Inside Sam Weber’s studio
by We caught up with New York-based artist Sam Weber recently to get the inside word on where most of his creativity is unleashed: his studio space. In regards to your workspace, what are the props for your daily inspiration? ‘I wouldn’t say there is anything specific, although I am fairly particular about where I like to work, and what sort of stuff I like to have around me. There are things that I look at often, a book of Max Ernst collages, one on Yoshitaka Amano, and a big stack of clippings from magazines and the Internet that I will periodically leaf through to get inspired’.
‘I do like to work with some music in the background. I don’t really have all that much artwork hanging up, mainly because of scarce wall space. Just having my materials lying around and some drawings underway is usually enough to get me motivated and working. Having a studio is a nice luxury’.
Are you usually working on a series of paintings or illustrations at a time, or do you work on one until it’s finished and then move on?
‘I wish I could work on only one thing at a time, but inevitably projects overlap and I find myself juggling many things at once. It’s unfortunately something that comes with being an illustrator. It’s less frustrating when it comes to my own work, as for the most part a deadline isn’t hanging over my head. I fantasize regularly about one day only working on one picture at a time, from start to finish. C’est la guerre’.
Is there a time of day in your studio when you generally feel most productive and creative?
‘I love early mornings, that is definitely my favourite time to work. I love starting early and getting into a project before the phone starts ringing and other things begin to demand my attention. I used to work a lot at night, but the early morning suits me much better I think’.
What’s your studio missing that it could do with right now?
‘A ping pong table and more plants’.
[photos by Reynard Li]
Tagged: New York artists, sam weber
RELATED
Combining my studies in Graphic Design and traditional drawing, I made the natural progression to illustration in 2009. Inspired by artists such as Sam Weber, Jeremy Fish, the Hanuka brothers, Edward Kinsella, and Ian Francis, my work falls somewhere between semi-realism and comic. I communicate ideas through a mash up of watercolour, vector, and graphite. Read more
BLOW UP: featuring Hanuka, Shimizu, Weber
Three illustrators from vastly different backgrounds — Sam Weber (Canada), Yuko Shimizu (Japan), and Tomer Hanuka (Israel) — are meeting at the crossroads of a distinct American aesthetic to examine their new-found artistic voices through personal mythologies, broken narratives and remixed identities. Each of the illustrators featured as part of BLOW UP (running at New York’s Society of Illustrators until October 16) created new works to be shown for the first time in this exhibition. Read more
The great thing about knowing an artist for a long time is experiencing their development and progression. New York-based Jeffrey Burdian has really developed a strong and refined voice since I first saw the serious work he was beginning to make in 2005, allowing his compositions and choices to be elegantly simple and evocative without over-thinking his concepts. Read more
Also by ZOLTON
Avertisements from Playboy Magazine: Nov and Dec 1962
Our friends over at How To Be A Retronaut recently published a killer selection of print ads from two issues of Playboy Magazine in 1962. It shows that while much has changed in the way of messaging, not enough has changed by way of the medium. Read more
Anna Utopia Giordano has created these Popbottles for an art exhibtion as a way to raise ‘social awareness on topics such as alcohol abuse by teens, alcohol abuse by pregnant women, the disinterest of some parents towards their children (abandoned for days between toys and video games), [and] how far marketers can go to gain the attention of their younger customers’. Oh, ok. We just think they look kinda cool. Read more
How the Internet’s biggest sites looked at launch
How the times have changed! Check out these awesome screenshots of how some of our favourite websites looked at the very moment they launched back in the day, then be grateful for the savvy workings of digital designers. Mind you, I think the New York Times back then kinda looked easier to read. Read more
YOU'RE SAYING (3)
JT said | 29 August, 2008
Your link to the photographer’s website is broken.
His name is Reynard Li, and the website is reynardli.com
Sam Weber — Lost At E Minor: For creative people said | 20 November, 2008
[...] some awesome new work up on New York-based illustrator, Sam Weber’s website, including this one above which is did for the Soulpepper Theatre. We asked him a little while back [...]
HAVE YOUR SAY
Artist John Borowicz does a lot of amazing stuff, but his series of drawings composed of little tiny blocks and shapes are seriously nuts. Read more
Richard Colman is one hell of an awesome human being. I go back and forth on whether or not I enjoyed him more in his drinking days or post drinking days. I guess there are pros and cons to both scenarios. He is a very talented man and a close friend. We have exchanged ideas over the years and pushed each other in the true spirit of oneupsmanship. He’s proven to be a great source of inspiration.
