Search the Community

This is one of the most incredible artistic styles I have ever come across. The brilliance of exotic interpretation from seasonal landscapes and the expressionism from the depths of the artists twisted imagination is splattered with every single oily brushstroke to form a colorful and phenomenal universe. Every detail is immense, crafting images unseen. Its an explosion of intensified euphoria, paying attention to the strangeness of curling fungus and glowing ice, the sky scraping colors of galaxy clusters crashing into eachother over the horizon, and the bewilderment of lights scattered amongst darkened mystery gardens. I am in love. I just interviewed one of my favorite abstract artists, James McCarthy! He is quite the phenomenal painter, expressing his perspectives isolated during the seasons. He supports the musical community, diving deep into it for further inspiration Check out his incredibly detailed oil paintings here and read the interview below. Q::: After noticing your abstract point of view on seasonal landscapes, my first question would definitely revolve around why you picked up a paintbrush to begin with. When did this vision to start painting begin for you? A::: I've always liked to draw (my father was an artist, too) and I guess I was pretty good at it. I was a painting major in college but I had no real direction at the time. Also, the fact that surreal and fantasy art which I always liked was generally looked down on by most of my art professors didn't help. They did like my spontaneous drawings of organic shapes (in surrealism this is known as 'biomorphism'). In painting I went from photo-realism to abstraction. I left college to work for my dad at his commercial art studio. I didn't paint for 15 years. Eventually, in 1998 work became slow. The ad agencies we were doing hand-drawn artwork for began using computers instead. I began to work on biomorphic colored pencil drawings and paintings. They weren't just simply organic forms by themselves but were now incorporated into landscapes. I miss the seasons from my early childhood in Michigan (especially Winter) so I made them seasonal, as well. I no longer cared what my old art professors thought about surreal/fantasy landscape art. It's what I wanted to do now. Q:::Yes, sometime it is very difficult to make a living off such a unique talent. When things got tough, what did you do to keep your passions? A:::Well, things are still tough. I live with my mother and brother. In 2004 I had throat cancer and shortly after I completed my chemo and radiation, my father got colon cancer. I survived but he didn't. We have no car anymore. My sister and friends drive us around. We make just enough money to get by. However, we live in a nice house in a great neighborhood. There are fields with goats and horses. There's a small woods and several drainage areas that inspire some of the landscapes in my paintings. There are hawks, owls and peacocks roam the streets which wander over from the 'Brandon Aquatic and Sports Center' nearby. More importantly, I'm getting more recognition now. I've sold eight paintings in the last three months. I've been selling them pretty cheap because we need the money but I think I have good reason to be optimistic about the future. Q:::It amazes me how artists such as yourself seemingly vanish from discovery. I am very happy to see your getting well deserved recognition! In my opinion, you should never stop. In this world you live in, what causes you to paint and express? A:::I'm introspective but not withdrawn. I think about my childhood and the past frequently but I don't dwell in it. I use it for inspiration instead. Music helps a lot, too. I try to keep the same sense of looking at the world with new eyes that came so naturally to us in our more impressionable youth. You have to be a nonconformist. There are relatives of mine who would rather see me give up painting and get a regular job- doing what, I have no idea. Since I've found my direction and my artistic niche, my painting is the one thing in life I never tire of. I can't imagine doing anything else anymore. Q:::The purity of open minded perspectives is extremely important, similar to that of a child exploring the world for new horizons. Its beautiful, and I can certainly see your outlook on the world frozen in time on your creations. Your exotic expressions mean more that I can put into words. How would you explain them? A:::It's a merging, I would say. As I child I was very introverted. I liked to escape. I watched a lot of TV. Besides cartoons and comedies I especially liked fantasy and science fiction. I still do. After my family moved to Florida I began to miss the seasons- especially the serene melancholy of Winter. I missed its weird beauty and quiet stillness. It was cold and somewhat barren at times but so simplified when everything is covered in snow. I missed the Autumn colors, too. So I had a fascination with fantasy and science fiction but at the same time I had a nostalgic