InterView Introduction Background Work When have you started using the internet and what role does this form of communication play for you, personally, for your art, and for your business? I think I got my first dial-up connection around 1997. It meant I started doing a lot of illustration work without ever meeting anyone face-to-face. More recently it has become an incredibly efficient way of prevaricating and avoiding doing any drawing. It is invaluable for quickly looking up different kinds of knots, Viking swords, medieval footwear and suchlike. In your opinion, what effect does the internet have culturally? It swallows everything, and so you can find everything in it. What is the most positive effect of the web and the most negative for you, personally? Positive: ease of communication. Negative: a homogenous culture. When and how did drawing become your profession? I grew up surrounded by beautiful and amazing illustrated books: Richard Scarry, Dr. Seuss, Tintin, Asterix, Lucky Luke. I was always aware of Illustration being a means to earning a living from drawing. Did somebody encourage you to become an artist? My parents are very cultured people. They exposed me to those amazing illustrators and also many other inspiring books and films. I spent a lot of time drawing from an early age and was always encouraged by them to pursue it. Do you need a lot of courage as an artist - to pursue with your career, to carry through with your ideas - or is it more stubbornness? There are two things you need: talent and the ability to pimp that talent. I am pretty good at pimping myself! If not art what other profession could you see yourself in earning your money? Would you take up cycling professionally if you were offered the 'job'? I think I am more naturally talented as a runner. As a kid I wanted to be Steve Ovett. But I wasted my youth drawing. Humour plays a great part in your illustrations. Do you think it is easier for people to 'take in' art if it is humorous and could you see yourself doing the opposite, too, being a bit darker, a bit more austere? I don't consciously try and make my work humorous. I am a realist in my outlook on life, and I think humour is a natural part of this worldview. Without it I would be a pessimist. I find it very difficult to take anything too seriously. But nor am I flippant about everything. I take the act and art of drawing cartoons very seriously, even if my subject matter may seem ridiculous. I have always considered 'cartooning' a High Art: creating a world out of nothing but a line on a piece of paper seems a momentously expressive thing to do. Do you have goals that you are trying to reach as an artist, what is your 'drive'? What would you like to accomplish in your 'profession'? My drive is to be better (or to not be so shit). The last piece of work is always the worst, so in the next one you must make amends. This never happens; the new work becomes the worst and the endless cycle continues! ...