Q&A with ParadiseLost

All I’m going to say about Paradise Lost is “WOW!” You must see this art for yourself and don’t let the few pictures you’ll see here keep you from checking out the rest of the shop!

CZ: Tell us a little about yourself!
PL: Well, I’m an artist living in the SF Bay Area. I have sort of a no rules attitude about art. Sometimes I am a painter, sometimes an illustrator, and currently I am working on a series of large public murals. I’m really dyslexic too.

CZ: What type of items do you sell?
PL: I mostly sell prints of images that I have tampered with in one way or another. Usually with acrylic paint or graphite. They are called Kirstograph prints, which is a word that I made up for what I am making.

CZ: What is the inspiration behind your shop and what keeps you motivated?
PL: There is so much material out there for me. Typically I use tintype images or old art books. French art almost exclusively, but I will paint over anything that sparks an idea. Once that happens I have to do it, and can’t focus on anything else until it’s done.

CZ: What is the greatest compliment you have received about your work?
PL: The other day I was showing a friend some of my work online and he said, “Wow, Seth learned to use Photoshop.” All of my paintings and drawings are done but hand, and the way you see it online is the way it looks in person. Photoshop can be a great tool, but I am a traditionalist down to my core.

CZ: When did you first realize that you weren’t “like the other kids”?
PL: I grew up in a community of people who shared money, cars, or whatever they had. There were five families and a couple of single people off and on. In school they wanted to put me in the slow class because I am dyslexic, so my mom pulled me out and taught me at home. About twenty of the kids in the community decided to do it too. Honestly, I have never felt like a 100% normal kid.

CZ: What’s a typical day in the life of this Dark Sider like?
PL: No two days are the same, which I really like. I’m painting a lot of murals right now, but really prefer to work on my own stuff. If I go too long without painting and drawing my own stuff I get really depressed.

CZ: Do you prefer zombies or vampires?
PL: Vampires. It’s not even close. I am a fan of Ann Rice and Bram Stoker and True Blood.
But I do secretly fantasize about being the only human in a world full of zombies that are really easy to kill as I make my way to the safe zone.

CZ: Which horror character do you identify with most and why?
PL: Any character with a head that spins all the way around.

CZ: Which elusive creature do you believe is more likely to be real: El Chupacabra or Sasquatch?
PL: My great grandpa claimed to have seen Bigfoot on a hike in Oregon. So between the two choices I’ll take the Sasquatch. But to be honest, I really think there is something to the Chupacabra.

CZ: Who is more likely to enslave the human race - aliens or robots?
PL: I think robots and machines already have us over a barrel, but don’t know it. God help us if they ever become self aware like in Terminator. My friends think it is strange that I don’t have a cell phone, or credit card, and have never used an ATM.
But don’t think I’m not keeping one eye one the sky incase of an alien invasion.

CZ: What scares you?
PL: That’s easy. Myself. I have a wild imagination and it’s really hard for me to get disturbing things out of my head. It often gets to the point where I have to imagine the image burning down to ashes and the wind carrying them away. That usually does it, but not always.

CZ: When my undead masses take over will you be with us or against us?
PL: Depends on what the undead masses have to offer me. Dental insurance would be great.

CZ: Any links you’d like included?
PL: http://www.paradiselost.etsy.com/