$400 SOLD!

AARON RENIER - PORTLAND, OR
Untitled

what's the idea behind your dolls?
They're the main characters in my book I'm working on for Top Shelf

red vines or twizzlers?
Twizzlers. You can use them as a straw.

what contemporary artists are you inspired by?
Lewis Trondheim, Jason (Norwegian Cartoonist), Jim Jenkins, Jordan Crane, Craig Thompson, and Ulf K.

last piece of art acquired?
A pen and Ink drawing of a woman and a mouse hiding underground by the amazing Carson Ellis.

tell the audience what movie/book/album/website/tv show/magazine you love that most people haven't seen/read/heard?
The nickelodeon t.v. shows "Doug" and "The Adventures of Pete & Pete" were incredibly meaningful to me. Nothing special ever really happened but it was the insignificant adventure that made them so thrilling. Just that I could identify with them so quickly, that I had the same adventures myself. Sort of like a virtual reality where you weren't expieriencing something daring or high impact, just seeing yourself from the outside. Really amazing.

how did you get to where you are now?
I'm still going somewhere... I don't feel I've made it anywhere yet. But I can say that There have been plenty of weekends where I don't go out and party... and many pages of finished art and doodles that never get seen by another person. A lot of practice and self loathing/editing.

favorite place in your town?
The Esplanade under the Steel Bridge, watching tankers and tug boats.

favorite place in the world?
Midwest in the winter.

i would not be an artist if it were not ______?
for my nervous drawing habit.