 |
Where did you grow up? |
 |
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
 |
|
Did you study art after high school? |
|
Yes. I went to Carnegie Mellon University. |
|
|
How old were you when you became interested in art? |
|
When I was growing up, my parents noticed that I liked to draw. My teachers saw something in me, too. My third grade art teacher encouraged my parents to keep pushing me. Every teacher has the potential to be a hero for young people and inspire young minds to create. |
|
|
How did you first discover your love of art and get your style? |
|
I always loved comic books and cartoons as a kid, and I still do. Spiderman and Batman are two of my favorites. When I was three years old, I was playing Tarzan and jumping on monkey bars and fell and broke my femur. I was in a body cast. I couldn't walk; all I could do was draw, so I tried to draw cartoons. I dreamed of working for Disney growing up. I doodle and sketch every day. My style evolved over the years. I had to work on it! |
|
|
Did you enter art contests? |
|
Actually, yes. When I was young, I entered into a "stick up for breakfast" contest. I think I was 12 years old. I designed a cereal box character, and I won an Atari ping pong set! It was so exciting. In 1992, I was selected as the winner from Pennsylvania for a national contest. That was a huge turning point in my career. Contests like these - and Heinz Ketchup Creativity - open the door for other artists. |
|
|
What advice do you have for kids interested in art? |
|
There's no limit to art and what you can do. Break free. Be positive and express yourself and your ideas. There is no such thing as "bad" art! Art is subjective. Keep exploring and evolving your style. Most of all create for yourself. |
|
|
When did you realize that you had 'made it' as an artist? |
|
I always considered myself an artist because I love art so much. It's a way of life. It was really a different feeling to know that people started to recognize my work. That started to happen in the '90s when my art was selected for Friends. With the Oscars, it was mind boggling to imagine the number of people exposed to my art. |
|
|
How do kids get started? |
|
My teachers were a big influence. They encouraged my parents to enroll me in art classes and expose me to galleries and museums. I also talked to graphic artists about their jobs and making a living as an artist. I continued my education in graphic design and the study of fine art at Carnegie Mellon University. I absorbed every bit of information I could. I think that's the best way to follow a passion about anything. |
|
|
What artists inspire you or influence your work? |
|
I'm inspired by many artists and styles, from the masters of Pop Art to Albrecht Durer, a German printmaker and painter from the 1500s. I was fascinated by his etchings. |
|
|
What do you say to students interested in pursuing a career as an artist? |
|
You can be anything from a tattoo artist to a cartoonist to a Web designer. It depends on your interests. You can work in museums, galleries, schools, magazines, newspapers, movie studios or advertising agencies, which is where I started after college. I worked as an illustrator. Craft artists make pottery and quilts; multimedia artists create images for electronic media, such as video games. There are so many creative avenues. Fashion, music, photography. Even robotics! |
|
|
What's your favorite color? |
|
Blue |
|
|
What are the black marks on your paintings? |
|
I use the lines - energy spikes - to give my work movement and energy. |
|
|
What's your first memory of Ketchup? |
|
I grew up with Heinz Ketchup. My father always had it on the table. The Heinz Ketchup bottle is a piece of art to me; it's like a character. |
|
|
BCM? |
|
Burton Charles Morris |
