Carmine Magazine: What drives you to create? Also, what inspires you and your work?
Molly Crabapple: I’ve been drawing since I was old enough to hold a crayon. I get ideas in my head- perverse, offensive, snot-nosed things- and art is a way to put them out there without getting soundly beaten. I’m inspired by performance, burlesque, money, ambition, New York, aging, artifice, hyper-femininity, hyper-masculinity, social climbing and caffeine.

CM: Were you formally trained in art or self taught? Do you think it has helped you or hindered you?
MC: My mother’s a professional artist, so she helped me growing up. In fact, we have very similar styles. I’m a proud art school dropout.

CM: Do you have a ritual, quirk or superstition that influences you and the way you create? (example: I must where the green underwear when I paint hair or it will look horrid, etc.)
MC: I like to talk on the phone, drink lots of espresso and use very new, sharp pen nibs.

CM: What mediums do you work in the most? Do you have a particular brand that you love working with? Why do you use them?
MC: I use rexel drawing pens. Nib #1950. Any sort of ink. I steal my boyfriend’s guache.

CM: As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? And now?
MC: I wanted to not work a day job. Here I am!

CM: If there was one style of art that you could take up, what would it be?
MC: I’d love to be able to do large scale installations for my work, and theatrical set design.

CM: Do you think the internet, technology, media, etcetera are helping or destroying the art world?
MC: Helping. Pre-internet, I’d never be able to making a living with such a wierd style and authority problem. Now I can. Viva los intrawebs!

CM: How do you deal with creator’s (or writer’s) block?
MC: I don’t get it. I’m a professional artist, so I make things no matter what. Else I starve and die.

CM: How do you prepare for art shows where your work will be shown?
MC: I do about twenty pieces on a theme. Consistency is important with art shows. They’re almost like a novel that’s hung on a wall. Then, I agonize about framing them, procure some big gilt frames, beg people into helping my frame them, haul them to a venue and pray to Jesus they sell.

CM: At what point did you realize that creating was going to be a large part of your life?
MC: I’ve never not been an artist.

CM: What was your worst experience with art?
MC: So many! But a super humiliating one was setting up a show in a bar when I was 19, hanging the pieces, then showing up for the “opening” and finding the lights turned off, the music blaring, and absolutely no one there to look at my work.

CM: What was you best experience with art?
MC: Being able to make a living doing what I love.

CM: How would you define your style? Is it an extension of yourself, or something else entirely?
MC: My style’s snarky, perverse, OCD, detailed. So I guess that is a reflection of me.

CM: What does your workspace look like? (Pictures or a description work for this one)
MC: Right now, I work alot in my boyfriend’s studio. He’s a brilliant artist (fharper.com for proof). I have a drafting table covered with finished pieces, and empty ink bottles. I’m NOT the most organized artist.

CM: Aside from art what do you do with your time? Is there anything else that drives you or that you’re passionate about?
MC: I run Dr. Sketchy’s. I occasionally dance burlesque. I used to study languages, and I’d really like to get back to that (though god knows when I’ll have time). Once upon a time I was nearly conversational in Turkish and Arabic! Now it’s all gone.

For more information on Molly Crabapple and her work check out these links:
MollyCrabapple.com
Dr. Sketchy’s