Artist Interview: Travis Millard

At first glance, Travis Millard seems to think everything is funny. Millard’s art can be so sarcastic you may even get the feeling he takes absolutely none of it seriously. But he does. It’s just that he is really serious about funny. So what may seem like him fucking around by flipping through weird underground comics from the 70′s is actually Millard doing work. Just like a stand-up comic, Millard can’t very well continue to produce some of the most humorous illustrations, comics, drawings and screen prints known to man without practice or research.

Last week Millard returned to Lawrence, KS for the release of a new zine and screen print at Wonder Fair’s Pizza Party. We caught up with him before the event to discuss, among other things, Millard’s latest illustration job for Adidas (with sketch book pics), how to work on a piece of art for a year and a half, and the importance of not thinking too much, especially when drawing.

What has inspired the characters that you seem to draw over and over again?

Those pages just seem to build. I think it’s more of working from an unconscious memory. I kind of like to let the pen squiggle and then build that into a face. It’s kind of automatic drawing in a way. I am not trying to draw any one specific person, I’m just trying to build a crowd out of unconscious observations. Probably later after looking at it I will recognize someone I saw one time. And then sometimes I will see someone and notice a feature or something and I will try to incorporate that into my work.

Is there any particular reason you construct your characters with those bulging foreheads and square faces?

I don’t even think about it really. In school we had to sit with still lives and I was attempting to draw realistically but I ran into issues trying to make that style work for me. I always felt the need to break away from that and draw more abstract things. But I don’t really know where it comes from though.

How do you know when an art piece or illustration is done?

It just depends. Generally I will start things and not finish them for long periods of time.  And so I will work on something until I just get bored with it and then file it away. I have several things that are unfinished all over the place. So I will be shuffling through and then it will end up on my desk and sort of just get worked on. It’s not necessarily that they are really intense drawings but sometimes it will take a year and a half of just forgetting about something and then revisiting it. If there is a clear deadline and direction, like for an illustration, then I will know what I am going for and it is just a matter of applying my stuff to that direction. Like, I just got this job for Adidas and…

Millard’s sketchbook

Could you tell us more about that Adidas project?

Yeah. So Adidas wants me to do a couple of t- shirt designs. I used to work with a guy from Burton years ago. So we have worked together before and he has this way of presenting the job so clearly. He showed two examples of my work that Adidas liked, that are totally exploratory you know? Like drawing saws over and over again and linking those together. More of that automatic drawing thing, just me playing around. And then fight scenes of people ripping each other apart, where I try to make the guys tangle. So then I apply those references to the concept they have. One is like a sports bra with two opposing fans kicking the shit out of each other. Maybe actually three little fights going on and then I will subtly tuck in some Adidas shoes or the three stripes on it, so it’s not hitting you over the head with Adidas but you get the reference. And another one, they just showed me some jpegs of trophies and that is the direction. My job is to make that mine so I started drawing these really mediocre awards. I also want to team up sports archetypes in big fights or thematic fights, like those big cop brawls from cartoons.

Millard’s sketchbook

How is it working with a bigger corporate client, like Adidas?

I think I have been fortunate to work with clients that I feel good about. I’ve had some offers to do stuff that did not feel right and so I just passed it up. I’m often invited to work with people that have seen my stuff so when they come to me they are asking me to put my spin on it. And they are really great to work with. They tend to work with a lot of artists so they at least understand process. For me, it is how I get my bills paid so I take it seriously.

Millard’s sketchbook

Tell us about your skateboarding background and how that may have influenced your work.

I grew up skateboarding. I got my first banana board from a garage sale for $5 and I rode the hell out of that. And then I got a Veraflex deck for my birthday one time, which is like a K-Mart board. Then I wanted to save up so I got a Lance Mountain and Ken Park. Those graphics and the ones from skate magazines were big influences on me. You know, Jim Phillips, the Slasher graphic, and Rip the Ripper, those things were super fascinating to me.

Other then skateboarding what else from your childhood influenced you?

I would say Shel Silverstein was somebody I was exposed to early as a child. Jim Henson was an influence, The Muppets were on a lot of the time. Mad Magazine was also something I was pretty passionate about, not so much Cracked. I mean, I would pick up Cracked if I could find some from the 70′s. Those had more nudity and curse words. And the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers? Have you seen them?

No, I don’t think so.

I found one of those comics the other day. What was that guy’s name who did those? I can’t remember…John Pound from the Garbage Pail Kids, way into the Garbage Pail Kids. Way into the Garbage Pail Kids.

Any other comic book titles?

Not that much. I mean I picked them up because I knew they were supposed to be rad. There was a time I was into X-Men and I thought Todd McFarland was a rad drawer when he did those Spider Man issues. But I did not really have the drive to sit and read the comic. I mean I would, but mostly I would just really dig into the pictures. There were some Dark Horse titles that I was interested in, like Frank Miller’s stuff.

What is an average work day like for you?

It fluctuates a little bit. When things are working at their best for me I am getting up early, like 9:00, which is not that early I guess. But if I am getting up at 8:30, 9:00 that would be pretty typical. Often times there are many things to juggle. Even as loose as it is I try to keep some sort of schedule. But often it is just getting up, having coffee and then checking the email. I try to keep a list in front of me so I know what is most important. It is a lot of drawing and also a lot of upkeep too. You know, just emailing back and making sure I don’t fall out with anybody. I mean, it’s not constantly working because I do fuck off an awful lot or just stare off into space and not think about too much. I try to continuously work and continuously fuck off at the same time and let those things kind of….umm…

Co-mingle?

Co-mingle. Yes, exactly.

Were your parents artistically inclined?

