Today we’d like to introduce you to John Vernon Forbes.
John Vernon, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
I was born in a small south west Indiana town and lived on a farm until I was twelve. My paternal great grandfather had started a nursery/landscaping business that had been passed on to my father by the time I was born. As a child, I liked to watch my father work in his office drawing landscape plans. Not only was he good draftsman, he was good at realistic drawing. By observation and childish questions my father explained to me the basic concepts of depth, perception, and shading.
But the thing that caught my attention most were the comic strips in the local newspaper. Comic books were OK, though I found the daily funnies to be my thing. I studied those things with the same vigor as portrayed in old movies where young artists are contemplating the masterpieces in the Louvre. I was enthralled how movement conveyed in a few minimal lines. It was like petroglyphs from the ancient Aztecs.
Can you give our readers some background on your art?
I use to draw and paint with water colors. Now I mainly screen print. I find the laboriousness of the process relaxing. I like mixing the inks to see if I can get a color that I see in my mind. I draw my negatives on tracing paper using a paint marker. What I’m shooting for in screen printing is the same effect found in the Bazooka Joe Bubblegum comics where the registration is a hair off.
I also do animations in a method I cribbed from Winsor McCay (1867 – 1934), meaning I draw every character’s movement by hand on a separate piece of paper. For this I use a Faber-Castell pen and typing paper.
What I hope people take away from this is to be entertained.
Do you think conditions are generally improving for artists? What more can cities and communities do to improve conditions for artists?
For lack of a better term, I consider myself akin to the post WW2 beatniks. I try to focus on what impulses intrigue me at the very moment. I’ve had the occasional person call me “an artistic type” in a pejorative manner, but in my defense, I rarely have stomach aches. You have to let things take their course and do your thing while keeping your motives pure.
What’s the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
I’m going to have some of prints displayed at The Electric Jungle later this summer. To see some of my prints go to my Instagram account. https://www.instagram.com/tijuanahercules/. To get in touch with you can use my email. tijuanahercules@gmail.com
Contact Info:
- Email: tijuanahercules@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tijuanahercules/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/TijHercules
Image Credit:
Portrait photo credit- Elizabeth Golub
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