Dan: Hello Chuck , first of all, please let everyone know where you are from, who you are and what you do?Chuck: I'm originally from Lancaster, PA which is where I was born, but I grew up in Illinois. The first half of my life spent in the north Chicago suburbs and the 2nd half spent in the south Chicago suburbs. Now I am married (as of August 2007) and I live in Bloomington, IL at the moment, the middle of the middle of the midwest. Ha. I am a freelance artist and designer and I do all different kinds of personal and commercial work for clients like Reebok, Sandisk, Nike, Vans, Burton, and Mountain Dew to name a few.
Dan: Looking at the portfolio on your site, you are a freelance designer and artist, do the two ever become synonymous and what is the difference in terms of commerce?
Chuck: I don't really think about the difference between them on a day to day basis to be honest. It's just kind of one in the same to me. I just do what I enjoy doing and usually that falls under the art category. I guess I just throw design in there because that's obviously a big tie-in with the community and culture I'm involved in and I do do design, just not quite as much as I feel like I do art...does that make sense? I don't really even consider myself a graphic designer at all, it's kind of a hybrid of designer-artist-photographer-illustrator-special effects guy. Or something.
Dan: You have been around the design community for some time. How long has it been? And how did you begin to discover your creative abilities/talents?
Chuck: I've been pretty actively involved in the design community for about 6-7 years now. Before anybody knew who I was as NoPattern, I was very involved in different online communities, news sites, etc. I found it really amazing that so many people found common ground with art and design on the internet at the pace it was going back then...sites like DesignIsKinky, Surfstation, Linkdup...all those sites really are what got me interested. As for discovering my creativity, I've honestly been known, at least to close friends and family, as an artist since I was a toddler. I've always drawn and loved to create things, and it never changed as I got older.
Dan: What's the story behind your pieces like, “Places You Can't Imagine” and “Godlike”?Chuck: They were both photos that were taken on nights when I needed to just get out of my house. I do that a lot at night, especially on foggy nights or nights that have a certain feel to them.... I can't really explain the feel I'm talking about...some nights just feel inviting to take pictures. I live in the suburbs so there really aren't any cool landscapes and sights to take pictures of, but something about empty parking lots to me are really cool...just this really isolated feeling. And all the lights in a big empty place like that are just inviting to take pictures of. So for both those prints, I just ended up driving around until I found ideal spots to shoot some photos.
Dan: Any thoughts on what's next concerning the ability of art to shape culture...
Chuck: I love that big companies are really stepping up and utilizing artists and designers. You see it in ads and commercials all the time, fresh, new ideas popping up in places where they used to be filled with stock imagery and bland corporate looking filler. That really shapes a certain part of our culture, certainly corporate America is not the most important part of our culture, but it probably has the largest impact on people in general because of how bombarded we are with ads all day long.
Dan: Briefly describe your creative process from start to finish...
Chuck: I honestly have no set creative process. I don't even know how to begin and I certainly wouldn't know how to tell you I'm finished...I just kind of start on my work with no plan or sketch, and then I just kind of stop when it looks done. Ha. I guess i really don't think about that kind of thing. I just do it. As far as client work goes, part of the creative process involves revisions and going back and forth, but again, I just do what they ask of me or offer my opinion if they offer a bad suggestion...
Dan: What is life outside of art and design for you?Chuck: Like I said, I got married in August, so my wife Holly is obviously a huge part of life for me now. She has been anyways for 5 years but now that we're married it's more apparent. As for my spare time, I love just hanging out with people, sitting at coffeeshops or getting lunch with friends...playing Scrabble, watching Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Office, and old episodes of Home Improvement (seriously I love it) Pretty simple life actually, I just like to do what I love and be around the people I love.
Dan: Any last words? Shout Outs?
Chuck: I'm just really grateful to everyone who has supported me through words, press opportunities, bought my work, and been a friend to me over the last few years as I've continued to work as a freelancer. It's easy to forget how much we have and how blessed we are and my life and work certainly has seen more than enough over the last 4 years.
For more of Chuck's art and work or to purchase prints, head on over to www.nopattern.com.
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