15 Questions With....Matthew Skiff

1. Where are you right now, geographically and mentally?!
Geographically I'm located in beautiful Colorado. Well, right now it's cold and snowy, but still beautiful. It's a state where in the morning it could be 70 degrees, and then a few hours later it drops to 30 degrees and there is snow falling, I love it and always keeps me on my toes. However, mentally it's a different story. I think I'm stuck in some kind of 80's/early 90's hybrid where crazy color fashion still exists as well as the best cartoons and movies that have ever existed. Oh, and dinosaurs are walking around all over the place handing out Sour Skittles to everyone.

2. Describe your style:
I think my style is kind of a mesh between comic book art, cartoons and retro skateboard art. All of these things have been a major influence in my personality and art.

3. Where do you derive your inspiration from? What makes you tick?
My inspiration comes from anywhere, I get a lot of ideas just watching TV and seeing a commercial. That, or just driving or walking and looking at billboards or even people and buildings. But mainly my inspiration comes from my past and all the lame stuff I liked when I was a kid. Food is also another inspirational factor.

4. Who is your role model?
This is kind of a tricky question because it changes every single day. I wake up with a different move every day pertaining to all things including my art. Some days I'm frustrated with where my art is heading that I look to head in a different direction with it, and with that different direction comes different role models. Ok, I just went on a rant, but if I had to pick one person as a role model (in art), Frank Frazetta has always been at the top of the list. I'm not saying my art looks anything like his art, but his art is so inspiring and it's hard to deny that he has inspired so many other artists that I love today.

5. What are your current 3 favourite albums and why?
I just recently got the new Gorillaz album, Plastic Beach, and it's simply amazing. It's one of those albums you want to listen to as a whole and you can throw it on in the background while working, it's great. I have been listening to a lot of Kid Cudi as well, his Man On The Moon album is one of the best debut (Hip-Hop) albums I have heard in a long time. Another album that has been getting a lot of rotation on my iPod is the new Lady Gaga album, The Fame Monster. I know, it's lame, but there is just something about her music that just catches my interest. It could be the fact that it's just so damn strange.

6. Who are your favourite artists?
Like I said early, my taste in art changes every single day. Today I'm gonna have to say that my 3 favorite artists are Frank Frazetta, Tim Jacobus and Jim Phillips. I already talked about why I like Frank Frazetta, as for Tim Jacobus, he had such an important role in making me love art. Tim Jacobus was the artist who did all those Goosebumps book covers that we all grew up in. Half the time I didn't even read the books, I just got them because I loved the covers. Jim Phillips is amazing because his art on skateboards is still inspiring people to this very day.

7. What are your current 3 most loved movies and why?
There are so many to choose from, but I would have to say that my all-time favorite movie would have to be The Lost Boys. The last few scenes when they are killing all the vampires is awesome and hilarious. After that I'd have to say Ghostbusters and Waynes World. These are the only few movies where I can pretty much quote every single line in each movie because I have seen them so many times, and they have never gotten old.

8. Which musicians do you most admire?
This is probably a strange answer, but the first person that popped into my head was Freddy Mercury of Queen. His voice was amazing and so different and nobody has been able to do anything like what he did. Then we have the obvious choices like Michael Jackson and then maybe bands like Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd.

9. Let us know your 2 most treasured books and the reasons why?
The first book I would have to say would be Kevin Eastman's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Artobiography. Naturally one of the biggest reasons why I like the book is because it's about TMNT, but there are several other reasons as well. The whole entire book is mainly about the comic book before the cartoon series and has all this wonderful behind the scenes art that people don't normally get to see. It's a really inspiring book to read and learn about what it take to make an independent comic book.

The other book would be, although it's not necessarily one book, The Complete Calvin and Hobbes collection. Bill Watterson is another one of those artists that I would have to put on my favorite artists list. Reading all these comic strips really takes me back to elementary school where we would be given these Scholastic Book catalogs, and I would immediately go to either the Calvin and Hobbes page, or the Goosebumps page.

10. What is your number one vice?
I would have to say, my biggest vice is eating fast food. It seems like at the beginning of each month I plan on eating healthy and staying away from fast food. But once I run out of all the healthy food I bought at the grocery store, I end up not having enough time to go back and get more healthy food, so the rest of the month I eat so much unhealthy delicious fast food. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

11. When you are not drawing awesome things what do you like to get up to?
Well, when I don't have to draw, I usually like to sleep in really late and then I usually spend most of my day watching a ton of TV or Movies. I'm trying to change and start being more active like going on a bike ride or a hike or run, but motivation when I don't have to work is really low! Back when I had free time I used to love Snowboarding, but I have just been so busy this past year that I haven't had much free time.

12. Where is your favourite place in ze whole world?
My favorite place in the whole world would have to be a small town in Colorado called Ouray. It's on the western slop of Colorado surrounded by beautiful mountains. The town is so small, my mother grew up there and her high-school Graduating class was realy small, like 15 people. My entire family goes up there every 4th of July, they do some awesome things for that holiday. I usually spend my time up there visiting with family, going on hikes, barbecues and everything else people should do during the summer.

13. What is your pet peeve?
I absolutely hate when people don't chew their food with their mouth closed. It is so disgusting me to, and most of the time really loud. It's so annoying, I'm getting really frustrated just thinking about it.

14. Where do you spend most of your time online?
I usually spend most of my time on Facebook or Twitter. I also like to head over to IGN to read all the movie and video game reviews.

15. Finally, what will be written on your head stone?
Beware of Zombie