For those of you who don’t know, CREATEjacksonville is back in business, except this time CJ is teaming up with JaxCal. So, from now on everything that you would have seen on CJ will be here instead. Byron and I are working out all the details, and eventually there will be a separate area of JaxCal that you can see all the CJ related stuff. For now, I am going to start posting new interviews from people around the community and beyond right here in the blog area.

Recently, I interviewed Ty Williams, an artist that currently resides in Maine, but graduated from Flagler College in St. Augustine. Below is part one of a two part interview. Part Two is where you guys will get to ask Ty anything you would like to know about his work. I will send all the questions to him and then post part two, when I get the answers back from him. So, in the comment section feel free to write questions you would like him to answer or you can email them to me at createjacksonville@gmail.com.

Ty Williams Part I

CJ: Tell us a little about your life. Where did you grow up? What brought you to St. Augustine?

TW: My name is Ty Williams. I’m almost 23 years old, and I paint and create things. I grew up between the US Virgin Islands and New England and

Florida…being raised in the virgin islands I was into the outdoors from day one. I spent a lot of time snorkeling and originally wanting to be like Jaq Couteau and I was into dinosaurs big time! I loved west Indian culture which has tons of color. They have reggae concerts and carnival (a holiday), with crazy costumes etc. I was raised drawing and coloring a lot. My mom had me drawing on paper when I was a baby, and she still has the drawings. It’s rad.

I moved to St. Augustine to go to college at Flagler, but then my parents bought a house there and I began to really feel at home. Moving in my life has allowed me to feel at home pretty much anywhere, however St. Augustine holds a magic feeling for me, and I will probably move back eventually and raise a family.

CJ: Where do you live now?

TW: I presently live in a studio apartment on the rocky seacoast of southern

Maine. However, I don’t know how long I’ll stay in one place as I would love to see some other countries. The scenery in the northeast is hard to beat though, especially summer and fall, good art scene though.

CJ: You went to Flagler College in St. Augustine. What did you get your degree in?

TW: I got my degree from Flagler in public relations which I enjoyed. I do well talking with people and really love the area of communications. I feel my art for me is the ultimate press release (PR TERM), in that its my way of getting something out to people they might not get right away from meeting me. I also minored in advertising which is another thing I would love to get active in, since I’m interested in ads and coming up with thoughtful designs. I’ve just always scribbled and made things, and when I graduated I decided to go for this rather than that.

CJ: When I met you, I believe you told me that your mom is an art teacher. Did she teach you how to paint or are you self taught??

TW: My mother, whether she will admit it or not, is a huge inspiration to me, in all aspects of my style. However, she was self taught and then helped me when I was younger to draw etc. She only creates things on her own now and only does so for herself, in that she doesn’t show her work etc. But I grew up with crazy abstract pieces in our home, that she would put together and hang all in the same day. My dad also is amazingly creative with design, so I got it from all angles.

CJ: I have heard your work described as Folk Art. Does that bother you at all or do you agree with that statement?

TW: I love folk art…first off, in New England folk art is the norm, and in Florida, there’s the?HIGHWAYMEN, a similar folk style that I enjoy. I would love to think of myself as folk.

I don’t feel it [my work] is but I wouldn’t mind to be labeled anything. I think it’s easier for people to like things sometimes when they can put you in a box…So fine folk art it is!?

CJ: From browsing your website, you seem to have a ton of things going on. What’s your secret?

TW: I am a very scattered person in my work. One day I want to paint all day…the next I want to go to?Boston or Brooklyn and take photos of the streets. The next, I want to design clothes or attempt to write. Its kind of necessary for me as I stay happy being so busy….but its definitely seems like a lot to people who are around me. So my secret? It’s a raging case of un-medicated ADHD and a hunger to make things that people will see and enjoy.

CJ: What is your involvement if any with Rosa Loves and Paperroot clothing companies?

TW: Rosa Loves is a beautiful group of guys I know and had the pleasure of designing a shirt for the south Africa story, MOSSEL BAY. Mike Fretto [Rosa Loves founder] is a friend of mine and inspires me to want to use my work more for positive outlets. EXAMPLE…I would love to do murals at school with kids…oh that is a HUGE dream of mine. I feel like schools need that so damn bad.

Paperroot is one of my best buds Greg, who contacted me early on and wanted help coming up with some shirts and doing so in a fun non-stressful way. I’ve been doing that kind of since day one with him and I love it. Paperroot to me is guys in a garage fiddling with shirts and then maybe surfing when were done. I don’t know anything like that, but Paperroot has a lot of new surprises up its sleeve, so I’m sure people will see more designs.

CJ: Three books you would recommend to others?

TW: Okay, books are hard for me to recommend as I don’t read often, except magazines, but I love Steve Martins books, so here are my picks: The pleasure of my company by Steve Martin, Dear Diary by Vice magazine’s Leslie Arfin, and The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle.

CJ: Who and what influences your work?

TW: Okay, my work is summed up like this. It’s inspired by young culture. I love music, but cant play any instruments, but listening to it while I paint is my lifeblood. My friends inspire me hugely as they all are creative. My best friend Nick Lavecchia is a professional photographer and blows my mind all the time. Painting to me is something I have to do more so than something I do to stay alive. My heart and brain need to get stuff out and it’s my outlet. I love surfing as well, which I’m sure shows in my work.

A lot of my work comes off as playful or childish when actually there is a lot of thought that goes into it and hidden, some is sad, some is just for fun. It’s all in there, and its honest. It’s a way for me to be truthful to someone I might not know.