Rich Sigberman Art & Illustration 90

May I be allowed to quip
stream of consciousness slips
Of the tongue
Without it hurting
No one

May I be allwed to rant
Against the perceived inequities
Debased personalities
Irrelevancies
Impossibilities

Of being a human being
In this world.
and when I'm asked
to be a faceless mask

I don't want to forget
To rant, that's my task

I forgot to be sensitive
I forgot to be P.C.
I forgot to tread lightly
I almost forgot to be me.

San Fran Voice
Blogging San Francisco, California
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SF Art Speaks: An Interview with Rich Sigberman
August 3rd, 2007 · 1 Comment
Go to Rich Sigberman’s website and you’ll learn that he does “Jazz, Pop & Abstract Artwork” and “Commercial and Architectural Illustration”. What does that mean? He’s an illustrator and artist who has done work for books and buildings all throughout the Bay Area. Much of his inspiration comes from the jazz musicians that he has loved for years. In other words, Rich gets to do what many artists only dream of doing; he makes a living from his art. And he gives you some hints as to how in his blog. But first, learn more about his work from this interview that he did with San Fran Voice. And check out some of his work in our photo blog post which went live earlier this morning.
What can you tell us about the basics of your artwork?
I consider myself primarily a cartoon artist who has been greatly influenced by comic book cover art, children’s book illustration, and commercial art from the early part of the 20th century. My media has been watercolor and ink since I began seriously creating art in 1969, and subjects I have consistently been drawn (no pun intended) to are jazz musicians, cartoon and advertising icons, and, most recently, abstract art.
Who has been your favorite client (and / or what has been your favorite project)?
My best client over the last decade has been the Lang Antique and Estate Jewelry store in San Francisco. The owner of the store has put out a series of cards that I’ve rendered, usually 3 or 4 a year, that are often wildly humorous; we work hard sending ideas back and forth in the planning stages, and take great pride in the way the cards turn out. The most recent one affectionately satirized the Summer of Love anniversary.
What projects are you working on now?
I’m illustrating the poetry a woman wrote some 30 years ago, doing a promotional piece for a musician who lives in Florida, and just completed the poster for the San Rafael Food and Wine Festival. I’m also preparing art and reproductions of my art for the Monterey Jazz Festival in September, and the Telluride Blues Festival for whom I created this year’s poster.
Current / upcoming shows?
The San Rafael Food and Wine Festival August 11, the Telluride Blues Festival, September 15, and the Monterey Jazz Festival September 23.
What art goals do you have for yourself?
I want to illustrate books, get an art gallery that appreciates my art, and do a New Yorker cover.
What made you decide to start your art blog?
I felt that after 24 years in the business, some people might have an interest in the reasons for making art decisions, as well as the ups and downs of managing an art business, especially for one untrained in business.
Be honest – do you love what you do? What do you for inspiration on the days that you don’t love the work?
I totally love what I do; drawing and painting is really all I’ve ever wished to do professionally. I always love the work, but inspiration is another story: For me, now that I’ve been at it as long as I have, I find that my inspiration comes after putting a lot of time and effort in first, eventually something develops that I’m excited by. Inspiration does not come to me as readily as it once did.
How does the city inspire or affect your art work? I lived in San Francisco for 17 years, and rarely used the City as a direct influence. On occasion, I would do a sketch at a jazz club that I would then expand into a painting. I love SF, though, and did do some pieces on commission that were about the City.
Do you have a favorite gallery in San Francisco?
The San Francisco Museum of Comic Art. Any good library (go to 741.)
Where can you be found when you’re just out and about in the city?
I still enjoy the Haight, where I once lived.. Between Amoeba Records, the café near it, and Escape From New York Pizza, most of my needs may be met there. I guess my needs are few.
What do you think the average visitor to San Francisco should know about the art scene here?
Is there an art scene here? Ho ho...kidding. I'm not that familiar with it, really.
What advice do you have for emerging artists?
Do your art, no matter what else is happening. Whether it is met with professional success or not, continue to make art, as if it’s the most important thing to you in the world. It needs to be the thing you want to do more than anything else.
What is one other thing that you think we should know about your work?
The prices….just kidding. My work presents a unique combination of a cartoon sensibility, literary mind, knowledge of the history of art (especially cartoon art), a satirical mind, a feel for movement, lack of pretension, and intelligent use of color.

Money!

Just that word alone is enough to get an emotional reaction from me, and, I'll bet, lots of other Americans too. Why just "Americans"? I think we in this country put more of an emphasis on it than in other parts of the world, although I am not enough of a world traveller to be certain of that theory.

For me, it is the source and symbol of the challenges I have with my career. While I work pretty hard, there is something that is eluding me in the way I command income. I work hard for $500 jobs, and that just isn't cutting it economically, not here in Marin County. If I was on my own, not only could I not survive here, the local government would probably ride me out of town tarred and feathered, on a rail, for lack of making the economic grade. This country loves winners (read: "wealthy") but has little place for those who don't earn that much.

Which leads us to artists. Poor artists. The ones who live in the leaky walk up apartments. The ones who are not appeciated until well after they've died, if at all. We all know the cliches, and even a cliche has its basis in some sort of truth. But, it's not true across the board.

So, I do better than most people who call themselves "artists". And, I don't do well enough. It's a strange conundrum I find myself in. Good paying work is hard for me to find, and when I do find it, it's less than satisfying artistically. I have been neglecting my better art to try and concentrate on generating income, so there is a strange level of disatisfaction going on here, which is probably attitudinal as much as factual.

I drove myself nuts waiting for a check in the mail last week, and the procdure is repeating itself this week. My first instinct is to cut back on anything that smacks of "luxury" - therapy, pay TV, food.....well, maybe not the TV.

I'm going to transcend all this. And, soon.

Ok, so maybe I've been a tad less than motivated of late for much of anything. I don't really want to do art that much, I don't really want to do much of anything that much. Don't know what's wrong with me, I'm just content to lay around with the doggies.....must be a phase, probably will only last another 30 years.

Just the same, I've completed a fun, excellent graphic illustration for a musician in Florida, and two architectural renderings for a firm that owns shopping centers. The latter paid better. I have not been doing much art on my own of late, but I did pull out an old piece of commercial work to do some additional work on, just for relaxation. That was fun, I must admit. This is a piece with some baggage to it, as it was at first accepted happily by the client who then turned on me a few months later. He was nuts. It was too bad, but the art is excellent and deserves to be seen. I took out the company logo and have re-done various parts of it.

I probably could use a vacation of some type, but am not taking one. Soon my two big festivals will be happening and I ought to be getting ready for them with new work and more inventory. We shall see how I spend my time.

I get a lot of pleasure out of my dogs. They are fun, funny, and cute. So, I try to keep them happy.