When you live in a single spot for a long enough time, you learn about the regulars. The folks who grew up and have lived there longer than you’ve been around, who can tell you crazy stories about events that took place, businesses that have been snuffed from existence, and about how the scene has evolved. That musician, biker, poet, or artist; we all know at least one of them.
Vaughn Belak is just that: a part of Orlando’s dark art establishment. I’ve personally had the pleasure of watching him grow his skill set as an artist, as well as his hustling game – and he’s flourishing. His characters, with vacant amber eyes, allude to transcendent tales surrounding his cast of characters: the femme fatale and the monster (and sometimes, they are one and the same).
Dirge: Tell us more about your background – what made you become an artist?
Vaughn Belak: I’ve always been doing something with art. I would say I first became semi-serious with it as a teen. Painting band logos on my friends’ leather jackets or skate decks. I had a brief stint with graffiti, but really didn’t have the focus to take it very far. Music then came into play, and I stopped painting for a long while. About 8 years ago, I picked up a brush and started in on small paintings that sold pretty quickly. This got my attention. I began to look at my art as a way to express myself again, where music had begun to take a backseat. I’ve been completely supporting myself and my family for the last few years now, and I can hardly remember what a day job feels like. It’s amazing how things change when you find what makes you happy and decide to go all in. There was some fear in the beginning, but the payoff has been worth any initial struggles.
Did your stint in the music industry shape your art in any way?
I imagine it must have in some ways. I really began painting as a replacement for music when it stopped being a way to express myself. I just lost my love to make music for a long time and needed something else. A lot of the work I do has an element of fairy tale to it visually; in that, of course, is storytelling. I certainly see my work as a storyboard, especially as I am doing a large collection for a solo show. It may not always be clear when I start, but I can always see the progression at the end.
Tell us a bit about artwork and your thoughts behind its subject matter.
I paint in acrylics mostly but have recently added airbrush and charcoals to get a bit more depth in my work. Over all, I would say that my subject matter leans more towards darker imagery. In the past I have done anything from lowbrow, tattoo flash-inspired work to more pop culture/character-driven pieces. At the moment, I am getting away from all of that and focusing mainly on original work and my own concepts. People love the familiar, and that is always a great way to lure them in, but I am happiest with my art when it comes from me.
Who/what are your biggest influences? Where are you finding ideas for your work?
My current influences include Menton Matthews, David Stoupakis, Ashley Wood, and Ben Templesmith. These artists influence me, not just in the way they work, but the people they are. I see their work as an extension of a bigger picture of how they present themselves and their art. In fact, I have been fortunate enough to be able to associate myself with some of these artists. Menton included some of my artwork in a book two years ago and we have a group show in the works for October of this year.
As for new ideas? I tend to work a good bit with the female form but in an abstract way; creating images of strong females in fantasy-type settings. I did a show last October called Changeling. For that show, I was looking at obscure myths from Scandinavian culture like the Huldra and dark fae – bringing out what I saw as a strong ability to impose fear. The same fear you might feel in the deep woods as a child.
What’s the most indispensable item in your studio?
Lights. I have recently upgraded my lighting situation with some big flood lights, and it has helped immensely. I work at home in my garage-turned-studio, and while I do get a good bit of light from natural sources, I was straining to get work done while I had good light. Now I can start even earlier and paint later. Imagine that: being able to see helping you paint!
I’ve personally watched your artwork develop greatly over the last several years, and one of the more interesting things I learned about your process is that the majority of the marks you make is with your fingers (??!?) – Tell us more about your process/about how you create a piece start to finish, and why your hands are such important tools.
It’s true. To a large degree, I am a glorified finger painter.
It comes from necessity and lack of technique. My brush work is something I work on a good bit, but I am not where I would like to be with it – so I improvise. I will use anything it takes to get the paint onto the canvas in the way I need it to. Aside from my fingers, I also use make up sponges, airbrush, spray paint, charcoal, pencils, paint pens, sandpaper, water… anything I can use to get the results I am after. The airbrush is my most recent tool. I have been learning how to shade and fill out my backgrounds with it and it’s been an amazing process so far.
What do you do to get inspired?
Ha. I used to have some really smartass answers for this, but I have stopped using them. They were really a way to deflect from the fact I had no real answer. Today I am able to see inspiration everywhere as cliché as that may sound. Provided I am looking for it and not trying to rationalize a day off. I see the work of other artists and they inspire, or I will see a movie and get an image in my head; music still inspires. I remember being very inspired by your birds! I love the way that you paint birds and tried to get some of that in mine but let the idea go, as I had found my own way. That’s really it though, finding inspiration and then letting it lead you to your own way of voicing an idea.
What was the most powerful work of art you recall viewing? Where was it? How did it make you feel?
My very first trip to the Dali museum, when I was a kid. The feeling I had was the overwhelming sense of how prolific he was. How large and vivid his work was. We see the images in a book and they seem tiny. Dali was a fucking beast. No one piece has had as much effect as the contents of that building, and I am not even a big fan of his work. I can, however, fully respect the altitude he gained as an artist rising above the noise of daily life to gain the place he has in our culture.
Do you have a “dream project” you’d love to work on some day? Think big.
I do indeed. I am part of a group show called Necromancy at the Transmetropolitan Gallery located inside Gods and Monsters in Orlando, Florida. This group of artists is my dream list. In fact, it is beyond where I would have ever imagined being able to set as far as a goal. Artists like Menton Matthews, David Stoupakis, Chet Zar, Ben Templesmith, Damien Echols, Colin Christian, and Stan Darkart: these are the guys I want to be among as far as where I see my future. I would say that anytime I am able to be among artists like these, I am living in the dreams I see for my future. I look to them for inspiration both as an artist and a person.
What are some of your plans for the future? Anything exciting in the works?
The future is what we make it. The work I do today sets the direction for where I go tomorrow. Currently, I am painting two new pieces a week and intend to continue this. It’s a goal I set to have enough work to be able to choose the best of for the Necromancy show. It has now become something I want to continue because it has accelerated my growth as an artist. I am also actively seeking new galleries in New York and Los Angeles to show. I am submitting work very aggressively to gain altitude in these two places.
