VOICE 1156 Q&A WITH Russ Pope
Interview conducted by Noah Spahn

Voice 1156: Hey Russ, how about setting the stage for this interview by giving us an overview of your artistic achievements (especially as they might relate to your achievements shaping the skateboarding industry)?

RP: Well as for shaping the Skateboard industry, I'm not sure that I have. I've Creatively directed a whole bunch of artists at a variety of different companies, from SMA, to Speed Wheels, Creature, Scarecrow, etc. I'm not really a graphic artist, I'm more of a fine artist, who on occasion puts a
drawing/illustration and or a painting on a skateboard or T shirt, short or button up. As for artistic achievements, I've shown all over the U.S. in major Metro areas as well as some more rural spots. I've also shown abroad throughout the E.U., Japan, and Canada.

Voice 1156: You have a really ambrosial view on the commerce end of your art, how would you best describe how you feel about art for money?

RP: I really don't (at least I try not to) take the commerce end of the art thing into consideration when making my art. It's cool to have someone want to pay you for your efforts on the tail end, but that is most definately not the motivation. It should be art for the sake of art, not for the paycheck.

Voice 1156: How has the scarcity of 'painting time' affected your process of painting? Can you describe your painting process?

RP: One thing it's done is keep me somewhat sleep deprived. I have a solid 5 - 6 hours every enight that I can work in the studio. It comes after my full day of work and bedtime routines with my two kids. I don't think it changes the look or feel of my work so much though. I usually have multiple layers in my work which means I often times will have quite a few pieces going at once because I'll lay down a few layers and then need to allow for dry time, so I'll work on other pieces while wet ones dry. The end result is that I usually produce batches of 3 - 5 pieces at a time.

Voice 1156: What is next for Russ Pope? Where do you see yourself (and your artistic career) in 5yrs? 25yrs?

RP:Who knows.... hopefully I'll continue to be as fortunate as I have been and be able to continue showing all over the world, meeting new cool people and learning more about painting and life along the way. I'd like to .

Voice 1156: Thank you for taking the time to talk with us!

RP: Thanks for the interview, check out my new site for updates and new works in the Gallery www.russpope.com Thanks Noah, Monica, Elizabeth and Michael, Jimmy, Tenore, Joel, Blaize, Lorna, My wonderful, patient, loving, wife Jennifer. Bye.