instagram.com/samueleckert
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Hello, Samuel!
hello!
How would you describe yourself – who is Samuel Eckert?
I’m a graphic designer and illustrator with a lot of different side projects which feed my commissioned work day after day.
How and when did you discover you wanted to be a graphic artist & illustrator?
Well, I’ve always liked to tell stories to everyone (mostly puns) . I’ve also been a big consumer of images ever since my childhood. When I turned 16, I discovered visual communication and graphic design. Everything made sense: making a living with my own passion!
What was the first thing you drew as a kid, do you remember?
When I was 8, my mother asked me to give her a cup of tea. I went to my room, and cut a “T” in a paper. She was quite disappointed.
How would like to describe your creative style?
I like to challenge myself, juggling between different medium so as not to lock myself in a box that would make me stagnate in my practice.
Why do you do what you do? What do you love about it?
I think a lot, about many silly things but also about myself. To be creative is a daily therapy: you need to make fun of it and to be curious about everything else. That is why I keep a daily diary where I draw and write my thoughts and discoveries.
You are illustrator, graphic artist, painter, and graffiti artist. How about being a multidisciplinary artist? Are there any of these disciplines for which you feel more attraction or where you feel most comfortable?
I am attracted by all the disciplines which allow me to tell and learn things. Of course, the technique can be an issue but it can be mastered just like anything else.
We really like the tattoo designs made by you. How did you start to design tattoo?
To tell the truth, I also do tattoo by myself! I started last year, this is my last challenge and I love it. I discovered a lot and I continue to learn from friends who are tattoo artists, and thanks to them it is possible for me today too.
You also published a book “LIMO” in 2016. Could please tell us more about it?
Yet another challenge! I have been doing fanzine for a while. In 2014 I shared a workspace with the design studio “Solide (paris,Fr) » We really appreciated our work and we wanted to do something together, I offered them to make a book together and they agreed. So I proposed to invite 34 artists from different places and from different disciplines, from tattooing to graphic design, through mural painting or illustration to an “ode” to LIMO. They each produced 1 logo, a limousine illustration and a mural for the book. It was interesting because some had never made paintings, others logos … and yet it went well!
Can the creativity be learned later, or is it a feeling that is always within the human being?
Everything is possible, just do it!
Is there something you would like to do and have not done?
I would like to make a book from my sketchbooks. I really have a lot of them ! at least 2 per month for 10 years). Some research has emerged in commissioned or personal projects, but others are still well hidden!
Who or what has influenced your work the most?
Internet and everyday life, but also work of other creatives from past or present artists.
What other illustrators/animators are you digging these days?
These last days? On my table, there is a book about Etel Adnan paintings and the other one from David Shrigley drawings.
Last night I read a comic on the giraffes from Mordillo. this morning in the shower I saw a tattoo on my skin from Paul Loubet that I had forgotten and I just read a Haiku from Rafael Rozendaal: not too much not too little just right.
What are your top five songs on your playlist?
les sages poètes de la rue – amoureux d’une énigme
you man – bird cage
POLO & PAN – Canopée
jacques – dans la radio
New order – blue monday
Is there anything in your life that you can’t live without?
Salted butter.
If you could collaborate with any artist, who would it be?
I would like to collaborate with more musicians or labels – I have some ideas, but I don’t want to be a fanboy.
Could you give us three fun facts about yourself?
I make very good salad dressing, I wrote a rap album and I’m very bad at humming.
Finally, is there something you wish interviewers would ask you — but never do?
Do you like grapefruit juice ?
Thank you!
instagram.com/samueleckert
samueleckert.com