words and Interview by Mauricio Vargas
Sterling Hundley is not only a fantastic and classically trained illustrator/painter, but he was also a big inspiration for me and a lot of my colleagues in college. I was never one to buddy buddy with the teachers, but the respect and admiration was still there from afar. Well, after running this blog for some time now, and doing a couple of other artist interviews, I knew that I wanted to get in touch with Sterling, so I finally did, and at a conveniently oppurtune moment as well. Sterling recently opened his debut solo show at Ghostprint Gallery in Richmond, Va, and is turning some heads with his new approach to a medium he had already mastered and made his own. BLAAAHg decided to pick his brain a bit and see how life has been during these tough times and where this new inspiration comes from.
What inspires you these days?
I am so much more open minded today, than I was yesterday. I see inspiration everywhere.
You have a blog dedicated to giving advice to your fans / students. How do you go about helping a hopeless student fresh out of college in such tough economic times? Has this helped you through times of struggle?
As a Professor, I fight this moral battle constantly. It isn’t isolated to this time, or this economy, although I know a number of people who are at the top of the game who are struggling through it. No one could have dissuaded me from this as a profession, no matter what they said. I want to provide students with the best, most up to date, current information possible. I was given a lot of disinformation in school, and I’ve vowed to be an open book for anyone who seeks that information.
You have a show coming up at the Ghostprint Studios. The approach you’re taking this time around has changed stylistically, taking your art in a more abstract direction. What was different in your approach to this show compared to your last show? What inspired such a change?
The show at Ghostprint Gallery is actually my first Solo Show. I had a very small one man show of my illustration work years ago, but that wasn’t work created for a show. This is. I’m burned out answering to Editors, and I’ve decided that it’s time to edit my own work. The process allows me to explore much bigger ideas over a body of work vs. having to tie up a concept in a single illustration. I’m turning much of what I know about image making completely around, and I’m trying to govern chaos in the process from the very beginning. As the author of my own content, it is up to me to determine my own constraints, and solve my own problems.
I read on your blog you had a graphic novel in the works? Whats that all about?
Just another direction for my work. It is a personal project that I hope to be able to commit more time to some day. I grew up on comics, and I love to write. I’m dedicating this decade to gallery pursuits- next decade writing, and somewhere in between, a graphic novel. Some of the work is fleshed out- story line, characters, setting, etc., but like most projects that I want to pursue from here on, it is expansive, multi-layered, and must find it’s own time.
What do you listen to while working? What’s in your jukebox these days?
My friend/apprentice/ Jeff Love has been kind enough to leave his CD’s. I grab them at random. He has an amazing collection. There was a period where I listened to Cake for months. My mind is totally focused on the paintings when I’m working, and I forget to eat, listen to music, etc. Another friend, Leslie Herman, has been helping me out, as well. There are a number of Radiohead albums that I can’t live without.
If you were supposed to live in another time period, which do you think would be most appropriate for you?
I believe that I have an honesty and the mannerisms relating to the 50’s, but the openess of someone from the 60’s. That makes me about perfect for this time and place.
If you were a Star Wars character, who would you be?
Hun, Solo (great timing)
Whats your favorite animal?
my two cats- but I’m crazy about all nature- except for the flies swarming me in my garage/studio. They are the size of house flies, but they bite. I’ve declared an all out war. I love the anatomy of horses, and other animals where the musculature is very apparent. Big cats, bears, deer, hell, all wildlife.
Chocolate or rainbow sprinkles?
Vanilla, just plain old vanilla, or oreo.
um….. ok i’m spent. THANKS STERLING!
See more of Sterling Hundley’s work and his Blog.
and make sure to check out his Debut Solo show “EMERGENT” at:
Ghostprint Gallery 220 West Broad Street Richmond, VA 23220 (804)344.1557
