This Saturday night in Santa Monica the Live Free Podcast with Mike Maxwell will be celebrating its 5 year anniversary with an epic art show including many of our favorite artists. There will be a live podcast at the show, and art from an incredible collection of artists, including Mike Giant. We've been following Giant's impressive black-and-white illustrations (done in Sharpie!) for years, and were lucky to get a few minutes of his time for this Q&A... Check out his art in person at the Daniel Rolnik Gallery on Nov 7th. All info here.
What's your favorite taco spot?
Mariscos Jalisco!
Why did you write Giant, and was it the first thing you wrote?
At first I was writing “Mike” then switched to “Giant” after a skateboarding friend mentioned that I fall like a giant.
You studied to be an architect, what are some of your favorite buildings?
Pretty much anything by Frank Lloyd Wright, Zaha Hadid, Bart Prince, Gaudi and Le Corbusier.
Do you like to go to museums? What's your favorite museum and favorite art work?
I love museums. My favorite is the Louvre. My favorite paintings there are by Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres.
Are the people in your illustrations repeating characters? Do they have a backstory?
Some of them are ex-girlfriends so there’s lots of backstory for sure.
Sativa or Indica?
Sativa during the day, indica to help me sleep.
When you're working on an illustration, what's easy for you, and what is difficult?
Forming the idea, finding reference and creating the sketch are the most difficult parts of my process. Inking the final drawing is the most automatic and enjoyable.
What are your upcoming shows and projects?
I’ve got a solo show in Feb at FFDG in San Francisco. Might do some shows in Europe in the summer. Not much else to mention at this point.
Do you have a lucky number?
23!
More Mike Giant: http://originalgiantcontent.tumblr.com
Photo of Mike Giant by JuliusBulius.
