James Titus McKain is one of those artists who is a super cool dude that is also making some incredible art here in Boise. I got the opportunity to meet him at last month's First Thursday at The Crux and was able to chop it up a bit and even purchase a piece of his art for my own collection. I emailed James some questions so that we could get to know the artist behind the "Fish With Beards". I need to publicly thank James for being so damn patient with me as I delayed posting this over and over again. Cheers to you James! So check out his art, love it, and repeat. For the full James McKain blog experience please click here.
1) How did you end up in Boise?
Born and raised here. But I left for a couple years while I was
in the military. I came back here once I was done with that to get back on my
feet. Then I decided to finish up my college degree at BSU which I just
accomplished last semester.
2) Why stay here in Boise?
I think the art scene in Boise is growing pretty quickly right
now. The support for the arts is rising and there are a lot of local
opportunities to jump on board with. It’s also super easy to start your own
thing and get other artists involved, which is always exciting.
I have considered leaving to pursue my art career somewhere else
but right now I am just too excited about the networking connections I have
been making and the opportunities I currently have. Also with the capability to
connect with people all over the world, you can really base yourself just about
anywhere you desire. I think it’s important to find a community you enjoy and
right now the community I have is enjoyable.
3) When did you know you wanted to become an artist? What/who
were your influences?
I knew after I got back from the military that I wanted to
pursue my art career. For a while I was just spinning my gears trying to decide
what to do and I took some non art related classes at BSU but nothing excited
me. I was very interested in art as a kid and filled a lot of sketchbooks but
once I got to college I realized it was the only thing that would make me
happy. I was right, too, because now looking back I would not trade my college
experience in the art department for any other.
When I first started my college career I was influenced by video
game artists. I thought I was going to go into the concept art world but that
changed for me pretty quickly. Now, I think what influences me the most are
artists with a strong work ethic. It’s so easy to get discouraged and stop
working. So when I discover an artist that displays a great work ethic I get
excited and gain a ton of energy to work harder on my stuff. Peer pressure is a
great thing sometimes. It can really motivate a person to work harder if they
respond positively.
4) The newest pieces feature fish with beards. What prompted that?
Fish have been popping up in my work a lot lately. They are a
great catalyst for different types of metaphor. More simply though I just like
drawing them! The beards happened because I have my own beard to tame and fish
with facial hair just look cool. I was also inspired to make work that I could
provide at a relatively low price but that is high quality. I was motivated to
do that because business practice is also part of making art if you want it to
support your lifestyle.
Click below for the rest of the interview and more art!