fascination with the seasons based on my own personal experiences. This has carried over into my adulthood. My paintings are about the seasons and its affect on the landscape but looked at from a childlike fantasy/sci-fi perspective. It's also a merging between my past and present. As I mentioned before, many of my landscapes (especially the Fall and Winter scenes) are influenced by childhood memories of Michigan but my landscapes are also influenced by places in and around my neighborhood here in Florida right now. Q:::I see you enjoy engulfing others into these strange worlds as you did during your childhood. I notice the intricacy of your oil paintings expresses many isolated, exotic, and unseen lands. How would you personally describe them? A:::Some are more serious and some are more whimsical. Some are fairly subtle and plausible landscapes that could actually exist in this world. Others are completely surreal in the true sense of the word. These are the completely spontaneous paintings. I'm working on one right now. Normally I have a landscape in mind and I look at photos which would accommodate that particular landscape. I leave certain areas open for my spontaneous organic shapes. Others are completely laid out ahead of time. Some are meant to be nostalgic. Others eerie or slightly disturbing and dreamlike. Others are how I wish the world could be or you could say, 'Heaven' basically. Others are different dimensions or strange lands that may exist on another planet and/or other dimension. Overall, I do like to have some kind of idea or theme in each painting. Frequently this involves the passing of time represented by the seasons. Life, death and creation- creation in general and artistic creation. Q:::As you said, you draw very real things and mix them into very surreal things. These things, beautifully enough, look as if they are real on another plane of existence. That being said, how would you say you come up with these strange biomorphs, intense spiraling space towers, and uniquely stylized abstract figures? A:::As I mentioned, I began drawing spontaneous biomorphic shapes back in college. It was like doodling but not entirely mindless. You do actually look at what you're drawing. It's strictly an intuitive thing. Sometimes it flows out of me, other times I have to stop and stare at it awhile before continuing. Over time I became conscious of all sorts of interesting organic forms: fungus, various weird multicolored deep sea creatures and the strange and almost anthropomorphicshapes that kudzu vines as well as cosmic nebulae make. Even back in college, decades ago, I would look at certain photos while squinting my eyes and turn the image around and upside down, noticing the interesting abstract but still organic shapes that would emerge. I use images like that separately or morphed together with other organic forms to create newer biomorphic shapes. I may make one single image out of phosphorescent fungus , a bit of nebulae, part of a jellyfish and combined with some 'doodling'. Still, it's interesting to step back from photos from time to time and be completely spontaneous when I can. I feel like I'm 'creating' more when I do that. And that concludes the interview! Finally, here are a few of his oil paintings... I hope you enjoy them. Send him your regards. FUN FACT: James McCarthy did album art work for Through the Afterlife! Here is an unreleased full version below:

Various Artists - Through the Afterlife Album: Through the Afterlife Artist: Various Artists Genre: Downtempo Size: 170MB License: CC Price: Free and Donations Track List: 01 - Shunya - Deep States (Revisited) 02 - Kanka - Mira 03 - No Room - Made In Rainy 04 - Already Maged - Sulphur And Mercury 05 - DoHm - Silent Existence 06 - Farebi Chilebi - Swoon 07 - Molokow - Fields Of Aaru 08 - Parus - Afterlife 09 - Captain Kirk - Break On Through (To The Other Side) 10 - Six Fingered People - Polypi In the mist of nothingness, where breath and matter is nonexistent, a small fragment unknowingly begins to glow and evolve chaotically. This object becomes the center of everything, and for the first time in the infinite history of this land, color is created. Blue and orange clouds of gas combust into tall ruby fires amongst scattered pearly stars, violent oceans of green and purple waves bounce up and down newly formed spiraling horizons, and clusters of strange and exotic entities gasp into existence. Its dance spreads a beautiful and endless dream world of floating bricked towers, grassy mazes surrounding thick metallic waterfalls, and snowy pathways dripping downwards into oblivion. An observer, far away from the boundaries of this universe quietly sits and stares deep into its eyes. Then, from within the very depths of arabesque paradise, sound is created. He wakes up to find himself lost in this newly spawned world. Confused, he staggers in a daze, mystified and terrified by a barrage of strangely welcoming plants that move back and forth in dashing winds. Climbing through