Drawn in the dead of summer for the daughter of a friend I was courting — unsuccessfully — this was an attempt at being a peacock for her mom. A stippled and unrequited mating dance.
Though named after a song by Can, I drew this upon hearing David Lynch talk about where great ideas come from. “Trillions and zillions of ideas,” he said, “and they’re all there, waiting to be caught.” I wanted to communicate that sense of abundance — a kind of blossoming, voluptuous life force. Fertility run amok.
Backstory, Rob Sussman: Based off a quick sketch, this was my deepest exploration of graphite to date – pushing the tones as I exaggerated the features, integrating the levity of content into the process, and relaxing a bit to allow for a certain, simple harmony of elements.
My sons have been the center of my life for 20+ years, lighting up my existence and offering great feedback (when they can be bothered). A couple teachers at Otis and SVA, my girlfriend, my mom, lots of amazing friends. Some favorite illustrators are Drew Friedman, Chris Ware, Zoe Matthiessen, Henrik Drescher.
I was a struggling musician, with big ambitions but not much success, when I went to a music industry conference in Las Vegas to promote my music. I was nervously doing everything I could to make connections with the executives at all the big music companies. I would attend every panel of experts, taking notes on everyone’s name, and going up to the stage afterwards to introduce myself and get their contact info.
TribeLA Magazine applauds Santa Barbara’s musical moxie in weaving dense subject matter into a catchy audible experience. Check out the Acrostic Interview at TribeLA Magazine: https://tlamagazine.com/santabarbara-acrostic/
