Interview on Spray Blog

my interview with Spray Blog is now up! go check it out here below is the interview.

Please tell us about yourself.

I’m Jesse Chapo, aka chapolito, and I’m just about to graduate from UCSD and I cannot wait!

Where do you currently live and work?

For now, San Diego, which is great because it’s much nicer than LA but only two hours away from it.

What mediums do you work with?

Recently I’ve been working with pens and paint on wood. I’ve been happy with the outcome, but I’m working on incorporating different objects and mediums.

Describe your working process when creating a new work.

It all starts with an idea and sketch. I don’t go too crazy sketching out pieces cause a good part of the details come out when I get into making the piece but its important to get the main objects and ideas translated. Once I get it all figured out, its time for the trip to Home Depot to get some wood. I’ve been using Birch, I really like the stiffness of it and the patterns of the gain can be beautiful. Then I prep the wood with a clear finish, which keeps most of the wood’s original colors and prevents any pens bleeding into the wood grain. Then it’s time to sketch and paint a base in white. Then I sketch again and use the pens to make the final piece.

What kind of things do you do when you get blocked or find it hard to create something?

I find that I constantly have a number of projects going on concurrently so I take lots of breaks from projects while still being productive.

Where are you currently finding your inspiration?

Literature definitely has been giving me fuel. I’ve been picking up a lot of little things through collaborating and learning how others approach their work.

Can you please tell us a little about your piece, The Death March.

The Death March materialized from a collaborative drawing I did with Alex Chiu that had a bunch of heads in circles. At the time, I was reading Franz Kafka’s The Trial. The image of two executioners leading someone to his death was sticking in my mind.

Can you tell us a little about your NEW WORKS show at Cafe Roma. How did it go?

Awww the show was lousy. I was happy with the work, but nobody really noticed and it’s a peculiar audience. I think I just need to stop displaying work at my university.

Can you tell us a little about your involvement with the Beyond Borders 2008 ? How did you get involved in the show?

Beyond Borders is a juried group show of work from college students in the western US and Canada. There was an entry form hanging on a bulletin board at my university so I entered. Also it was only $10 to enter - most juried exhibitions are like $30 or more; which is whack.

Where has your work been seen?

Not a lot of places. Maybe a billion times on my university campus and the Internet aka the world wide web.

Where will it be seen next?

Right now I’m working on a big batch of new pieces for a show that will be displayed with the work of Eric Smail at the Phyllis Stein Gallery in LA. I’m really excited cause we’ve got a lot of ideas right now and I’m going to finally have some free time in a little bit here to really get cracking on the new work.

What is your dream art assignment?

A big collaboration with my favorite artists. And it would come with a free case of beer. Make that two.

What is your favorite color?

I love a deep purple. Maybe with some accents of cyan and yellow or a pinkish/magenta. I really think that colors work best in multiples.

Who is your favorite artist? And Why?

Jon Burgerman . I think it’s a combination of his colors and characters - just brilliant. Also I’m getting heaps of momentum from Benjamin Cee, Parra and Steven Hanrrington

What book/magazine are you reading this week?

Juxtapoz, always something fresh in that magazine. También he leído mis libros de español por escuela.

Ever do a self portrait? Where is it now?

I can’t take myself serious enough to create one.

Where is your favorite place to hang out?

I grew up on the beach and don’t think I’ll ever be able to live without it.

Any final words of advice?

People are generally pretty friendly and social so if you ever feel like sending them an email, they usually respond and then generally good things come out of this practice. This interview is a good example of this and its also an invitation to send me a hello at chapolito@gmail.com. Thanks Chuck b.!