the alien world, he reaches the peak of a cliff and stares out into an open plane of astral creations, floating slowly in a never-ending abyss of abstractionism. As he glances over the wonders of his new reality, he takes a relaxing seat and smiles. This is the afterlife. Deep States (Revisited) by Shunya The eery yet soothing pads layering against each other are extremely fitting for this engulfing introduction. As I stare at the album artwork, I feel as if I am being taken away into another state of consciousness. Similar to the sounds of Solar Fields, the slow yet heavy bass progression delicately opens up a door into another dimension. The imaginary walls of this world are easily accessible, thanks to this captivating expressionism of sound. I can definitely tell you used Komplete to create this, if I am wrong let me know. You did an absolutely fantastic job at utilizing your sounds, crafting them to produce a wonderful soundscape. Everything morphs into a road and I am taken on a constant journey where the universe the song creates evolves. It is so calm and intricate. If putting me into a deep state was your intention, your certain achieved it with this tune. Mira by Kanka Beginning with the chitter chatter of a delayed synth line, Mira progresses with echoing pads and abstract percussion to start a bit of a different style. Different from the first track, Kanka shows uniqueness through wobbly, delicious bass lines and constantly organic tuned sounds. Around 3:30, it develops into a more active, heavier vision. I can also hear Solar Fields and Carbon Based Lifeforms inspiration in this track. It paints a interesting journey, making me want to go for a long walk in the middle of the night to explore unfound areas. I desire more, and enjoy the melodies that carry this track into a psychedelic art form. The land of Mira is awesome. Made In The Rainy by No Room Darker elements are chosen in Made In The Rainy. Paying attention to filling up the left and right channels with clearly enjoyable sounds produces an original and perfect backbone. In the center of this structure lies an addicting drum line mixed with some enchanting sounds. I feel as if I am inside a cave, running through a maze of rock hard, wet walls that lead into a cavern full of dazzling creatures. The style is a bit brighter towards the four minute marker, sounding like rain dripping into puddles. I didn’t particularly care for the melody towards the end but it did get its point across. Sulphur and Mercury by Already Maged Another darker track, as expected from its chemically raw related title. I am very glad to hear each artist in the album so far has stayed true to a unique style with different development and interesting composition. I thoroughly enjoy the progressions towards the beat that comes in at the one minute marker. The out-of-tune chords match the mood perfectly, and the light touch of background noise is wonderful. I can imagine a haunted house full of undead figures dancing the night away as a group of curious teenagers with a stupid dog come across the gloomy horrors. I can’t help but smile at this track. It it wonderfully quirky. Why wasn’t this used in a cartoon? It definitely could be. Oh man, after the four minute marker things get really interesting. The length of Sulphur and Mercury is highly entertaining with top notch replay value and production quality. The composition is groovy! And oh boy, your going to really dig the track around six minutes. Everything is psychedelic from captivating start to original finish. Silent Existence by DoHm Woh, is that quote in the introduction from the movie INK? AWESOME choice! If it isn’t I am mistaken, but either way I love the voice sample. In this track, we move onto a more tribal feel in the downtempo spectrum. With expected progression, the orchestration of percussion, guitars, and pianos follows an epic and deep electronic simulation into an African-like land. Satisfying leads and euphoric buildups make this track beautifully made. The melodies are all very well done! I can see myself playing this in the car to go deep into thought. Swoon by Farebi Chilebi Looks like its time for a slower, Jazzier track! Nighttime elements sprout up from the ground into a forest of gooey swamps and dark green trees that tower high into the moon filled sky. Get ready to feel lost, bewildered, and confused in this darkpsy head bobbing universe. The bass in the background of this strange and twisted environment is funky enough to make me feel drunk. Yes, that is a very good thing. With unconventional sounds, memorable tunes, and slow-time progression, Swoon is an impressive creation that can take anyone on a journey. I can’t stop listening to that baseline, its like I’m being chained down to my chair with this awesome track. Hell yeah. Fields of Aaru by Molokow Aaru must be somewhere in the Middle East, or no wait, the wild wild west, well wait a minute what the? Man this style is gorgeously diverse! Woh baby, I can play this sexy song on