Q: What is your full name and do you have any nicknames that you go by as an artist?

A: Hello, My name is Erik Steven Moore! I have no nicknames… but that “K” is pretty important.

Q: How old are you and are you currently, planning to, or have attended art school?

A: I am 24 years old. I have received my associate of arts degree from Waubonsee Community college; a little community college in the suburbs of Chicago. Which is pretty meaningless, but it’s something. That is the extent of my schooling. I plan on going to “The Center for Cartoon Studies” in Vermont someday. That is the only school that I have found that interests me and I would fit in at. When I was younger I never really liked school and nothing really interested me, but now I feel like I could get so much more out of it.

Q: Where were you raised and does this play an role in your artwork?

A: I was raised in Montgomery, Illinois. It is about an hour south west of Chicago, near Aurora, Illinois (you know, where Wayne’s World takes place?). I’m not sure if that town really plays any influence to my art. I guess it made me a Midwesterner… whatever that means. The winters can be brutal cold there so it was nice to be able to find comfort in drawing indoors while outside is a blizzard.

Q: Who and what inspires your art? Besides the usual answer such as family and life?

A: I like a lot of things, so I am inspired very easily. From cartoons to comics to music to novels to movies to the internet, I am constantly getting inspiration to create from creation. More specifically there is a book called “An Illustrated Life” by Danny Gregory that looks at personal sketchbooks of artists, illustrators and designers. That to me is extremely inspiring, to see private creations that people make more for themselves than for the world to see. I recently read the biography of Charles Schulz and found that to be inspiring, and I am in awe of his dedication and work ethic. Reading about old writers, painters, musicians is also very inspiring… There’s a friend of mine I went to school with named Adrian Navarro that is always an inspiration. I could go on and on. I guess the bottom line is creation inspires me.

Q: What is the first thing that pops in your head when you wake up in the morning?

A: Depending on what day it is… If I have to go to work I’ll think, “Nooooooooooooooooo!” and if I have a day off I’ll think, “Yesssssssssssssssss!”

Q: When was the first time you remember drawing something as a child, and, what was it?

A: My memory is a little fuzzy on the beginning of my drawing life.  I do remember drawing caricatures of people for my dad. I think I did a drawing of Ross Perot with giant ears or something and my dad hung that on the fridge so that was pretty cool. All through school I did a ton of doodling, it got me in trouble a lot, but it also kept me sane. I had some friends in junior high that I would draw doodles with, we would pass them during class and add to them and just make weird scenes of us shooting guns and dropping bombs out of airplanes and eating donuts and all kinds of odd things…

Q: How would you describe your art?

A: I would describe my art as everyday thoughts and events; however they choose to come out. Sometimes as cartoons, sometimes as sketches, sometimes as rambling, and always true to what I felt like doing that day.

Q: When you encounter an artistic slump; how do you come out of it?

A: With me this doesn’t happen as frequently as I thought it would when I started doing everyday drawing. When slumps do happen I like to take a break, read a book, roam the internet, listen to music, eat some food, just to do something to take my mind off my own creation. Then after awhile I’ll head back to the drawing and see if something comes up. It’s kind of like playing a video game. Sometimes you get to a point where you say, “What do I do next?! I’m so stuck!!” At that point it’s time to take a break from that video game. Then usually when you go back to it you can figure out what you were supposed to do next right away. The most important thing is to not stop and keep plugging away. Not everything you make is going to be great, but failing at an idea can lead to other ideas. So don’t fear the failure, embrace it and put it out there and keep moving forward.

Q: If you would send out a message in a bottle for the next generation of artists to read, what would it say?

A: I would probably draw a cartoon me standing there with my arms up in the air yelling, “DON’T STOP CREATING!”

Q: What art tools can’t you live without and why?

A: I can’t live without sketchbooks!! I have started to compulsively buy sketchbooks and not even use them for so long. I just really enjoy a good sketchbook, and when I see a good sized one, or one with nice paper, or one that looks like it would be perfect for a certain project then I have to buy it. I also cannot live without “Faber-Castell” brush pens; I use them everyday.  They can achieve a lot of different line qualities and last a decent amount of time. I also use the “Faber-Castell” colored brush pens for all the color in my comics and I am happy with those as well! “Faber-Castell” makes some quality products.

Q: What non-art items can’t you live without?

A: I recently sold most of my belongings to be able to move from Illinois to Washington so I’ve tried to get away from becoming so attached to material items. There are still things that I love to buy though. Books and music will always be something that I can’t stop accumulating in my apartment. I love to get new music, I enjoy holding that new CD, checking out the packaging, seeing album artwork, and smelling that new CD smell. I hardly ever download anything. Books I feel the same way about, to hold a new book, smell the newness, place it up on the bookshelf… that is a beautiful thing. Also, I have a little “netbook” that I’ve grown very attached to.  I am constantly on the internet, roaming tumblr, reading online comics and checking dumb old facebook.

