Interview in Silver Bullet ComicsSilver Bullet ComicsPublished on 10/29/2006
Interview by JD Lombardi in Silver Bullet Comics. Silver Bullet Comics is now Comics Bulletin.
You can read the transcipt below!
This is your first printed art collection. How much is Lonely Heart: The Art of Tara McPherson a culmniation of your life? Most of the art I create comes from a highly personal standpoint. The work in this first collection is from the last 6 years my life and thematically represents an exploration into the idea of human interaction and heartache. Some of the concepts come from things that have happened to me personally and some are from events I have observed with friends. Some are just weird things that go through my head that I need to get out on paper. But as a whole I feel the book is an exploration into a little world I have created.
What made Dark Horse Comics the most suitable publisher? I was introduced to Chris Warner a couple years ago when I was involved in the Electric Frankenstein art book and we discussed the idea of doing an art book of mine down the road. A short time later, they asked me to make a stationery set and from there it seemed like such a logical choice to go with them as the publisher. I was in talks with another company, but I really like and respect Dark Horse and all the people that work there, so that made me very confident in working with them.
You’ve made a couple of stops this summer at San Diego Comic Con and your book release party at Diesel Fuel Prints’ gallery, bringing along advance copies of Lonely Heart. How has the advance fan reaction been for it? Really amazing! Having it at Comic-Con and getting to see peoples' reactions and comments in person was just so super. I think people really appreciated the thought I put into the design and organization of the book and the vellum overlays I did. I think it's going to be an exciting time over the next few months. I'm also just about to go on a month long book tour throughout Europe from the end of October until the end of November. I'll be at Richard Goodall in Manchester, Foyles in London, Feinkunst-Kruger in Hamburg, Videodrom in Berlin, Büro Discount in Zurich, Arkham in Paris, Iguapop in Barcelona, and El Rey in Athens. Please check their websites or mine for dates and details.
Will any of your mainstream comic book art be featured in the book and is this just the beginning in terms of collecting and making available most/all of your artwork? None of the comic covers are in the book due to copyright issues, but pretty much everything else I have ever done is in there... paintings, drawings, art prints, rock posters, and some other goodies. And I definitely feel this is just the beginning! I have so much more I want to do and create. Also I feel that the book has perfectly captured this first phase in my life and I am ready to venture on into a new area of thought and creativity.
Moving on to another work you have coming out this fall, you’re also doing interiors for DC/Vertigo’s Fables: 1001 Nights of Snowfall graphic novel. How did you get involved on this project? My editor at Vertigo, Shelly Bond, had approached me to work on this book. She saw the little comic I did in Project Superior last year and asked me if I was interested in doing more in the future. I really wasn't sure if I wanted to get involved with interior art as my natural artistic inclination is definitely focused towards portraiture and the idea of a single image. But I truly love the art of comics and have been reading them since I was a kid. And I absolutely love a challenge so I decided to do it. It was an adventure!
These are your first sequentials, are they not? How does it feel to be doing a few interior pages rather than a cover? I honestly think this is some of my best work yet by far. And as I explored the new format of sequential art, I found there's so much room for experimentation and interpretation and artistic license and vision. It's just so extremely awesome to have the opportunity to pay more attention to facial expression and movement. I love it.
How does your upcoming schedule look? Can we expect to see more comic book work in the near future? Yes! I'm starting on a painted graphic novel called 'Donor' written by Steven T. Seagle, edited by Shelly Bond and published by Vertigo. That is going to be a 100 page hardcover release and I'll be painting that over the next year. So I would imagine it would be released in late 2007-ish. I am also working on a line of toys with Kidrobot of my characters. Those should start to get released this Spring/Summer. I have a solo exhibit at Jonathan LeVine Gallery here in NYC in Feb 2008 that I'll be painting for over the next year. And I'll still be doing rock posters, art prints and I have a few other neato things up my sleeves!