Interview with Jimbo Phillps

What's your earliest memory of art?

Art goes back to my earliest memories, it's always been a part of my life. I had a psychedelic painted crib when I was a baby. My dad was a hippy surf artist back then, so a lot of our things were painted psychedelic. Our only income for all of my upbringing came from art. My dad was drawing all the time so art was a natural outlet for me. My mom saved stacks of my drawings from when I was a kid, they are so fun to look at!

Have you had any non-art jobs in your life?

My dad would often tell me that art was a hard way to make a living, so after high school, I did some construction work and realized even though I liked it, it wasn’t what I wanted to do. Shortly after, the skate industry was booming, so my dad started a studio and hired a couple of other artists and me to help him with work for skateboard graphics. The rest is history!

What does a typical day in your life look like?

Wake up, have some coffee, check the surf report, check emails, check messages. If the waves are good, go surfing. If not, turn on some music and start drawing or working on some art and graphics. Take a skateboard break after lunch. Work some more in the afternoon, maybe fill some orders from my webstore. Sometimes surf or skate session with my son Colby in the evening. Have dinner with my wife Jenni and my kids Cassidy and Colby. Some nights do some more

work if I have stuff to get done or work on some personal projects, paintings, or products for my webstore. Once a week I play music with some buddies, I like to play drums! I also like to go see a live rock show from time to time as well!

What was the first commercially available skate graphic you did?

Well, when I was about 14 I got a blank skate deck and drew an aggro face on the bottom, then showed it to my dad, The next day I came home from school and my dad had drawn the Roskopp face board and said check out this one! I was blown away! But was stoked to have inspired my dad to draw it! He also let me write things on the Kendall graffiti graphic so I wrote Nards Dangle and Minor Threat on it. My first paying art job was for the skate comic book Road Rash! I did a strip called Nuclear Locals! I think I got $200 bucks for 4 pages. I had a blast drawing it and making some money was awesome! After that, my dad hired me and a couple other artists from the comic to work for him. I started out doing some creepy lettering for the bottom of ads, I think the first couple things I did didn’t even get used, they were more of little tests, but eventually, stuff started getting used. The first skate deck I ever worked on was the Grosso Psychedelic deck. After that the Roskopp face 2 deck, Hosoi Picasso deck and the Natas kitten.

Do you collect any other artists work and if so who?

I collect comics, toys, books, records, and skateboards and I still have some of my collections, I also expand on them once in a while. But I have too much stuff and not enough room! I'm a skateboarder hoarder! I like artist books, I'll pick up a good one when I see one. Some of my favorite artists are Rick Griffin, R.Crumb, Robert Williams, Big Daddy Roth, Stanley Mouse, Virgil Finlay, Basil Wolverton, Berni Wrightson, Steve Ditka, Don Martin, Wally Wood, Picasso, Wes Hupston, Pushead, Salvador Dali, Disney, WB cartoons, Mad Magazine, Marvel and DC Comics, Zap comix, punk and metal album covers

What is one of your favorite graphics of all time? Doesn't have to be one of your own.

Definitely one of my dads. When I was little, he worked for this motorcycle shop and did some really cool stuff, I love those drawings, but as for a skateboard graphic I would have to say the Roskopp face.

What influences the design process to create a graphic for a specific skater or do they just get what you give them?

If doing a pro rider deck I like to get a little of their input, I think it's cool when it somehow reflects their personality to some degree. But sometimes it's cool when they give you free reign, and you just come up with a kickass graphic that they are stoked on! Either way, it starts with a pencil sketch. Then I blow it up and draw over it adding details and composition elements. Then I ink it on paper. After that, I scan it and do color separations and final layout.

What do you think of spoof graphics?

Spoof graphics are fun sometimes. I've done my share and people really enjoy them. I prefer something new and original, but sometimes the spoof idea just has to be done, when it's a cool idea or mashup.

Have you ever received hate mail because of your art?

I've definitely had some negative comments on social media once in a while, but that’s to be expected. For the most part, people are very supportive and stoked and it encourages and inspires me to try new things and create some visual stimuli along the way. I don’t try to please everybody and I think art that does is boring. I've always loved skate art because anything goes and you can really get rad!

What do you dislike about the skate industry?

The skate industry has been good to me and my family so I got nothing but love! It has its politics, trends, and opinions, but it's still way gnarlier, creative and more exciting than most others.

Do you still skate? If so, what's your current setup?

Yes, I still skate, and hope to continue as long as my body will allow it! I love to skate with my son Coby, we hit up a lot of skate parks and are always stoked to go check out a new park! My setup is a Roskopp 1 reissue with Indy 159s and Oj Hosoi Rocket wheels 60mm 97a, with Indy Mob grip.

What advice would you give the up and coming artist?

Skate and create, surf and destroy, don’t conform, think positive, imagine change, lead don’t follow, think outside the box, respect your elders, do what makes you happy, try new things, take care of the planet, treat people as you would want to be treated. Travel, stay active, stay healthy, help others, get messy, consider new ideas, keep an open mind, get weird, turn it up, lose your shit, rock the fuck out!! PEACE!

Check out my website at jimbophillips.com or follow me on Instagram: @jimbophillips or Facebook @Jimbo Phillips Graphix or Twitter @jimbophillips1