Q: How personal do you get in your artwork?

A: My artwork is very personal. I try to be as open and honest about my thoughts while creating my daily drawings. At first I thought it would be very boring to draw about my daily life, but over time I have learned that you can find out a lot about yourself when you look at your daily grind over any certain period of time. What things you think about often, what bothers you, what makes you happy… it’s all just life put on paper and that can get very personal. I do draw myself naked, I do draw about stupid people I meet in real life, and I do draw about beautiful girls that can effect my entire day. I think it’s important to do what I do like no one is watching, that way I can put down what I personally want to that day, and anyone who happens to check it out is getting something real and a glimpse at another person who is probably just like them.

Q: What is your biggest motivation as an artist? This is different from inspiration, what I’m asking is what makes you pick up that brush, pencil, pen ect…?

A: My biggest motivation as an artist lies in feeling like I have accomplished something everyday. If I don’t draw for a day I get depressed very easily and feel like I am doing nothing with my time. I also enjoy making people laugh, and if I can get my point across through my drawings and somebody laughs, or gets what I’m trying to say then that is an accomplishment and motivates me to keep doing it.

Q: What is your favorite movie and book?

A: This seems to always be changing… Right now I’ll have to go with “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” as a favorite movie, and “House of Leaves” by Mark Danielewski as a favorite book. House of Leaves changed my life, and Eternal Sunshine is just flat out everything I want in a movie.

Q: What are you listening to on your iPod right now, and does music play a role in your art?

A: Oh thanks for reminding me, my iPod was stolen 6 months ago!!! Probably the worst thing that has happened to me in a long time. I do still own a ton of CDs though! “The Lawrence Arms” are my favorite band and is always not far from my CD player.  Recently I’ve been listening to a lot of “Mastodon” and “Metric” and “Dead to Me”… All 3 of those bands are extremely different and pretty much sums up my various musical tastes. Music plays a role in my art in that when I listen to it, it makes my brain happy, and in turn makes me create better things.

Q: How do you feel when you are working on an art piece in terms or feelings, emotions?

I try to create things that match my mood. If I am happy and busy and a lot of things happened in the day I’m more likely to create something vibrant with a lot of things going on in it. When I am sad or down I tend to concentrate less on color and my art becomes more black and white and minimalist. I hope to convey my mood through whatever I am drawing.

Q: Besides your art; are there any hobbies that you like to indulge in?

A: I like sports a lot. I like to keep up with what is happening with all of the Chicago teams. During baseball season I have begun to get into fantasy baseball like a madman. I like to play frisbee golf when the weather is nice. I also play the drums and enjoy singing… especially in the car when nobody is around.

Q: Is social media (blogs, myspace, facebook) and the internet in your words good for the art world. And for you as an artist?

A: I personally feel nothing but good can from social media and the art world. It has made it easier than ever to share ideas and get your creations noticed by anyone who wants to find various different styles of art all over the world. I post my drawings each day to Tumblr and can instantly see who enjoys it, get feedback, and connect with someone I’ve never met in some land I’ve never been. That is amazing to me.

Q: There is an big issue with people posting art and photographs on social networking sites (including Tumblr ) without giving credit to the artist. What are you thoughts on this and has it ever happened to you?

A: Of course this would be the downside to social media becoming such a huge part of how we share art around the world. This has never happened (to my knowledge) with anything I have created so I might be out of place talking about it, but nonetheless I will give my opinion. I think it’s shitty. Many people create many different things for various reasons. Most of them are not being paid for making something, and are just trying to share their ideas, thoughts, opinions, concerns, etc. with the world. At the very least the artist should be given credit for what came out of their skull. I suppose you could take it as a compliment if someone is using your work without giving you credit, but that is looking on the extreme bright side (something I try to do often). In the end it is still theft and plagiarism. So give some credit where credit is due!

Q: Where could people be able to find your art?

A: You can find my scribbles and rambles at mooresketches.com everyday! I am also a member and contribute to eatsleepdraw.com , you can find some of my drawings there along with a ton of other great Tumblr artists work!!

Q: Any advice to give to other artists out there?

A: Don’t stop creating… and in the words of the great Starfox character Peppy, “Never give up. Trust your instincts.”

Q: Is there anything else you’ll like to say?

A: This is the first real deal interview I’ve ever done. I am happy a site like this is being created to hear the voice of a lot of Tumblr artists, and I am proud to be a part of it! Thanks for reading my words and I hope you like my drawings!