{"id":5871,"date":"2022-05-02T22:52:35","date_gmt":"2022-05-02T22:52:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.boardpusher.com\/blog\/?p=5871"},"modified":"2022-09-28T19:55:29","modified_gmt":"2022-09-28T19:55:29","slug":"skateboard-artist-profile-lou-simeone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.boardpusher.com\/blog\/skateboard-artist-profile-lou-simeone\/","title":{"rendered":"SKATEBOARD ARTIST PROFILE: LOU SIMEONE"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"skateboard<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Lou Simeone<\/a> is a Jersey raised independent artist now operating in the suburbs of Atlanta, GA. We first became aware of Lou about five years ago when his <\/em>Brainwash<\/a> graphic rolled through our presses. Ever since, we always take notice when his vibrant and charmingly crass designs come through our warehouse, and you’ve probably seen several of his boards get Featured right here<\/a>. We decided it was finally time to catch up with Lou and find out about his creative process since his <\/em>“low brow” graphics fit right in with classic skateboard art and… well… us.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

When did you begin your art journey?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I was a kid, around the age of 9 or 10. I used to sit for hours every day, drawing Disney and Looney Tunes characters. I bought all of Al Jaffee\u2019s books and copied his art too. I even made my own comic strip when I was a kid and sent it to United Feature Syndicate to get it published. I\u2019m still waiting to hear back. I expect it\u2019ll be any day now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you found your earliest voice, what were you creating?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a teenager, my interests shifted a bit, and I set my sights on the album cover artwork of bands like Iron Maiden, Nazareth, and Molly Hatchet. The early Derek Riggs album covers are incredible. I drew Iron Maiden\u2019s mascot, Eddie, countless times. But one of my favorite album covers was Ozzy Osbourne’s The Ultimate Sin, illustrated by the all-time great Boris Vallejo. As time went by, I developed my own style, which can be described as flowing, psychedelic, colorful cartoons usually outlined with bold, undulating lines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Would you say skateboarding influenced your style, or did skateboarding feel like the next progression for your art since that attitude coincided with your vision?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Skateboards always seemed like the perfect fit for my artwork. I think a lot of my art has a whole counterculture, kind of lowbrow vibe to it. Just look at my art for the stickers I sell too, and I think you\u2019d probably agree. I can cut loose when I make artwork for skateboards. It\u2019s a medium that allows me to be as crazy and free as I want to be. I\u2019m a guy that refuses to grow up and for that I make no apologies. I want to spend my time making the kind of art I drooled over as a kid. Maybe there\u2019s a kid out there drooling over my art. I hope so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is your main influence for using bright and vibrant colors?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m just naturally drawn to colorful artwork. I like art that screams color and has movement. Maybe it has something to do with so many places that are void of color, like schools and other institutional buildings, which are usually where we spend most of our time. When I was a kid, school walls were cinder blocks painted white or gray. BORING! Why not jazz them up with color? Kids are so full of life and energy. Maybe that\u2019s what color means to me – life and energy – and that\u2019s what I want my art to have.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Where do you typically create your art and what is your workspace like?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have a drawing area in my studio where I do my sketching and painting. I also have a workstation set up for my digital art. My studio has a chill, relaxed feel to it so I can be as creative as possible. It\u2019s also equipped with a fridge, couch, a TV, and video games for the lazy days when I\u2019m just hanging out. I spend the majority of my time in my studio so I feel like it should reflect my personality and be a place where I have all the things I enjoy and that inspire me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Along with your style, your art also seems to naturally be right at home, dimension-wise, on a skateboard deck. Have your designs typically felt like they could be a board graphic or was it something you had to adjust to fit your art onto a skateboard?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s funny because when I first started making art for skateboards my main concern was how I was going to work around the area for the trucks. But my art just naturally flows around it. The length of the boards as opposed to their short width was a bit of an adjustment too. It was challenging at first, but I fell right into it after the first couple of boards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

What is your design technique? Do you know right away that you\u2019re creating a deck design or is it something that morphs into a skateboard graphic?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even though most of my art might look loose and wild, I\u2019m pretty methodical in my approach. I know straight away that I want to do something specifically for a deck and I\u2019ll marinate on it for a bit before I put pencil to paper. My best ideas come when my mind is clear and relaxed, like when I\u2019m driving in my car or working out. That\u2019s the time when my ideas come flooding in. At that point, it\u2019s a matter of sketching what I see in my head. That journey is a trail of eraser crumbs and crumpled-up paper, but I eventually reach my destination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We noticed you printed out a BoardPusher Design template<\/a> on a regular sized sheet of paper for the sketch for your graphics and then finished it digitally. Can you tell us about that process?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I made myself a vector template indicating where the trucks are, the live area, the trim, and the bleed for a couple of different size boards. I print them out on tabloid-size paper as needed and do my sketching within the template. I work on the sketch until it\u2019s pretty tight. Then it\u2019s scanned in, and the artwork is finalized in Illustrator. That\u2019s where I focus on the line-work and of course the color. The finished deck almost always looks different from the sketch, but I realized a while ago that it takes me twice as long to create my art if I don\u2019t sketch it out first. When I\u2019m satisfied with the digital art, I print it out on my Canon to look at the color output and inspect the piece overall. Adjustments are made where needed based on the printouts. At that point, I walk away and come back to it later. This way I\u2019ll be looking at it with a fresh eye when I come back. If I don\u2019t see anything else that needs to be adjusted, I\u2019ll prep the file for my shop and post up the deck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s your favorite part about creating graphics for a skateboard deck?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I love the entire process, but my favorite part is when I take the sketch to the computer and get into a groove with my headphones on. My taste in music is pretty eclectic, but most of the time I\u2019ll be listening to Joe Satriani when I\u2019m in that groove. At that point, time doesn\u2019t exist and my world at that moment is the board in front of me. I have to say, though, nothing beats holding that finished deck in my hands. Man, when I pull that deck out of the box and see my art on it – that is such an indescribable high.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do you feel your home base of Atlanta has an influence on the direction of your art?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The awesome thing about living in Georgia is going to all the events and festivals and seeing other artists\u2019 work. I didn\u2019t do much of that when I lived in New Jersey. Of course, living in New Jersey allowed me to hop over to New York whenever I wanted to and visit all its great museums. I miss that. But the Peach State is a beautiful place to live, and I love it down here.

What\u2019s your advice for someone about to create their own skateboard graphic?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Make what you love to make and have fun doing it. Creating art is a solitary activity and if you\u2019re not creating what you love, making something that gives you a rush, chances are you won\u2019t stick with it for very long. You can\u2019t please everyone with your art and creating what you\u2019re into is what keeps you moving forward. Countless hours are spent on a piece, and you naturally want everyone to love it, but, naturally, not everyone will love it, and that\u2019s okay. Don\u2019t waste energy focusing on the people who don\u2019t care for your art. You rarely win them over. There are so many people out there who will love what you create. Stick with it long enough and they\u2019ll find you – you\u2019ll find them, and together you can groove in a world of colorful, psychedelic coolness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

You can keep up with Lou Simone by checking out his website <\/em>simeonegraphix.com<\/a>, find him on the socials <\/em>@simeonegraphix<\/a>, purchase stuff from his shop <\/em>www.etsy.com\/shop\/SimeoneGraphix<\/a>, and order all of the above skateboard graphics and many others from <\/em>BoardPusher.com\/simeonegraphix<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lou Simeone is a Jersey raised independent artist now operating in the suburbs of Atlanta, GA. 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