Interview with Derek Albeck

q) Introduce yourself first please?

a)My Name is Derek Dale Albeck and I live and work in Los Angeles

q) How did you get into art?

a)I was always surrounded by art growing up and I've always been into drawing since I was a little kid. My Grandma was a painter and she would paint portraits of my family when we would visit. Every time I went to her house, there was always something new to look at so that was where my interest in creating art first began.

q) Who has been the biggest influence on you?

a)Family and Friends

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

a)I generally begin reading/ researching things I want to focus on in my art. Develop concepts and a general direction for the work, then I get to painting. My process for creating works is pretty structured at the beginning, after all the research/ concept material is done I tend to work a little freer.

q) Do you have a preferred medium to work on? Why?

a)I work on wood panels and rag papers. I prefer a smooth surface to any textured surface.

q) How much does your environment have an effect on your pictures?

a)It's always varying, right now not so much.

q) Tell us about your studio space. Where do you work? Do you listen to certain types of music while working?

a)I split my time between working from my house and a friends warehouse. My house is pretty clean and organized while the warehouse is filled with art supplies, music equipment and a vast array or random stuff, extra hectic.. I spend a good deal of time working on smaller works and doing research stuff out of my house. The warehouse I use for producing larger works and screenprints. The music always varies no real specifics.

q) Who are your favorite artists?

a)Francisco De Goya, Marcel Duchamp, Raymond Pettibon

q )When have you started using the internet and what role does this form of communication play for you, personally, for your art, and for your business?

a)I started using the internet during high school. I think the net is a really good tool for researching information and fact finding in relation to concept stuff for my work. I do conduct a bit of my business stuff over the internet and it is quite helpful with my art stuff internationally. Other than that I think it's a pretty efficient tool for communicating and networking with friends around the globe.

q) What books are on your nightstand?

a)"no god but God" Reza Aslan, "the Anti Aesthetic, essays in postmodern culture", "The FIrst Man" and "Exile and the Kingdom" both by Albert Camus, Mike Kelly's interviews, conversations and chit chat (1986-2004) and there are about 5 more books. I read alot

q) What's playing on your stereo?

a)The Black Heart Procession

q) Any interesting "rituals" before you start creating?

a)I'm super OCD about prepping the surfaces I paint on so that process i guess that could be considered a ritual.

q) What is your favourite colour?

a)Brown

q) What is the best time in the day for you to work on a project? Is there one, or is it more about the environment -- maybe the right mood?

a)I use to work only at night then during the day but nowadays I don't stick to any particular schedule. These days it's more about what needs to be done and how much time I have to do it. I like my work schedule to be random.

q) What projects mean a lot to you at the moment?

a)The Vans billboard project was a great experience, we got to align ourselves with a charity of our choice with proceeds from the project going to the respective charities, mine was Invisible Children (www.invisiblechildren.com). Other than that I'm currently in the process of developing a new body of work so I'm spending almost all of my time and effort working on that.

q)Your contacts…

a) http://derekalbeck.com/