RAPID FIRE QUESTIONS WITH ~ MADSTEEZ BY PABLO G. VILLAZAN

In today’s session of Pablo G. Villazan’s “Rapid Fire Questions”, is with one of the best muralist in the game, an amazing artist/designer and a League homie - MADSTEEZ. Madsteez’s unique color schemes and details is eye catching which will leave you mind blown.

Make sure to preorder his new collaboration piece “No Justice, No Piece” with our good friends at Unique Board.

Link - https://home.uniqueboard.com/august-releases/no-justice-no-peace

So, Ready! Set! Gooooooo!

Who is Madsteez?

Madsteez aka Mark Paul Deren, is a 40 year old artist who lives and plays in the WEENiverse where purple hued beings transcendentally co-exist. He’s a surfer, a weener dog lover, color is everything and large scale buildings are his preferred choice as a canvas. He was born with a rare blind eye condition that he uses as his super power and he won’t stop until he’s WEENified the entire world.

Did you always want to be an artist?

Not even slightly. I thought I was going to be a football player! I had a clothing line from when I was 14 years old which led me to become an art director at a $60 million dollar a year surf brand at the age of 17 when I was still in high school. I had a midlife crises at 19, quit, traveled the world for 4 months and when I returned, I started painting. It took about 7 years until I actually said with confidence, “I am an artist”.

Where does your inspiration come from?

My inspiration comes everyday life experiences that I find funny or out of the ordinary that other people might think is totally normal. My mind has the ability to take one small instance, flip it inside out, upside diagona,l and it comes out on the other side WEENified.

Which artists have the greatest influence on your work?

I was never heavily influenced by the actual art of an artist but more so the scale. Before I considered myself an “artist”, I used to really love Salvador Dali’s surrealism. But when I saw a few of his major works in person, I was so underwhelmed by the scale of the pieces that it really resonated with me to want to create big. And then I saw a show by Dennis Hopper at the Ace Gallery in Los Angelos and it consisted of billboard sized paintings which made my jaw drop to the floor. At that exact moment, I knew I had to go even bigger, which led me to murals.

What is your process to create your work?

The process differs from studio work to commercial work. Regardless, I wake up at 9:14am, walk the weens, stretch, drink a cold brew and then get to work (unless theres waves and then surfing comes first). If its a studio piece, I like to have a rough composition of what I’m going to paint. I always always paint the whole background first even if I know its going to get covered up. I like to leave holes of color in places that are too good to paint over. Then I let the piece breathe, evolve and paint itself. Lately I’ve been using instagram stories to shoot the piece, and draw with my finger quick changes to see which directions I could explore. But even with a reference, the paintings take on a life of their own.

Is there something you can’t live without in your studio?

I can absolutely not live without my weens, Mr. WEEN and WEENseuss. Even though while I’m painting Mr. WEEN makes me infinitely play ball, or makes me hold him with one arm, or barks so suddenly that it scares me causing me to stroke in the wrong place, they are the foundation of the WEENfaktory. Just their shear presence makes me happy and their soul is in every piece I create.

What is the meaning behind your artwork?

The direct meaning of my artwork is an extension of me. From the vibrant color palette to the gestural strokes, the energy and emotions, all are an open window into who I am. I’ve created my own language and a world within a world with WEENtillians and WEENimals. I like to sit on the barb’d wire fence go back and forth from the surreal to the familiar. I like to be playful and not too serious. But just recently with the death of George Floyd, I knew I had to use my artwork as a voice to stand up for change and battle racism. I had a bit of an epiphany where I realized how powerful my art could be and its definitely something I want to explore further in my work.

Imagine that your paintings could talk, what would they say about you? Wait...are you saying my paintings don’t already talk!!?? I have a pretty intense dialogue with my paintings and with each piece it unlocks another key to the WEENiverse that I myself and discovering along with the viewer.

What advice would you give to your younger self?

I just went down the WEENhole of things that I would tell myself so maybe there would be a better or different out come but you know what!? Fuckit.com. I couldn’t be happier with the life that I live and I am thankful that I’ve even made it this far without my future self giving me any advice!

Do you find the social channel’s influence Positive or Negative?

I think the social channel’s influence is a HUGE Positive, that is if you use it to your advantage. It’s an easy way to have your art accessible to the entire world. Before, you used to have to wait for a gallery or someone to do a magazine article on you to be seen or recognized. Now, YOU have all the power. You don’t have to have anyone else’s approval and you have the ability to put your voice out there exactly how you want. It’s made everything so much more accessible. I’ve had the wildest people reach out to me just through DM’s where before they would have no idea how to even contact you even if they did like your work. Don’t get me wrong, I do see how it can have a negative effect on your psyche if you allow it. But you just have to take it for what it is and use it as a tool.

Describe in 3 words how social channels affect you as an artist.

World Wide WEEN

What is your dream project?

I would love to create some sort of permanent WEENseum like the Teatre Museu Dali. I want to create an environment where I’ve designed everything encompassing from the architecture to the artwork to the entire experience. I’d love to live and work there and leave it just as I did when I left this planet. Similar to Miro’s studio in Mallorca or Jacksons Pollack's studio in the Hamptons. I feel like seeing into the artist world and studio is so much more than just a piece of art.