We love Aaron McKinney's work. It's strange but in a compelling manner that immediately captures your attention, and is intelligent enough to keep it for some time. We first became aquainted with McKinney after he did a few illustrations for us a couple years back. We were immediately impressed. His scope was wide, his skill strong and his vision firmly intact. And that's why we're proud to present his portfolio this week. To see it, click here. And to learn more about the artist, read the interview below.

Holly Lang/Pine Magazine: Can you tell us a little bit about your approach to your work? Your background?

Aaron McKinney: When I first approach, a piece my end goal is to take something that’s in me whether it is good or bad and put it onto paper.  For editorial jobs, it’s less personal and more challenging, it’s kind of hard to poor your emotion into let’s say Harry Reid as a lame boxer (an actual project I had)… but it’s possible.   As for my background, pretty typical I guess… screwed up childhood translates to angry teen that becomes the all American atheist, vegetarian, art school kid.

HL: What mediums do you use? AM: After reading Fear and Loathing I fell in love with Ralph Steadman’s use of ink work, enough to make me want to become an illustrator who dabbles in fine art. Ink has become my primary medium ever since. For color I use a little bit of everything. HL: Your art has a feel to it that isn't particularly pretty (such as "British Teeth")  though it is still compelling. How do you feel you are able to integrate things that aren't generally known for their aesthetics in a way that still is rather attractive? AM: The only art that’s ever affected me is the kind that takes you out of you comfort zone and forces you to analyze why it’s upsetting you the way it is.  I also have a really sinister sense of humor, which helps with the bizarre subject matter.

HL: You have a formidable list of clients you've worked for in the past. Do you mainly do contract work or do you still actively create for solely for yourself or others?

AM: Thanks!  Though it’s been a long rocky road I’m at a really good place right now.  Illustration pays the bills and rewards me with a huge amount of satisfaction.  I’ve also been getting more and more into showing at galleries that allows me to be me and motivates me like nothing else.

HL: As a child, did you draw or paint? And how has your work progressed throughout your life?

AM: I had a slew of hearing problems when I as a child, everyone sounded like they were underwater.  Since paying attention to my third grade teacher became impossibility I decided that sitting in the back of the classroom and drawing all day was a reasonable solution.  When you couple the fact that I grew up overseas in places like Egypt and Indonesia with a pretty dysfunctional home life, needless to say my artwork was dark from a very young age.   Art became an outlet for the things I was internalizing; I’m fortunate enough to have been able to make a career out of it.

HL: Has the recent birth of your child affected your style at all? I.E., are you at all interested in happy bunny scenes or are you still drawn to the same inspirations as before?

AM: It has affected me, in a huge way.  I’m a much happier person… still not happy enough for bunny scenes though.   When your style revolves around portraying what you see wrong with the world, being in an overall happy frame of mind can put a hamper on that.  But with the world being as screwed up as it is and people being as horrible as they are to one another there is plenty of inspiration out there.

HL: What are some of your primary inspirations?

AM: I try and find things that really bother me.  That could be anything from the inability of government to the hypocrisy of religion to the fact that I think I was ripped off by our mechanic.

HL: Is there anything I haven't asked yet I should?

AM: Only the most relevant artistic question of them all… “What’s your favorite color?” it’s a kind of olive color, not quite sure if it has a name.