this book, so do not freak out— but to balance that out, there is an equal amount of cute things as well.
- There are friends enjoying each other’s company, but there are also awkward moments that must make us reflect on our own relationships.
- You might find some amazing hats in this book and some beautiful plant life. You may discover the secrets of ancient Egypt and the age of gallant knights.
- You may also come across those who enjoy the timber life.
- You may find zombies and ninjas, because they are quite popular right now and may forever be popular.
- There are cavemen in this book and dinosaurs that would like to be friends with these cavemen.
- There are some rainbows in this book.
- There are great houses in this book. You will see the glory of the residents that live in these houses and catch a glimpse of where they eat, sleep, and go hot tubbing.
- There is fighting in this book. I will not lie. I wish there were not, but the world is full of fighting, and I must document it for you. So that we may learn from it. Learn fighting moves, mostly.
- There is pizza in this book. Quite a lot of pizza, actually.
- There are people hugging in this book. Beware. If you do not like hugging, you may want to shield your eyes in those parts.
- There are a couple of goats in this book.
- There is a map in this book that will teach you about maps. So get ready to learn about maps.
And, like the characters depicted within, I can’t look at this book without smiling.
Scott C. took some time to chat with FOG! about his work, influences and Snuffalupagus.
Tell me about how Amazing Everything came about?
I love art books. I have an addiction to collecting them, so it has always been a dream of mine to collect my work into a book. The paintings included in Amazing Everything spans about a 4 year period and includes work from my gallery shows as well as some illustrative work.
My friend Maurene Goo helped me lay it out. It is like a scrapbook of awesome memories! I got connected with Jack Black through the video game Brutal Legend that he did voice work for and I, visual development. He owns the cute hunter painting where the cute hunter is wooing a lady with a flute horn, maybe it is an oboe, but anyways, he was kind enough to create a little foreword for the book.
Since so much of your work invokes nostalgia, did you find selecting your own work for the book a nostalgic experience?
Very much so! There were so many melancholy tears. I see more much that has changed through the years in my work and every painting brings back a feeling that I had around the time that it was created. Some paintings remind me of certain audiobooks I was listening to at the time. I thinki was listening to Robinson Crusoe during the painting of the King of Kong cover.
It’s hard not to look at your work and be instantly charmed by it. I know your early influences were both Frazetta and X-Men comics and that you used to draw in a more “serious” comic book style. How did you evolve to your current style?
Well, thank you for feeling charmed!
I think most of the changes happened in college. I entered the Academy of Art University in San Francisco with my influences really ironed out. I knew what I liked and did not like, but one of the great things about school is the exposure to new things through your peers.
The friends that I made in school opened my eyes so many other styles of art. While I went into school obsessed with Norman Rockwell and Frank Frazetta, I found artists like Paul Klee and Basquiat affected the way I saw things around me. I loved studying oil painting and figure drawing in school, but I found that the greatest satisfaction came from drawing more stylized, humorous characters and scenes. I still love going to workshops and drawing models, but for galleries and stories I began finding pleasure in these happy sorts of scenes.
I started making more comics with my friends and trying to outfunny each other. we called our little group Hickee. i think that also effected my style. overall though, I have always attempted to capture that childlike excitement that can come with creating drawings and paintings. that can effect the themes and loose style for sure.
Your work runs the gamut of pop culture. While reading the book and your Great Showdowns site, I’m amazed how broad your work really is (you have a Kramer vs. Kramer cartoon). Who or what are your the biggest influences on your work?
Films have always been a great influence on my work, but really everything around me gets me pumped: friends, galleries, TV shows, the internet, dogs, the streets, trees, everything!
My friends tell me some really good jokes sometimes. I discover a lot of new artists through Tumblr, so my sweet mood boards are always changing. Some of my favorite artists at the moment are Olly Moss, Jon Klassen, Sam Bosma, but I am always forgetting names. I have collected a lot of images. Twitter also exposes me to new amazing artists and people.
You’ve also worked as an Art Director for Double Fine Productions, overseeing Psychonauts and Brutal Legend and the upcoming Once Upon a Monster. What was the experience like working with an iconic character like The Cookie Monster?
Man, sometimes I was so excited to be working with Sesame Street characters it almost made me cry. We all had the chance to visit Henson Studios and check out Muppets like Cookie Monster, Elmo, and the Two-Headed Monster. There was a massive Snuffalupagus next to the front door. These characters have always held a deep down warm place in our hearts, so honestly, we were losing our minds.
So designing monsters to hang out with these guys was the dreamiest of dreams and researching these Muppets also made me realize how amazing Elmo is. Kevin Clash is a real witty dude.
What are your upcoming projects?
I’ve got some children’s books in the works right now and am preparing for a show in Los Angeles at Gallery 1988 on November 10th. I’ll also be doing more work with Double Fine in the near future. It is an exciting time.
My first children’s book has just been released, Zombie In Love, written by the amazing Kelly DiPucchio.
What are you currently geeking out over?
I am really geeking on Game of Thrones right now. I reading the fifth book and I love it so much. When I saw George R R Martin at San Diego Comic Con I got real starstruck and shaky.
If you could have a dinner party with six fictional characters who would you invite and what would you serve?
Probably King Kong, The Wolfman, The Mummy, Elmo and a little cloud dude. I would serve Deviled eggs.
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