My mom used to paint a lot when I was a kid. She never went to school for it but she had these little crafty paintings she did of like Raggedy Andy and these little girls with bonnets that she put in our rooms as little kids. She wasn’t trying to be an artist or anything but she would encourage us to draw, probably to keep us shut up for the most part. My dad is not artistically inclined but he is really supportive and a super guy. But otherwise, drawing was something I enjoyed doing and my parents supported that.

Your brother Brett is also an artist. How did that work growing up? Were you guys competitive or more collaborative with your work?

I am five years older than my brother so early on we were always around each other. But as you get older that five years becomes more of an issue. So when I was like eighteen he was definitely looking to me to see what music I was into, to learn about skateboarding and drawing. But also with that five year gap he was able to find his own path. He was a better skateboarder than I was and got caught fucking around a lot more, so he is a little riskier in his work. Growing up we did not really collaborate because you are more concerned about keeping each other away from one another. As you get into your twenties you sort of get over all that adolescent weird shit and now we are great friends.

Speaking of collaborations, can you tell us a bit about your work with Michael Sieben?

His last name actually means seven in German so if you ever see a seven in his work that is why. I was living in New York around 2002 and I was involved in a show called “Decipher” curated by Justin Kaufman. It was actually a show where I met a lot of artists whose work I had been fond of for a long time. Like Rich Jacobs and Eric White and it was really the most natural way for me to meet those guys. Melinda Beck. That Quicksand record cover Melinda Beck did when I was in high school was the coolest shit I had ever seen. And Michael was in the same boat as well. He was invited to the show and he said he was researching the other artists in the show and he came across my stuff. He really liked it so he dropped me an email, which was definitely a funny email that said he would send me a zine. And the one he sent was really funny and weird so I sent him back a package of my best stuff. And we just kept sending each other stuff back and forth for a while. Then Michael said, let’s each do nine pages for a zine and I agreed, but after all that correspondence I didn’t really do anything with it for like six months. I think he thought I was not so into doing it but one day I blazed through a bunch of pages. I was going to be in Kansas City and he has family in KC, we are actually from similar areas. Anyway, he was going to be in KC the same time as me so I told him to meet me at the Corner Restaurant. I brought the pages for “HITtin’ Switches” with me, which I dropped on him and Michael was like “Ohhhh! You are doing it man!” And it was pretty much on from there.

Sieben x Millard 2006

How did you end up at KU?

Well I looked into the Kansas City Art Institute and I took a couple of fine arts classes there when I was in high school. I had this really great art teacher that played really great, fucked up mind games with you. He had a way of inspiring you by playing these really frustrating mind games where you might get really pissed off but you would learn at the same time. So he kind of got me involved in the KCAI but after a few portfolio reviews it was clear I was not going to get any sort of scholarship and the school is pretty expensive. My dad sort of encouraged me to check out KU because I would get in-state tuition, which was great. I was exposed to so many different kinds of people at KU versus an art school where everyone is an artist. I think regardless of what kind of school you go to, if you have the drive you can get a lot out of the time you spend there.

What is the best or most positive memory from your time in Lawrence, KS?

I would say just rolling around on bikes, drinking beers, bombing the hill on Mt. Oread, riding around the Campanile. Mostly just riding my bike around places it was not supposed to be and exploring the town and all the alleys in a big group. I also think of the relaxed vibe and also how peaceful it can be here.

Is that how you got into doing street art?

Kind of. I mean when I lived at 14th and Tennessee we had a barn behind our house and my friends and I would go back there and just draw on it at night. Since it was in this one-way alley we could see if any cars were coming so we were able to draw on it for long periods of time. We were trying to enlarge some drawings on the walls but the spray can did not really do what I wanted it to do. Then, while I was staying in New York one time, I was introduced to that whole scene and the way other artists did their stuff in the streets. The friend I was staying with kind of showed me how to wheatpaste, going to the hardware store, mixing it and all that. That method worked so much better for me than spray paint. So when I came back to Lawrence I started to wheatpaste my stuff around town, not everywhere but I would pick a few spots that worked before. You know it was just something to do late at night with your friends while drinking beers. And there is just something about seeing your work in that context that is really appealing.

Any scrapes with the law?

Not really, but the one time we did have to run lead to me pasting my work in Eighth Street Taproom. We agreed to meet there if we ever had to run from the cops. And the one time we did, we had not used very much of the paste so I just took one of the drawings and pasted it up in the bathroom. For a while no one knew who did it and people would write stuff on it and I would respond, but that only lasted so long. Eventually I was asked by one of the bartenders to do whole bathroom area and those are the ones that are still there.

What other medium would like to try?

Animation. I mean I am trying to work towards something like that now but animation is so time-consuming. I don’t really have the patience to go back to school for it or anything but that is a medium I am trying to pursue.

Who are some artists you like?

The Sumi Ink Club is rad, but that is more of an event type thing where you bring paper and they supply the ink. But the people that work with them are really good. I don’t want to just give you like some Juxtapoz list or anything. A lot of the time I am drawn to work from people who I kind of personally know, which is totally biased, but knowing someone’s personality kind of helps connect the work for me. Let’s see..Andrew Jeffery Wright, Southern Salazar, Jeff Lazeruitis, Barry McGee, and Sammie Harkin who draws comics…And my girlfriend Mel (Kadel) too.

Tweet or no tweet?

I don’t tweet, or is it twat? No, I don’t twat. I mean I don’t really get into the social networking thing so much. I could see how it could be useful but I don’t have a Facebook or anything. I do have a Myspace which is cool because I have found so many bands I like that aren’t on any label or anything.

How would you describe your work to someone who has never seen it?

Hmmm..that is hard. I would say it is not clearly defined and that it has a sense of humor.

What keeps you motivated?

I think the fact I get to wake up and draw for a living keeps me motivated.

interview by: Brent Carter