Andrew Hoffman
What does your typical work day look like?
Short answer: busy.
Long answer: I usually wake up around 6am to work on various freelance design work or art projects, then head to the office around 8:45am. I'm an art director at Motive, a Denver-based marketing and design firm. Motive is a very intense and a very rewarding place to work. I thrive on working with deadlines. I love it. Motive also gives me nothing but love and support when it comes to my art, and having a career allows me to paint whatever I want. I don't have to worry about selling work or other people perceptions. In this regard, I honestly think I have more freedom as an artist because of my job. I leave the office around 6:30pm, go home, eat some food, then head to my studio at Illiterate and paint until at least 11pm. Not exactly an ideal lifestyle, but I'm pretty young so it works for the time being. I have always been busy, I like it. I feel guilty when I sit around and watch TV, my mind gets restless. My boss at Motive sums everything up the best, "Design is not a job, it's a lifestyle."
How do you keep creative inspiration and production feeling fresh?
Good question, I get asked this one a lot, and it is always hard to answer. My career is being creative, honestly, I don't really have an option. It is my livelihood; I have to be "creative" 60+ hours a week. Being a designer is being a problem solver, if I'm not feeling creative I push through it like a math equation...there is always a solution. This process is translated directly to my art.
I find inspiration everywhere, seeing a weathered poster on my walk to work to viewing art daily on numerous art blogs or just being in Colorado and everything that surrounds me. I love the Internet, it allows anyone from anywhere to be exposed to art all over the world, like me: a kid from Bailey.
Which came first, your interest in art or design (...simultaneous)? How have these developed together or separately?
Art for sure, I could always draw well. I think it was in 1st grade when a drawing of mine (It was the airplane from the cartoon "Tailspin.") was selected for a state-wide art show. After that, I kind of knew I was good at drawing so I kept doing it. I built my first website my sophomore year of high-school and absolutely fell in love with programming and the Internet. I was seriously considering going into computer science for a while. Then I took a graphic design class, I think my junior year of high school, and knew that that was what I wanted to do for a living. It was a combination of art and programming, it was perfect for me. I always loved painting, though, so I took a painting class my senior year of college and was hooked—it was such a nice release from the computer. I enrolled in a classical art academy after college and studied there for a year.
What types of interaction between these visual distinctions, art and design, do you expect to see around the world in the coming years? Is everything going to be in 3D and cgi?
No. I think there is a reaction against digital. People are going back to old processes in the design world. Letterpress, screen-printing, hand-drawn type, etc. I think this is also true in art, there seems to be a renaissance in the DIY culture right now. The art in my show is a reaction against myself when it comes to digital design. I love getting paint under my fingernails. There is just something about creating from hand that can never be reproduced digitally. The imperfections in life and art are what makes it beautiful. I recently walked passed a hand painted barbershop sign on Elm and Colfax and was in complete awe, the cursive hand-painted type was beautiful. Something I could never reproduce, it was uniquely original to whomever painted it.
Favorite color combinations? Favorite fonts?
I tend to gravitate towards muted earth tones in my paintings, like a nice pale, olive green juxtaposed with a brown. I also mix all of my own colors, every color on every painting ends up a little different...I like that imperfection. As for fonts, I go through phases. Right now I'm really into all-caps Futura Condensed Medium and Georgia. Helvetica has always been a good go-to font for me as well, I know it tends to be overused, but it is such a versatile font.
Many creative people take their unique way of seeing and apply it, maybe without knowing, to some mundane or orchestrated task outside of their personal work. In what ways do you do this? What is the best meal you've ever made or hope to make?
Good question! This one got me thinking. Well, I like a simple and minimalist approach, I guess. I'm content with a nice meal such as steak, green beans and mashed potatoes...now that I think of it, that dish has a similar color palate to my paintings! I'm also not big into graphic t-shirts and loud colors when it comes to fashion. I like solid, simple colors.
It seems there is more than one state of being illiterate this day in age (we learn to read, text, email... etc.). What new skills do you want to learn?
Well I'm pretty sure I'm the world's worst text messager. Still don't use that T9 business, I need to get on that.
Who influences your work outside of the visual art and design world?
My family, friends, colleagues, and music influence me the most. Some of my best time spent is playing bluegrass with my old college buddy. Nature, I grew up in the mountains and took it for granted when I was there, now that I'm in the city, I miss it (and vice versa). Walls. I love the textures of decaying brick, weathered posters and old graffiti—it's almost a painting itself. I actually did a series a while back of paintings that were just decaying walls (http://andrewhoffmandesign.com/old/images/wallpainting.jpg). Also just the ordinary things that people take for granted, ordinary life is pretty complex stuff!
Who or what doesn't influence your work, but still fascinates you, or keeps you entertained?
Girls. Alcohol. Snowboarding. Skateboarding. Bikes. Running. (Fun fact: I used to run cross country and track in college, I ran 4:19 in the mile.)
Since you seem to mix it up quite a bit, what new directions will your art and design be taking in the near future?
I take it one day at a time. Right now my focus is on my Illiterate show, but I'm sure something will come along soon to spark my creativity and I will try something new. I'm getting commissioned to paint a 2,500 square foot office in LA in June, and have no idea what I'm going to do. Being on such a large scale, I'm sure I will need to try something new. Also, I just got commissioned to paint a lamp shade (weird right?) but it turned out awesome and I had a lot of fun working on it. Maybe I will do some more 3D stuff, we'll see.
To view more of Andrew Hoffman's art and design, visit his website.
.jpg "Ryan Riss | November 4 - October 28, 2011")
