8 It Up!
Eight questions for someone interesting
By Scottie Campbell
Vaughn Belak, Artist
Since the 1960s the unique puppetry of Jim Henson – better known as The Muppets – has captured the imaginations of people of all ages. The culture that surrounds us makes its way into our mind and soul without our even being aware, and The Muppets are no exception. This month Orlando artists will pay homage to this zany cast of fuzzy creatures by creating portraits of The Muppets in their individual styles.
Vaughn Belak is among the artists featured in The Muppet Art Show. In this 8 It Up! interview we get some insight into Vaughn’s artistry and learn that he is apparently shy about his undergarments.
Scottie: How did you get started with painting?
Vaughn: I’ve pretty much always drawn or painted in one form or fashion. As a kid I did a lot of leather jackets and skate decks for friends. Band logos and stuff mostly. When I was real young it was heavily influenced by graffiti and as I got older I found punk rock and it was more about skulls and such. Then, I put it down for a few years to pursue music and really didn’t paint much again for several years. When I stepped away from music again it was there waiting for me though. A friend let me throw some stuff up on a wall at her bar and, after those pieces all sold, I was off and running again.
You paint a lot of monsters. Why is that?
Just seems to be what holds my interest. All that old Universal Horror stuff and of course guys like Ed Roth and Basil Gogos was a huge influence on me. Recently I’ve started to branch out some though and have been experimenting with more abstract pieces. What I used to consider to be just back grounds waiting for images to be painted over them have started to become more of a focal point in what I do. I intend to get more into textures in the next few years and see what comes of that.
Set up the scene for us when you're creating. Any particular music you listen to? Favorite shirt you have to wear? Rituals you perform? Lucky charm? Boxers or briefs?
Ha…well, I paint on the floor due to how I work. It gets really messy and I need the canvas flat so I don’t just have a big disaster. Basically it’s just me crawling around on the floor. Usually the television is on and maybe music as well. Everything I own clothing wise pretty much has paint on it. I really should pick one pair of pants and a shirt to work in, but that never seems to work out for me.
Judging from your Facebook page, you seem to like to share your process. Some artists are secretive about it. Why is that different for you?
That really stems from people asking to see the progress of different pieces. Later I found out that it helps sell pieces as well. Builds anticipation I suppose. The feedback I get when I do that is nice as well.
Who is your all-time favorite artist?
Probably have to lean back towards Basil Gogos. His sense of lighting and his use of texture just kills me. So much depth and just out right creepiness in all of those old Famous Monsters magazine covers. Completely overwhelming to me now, as it was when I was a kid.
If Governor Rick Scott called to ask you to paint his official portrait, would you do it?
That all depends on how much freedom I had to do what I wanted with his image, I suppose. If I had very little, I would probably bury hidden messages in the portrait and, if I had a lot of room, I would highlight his obvious alien hybrid heritage. I’ve only done a handful of portraits and I would use that term very loosely for those pieces. I’d say they were more an idealized version of the person I was painting.
People have gotten tattoos of your art, which must be the ultimate compliment. Did you create any of the art for your own tatts?
It really is incredibly flattering when people choose one of my paintings for a tattoo and I am always curious to see how they translate. With my tattoos I usually take something I drew or an idea in my head and present it to the tattoo artist and let them make it their own. If you try to restrict them in what they do you are most likely not going to be very happy with the result.
Is the Orlando art scene lacking anything?
In my opinion, it’s actually very healthy at the moment. I lived here as a kid for a while and remember what it used to be like and believe me…it has grown by leaps and bounds. The venues and the artists are all so very supportive of one another and you see other artists come out to each other’s openings regularly. That shows a good scene. There’s not a lot of attitude or art snob bullshit and that is really refreshing. I’ve been in towns that it was very cliquey and you really couldn’t get up on a wall unless you knew the “right” people or fit the “right” mold. Here there is really a good mix and I love seeing so much new work all over town.
Wild Card Question: If you were to create a Muppet. What would its name be?
Ha…Muppets have taken over my life in the last week or two so this is a very fitting question. I don’t know if I would want to try and create a Muppet so much as I would wanna be made into one. In some ways, I sorta feel like I already am one some of the time.
About The Muppet Art Show | Saturday, April 16, 8:00 PM-11:00 PM at Achille's Art Cafe & Coffee Shop, 2869 Wilshire Dr. Unit 103 in MetroWest. Entry is $5, under 18 is free. Visit here for more information and full list of artists.
Photo credit: Janae Corado
