Interview with Illustrator Matthew Woodson

Our Illustration Director Christine Cavallomagno interviewed artist Matthew Woodson for our blog!

Christine Cavallomagno - Welcome to Jed Root, Matthew! We’re so happy to have you on board! Tell us a little bit about your illustration career up to this point?

Matthew Woodson - I graduated art school in January of 2006. I spent all of my time in school sitting in front of cases full of taxidermy, and drawing comics on the side. At first, these two things didn’t amount to much when it came to the idea of a career. But within a month of graduating I was commissioned by Margetotes, Fertitta & Partners to work with them on the 2006 Perry Ellis Fall/Winter campaign. I had stumbled into a dream job without even knowing it. My job with MFP catapulted me into the world of illustration head first, and I basically haven’t put the brush down since; juggling jobs from large advertising agencies, editorial work, book publications, and album packaging.

CC - When did you first realized you loved to draw?

MW - I am sure I am going to answer this the same way that most artists do, by saying I can’t remember a time when I didn’t love to draw. Drawing has always been second nature to me; it is as reactionary as breathing, and as functional as writing. I can basically blame all of my inabilities with math and grammar on the fact that I wasn’t paying enough attention in class for the first 12 years of my schooling because I was too busy drawing dinosaurs.

CC - Where did you grow up? Does that setting ever haunt your work? That reminds me of your website, called Ghostco. How did you come up with that name?

MW - I grew up in southern Indiana, on the edge of Brown County in a house built by my father hidden in the woods. There is very little of my childhood surroundings that doesn’t permeate almost every piece I do. It seems almost funny now that drawing deer, trees and birds has become so chic, when those were some of the first things to grab my artistic attention as a kid. I have been facetiously explaining Ghostco as “to be within the company of the deceased” or “an organization of the non-existent” for years. And while it isn’t completely based on the idea of actual ghosts, it deals more with feelings of loss, and grief, and the ghosts of ideas. The word Ghostco has become almost a joke after evolving over the years. It initially started with my childhood obsession with ghosts, and then was then cemented into my psyche after being devastated by several deaths in my later teenage years. I used “Ghostco Enterprises” as a moniker in my early college years within my rather loose interpretation of graffiti, which nearly got me kicked out of school (wait, they don’t want you to draw on the walls in art school?). Then in 2003 when I finally buckled down to purchase webspace, Ghostco just seemed like the perfect name to use. It encompasses not only my work, but also how I lead my life.
 
CC - Your work often deals with dramatic environments in nature almost as much as it addresses human psychology and emotions. How do these inspirations come through in your commercial work and how do they inform one another?

MW - Dealing with human psychology is just an inevitable facet of doing figurative illustration. Psychology either through mood, palette, or human expression is the driving force behind my work. I don’t know how to draw a person without drawing an emotion behind them. It’s the connection between the artist and the viewer, and any piece of art or illustration lacking that connection just falls flat. But you can only get so far with drawing emotion through the figure, and that’s where natural environments come in. We have been personifying nature since the dawn of humans; it is part of who we are. The ability to show the same emotions through a resting figure, and a snow covered countryside is what I find challenging and inescapable when I start drawing anything.

CC - You’ve worked with multiple art forms including tattoo work, comics and graphic design, and have found illustration to be your main obsession. How do you approach these different media and what is it about illustration that you love so much?

MW - I guess really I don’t see a difference between all of these forms. Comics and illustration are basically the same thing in my eyes, except in one version you have to tell the story in just one panel. Tattoos (or at least how I handle tattoos) are really no different from illustration either. Yes, there is more of a sense of design that goes along with drawing for tattoos, but in essence I approach them in almost exactly the same way. As for graphic design, I have relied on simple palettes, curved edges, and dotted lines for years. It is basically just a simplified version of my illustration.

CC - Tell us about some clients you’ve really enjoyed working with. What are your favorite types of projects?
MW - I guess when looking through the last few years of my work, a client that I have really enjoyed working with is Type Records. Working with them has been a dream, and there is very little art direction given to me anymore. The process of making the album covers has become this beautifully intuitive thing. I basically sit down and listen to an album repeatedly, and just start drawing until I reach a visual that I feel fits the music. This is a practice I have been doing since I can remember; be it with music, literature, photography or movies. It is just very nice when I come across a client that also embraces that process. We have really created a strong working relationship over doing so many album packages together.

Comments

[album designing]

Great interview!! Nice drawing.

[BritneyHill33]

Some specialists argue that business loans help people to live the way they want, just because they can feel free to buy needed things. Furthermore, some banks give short term loan for different classes of people.