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

A: My name is Lee Crutchley and I guess the nickname that people might know me by is Quoteskine. Although that’s really the name of the project and not me. I think Dr Frankenstein had a similar problem with his monster, I was going to say it didn’t do him any harm, but I think he died in the end. 

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

A: I’m 29 years old and I’ve got an HND in Typography and a Degree in Visual Communication. So I’ve done my art school stint, and as much as I enjoy learning and would love to live the student life again, I have no plans to return.

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

A: I grew up in a small town in Staffordshire, which is right in the middle of England. I don’t think my town specifically plays any role in my artwork but my childhood definitely does. 

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

A: As for other artists I’m a big fan of Miranda July and Jenny Holzer. I’ve also found a lot of amazing artists through Flickr like Chris Piascik and Will Bryant. Inspiring artists is a subject where I could just go on and on.  

But more specifically to my work…  Inspiration at the moment tends to come from hearing a line in a song or film that I relate to something else. Something visual. A good recent example of this is I was watching The Simpsons and there was a bit where the family were all singing “you don’t win friends with salad” at Lisa. All I could think about was Ronald McDonald singing it, so I basically just drew that. I love putting two different references together to create something new! 

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

A: I have no job right now (unless anyone out there has one for me?) so it tends to be “What day is it?” but in my normal life I think it’s “How many times can I press snooze before I HAVE to get up?”

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

A: The first big memory of drawing I have was also the moment I decided I wanted to be “an artist”. I was in my first year of primary school so I was about 5 years old. We were having a colouring competition where we had to colour in a marathon runner for some reason. I won the competition in the end, because as well as colouring in my runner I got creative and drew some beads of sweat on his forehead. I won a 12 pack of Crayola colouring pencils and never looked back!

Q: How would you describe your art?

A: I think this is where I need to learn how to be a true “artist” and have some pre-prepared spiel about my “exploration of relationships between blah and blah” and things like that. But I just love quotes and hand drawn typography, so I combine the two. I always try to include a bit of my own personality into my work, which usually comes in the form of humour or cynicism…  I mean realism.

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

A: Sometimes it’s really hard. It’s a bit like depression I think, you just gotta plough through it and know it’s going to get better eventually. I’m a big fan of music or films to help beat a creative block, I’ve also got a big shoe box filled with quotes and ideas that I’ve jotted down over the years. Normally looking through that for a while gives me some creative inspiration.

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

A: Look and listen constantly.

Doodle in class.

Make things you like making.

Learn to enjoy being poor. 

PS - Please recycle this bottle. 

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

A: A sketchbook, a pencil and some coloured pens for the obvious reason that I just love to draw. Also a slightly off the wall one is Google. There’s been a few times that I’ve started some work only to think something like “What the hell does a platypus look like again?!”

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

A: I guess this is going to be a standard answer for a lot of people, but I’ve come to rely quite heavily on my ipod. Does that count as non-art though as it’s music? Oh ok, I got a new one anyway. Tea bags and a big mug. Easy.

Q: How personal do you get in your artwork?

A: I think all art is personal to some extent, whether it’s writing or painting or music, experiences are quite often what fuel that creativity. I’m really starting to embrace that and I’m getting more and more personal as time goes on.  

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 etc…?

A: Generally it’s just that I love doing it! But I also get a lot of messages from people who like my work and find it inspiring. That’s quite a big motivator when I’m feeling lazy or not in the mood. 

Q:What is your favorite movie and book?

A: This is one of the hardest questions on here! My favourite books have stayed constant for quite a while now, they are Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S Thompson and Naive Super by Erlend Loe. With an honourable mention going to The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky… Favourite movies are a different matter. I find it really tough to choose just one and it changes quite often I think. I could probably list a few hundred favourites if I think about it, so it’s probably best I just don’t! 

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

A: The song that’s just come on shuffle right now is Atmosphere by Joy division. But my two most recent purchases have been Mumford & Sons and Blakroc, so I’m listening to those quite a lot. Music has a massive role in my art, a lot of my work is based on lyrics so whenever I’m listening to music I need to make sure I have a pen and paper close by! 

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

A: I think it’s generally happy or focused, but sometimes extremely frustrated. 

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

A: Does procrastination count?… No? Well other than the usual ones, I’ve just bought a mountain bike. So when the weather stops being so crappy around here I’m hoping that will become a hobby.

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 think it’s a bit of a double edged sword. The bad points get covered in your next question, but the good points far far outweigh the bad anyway. I think it’s extremely good for the art world in general. Just the increased level of exposure has got to be a good thing. I’ve come across so much stuff that I’d have had no chance of finding without the internet. These days I seem to stumble across a few new finds every day. 

It’s definitely been good for me as an artist. I started my Quoteskine project basically for just me, but thanks to the internet it’s out there now for other people too. I’ve got a lot of recognition from various art and design websites and blogs. It’s always encouraging to see that people other than you like your work. The internet has turned me from an out of work graphic designer into an out of work artist… Magic! 

Q: There is a 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: Yeah it’s happened to me loads, and usually my work gets more attention when it’s been posted by someone else. To be honest it is pretty frustrating, but it’s the same sort of frustrating as kids cheating in school. Ultimately the culprits don’t gain from doing it. It’s usually just some kid with the deluded idea that blogging everyone else’s cool stuff will in turn make them cool. The internet has sort of destroyed copyright for art and photography, especially in the blogging world. I saw recently that someone had blogged one of my drawings and said “I’m thinking of making this image into t-shirts, what do you guys think?” Of course I wanted to tell him exactly what I thought! But as usual there was no email address or anything so I couldn’t. 

I’m gonna sound so old now, but I think a lot of kids today lack any real ambition other than to be “famous” or “the best blogger” or whatever. I’ve said this before, but if all the people who steal and blog other people’s work actually just picked up a pencil or camera or whatever they like, they might find out they’ve got some talent of their own. I think it’s just a sign of society now that people want recognition and fame for doing nothing. Unfortunately blogging (particularly tumblr) and the internet really encourage the idea that you can become virtually “famous” the world over for nothing in particular. The world seems to be full of kids posting their Ritalin fuelled rants onto Youtube in the hope of becoming the next big thing.  

But in the end, as long as someone’s not getting paid for stealing my work then I guess it’s just one of those things. I don’t think there’s much anyone can do about it because the internet is far too big. There’s also really nothing in place other than good manners and respect to stop people doing it. Two things that seem to be dying out, which I guess is the worst part about the whole thing. It just makes me a little sad.

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

A: I post all my Quoteskine stuff on a tumblr blog here and I also have a Flickr account, which if you dig through it has some of my older design work and photographs.  

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

A: Just do what you like doing I guess. This is something that I lost after I finished university and started a real job. But since I started doing more work for me I’ve never been happier with what I’m producing all round. 

Is there anything else you’ll like to say?


Monkey Tennis?