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Keith Garvey Interview - February, 2009 Keith Garvey is an artist whose specializes in erotic pin-ups known as Garv's Girls. His work can be seen at http://www.garvgraphx.com/ Carl Hose: I first saw your work at Ruthie's Club and was amazed by it. I'm lucky enough to have one of your illustrations gracing my story "Not-So-Sleeping Beauty." I actually tailored the story around the graphic, which remains one of my favorites on the site to this day. How long have you been working at Ruthie's and how did you get started there?
Keith Garvey: Thanks, that's nice to say! I believe I was the first artist to work for Ruthie. The original owner of Ruthiesclub contacted me after seeing my art in a news group. It was one of the first online jobs that I took. Carl: Who is Garv? Anything you want to tell about your personal life that you don't think is too personal for people to read, just to give a little insight into the man behind the work.
Garv: Okay, that's interesting...I'd like to tell you that I'm an "international man of mystery" but the truth is fairly boring. I'm married with one child, two cats and a house in the suburbs; I'm obsessed with golf and I drive an SUV; I even used to be a soccer coach. I'm a huge bleeding heart liberal, I voted for Barack Obama and I scream at the television when conservative talk show hosts come on. Carl: How old were you when you started drawing? Did you have any particular inspiration or was it something that just developed? Garv: I come from a creative family and I've always drawn comics, superheros and stuff. When I was 12, I stole a Playboy magazine from my cousin and I saw the work of Alberto Vargas. That was pretty much it - I knew what my life's calling was! From that point on, all I drew was women. I couldn't believe that someone was making a living drawing women! Carl: You're most known for your "Garv's Girls"? Have you worked with other subject matter? Garv: I've done commission work for other people that had nothing to do with pin ups. T-shirt designs for Las Vegas, gothic designs for a shirt company in England, cars, pets, etc. But, I prefer to do pin ups - it's what I'm the best at. Carl: Regarding your "girls," it's amazing to me how realistically rendered they are. If I'm not mistaken, they start as pencil drawings, correct me if I'm wrong. What's the process for finishing the pieces? Garv: That's true; they start out as crude pencil sketches, just to get the idea down. I scan that in and paint it with PhotoShop. I use lots of reference material so that I can get it as realistic as possible. Working on a computer gives you a lot of freedom to change things. For example, let's say I want a pin up to have a hat on. I'll paint a hat on a layer. If I don't like it, I can just delete it. Or, lets say I don't have the proportions down perfectly, I can make those corrections by simply extending parts of the image. I can keep tweaking an image until I get it exactly the way I want it - adding and subtracting things until it's perfect. Although my images seems very realistic, they're actually exaggerated - longer legs, bigger eyes, boobs, etc. Carl: As a digital artist, are there any software products you use and recommend? Anything you feel no digital artist should be without? Garv: People assume that because I do digital art that I'm an expert. Actually, I'm only an expert at one thing - PhotoShop. I use PhotoShop CS right now. And to be honest with you, I never read the book or took a tutorial about it. I taught myself how to use it. I think this is what makes my art look different from the other digital artists; I created my own techniques and tricks.
Carl: What mediums have you worked in and which do you prefer? Garv: Right now I'm in the process of doing some oil painting. It's been awhile since I've actually put some paint on canvas and I thought I would pick it up again. I've used every medium there is in art; pen & ink, pencil, paint. I've even done some sculpting. In college (art school) my friends and I created a giant topless mermaid out of snow in the middle of a tennis court. That was awesome!
Carl: Do you have any unique work habits? Do you work a certain number of hours a day, or only when the spirit moves you? Do you prefer to work during the day or at night? Garv: When I started doing art full time, I wanted to keep regular business hours. But as time went by, I just wasn't that disciplined! I work at night, I work during the day, a couple hours here, a couple hours there - I really do wish I was on a better schedule though! I chain smoke the whole time I work and I must have a cup of coffee or a diet pepsi also. I listen to satellite radio from morning to night. Either Howard Stern or some heavy metal / punk station. I can get obsessed with an image and work 12 straight hours on it or be unsatisfied with an image and keep re-starting it. (Wow, I just realized I'm a typical neurotic artist)! Carl: Do you find any inspiration in books, movies, or music? Any favorite authors? Any favorite movies? What type of music do you dig? Garv: I don't read much but I do own a lot of art books. A lot of the pin up artists that I get inspired by have books out for example, Patrick Nagel, Elvgen, Manarra, Vargas. I read their books! I love music! Metellaica is my favorite band. But to be honest, my tastes run from pop music to heavy metal and R & B. I don't go to the movies very often but I do love them. The Godfather I and II are my favorite movies - I love gangster films. Ya gotta love quotes like, "Leave the gun, grab the canoles"! I also love comedies like "Dumb & Dumber" - that movie is genius! Something About Mary and Vacation (the 1st one) are also great. Carl: What advice would you give an artist just starting out? Garv: This is a question that I get a lot and I wish I could give people a better answer. The first and most important thing about starting out is to get really good at your craft. Practice, practice, practice! After you are secure with your talent send your art out to everyone. Display it any place they will let you. Don't let rejection stop you. If it's good stuff, eventually, you'll get noticed. Carl: Do you have any favorite artists -- classic or otherwise? Garv: My favorite artist is Hajime Sorayama. He's a master and a genius! Alberto Vargas & Milo Manarra are also my favorite erotic artists. I do love some classic artists like Renoit and Monet as well. Carl: I do appreciate you taking the time to answer a few questions for me. What can people buy that features your work and where can they go to do it? Garv: Oh great - a plug! If you go to Stickerchick.com and look for my name, you can purchase stickers, magnets, prints and even my 2 books. They handle all Garv related merchandise.
Carl: Is there anything in the works that people should know about? Any new Garv merchandise coming out? Where can people get more familiar with you? Garv: My newest book, "Garv's Girls" Vol.2 has just been released. It has a lot of my best work in it. So, if you're interest you can look into that. You can always see my latest work at garvgraphx.com or myspace.com/garvsgirl Or if you're interested in having a commission done by me, you can contact my mangement company; Intense Management @ myspace.com/intensemanagement Carl: Once again, thanks. I truly do enjoy your work.
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