Back in the day, when I was a skinny teenager on the great pedestal of life, I had a real obsession for the understated, low-fi, deliciously melodic and somewhat blurry sounds of the New Zealand Flying Nun bands. I would pool my meagre savings and canvas the local record shops, scouring the racks for the latest cassettes from The Bats, The Chills, The Clean, and, later, The Straitjacket Fits. Read more
A young female once said, ‘if I were into hot bikie guys, I would always hang out at Deus’. Translation: Guys on bikes like to hang out at Deus Ex Machina because they love the quality custom bike and all the quality trimmings. And, seriously, even the most Toyota Corolla driving of women will be entranced by the beauty of the custom work done by this place. Men and women alike fill the humid, tin-roofed showroom, running their fingers from the rough leather seat thing to the glossy front cover thing to the shiny metal handlebar things. Of course, if you really don’t care, or don’t know how to appreciate a thing of beauty, then, surely, you will love the Deus café. Truffle oil drizzled field mushrooms appear on the breakfast menu. If that doesn’t make you bow at the Altar of Deus, then you can go to hell.
Whenever I begin to take life too seriously, I head over to Indexed for a little humor treat. Never have math, formulas and graphs been so clever and witty. The creator of the site started it as a way to make fun of some things, sense of others. Somehow her little formula worked. She is now listed in TIME Magazine’s Top Blogs of 2008. And now Jessica Hagy is a published author. Enjoy exploring the inner-workings of her mind. It is simply delightful.
Nine months ago Sydney couple Matt Cribb and Bree Carter decided they’d take their relationship to the next level. They started making beats. After posting two home-recorded tracks on MySpace as WOW, they got the attention of New York-based independent label Metal Postcard who agreed to release the duo’s first official pressing. Read more
Born in the 80s? Grew up with a TV in the house? Then you will probably appreciate this bizarre mashup of The Goonies unlikely duo and Sesame Street’s lovable pair. Available on Monday August 8 for 24 hours only. Read more
WE'RE POSTING / SOME OF THE BEST
Matthew Dear’s Black City album totem
Our friends at Ghostly International are releasing Matthew Dear’s Black City album as a limited edition ‘totem’. A what? A totem – a limited edition metal bar used to access a private music chamber. Cool! Read more
Never ever, ever, ever, ever park here
Some friendly advice for the neighbours, who simply don’t get it, or street art? You decide which one it is.
Benjamin Edminston’s psychedelic heads seem to have some fearful wisdom behind their blissed-out eyes. Read more
Here are a couple awesome pieces by Matt Leines that were recently on display in the Doubting Thomases exhibit at Nudashank gallery in Baltimore. Gives me ideas for Halloween. Read more
Christoph Niemann illustrates a nightmare flight
New York Times illustrator Christoph Niemann has created a brilliant visual diary outlining the peril and pitfalls that beset the everyday passenger based on his recent experience flying from New York to his home town of Berlin. Read more
This cool black unisex t shirt by UK label Client is made in England, printed in Berlin, and beautifully packaged in East Berlin cartonage, especially designed for Client. Read more
If you have a Twitter feed that focuses on cool pop cultural things and you’d like to swap Tweets with Lost At E Minor and other like-minded Twitterers, drop us a note (with Tweet Swap in the title). We have a system in place and we’d like to have you in on it! [illustration by Brad Fitzpatrick]
FOLLOW US
DISCOVER MORE
SO...
SEARCH: Can't find what you're looking for? Do a search..
IS IT GOOD FOR YOU TOO?
We hope you're enjoying your time on Lost At E Minor, but it's not over yet. Got something to share? Tell us about it and we'll look to publish it. If you want to have your work featured on the site, we'd love to hear from you. Pssst, we also have an online store stocking some of the goodies we feature on the site.
If you're a media agency and want to use this platform to connect with our readership, then drop us a line and tell us about it. Oh yeah, and we do digital consulting for cool brands that want to reach the sort of demographic that visits this site.
Melissa Kojima - Artist in LA LA Land said | 8 August, 2008
I love Sam Weber’s work. It’s great to see some photos of his work space and to hear a little about his creative process. Thank you for sharing this.