Who is Sebastian Kruger?
Article Transcript
In the early 1980s, Sebastian Krüger studied painting and graphic arts, and then quickly moved into the professional art world, doing illustrations for covers and spreads in Germany. He then stepped away from commercial work and devoted himself solely to free painting. In recent years, he has aesthetically moved away from a stylistic “star caricaturist” to New Pop Realism. His artistic visions are treasured and collected by other stars of the pop scene, like the Rolling Stones, Slash, Robert Rodriguez and Steven Tyler, who are friends of his, and by art connoisseurs all over the world. Join us on the following pages as we try to delve a little deeper into what makes him the artist he is today.
INFLUENCES
Q: Your work is obviously inspired by role models, ‘cool’ factors, celebrities, music, and other pop culture personalities and images. But what artists have pushed you to explore your style and technique. Who intrigues you and makes you question your work and your approach, as an artist? Is it a writer? A musician? Other painters? I’d love to hear about who you look at and what makes you perk up and try something new.
A: As a visual working person, I am subject to many influences. A milestone for me is “Once Upon a Time in the West” from director Sergio Leone – great characters and amazing lights. I admire great and true characters in movies, music and life. As I change and grow as an artist, thus my style of expression changes. Everything is in transition. Talking to artists, like the film director Robert Rodriguez, helps me to understand that I’m not alone on this planet – we have similar thoughts. His movies are full of art, cool characters and plenty of entertainment – that’s what I like.
DIRECTION/DESIRES
Q:Your work has evolved and moved from illustration to caricature to portraiture in a very natural way. As an artist, I understand the desire to be constantly evolving and following interests, even if your interests change or vary often. In recent years, your focus has been on pop icon portraits, and you are very good at it. What, if any, other directions do you see yourself going? What gets you thinking at night, and what wild artistic dreams do you have that you have not yet explored, or only just started?
A:It’s true, I’m full of many artistic ideas. From the mid-80s until 2003 the art directors have always asked for the Krüger style…and I have delivered! That was what paid my financial obligations! Besides my commission jobs, I’ve always painted different subjects, animals and even my nightmares. If I stop working after painting 10 hours in my studio, believe me, I get nightmares. My canvas is like a stage and it’s hard to leave that stage after performing like Keith Richards when I paint him or an actor for a limited amount of time. I need to feel the soul of my subjects – that’s hard to do, but that’s my intent. If I paint for myself, then I must push myself to different limits and beyond. Commissions for art collectors are sometimes different, but I stop only with a work if I’m happy with it.
SELLING YOUR ART
Q:This is a bit personal, so forgive me: When selling your art, I imagine it is a difficult market to crack. Celebrity portraits are impressive, but one must really love THAT celebrity to pay a good amount to have a copy or original on their own wall. How do you look at that market, and where do you think it’s headed? Is it consistently difficult to find buyers and collectors for large-scale pop portraits? Or is it getting easier with time? And where do you see the future of fine art?
A:My paintings could be both, commissions or works for myself. Only a few celebrities have asked for private commissioned works. I believe it’s good to deliver quality – the best quality, so that collectors get a fair value for their pay. I try to be authentic and paint what I love – that’s my market. My wife and managing company takes care of the rest.
YOUR PAST
Q: I’d love to hear a bit about your past. What were your influences as a child, and young adult, whether or not they are directly artistic, I believe that our environment shapes us, somewhat, and our art as well. What do you feel helped you hit a place where you were committed to drawing and painting? Was it family life? A major role model or influence? Talk about your past and what pushed you to do what you love.
A: In my childhood I read plenty of books and comics and listened to Classical, Jazz and Blues music from my father’s LP collection. Perhaps once a month I would watch a movie on our small TV in the living room. This was in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s – it was a completely different time compared with today’s times. It was hard to wait for a good new comic, caricature and graphic stuff, but I was often rewarded. This is different from today’s times where everything is available for kids at any time. It is not as easy to distinguish what is really good art or simply scrap.
For me, the highlight of the week was when I traded used comic books with my friends to have a new one for studying or when I studied images in new released and “forbidden” (by my parents) comic books, …like Batman, in the magazine rack at the comic book store. Donald Duck: The Born Losers, was a blast! I liked the Disney style of painting and drawing this guy (character) umpteen times. Thousands of watercolor paintings and pencil drawings later, I discovered the great French caricaturist Jean Mulatier and the German artist Volker Ernsting and also inhaled the Asterix & Obelix comics from Goszinny & Uderzo. As a youth I drew from various drawings and later created my own caricatures, which emerged to the delight of my classmates and to the annoyance of the teachers. Later my art teacher in high school pushed me in the right direction to go ahead with my art and study fine arts. I have to say I was formed and influenced by the popular culture of my time – I can’t tell you a recipe of success like 10% Disney, 10% Mulatier... It’s more my obsession to finish a painting and start another one – again and again.
Textbox
Sebastian Krüger’s Masterclass workshop in Germany.
2014 marks the 10th anniversary
of Sebastian Krüger’s Masterclass
workshop in Germany. ISCA had a
conversation with longtime friend
of Sebastian’s and ISCA, Jeff
Redford. He gave us his comments
about the masterclasses. Jeff has
attended the past 9 workshops and
is going again this year in the third
week of October.
Here are some of the details about the annual workshops. The average length of the class is 5 days. It usually takes place in the fall in September or October. The classes the past several years have taken place in Barsinghausen, Germany, about half an hour from Hanover. The artists attending spend all day painting, taking notes and observing as Sebastian paints on a large canvas with acrylics. The subjects are determined by the yearly theme, villains, rock stars or pop culture icons such as Michael Jackson. The venue is held at a hotel. Artists are supplied with canvases, brushes and acrylic paints to use for the week. Typically, each artist will complete 5-6 small paintings in the workshop. Sebastian works on 1-2 faces on large 5′ x 5′ or bigger canvases. As you might imagine, everyone spends much of their time observing as Sebastian paints. The instruction is largely informal, with Sebastian making suggestions to artists as they work on their paintings. Artists are encouraged to ask him questions as he works throughout the week. Sebastian paints from 12-15 hours each day, breaking for meals three times a day. The meals are available at the host hotel.
Bernd Schoenebaum, Sebastian’s business manager, assists with the workshop so that Sebastian can focus on painting and be available to the attendees. There are a few finished paintings on display to view. Jeff says what keeps him coming back year after year is the camaraderie and reunions with other attendees. And he learns something new at each workshop that helps him with his own painting. Many ISCA members have attended, including Glenn Ferguson, Joe Bluhm and Jeremy Townsend among others. The class size is limited to 35 artists. In 2011, film director Robert Rodriquez attended.
The 10th Anniversary 2014 Krüger Masterclass will take place over several days from October 12-18. It is sold out for 2014. Come to the 2014 ISCA Caricature Convention in Reno to get information on the 2015 workshop, its cost and other tips.
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