&: Tell us who you are in one sentence.
J: i am dalek : )
&: How would you characterize your style?
J: its just an ever evolving experiment in how to use color and space more effectively.
&: Is there anyone or anything that is particularly inspiring to you right now?
J: i really have been enjoying Crystal Wagner and Katy Ann Gilmore and then maybe just every day stuff.. the way light hits things.. or seeing a particular color.. home depot paint department always gets me pumped.. seeing all those color swatches.
&: You came to Boulder a couple years ago and did a fantastic mural, which is now one of the most beloved art pieces in the community. Is there a difference in the way you approach your work when you are creating art in a large, public scale versus creating art in your studio? What kinds of things are different?
J: i think the scale requires tools and approaches that make it different in execution.. but conceptually its the same approach. i just don’t need ladders or lifts in the studio.. i use house paint instead of studio acrylics.. its harder to measure things at a large scale and making sure everything lands where its supposed to.
&: What was your experience like going through the underground street art scene in the 90s to now- where there’s an explosion in street art culture?
J: its always been there.. i don’t think much has changed at the core of it.. i just think the internet age makes it seem like there is more going on and it gets more attention than it would back in the day of small run graffiti magazines.
i don’t pay much mind to most things anyhow. i like to keep my head out of scenes and just do my own thing.
&: It’s awesome to go back through the years and see your style evolve and then come full circle in some ways (like the return of the space monkey!). Where do you feel like it’s going in 2016?
J: i have no clue where it’ll go this year. i haven’t been doing much of anything so far.. i don’t tend to want to work much in january and february.. so i imagine i’ll get at it here shortly.. and whatever comes out is what i’ll roll with.
&: Do you collaborate with other artists often and what’s that like?
J: no.. not big on collaborating with other artist and its mostly just because the opportunities really don’t arise that often to be in that situation. but i am also a control freak.. so i like to do things my way.. so it has to be someone i am really close with and trust in that back and forth process.. or it has to be someone who’s more of a bad ass than me.. then i would defer and take the apprentice roll without issue.
i do like collaborating with people in other fields.. i think there is always so much for me to learn by entering someone else’s world.
&: Is there anyone you’ve been wanting to work with that you haven’t yet?
J: i don’t know.. i think it’d be apparel/fashion based.. or some industrial designer/architect.. i think i’d like to get on some things in those worlds.
&: I'm a huge fan of your instagram & Ello profiles. It’s both inspiring and overwhelming the amount of art that’s shared on those sites daily. Do you find yourself going down that rabbit hole much?
J: i limit myself with that stuff. its way too easy for me to get distracted as it is.. so i’ll look at things here and there.. i can usually tell what kind of mood i’m in by how receptive to things i am or am not.. so there are days where things are hitting and having an impact.. and then there are days where i can’t be bothered.
&: What have you learned through making art that has surprised you?
J: i guess that i can evolve and learn and get better. i don’t know if thats a surprise really.. but i guess on some level i never thought i’d be making art all these years later and challenging and growing in a way that i’m still interested in doing it.
&: What is the best piece of advice you ever got?
J: lord knows.. i don’t doubt there has been tons of great advice over the years and i don’t doubt that i’ve internalized it without thinking much about it on a conscious level. for me i know the most important thing is just being who i am .. good or bad.. and evolving within myself in a natural way. i can only do what feels right to me.. i don’t worry about much else.
&: Describe the setting of where a piece of your art will be in the year 3000.
J: i’m sure in landfills with any luck : ) i really don’t care. i am a process person.. i like making it and growing and learning from that process. it means a lot that people like what i do and that i am able to do what i do as a result of their support. so in that sense .. i hope that people still enjoy what i do long after i’m gone.. but thats almost a thousand years from now.. my bet is there won’t be anyone left to worry about it : )
&: What is the last piece of art you acquired?
J:its been a long while.. i used to be on a tear with acquiring art.. and then i just kind of stopped. probably because i have too much shit in my house and nowhere to put anything !! so that being said.. i think it was a Pose painting a few years ago.
&: What’s on rotation in your stereo right now?
J: sports radio .. all day all night
&: Coffee or Tea? Tequila or Whisky?
J: coffee.. and whiskey.. i like that coffee spot there on Pearl we were going to when i was painting the mural.. those guys did it up right.
(Boxcar)
&: You get one super-hero power, what is it?
J: teleportation
&: Any last words of wisdom?
J: there’s always more words of wisdom. never any last words of wisdom
&: Thank you we love you!
J: love you guys too
Follow James on Instagram: @dalek2020 and on ello: @dalek
