CVLT Nation is excited to announce an upcoming art show, Midnite Communion, taking place on Saturday, November 23rd in Los Angeles. This awesome show, put together by Ear/Splitters and sponsored by CVLT Nation, features the artwork of Bryan Proteau, Davide Mancini, Jas Helena and Stevie Floyd, and showcases collaborative pieces as well as support pieces from each artist. Midnite Communion not only brings together some of our favorite artists from the music community, but it will also bring some special (yet to be announced) music guests into the mix! Stay tuned for all the info soon and more rad features…today we’re bringing you interviews with the show’s creator, Jas Helena, as well as Natvres Mortes Illvstration’s Bryan Proteau, with whom she collaborated on the beautiful baroque skull portraits below…
Questions: Ryan Avery of Ear/Splitters
Jas Helena, Illustrator
Long Beach, CA
Instagram: @jas_helena
http://jashelena.tumblr.com
Bryan Proteau, Illustrator & Tattoo Apprentice
San Francisco, CA
Instagram: @clovenhoov
http://clovenhoov.tumblr.com
What was your main inspiration while working on this piece? Also, what do you typically look for to inspire you on a day-to-day basis?
Jas: I was mainly inspired by baroque-style portraits. On a day-to-day basis, I don’t really seek any sort of inspiration out.. it just strikes me and I run with it.
My main inspiration for developing this duo came from my love of over the top baroque artwork that hurts your eyes. More specifically, the type of portraits you would see from someone like Goya. Then throw some kind of personal twist to it and voila! I figured It would be a lot more fun to take this project on as a collaboration just to see what we could both come up with and I am so happy that I did because I feel our pieces really complement one another.
Bryan: My inspiration came largely from my collaborator. She approached me, this is her baby. She had a pretty clear vision of a diptych showcasing our individual styles on similar subject matter. I don’t really look for inspiration, it just comes through naturally, and it comes from everywhere.
What is your creative process, and specifically, how it was utilized during this piece?
Jas: My process is strange, to say the least. I had already developed what I wanted the piece to look like in my head, then sat down, sketched out, and stylized it from there without any expectations. I guess you could say that my process is just diving in pencil first and seeing what comes out of it.
Bryan: I mainly just try and get in the right headspace for whatever it is I’m trying to make. For this piece, I was looking at baroque portraiture. Those old oil paintings used a lot of black and were high contrast, so that immediately appealed to me. I was looking at a couple different references and from there just watched the piece take shape.
What was your soundtrack, if any, while working on this piece?
Jas: I often work in silence because I always forget to hit play, touch the needle to my vinyl, or whatever it may be. Typically I become too engulfed in my work to see or hear much else. If I was listening to anything, it was most likely Celeste or Bell Witch.
Bryan: I like to watch shows on Netflix while I work, so my soundtrack was largely Chef Gordon Ramsay yelling at people on the show “Kitchen Nightmares.” But I was also listening to some stuff like True Widow and Slint.
How would you describe your collaborator’s work / style?
Jas: Bryan has a style that embodies dark, obscure themes approached in a way that you would see in classical illustrations combined with a tattoo composition. It’s good.
Bryan: Jas is definitely putting her own spin on this kind of art that’s applicable to heavy music. Her subject matter is often somewhat grim, yet highly decorative. There’s a lightness to it despite being so detail heavy. I dunno, it’s weird describing my peer’s work sometimes.
What initially attracted you to this project, and what are you working on next?
Jas: It was a concept I had in mind for quite some time, not to mention my continued obsession with bones. Most of my favorite pieces Bryan has created have a skull in them, so I figured he would be a great partner to approach and it sort of progressed from there.
Bryan: Jas and I have worked for the same band in the past, so I was already aware of her and her work. When she approached me about the project it seemed like it would be fun and she already had a solid idea in mind. I like seeing how different artists approach a common subject, it’s a good opportunity to highlight our similarities and differences. Right now I’m working on a poster for Chelsea Wolfe for her San Francisco show in September and working toward tattooing more regularly.
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