haha, no man ! Maybe when I'm old. right now I can't even grow a fullblown manly beard yet. sad story. I should shave more with and old skool razor knife.
But yeah, it definitely gives me confidence to work on all those projects. if talented people in the business tell you they like your stuff and people keep asking you, it certainly gives you the feeling you're doing good. and I think so too ( not perfect of course, it's never like that. I want to keep evolving, which is necessary ). you need a bit of self confidence to boost yourself.
yesterday I had to drive live on a poetry festival in front of an audience of 500 people. I had never done something like that before ( but I always do that. agree to things I've never done before. that's how I learn stuff ) I had to improvise basically and didn't have a lot of time to prepare for the event. Man, I was stressed out before I had to start. I thought I was gonna fail miserably and that all those people would see my failure and think I'm a sucky artist. But when I started drawing I forgot about the whole audience and pretended I was on my desk, enjoying a fine drawing evening on my own. And it all turned out good. I don't think I made a few masterpieces that day, but it made the festival better, I think. People came to me saying they loved it. that felt so good, after all that stress.
that's how I work all the time. that's how I started doing murals for Converse. They asked me if I could do it and I said yes. I'd basically never done a mural before ( okay, I'd already done one once, 5 years before that, but over the course of a few days. and very clumsy. with an overhead projector. I don't think it really counts ). This time I had to make two murals in two days ! giant ones. It freaked me out and I cursed myself the day I had to start that I'd agreed to do that project. man, I was terrified. but again, I worked hard to make it work and since then they've asked me 5 more times. bigger and more every time. stuff like that proves to me it's great to take up challenges, agree to things you've never done before, to take risks.

I had a fantastic comic strip artist that believed in me when I started drawing and sucked majorly ( when I was 19 ). He liked my enthusiasm, what I did and the ambition to evolve. He gave me that extra motivation and self confidence that I needed so hard to keep going. I'm so grateful for that. Of course I kept going myself, while it wasn't and still isn't always easy. but I keep going back to the main thing: drawing and creating is fun ! and it definitely is. last two years especially have been crazy. and mostly because I said yes to almost anything that came my way.

I can tell you this, Mario. As far as I'm concerned you have the potential to get big as an artist. You already have a recognizable fun style. It's cartoony, yet artsy and underground. Good for commercial stuff ( books, illustrations, posters, t-shirts, prints, murals ), good for art stuff ( underground art, gallery art, silkscreen prints, murals, cd covers, art books, festivals.. ), good for a wide audience. I once had a discussion with some other artists about doing commercial stuff. I don't mind doing certain commercial things, like doing murals for Converse. it's a cool brand and they give me creative freedom. To me it doesn't sound like I'm selling my soul at all. But some other artists beg to differ. I really don't mind, because all my great heroes have done commercial stuff. Because they liked it, because it paid their bills, etc. of course I don't do everything. If I don't like the person or company or organization that asks me then I'm not gonna do it. so definitely keep going where you are going. draw like a madman, draw a lot. it's the only way to get better. make awesome stuff and have as many people see it. then good things will happen. believe me!

ah super ! Dag Kasparian !
coooole foto's van Corentin !

nice to meet you on deviantart here ! misschien iets minder professioneel, maar ik vind het hier nog altijd wel interessant