Greg is a bit deceiving when you first meet him; he fools you into thinking he prefers to linger in the corner, observe, is drawn to conversations about the war and idolizes the Dead. But his slightly guerilla-esque and gray toned paintings reflect sought after subjectivity and keen interaction with other people. Greg is a tattoo artist with only one tattoo, a painter with a bit of contempt for gallery snobs, and a well trained guitarist.
Tell me about the challenges of working in oil.
I think oil is easier than any other paint medium, once you've used it a few times. It stays wet longer, so there are more blending options. You can go back and mush it around. A lot of times I'll use my finger. I've used them all- acrylic I think dries too fast and watercolor is too thin for me. I have no complaints. I love oil.
Do you use models?
I use myself as a model. I'll look in a mirror at my hands and other body parts. I've used a lot of my friends, roommates and girlfriends as models. I've taken a lot of figure drawing classes, so that shows up every once in a while. I work with the figure a lot and you can't really pull it out of your head. You can, but it wont look perfect.
What has been your favorite piece?
The big crowd pleaser is the Cow Punch. That isn't the technical title for it. I'm not big on titles and when I do make titles, their usually sarcastic. Cow Punch most accurately describes my personality and my sense of humor. I've done a lot of self-portraiture. Well, my body of work is my self-portrait because it expresses my opinions and my personal aesthetic
Have you been commissioned to do any paintings?
A few. I don't work on commission often. I did a mural for HSBC that wasn't entirely successful. It was a connecting bridge in the parking garage and I did maybe ten percent of it, then there were probably ten other people working on it.
What was the end result of that?
A giant aquarium that I did four or five fish in.
I'm also doing a tattoo on Mark Madden's leg that he also wants as an oil painting. It's very Boston. It comes at a very applicable point in both our lives. I'm just about to move to Boston and Mark is a Boston alumni.
You currently have a show hanging at Hardware. Did they ask you to hang there or vice versa?
Yeah, they asked me. It was through a few people, maybe Jason Klinger. Someone saw my work at the Guerilla Gallery and they called me up. This was the first group show at Hardware. I would like to continue to show there.
How did you get hooked up with Mark Madden/Madd Tatoos?
It was a friend of a friend sort of thing. I went to school for illustration at first then I got into oil painting. It was my inherent style though. Even in high school, I drew with bold lines and it lended itself well to tattoo art. I think a big part of both our artistic styles is not taking it too seriously. There is a sense of humor there, something whimsy and you have to be on that same wavelength as other people in your field.
This is so lowbrow. I never wanted to be one of those gallery type artists. I use broken frames and ripped canvas.
What are the challenges of working with the ink/gun?
It's permanent so it has to be perfect the first time and there's no room for mistakes. It's going to be on someone else's body.
Have you ever messed up?
Admittedly, no. Never.
Tell me whom you admire.
I really like Tony Ciavarro. If I could strive to have a similar style to anyone, it would probably be him because I respect his style a lot. But I don't want to be anyone else. I love Toulous Lautrec, Alphonse Mucha, Modigliani, Ralph Steadman and Gonzo.
Where do you get your ideas for subject matter?
My own personality, life, people that I've met and the things that come from that, my dry sense of humor and beliefs.
If you had to choose a different profession, what would it be?
I'd be a musician or a doctor. I'm a strong practitioner of quackery!
I've been in many bands over the past seven or eight years. I've been a guitarist since I was twelve. The most prominent band I've ever been in was The Whiskey Suicides. We were Buffalo's finest back alley rock 'n' roll. We were destined to fail - we were originally called the Dead Babies. A lot of people wouldn't book us so we had to change the name. We were a very alcohol driven hard rock/grunge rock outfit.
Do you think it's possible to artistically survive in Buffalo?
Definitely. I've been here for five years.
Lightning Round!
Mighty Taco or Louie's Red Hots?
Mighty without a doubt.
PBR or Labatts?
Labatts
Jeopardy or Wheel of Fortune?
The Wheel. Alex Trebek is the Devil.
