Interview with Mark Zigarelli

q) Introduce yourself first please?

a) Mark Zingarelli

q) Where do you live and work?

a) I live in a small town (North Huntingdon) near the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in the United States of America. I am married to a lovely redheaded woman from Texas and we have three daughters who still live at home. I work in a studio within my home.

q) How did you started? How have you realized you wanted to become an artist?

a) I have always enjoyed drawing. I began drawing and copying cartoons from MAD Magazine when I was 5 or 6 years old. My parents encouraged me to be an artist. My father taught me how to draw in perspective and he took a special interest in my talents. I guess I have always just wanted to be an artist of one kind or another, but over the many years I have been working as a freelance artist, I have come to prefer cartoons and comics as a way of expressing myself.

q) What's your favorite medium to work in, and why?

a) I have worked in several mediums over the years. I enjoyed printmaking, and etching when in school. I also did scratchboard in my late 20’s, but I always came back to drawing…first with pencil, then with pen and ink and today I do mostly brush and ink with additional work (color) in Photoshop on the computer.

q) Do you draw influences from a wide range of artists, musicians, books…?

a) As a child, I was influenced by books and magazines I got at the library or on the news stand. Mad Magazine, EC comics, comic books, (DC’c Sgt. Rock & Easy Co., Superman), horror movie magazines like Famous Monsters of Filmland, the paintings/illustrations of N.C. Wyeth, Howard Pyle, Walter Crane, Aubrey Beardsley, J.C. Leyendecker and Edmund Dulac.

q) Do you rule by any tendency in your creative work, or you only follow what comes in your mind?

a) My favorite type of work is the kind that tells a story of some kind. A story about people…their passions, their emotions, their interconnectiveness to all that is around us.

q) What haven’t you done yet that you definitely want to try someday?

a) I have been interested in painting in oils, but have yet to try my hand at it.

q) Are there any contemporary artists that you love?

a) I admire the work of several artists working today. In the comics and graphic novel field I like Charles Burns, Roberto Baldazzini, Gipi, Baru, Vittorio Giardino, Robert Crumb, Jacques Tardi, Loustal, Marti, Jason Lutes and others. I also enjoy the work of Rod Filbrandt, Bonni Reid, Ray Caesar, Lori Earley, Colette Calassione and Mort Drucker.

q) How long does it take for you to finish a piece?

a) That depends on the medium, the scope of a project and it’s size.

q) What music, if any, do you like to have on while you're working?

a) I listen to a wide variety of music, from old-time jazz and pre-war blues to Tom Waits.

q) Do you do many art shows?

a) I had a show in Chicago last year, and two shows running currently (the moth of February 2007) in the Pittsburgh area.

q) Favorite clothing setup?

a) Do you mean what do I like to wear? Baggy chinos, comfortable shoes, and long-sleeved soft and worn t-shirts.

q) What are you doing when you are not creating?

a) Reading, watching movies, and spending time with family and friends eating out. I also enjoy sitting at an outdoor café, sipping espresso and watching people. Dopio or macchiato, with biscotti, per favore!

q) Do you get emotionally attached to your work and do you miss your work when it is sold?

a) I do not sell many pieces so I do not miss them.

q) What new projects or exhibits are in your future?

a) I am currently finishing up 8 pieces for Monte Beauchamp’s BLAB!

q) Describe your work space.

a) My studio is a single room about 15’ x 15’ located in a daylight basement (next to a furnace room) in an old house that sits on top of a hill overlooking a small town.

q) What kind of projects/shows have you been involved in?

a) The gallery shows have mainly been group shows for the past few years. But I always have several personal projects I’m working on at any given time.

q)your contacts….e-mail…links

a) E-mail :

markzing@comcast.net
Online portfolios :
www.houseofzing.com
www.theispot.com/artist/mzingarelli/