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Jon Todd: Between beauty and chaos
Jon Todd does texture-intensive, street-inspired art and illustration work. Based in Toronto, he is represented by the Yves Laroche gallery and will be showing his works in town with Martin Wittfooth from June 17th to 28th, as part of a show called Babylon.

Are you primarily an illustrator or an artist? Are the two mutually exclusive?I studied illustration for 4 years at Sheridan College. I learned a lot about the business. I had some success as an illustrator the first couple of years.

I found myself painting businessmen in suits running to work. Not the most inspiring subject matter. I found illustration very restrictive.

I wanted to take more of a risk with my work. I wanted to paint my own subject matter. To answer the question, I am an artist.

Tell us a bit about the «starving artist» myth. Are you one?
It’s hard sometimes, however, I have risked everything to get this far. I have done road trips and slept in compromising places in order to expose my art to the public.

I love it, I don’t love the fact that I am not completely comfortable financially, but money always comes last. Things taste sweeter when you work yourself to the bone for it.

Any advice for aspiring artists, business-wise?
Do many gallery shows when starting up, but then don’t be afraid to limit your time to more successful ones.

Know what you’re getting into before you commit, ask questions, and be willing to walk away if it doesn’t sound promising.

Tell us a bit about your creative process.
My paintings are a mash-up of beauty and chaos. I think of a beautiful image and build off of it. I get the composition down and then paint layers upon layers until I am happy with a final product.

I scrape layers away and re-build if I am not happy with something. I layer patterns on top of each other, and fill most spaces to the point that I trap the viewer.

What is a successful artist today?
A person who is dedicated to their style and their craft. It’s hard to make it as a parttime artist. You need to be willing to risk everything.

Artists you hate?
Nickelback. Love the blond locks, hate the music.

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