Tell us a bit about yourself and how you found your way to a creative career.
Joshua Maupin. Born 1985 in Dallas, Texas. Growing up in a small town outside of Dallas called Frisco was mostly slow and mundane but as I’ve gotten older I have realized that it allowed me the time to discover my creative side. My mother would give me art projects and was always a positive influence on anything creative. My father's profession as a football coach instilled the principles of discipline and efficiency, which would later become a valuable asset in my artistic practice. With those combined I feel like this created a great mixture for making art. Once I got a bit older I moved to New York City for inspiration and counterculture which helped lead me to my art style.
How did you find your medium and style, and who and what influenced you?
Cartoons and graffiti were my first obsessions. Starting out at a young age it taught me the fundamentals of design and character styles. That led to me getting more into painting and illustration. Artists like Philip Guston, Robert Crumb and Ralph Bakshi were huge influences in my art development.
What subjects are you most fascinated with?
I feel like my fascinations with subjects change all the time. Mostly when I get inspired or experience something new can really affect what kind of work I produce. More recently I have been inspired by the absurdity of life and how we go about it. The day to day things we do for attention or to become famous. Having a life motto of “Smash that like and subscribe button” and the effects it has on us and our psyche. This gets me thinking about all kinds of paintings I can do to reflect on how absurd life can be based around how much importance we put on our obsession with content and instant gratification. Exploring these subjects feels pretty endless but also could give more meaning to a narrative of our current experiences.
What illustration trend are you either loving or hating at the moment?
To be honest I feel like we’ve come to a custom of focusing on money more than creatively pushing limits or thinking more out of the box etc. Over the years there’s been this development in corporate illustration styles and it's starting to all blend together. Anything overly cute or very sellable has turned illustration styles into clickbait and “easy on the eyes” content. It's a new form of pop art regurgitating itself to try to make sales etc. With this social media business model we have to abide by now has made us more concerned about being judged or negative feedback that it ultimately puts us inside a box. Which doesn’t give a great recipe for outside thinkers. I want to see more commercial illustrations that will push creative limits and have hard hitting subject matters that are more thought provoking. Not having some famous person tell a mainstream company what's the real style they should focus on. This will give us the chance to have more constructive conversations about the subject or experience. So yeah I don’t love or hate any new illustration styles I’ve just gotten rather bored with it.
How do you create characters, what inspires them, how do you use color?
I’ve mostly been inspired by classic cartoons from the 1940s to 1980s. That's how I go about starting my inspiration. Focusing on characteristics and function with the cartoons etc. I look at form and shape then the flow of how it all comes together. What’s the personality of the character or subject matter? Relaying this into a character form allows me to process what inspires the subject or vibe of the creation. Then that will lead to the colorways and theory of how to compliment the colors you want to use. I use a more classic color theory method from the Bauhaus art / professor Johannes Itten. His formulas really reflect how I look at color and the effects of how color works.
If you had to pick a favorite project, which one are you most proud of and why?
That's a hard question to answer! I feel like I’ve done so many different projects to be proud of. But to narrow it down I’d say there’s 3 different projects in commercial, fashion and art world I like to express.
Working with Apple Music was the first time I got to explore animation and to see my illustrations come to life. This really set me up for a lot of fun projects / jobs in the future.
The first real fashion company I worked with was Gypsy Sport. I turned my illustrations into patterns and the designers made them into elegant clothing pieces for their fashion week runway show. It got such a good write up in Vogue and positive feedback. After doing that job it really opened me up to the idea of making clothing and working with other clothing designers.
As for my artworld accomplishment, I am proud of getting the opportunity to have a painting of mine in a 2018 group show called “Punch” curated by Nina Chanel Abney at Jeffrey Deitch Projects.
Describe your dream project.
Wow, my dream project !! I feel like over the years I have always had one in mind but too busy or don’t have the budget to make it happen. Living in NYC has really made me more of a practical artist and mostly focusing on realistic projects. Working within my means has allowed me to go further. But if I could say I have a dream project it would be working with a company or gallery on massive sculptural installations. Creating an interactive space including animation, paintings and sculptures. Moreless a massive museum style art exhibition.
What’s next for you?
Right now mostly focusing on my new oil paintings for my upcoming solo exhibition in Dallas in June. I am also in the process of making a cartoon and exciting commercial collaborations dropping later this year.
Rapid Fire Round!
Morning person or night owl?
Morning person
Favorite word
Oh wow
Lunch or dinner?
Lunch
A celebrity you’d like to have a drink with
Johnny Depp
If you could time travel, would you go to the past or the future?
Past! Right after WW2
Sweet or savory?
Savory
Are you a thinker or doer?
Both
Go-to karaoke song
“All my Rowdy Friends are Coming Over Tonight” by Hank Williams Jr
City break or beach holiday?
City break
What superpower would you like to have?
Superhuman Strength
Thank you Joshua!