the dance floor. The beat creation skills featured in Fields of Aaru are simply swell. With obvious automation talents, Molokow can bend sounds at will with his synthesizers. The instruments are fitting for every minute, crafting together a desert theme full of sand and sunsets. Smooth, clean, and perfectly progressive. It even gets a little glitchy after the 5 minute marker, so your in for a treat. This is one of my favorite tracks on the album. I love it! Every little gap in the drum pattern is filled with some really interesting and creative elements. I want to live wherever these fields are. Afterlife by Parus Head bobbing, funky, downtempo styles are everywhere. String instruments, slower than usual Goa elements, and some kicks far out melodies bring everything together in a sort of Asian culture that reminds me of Buddahism. I feel this track is referring to the Third Eye, taking on a attitude meant to take listeners on a pathway towards enlightenment. It has a lot of organicness to it, yet it also adds some high class nostalgic and well programmed sounds that zap and zip in the foreground while a mixture of drums and guitars sing together. The mood is inspiring, and I feel very up in the air at every second. This track is very professionally done, paying high attention to the collection of highs, miss, and lows in order to layer it all on a beautifully done canvas. If anything, this track certainly reminds me of the masterful cover art. It feels like I am dead, traveling through a world unknown. Its like astral projection, and I am not talking about the psytrance group. Break on Through (To the Other Side) by Captain Kirk Starting with a twisted and strange sound world, Break On Through (To the Other Side) has the same feel that Afterlife does, yet it opposes it with a darker attitude. Echoing, triumphant pops and gargles fly and crash into mountainous walls, tribal elementals wash over the funkylicious body, and slowly evolving quirkiness fills the track to the brim with darkpsy inspirations. Unique from a downtempo style, Captain Kirk slows down a psytrance feeling commonly used for mind screws and gives it a fresh dose of styling beat mashing, scarily long textures, and basses meant to move crowds through the night. It is very interesting to hear this dark style slowed down and intensified. Awesome stuff. Prepare to board a spaceship to another dimension with heavy metal playing aliens around the six minute marker. Don’t worry, they are cool dudes and are totally down for kicking it as long as you have VIP backstage passes. Polypi by Six Fingered People IDM configurations ahoy! Blast that bass and get off your ass to this danceable delight. Taking from commonly used dubstep styles and drum n bass influences, this bigger, better, and broader idea combines all of that and turns it into a killer gangsta smash of totally tubular bodacious and sexy put-these-shades-on-bro kickassery. With a totally different feel, Polypi is the best ending for this album I could ever ask for. It ties everything into a nice package of bitchin drum kits, plucking synth explosions, and chillaxing beat grids. Take a ride on the soul train into a Psydub, Downtempo experience and enjoy the sexy universe of apparently Six Fingered People. (They must be the runner up band for the aliens in the last song). OVERALL An extremely diverse, talented, and unique group of artists who rest near the lower bpm side of the musical spectrum come together to bring you a brief look into the moments after death. In this “afterlife”, expect anything from soothing pad structures laced with intelligent and advanced synthesizer programming, to funky and quirky idm beat lines meant for moving any head. The album progresses through a wonderful electronic journey that can expand your imagination to its outer limits. Put on your best pair of headphones or blast this in your car on a road trip, the wonderfully played compositions and killer bass leads will tear you up with euphoric joy and inspirational engulfing marches of pure music. As the artwork describes, the psychedelic, downtempo, darkpsy, and idm experience of “Through The Afterlife” is destined to make anyone think. Open your mind and let the powerful masterpieces plant a seed into your brain. Its going to grow into a colorful, abstract tree that holds the very cores and visions each artists holds so dearly to their hearts. And boy, when this tree stops sprouting you will have all of these artistic expressions lined up neatly side by side in an image that can only be described as phenomenal. Have you ever had a permanent idea stuck inside your head because of a discovery? Well, now you do. Take a moment to be taken away to the land after death and breath the world in deep. Your going to love it. 10/10 Download here on Ektoplazm (MP3, FLAC, WAV) - Review by FatKidWitaJetPak (Nick Sumbles) - Special Thanks to Ektoplazm for the download bandwidth. - Special Thanks to James Mccarthy for his incredibly talented artwork! Check him out here.