Art Asylum: David, Tell us about yourself, where do you live and your life style/background?
David Flores: My name is David Paul Flores; I was born in Tulare, CA. I currently live in Santa Barbara, CA. I moved to San Francisco in 1996 & became art director at Deluxe Distribution. Before that I was the illustrator at Shorty’s which I still do to this day, so if you see Shorty’s ads in the skateboard magazine’s I did them…
Art Asylum: You are most well known for you self-proclaimed “stained glass” style, Can you tell us how this style was developed?
David Flores: Just one day at Deluxe I was sitting around making comics with Mark Gonzales, and I just started outlining people’s faces, then cars, trains, shoes…everything…it just kind of stuck, it’s the way my mind interprets lighting in an illustrative fashion…it’s come a long way since my first pie.
Art Asylum: Has any one artist in particular influenced your style or overall creative process?
David Flores: No because I work alone. My process is all self taught trial and error.
Art Asylum: If you could choose one word to describe your art/style what would it be?
David Flores: Influential!
Art Asylum: How would you describe your art for somebody who doesn’t know your stuff?
David Flores: Ha Ha, I tried once to describe it on cue for an interview with Fox News and I said “Anamorphic Stained Glass” it ended up sounding really lame. So now I just carry pictures in my wallet like a father does with his baby pictures…
Art Asylum: Do you consider yourself a graffiti /urban artist or a painter? Is there a difference in your opinion?
David Flores: You could say that my style would fit well in all three of those categories. I don’t see a difference in creating art out on a wall, in a studio or home. It’s all the same…. it’s creating.
Art Asylum: What do you think of the current “Street Art” movement?
David Flores: I think its fun. In tough times or under questionable leadership, the kids will come out and let their opinions be known, whether it be through art, dance, poetry…and I think that’s exactly what is happening.
Art Asylum: How long have you been doing what you do? Is this a full time job?
David Flores: My whole life…but I’ve been published internationally, since I was 20.
Art Asylum: If you weren’t an artist what could you picture yourself doing for a career?
David Flores: A Secret Service Agent.
Art Asylum: What do you love most about what you do?
David Flores: The freedom to come and go as I please and the great people I get to meet along the way.
Art Asylum: How do you see the evolution of your painting compared to what you did in the past more specifically your skate deck art?
David Flores: Well, my art and my style even though it has evolved a bit, it’s still pretty much the same thing…Whereas skateboard art you kind of have to let it flow or get out of the way because the art that was popular last year is going to be garbage this year, skating evolves and un-evolves so much, you kind of have to keep up with a current trend in the market.
Art Asylum: How long does it take you to produce a piece? Do you start out with a sketch book, digital file or do you freehand all the way?
David Flores: It takes about a week for a large piece, I’m working on a few at a time now so I go back and forth from piece to piece I have many different avenues I consider before starting a new piece, what works for one might not work for another.
Art Asylum: For the people who know your work, we recognize your mark with the famous “Mouse”. When did you start using this character and was there a significant reason for choosing him?
David Flores: I just added my style to an already existing drawing of him, I liked it so much I got super excited…I printed stickers out right away and started putting them all over SF…Did stencils too…I just think the balance of the character was my main motivation.
Art Asylum: Your style is really clean, your characters abstract, how do you define the direction taken in your work?
David Flores: Unique, trying to tie all my art into one another, one piece exists in another piece, or this toy borrows from this image & vice versa.
Art Asylum: Have you ever experienced any problems with copyrights?
David Flores: No not really.
Art Asylum: You do a lot of work for brands both in and outside of the urban realm, how have these projects affected your work as an artist? Has it limited your personal projects or ideas in anyway?
David Flores: I look at all projects as practice…practice makes perfect. Practice for what? I don’t really know I guess just perfecting my style one piece at a time.
Art Asylum: You have participated in making many toys, is this a medium you enjoy working with? And how do you choose your projects?
David Flores: Vinyl figures are a great way to see 3 dimensional ideas come to life… from concept to design to final product…even package design is fun when it comes to vinyl…I have a sketchbook full of designs, I just pick the one that seems the most refined at the time..
Art Asylum: On a more personal note, do you have any crazy or funny stories about your experiences as an artist?
David Flores: I got arrested and detained in Japan for tagging… The Clincher is I don’t even tag , I got stopped cause I guess somebody called in about it, I didn’t have my passport on me because it was about 3 am in Tokyo. The police ushered me to my hotel to get my passport then OFF TO JAIL!!! Where we had to wait until like 8 am for a translator to be available, I sat around for hours drawing portraits of the police officers, they would all come in one at a time and sit and have their portraits drawn… It was a trip… All they did was make me sign a paper that stated I would never do that again… and then they cut me loose.
Art Asylum: You have been in this game for a long time, do you remember the first piece of art you ever sold?
David Flores: It was a portrait of Joques’ eves Cousteau to Robin Williams out of Red Five in San Francisco. Before that I was just giving stuff away.
Art Asylum: Is there an artist, famous or unknown, that you’re fan of or respect a lot?
David Flores: I like Murakami for the absurd & Kenji Yanobe as well.
Art Asylum: And what’s new for 2009 what will we see from you this year? Any gallery shows or toy releases coming up?
David Flores: Well I just released three new Exclusives for Art Asylum Boston; I also have a gallery show in Boston with Victor Marka, a.k.a Marka 27. And then I’m heading to Hong Kong with Let from Disney, for a block 28 show that’s taking place in July. Everything else is still in the works. “Two bit” a new figure with BIC plastics should be out in September.
-David P. Flores
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