Artist short profile:
– Name: Michael David Key.
– Location: Auckland, New Zealand, 10 minute walk from the beach. We emigrated here from England where I’d lived all my life with my young family 6 1/2 years ago. We love it!.
– Artistic style: Coloured pencil portraits and digitally drawn cartoons.
– Website/s:
https://www.facebook.com/MikesStarArt
http://mikesstarart.deviantart.com
– Bragging rights (Featured work/collaborations): I reckon I’m lucky to be alive after leaping out at Roger Moore to get get an autograph at the end of a book only signing, with hindsight his security might have taken me out there and then! He gave me a Bondesque half smile, raised an eyebrow and signed my picture LOL. Although I’ve not had any of my art published anywhere yet, unless you count Facebook or Deviant Art pages and shares, I am particularly proud of the over 115 coloured pencil drawings that I have had autographed by the subject of the portrait itself – my opus!
At the moment, I am also colouring backgrounds for the upcoming online Doctor Stew animation (https://www.facebook.com/OfficialDoctorStew?fref=ts) and have been invited to draw some guest strips for the In Print (https://www.facebook.com/inprintcomic?ref=ts&fref=ts) fan run comic strip.

 

.
Artist continued profile. Let’s get a tiny bit personal:

– What are your goals as an artist?: Well, of course it would be very cool to be able to pay off the mortgage and retire! Seriously, I would really like my art to be published and my ultimate dream would be to be able to make a living doing what I enjoy.

– Favourite artist/why?: Rolf Harris – I bet you’ve never had that answer before! LOL The man’s a legend, a piece of my childhood – growing up, watching his show on a Saturday evening, the man can create magic with a few simple strokes. Also Hergé – Again as a child I loved reading his books and admired his style – it inspired me to start drawing. I’m thrilled that my 9 year old loves his books too!  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rolf_Harris


– What do you think of Comics being made into movies?:
Some adaptations are good, some are terrible. The 1980 Flash Gordon movie although extremely cheesy was and still is one of my favorites. Maybe 3 different DVD versions of it is too many, who am I to say? And who could not find the “Some day’s you just can’t get rid of a bomb” scene from the 1960’s Batman movie hilarious. Overall I think it’s great, a good movie or TV show can inspire people to delve further, to look into the origins of what they saw, reach for a book or novel or search the internet for more information. It’s all good as we say here in NZ!

– If someone created a book about your life what would they title it?: An Unexpected Journey !?

– Where there any defining moments in your life that have influenced your artistic style?: Growing up in the seventies with Herge’s adventures of Tintin, or Asterix and Obelix. Doctor Who on a Saturday, Star Wars! Flash Gordon! One Christmas as a teenager I asked for a tin of 72 coloured pencils, I still use that tin and the same brand of pencils, I’ve replaced quite a few over the years. I used to look at the artwork on the lid and hope that one day I’d be able to draw as well as that, I’m getting there..!

– If you could have any power from a Comic character, what would it be/why?: My 3 1/2 year old says Iron Man’s the coolest because he is strong and can fly.

– What do you prefer to snack on when creating a masterpiece?: Rice pudding from the tin – yum.

– Where do you ‘draw’ your daily inspiration from? (See what I did there hehe): From the news, from the internet, from my 3 kids – the programs they watch, the things they say or do. Just from what’s around me can inspire a funny thought or take my mind off to some strange place…

– Stretch your left arm out as far as you can, What can you touch?: I can touch the stars.

– Would you go bungee jumping or sky diving?: Actually I have jumped out of an airplane twice, yeah really. Back in my early twenties! Not sure I’d be so brave now! The leap off Auckland’s Sky Tower looks like fun too, “I shouldn’t have said that…”

– If you could get it on with any character, who would it be/why?: Miss Mary Goodnight from The Man with the Golden Gun. Err…

– Can you close your eyes and raise your eyebrows?: Yep, easy! They can do a little dance too like Magnum PI’s too!

– Likes: Drawing. My family. Friends. Science Fiction, movies. The warmth of the sun, the long summer days. Not having to be woken up by an alarm clock. My wife’s chilli, trifle, fish fingers and custard – sounds yuck but is surprisingly yummy!

– Dislikes: Eggplant.

– Favourite joke: When my daughter recently had an operation and the anesthetic team asked me to tell her a joke to help her on her way the only one I could think of was “Knock knock. Who’s there? Doctor. Doctor Who..” But that’s a terrible joke so I won’t say that one…

– Any thank you’s/shoutouts?: I really have to say thanks to my friends Paul Scoones for inspiring me further, Matt Holden 10th Doctor Extraordinaire (https://www.facebook.com/MH10th?fref=ts) for helping me get so many drawings autographed, Doctor Who and the Tardis by Craig Hurle (https://www.facebook.com/The.Doctor.Who.Tardis?fref=ts) for all the shares bringing my work to a larger audience. Jason and Kevin of the online cartoon Doctor Stew (https://www.facebook.com/OfficialDoctorStew?fref=ts) for believing in me and letting me be a part of their projects. All of the people who “like” my page and my drawings – I have been blown away by the comments and feedback people give about my drawing and the beauty of Facebook is you get an immediate response. Lastly, I would like to thank my long suffering wife for living with my artistic temperament…

 

Thank you to Miachael for this interview, I am a huge stalker of your facebook page! – Ness 🙂

 

ABOUT >> Ness
  • ACCOUNT NAME >> Ness
  • BIO >>
  • CONTACT >>

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *