How To Build A Stickfort
An Interview with Adam Haynes
When you see an old car door in the middle of the woods you usually murmur something about the environment or wonder how far away the redneck village is. Not Adam Haynes. He sees a story behind the car door. He sees urban and rural mixing together to form some odd elixir—simmering and ready to be captured on a canvas. Adam’s perspective is compelling with an earthy grit that finds expression on the bottom of snowboards, old wooden doors or even the side of a van.
We found Adam’s work propped up against a little stick fort somewhere in the northwest. Others had found him too—organizations like adidas and Nike and Gnu Snowboards all put Adam’s talent to good use. Luckily, they don’t have a monopoly on his work. If you would like to get a print, head on over to Adam’s site, drop a line to say “Hey” and pick one up. In the meantime, step into the stickfort and get to know Adam Haynes.
TDS: If you hadn't "lucked" (as you say) into the apparel gig for adidas and now Nike what would you be doing?
Haynes: I'd probably be driving trucks for UPS! I think it takes about five years to work your way up from loading trailers to sorting to finally getting your brown shorts and driving. That's what I was doing when I got hired at adidas; loading trailers at the shipping hub in Portland. In all honesty, I have no idea. I might be back in Montana or I might still be in front of a computer somewhere. Of course I'd like to think I'd be drawing, but I don't think about it too much. I'm very fortunate to be where I'm at right now and I look forward to what the future holds.
TDS: Your work has an overt earthiness to it. How has your life journey formed your artistic expression?
Haynes: I'm definitely a rural roamer. I enjoy the culture and the energy of the city, but the places that make me feel alive and inspired are the open spaces: the rivers, the mountains. It opens my mind; it makes me feel small. I like to take long walks off the beaten path to study the complexity of animal tracks, the way the wind moves the soil around, the patterns of leaves and bark.
At the same time, my days spent in the city have changed the style in which I work. The look I strive to achieve is more urban, more stylized than most of the nature-inspired art I find in rural areas. I love the look of flat colors and bold outlines, unexpected color choices and uncommon subject matter. Thusly, my inspiration comes from experiences with the natural world, and my style has developed through encounters with urban art and design aesthetics.
TDS: Besides the natural world, what catches your eye and makes you want to capture it in your art?
Haynes: My favorite subjects are objects and vehicles that have been customized, pieced together, chopped apart and otherwise changed to reflect the personalities and motives of the builder/destroyer. There can be so much personality in a found object. But it’s not like I just go to the junkyard and find beat up old crap.
Usually what inspires me is finding this subject matter in random or unlikely locations (like an old car door from the fifties leaning up against a tree, miles from a road). How did it get there? What sort of history is embedded in it? Where’s the rest of the car?
TDS: Why do you like to paint/illustrate/etc. on hard surfaces? What is the draw?
Haynes: I like to use my painting surfaces as an extension of the subject matter. Most of my work is old rusted out hulks and ramshackle constructions; it feels much more organic to be painting on a twenty-five year old cabinet door than a brand new canvas. If it's a particularly beautiful piece of wood, I find it very aesthetic to let some of that show through. I try to enhance the whole piece through choice of surface.
In addition, those old chunks of wood are heavy; they've got a weight to them. After they've been varnished, they're tough and I like the durability that comes with a solid chunk of wood.
TDS: Describe your creative process. How is that different for commercial work versus personal work?
Haynes: Commercial work generally starts with a brief. There is a goal from the start. I usually do a lot of sketching during the early stages, and the work will go through many incarnations before a final sketch is created. I tend to work closely with the art director or designer to achieve the desired look and feel of the project. Once everything is tight, I ink and color and it's done.
When I'm working on personal projects, the process tends to be much more organic. If I'm not particularly inspired, I'll go for walks, take lots of pictures and do a lot of thinking before I ever put pen to paper. Once I start, there's one try. Sure I'll change things around in the composition, but I try to let the "mistakes" and imperfections come through without suppression.
If I don't like the color of something I just paint over the top of it. These changes add layers and complexity, and are a huge part of the overall journey of each piece. I rarely paint the same thing twice, whereas I will often redraw a commercial piece until it achieves the desired look.
TDS: On your site the "Kiddie Cars" piece really drew us in. As an artist how does a youthful perspective play into your interpretation of what you see?
Haynes: I try to approach my subject matter with the mindset that I’m seeing it for the first time. In that way, it’s almost a child’s perspective. Instead of tracking down the owners of the property or talking to old timers (which is interesting in a whole other way) I prefer to make up my own stories about a subject’s origins and means of being. I find that approaching subject matter with few preconceptions leads to interesting discoveries.
TDS: You are finding success commercially as an artist. Have you had to deal with projects that "force" you to compromise the integrity of your work? If so, how do you handle the tension between the two worlds?
Haynes: I’ve worked in the commercial side of things for a while now, and there have been some times when I’ve been uncomfortable with the final outcome of a project. Often the client has a different aesthetic than my own. I’ve found that there are some battles worth fighting for, and sometimes you’ve just got to let it go. I do the best I can for the client, and after I send it off to them, I don’t have much control over what happens to it.
It’s not really worth taking someone to court or burning a bridge because I’m not down with their color choices. Instead, I try to learn as much as I can from each experience so I can communicate my own wishes better the next time. Working for a large company like adidas helped me to develop a thick skin and to remove myself a bit from the design process. There will always be compromise in commercial work, and it’s more important to me that the client is getting what they want than how I feel about it.
I don’t have to compromise anything when I’m doing personal projects, so I’m able to put a lot more of myself into those works. It’s a nice balance, as long as I have the time to paint now and then.
TDS: Would you rather be outside in nature or inside drawing natural elements?
Haynes: It depends. Usually I’d rather be outside. Playtime is always better than work time. But I often find that time outside inspires me to dash inside to pick up my pens and make something happen. And vice versa. Once I’ve exhausted the creative juices and I’m weary of sitting at the drawing table, I yearn for some outdoor time to recharge. It’s a nice cycle and it works well for me.
TDS: If you could pick another kind of medium to express yourself what would it be and why?
Haynes: I’ve always loved ceramics. In school I did quite a bit of work in with sculpture. The only reason I don’t now is for lack of studio space. Right now my studio is right off my living room, and ceramic work has a tendency to create huge amounts of dust and mess. One of these days I’ll move to some property with a barn, and I’ll get it all set up with a kiln.
TDS: What is next for you? Can you give us a sneak peak into your forthcoming projects?
Haynes: Right now I’m screen-printing some new posters and creating an updated online presence. I’ve got a show in LA in the works for May and I’m working on developing more clients in the fishing, snowboarding, and outdoor industries. Long-term projects include illustrating a children’s book and taking my paintings to the next level.
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