Davey Cadaver Interview

Favorite medium? Acrylic paint in my hands. What do you think about when you’re walking and lost in thought?

I think about the nature of man and his relationship with his environment, which side of the glass we are on, scenes from movies, outer space, sex, memories (both good and bad), friends and family that I have lost, psychological disorders, color palettes, the benefits of technology as well as the negative impact it is having on human beings, dreams, where the closest coffee shop is.

Favorite subject matter or reoccurring themes? Recurring themes that I have observed and these themes have played out among subject matter or characters like rabbits, clowns, butterflies, aliens, nature, and so forth. Where do you think creativity comes from? The same place that babies come from: the stork. What were you like as a kid? I was shy for the most part but when I spoke, my words seemed to have a lot of impact on whoever was listening. I loved animals and still do. I read a lot, had very few friends, and was never really popular. I spent a lot of time day dreaming and collecting things. I was generally pretty skeptical of most everything and had a very hard time trusting people or respecting "authority figures" which led to trouble in school. I know that I have more experience to base my beliefs and decisions on now that I am older in age but generally speaking, I don't feel as though I have changed many things that are important to me. I'm just working towards making it possible to share those things with as many people as I can.

Is there a certain band, song or singer that makes you want to paint? That's all kind of relative. Most of the time, I want to paint regardless of whether there is music or not (laughs). Often, the Cure, Skinny Puppy, the Smiths, Smashing Pumpkins, etc. but more recently I have been listening to a lot of audiobooks and film scores. I also listen to a good number of lectures on a regular basis. Terence McKenna, Manly Hall, and so forth. What was the first song to give you the chills? I don't know what the very first song was but I know that "Let's not shit ourselves (to love and to be loved) by Bright Eyes hit me pretty hard the first time I heard it. Really amazing song. "Last Kiss" by the Cavaliers has a haunting quality to it. The Eternal, most of "Closer" by Joy Division is also very beautiful. Is there a certain place in Portland that causes your brain to flood with ideas? A lot of places trigger memories for sure. I thought about putting a book out some day with photos of places and stories attached to them. You see things different sometimes when you've been somewhere long enough. Sometimes a place will always remind you of something and sometimes you will walk or drive past it without thinking at all. Sometimes you see a place and come up with stories for it. I just want to see as many new things as I can in my life. Going to the beach and staring at the sea seems to help keep the flood at shore so to speak. The ocean really calms my brain.

How do you switch off your creativity? It can be tiring sometimes. I'm not sure that it ever really does. Even when I sleep, I usually have pretty vivid dreams. I think doing something else usually helps but its often just another creative action, just different. Like playing music or writing. Monotaneous tasks like washing dishes or exercise can help for sure though. Building frames and supports for my paintings, manual labor you know, that helps turn it off while still allowing me to still feel like I am being productive. Did you draw or paint a lot as a kid? Yeah, both. I used to get in trouble at school for drawing on my homework or my desk. Who would play you if someone were to make a movie about your life? I have no idea. People have told me that I look a little like Crispin Glover but I don't really see it. (laughs) If you could spend a week with 10 famous people, who would they be? That sounds like a lot of troubled people to surround myself with… and for seven days..!? No thanks (laughs) Really though, most of the people I'd love to meet are already dead. I guess off the top of my head I'd say Alan Moore. Where would you move to if you ever left Portland? I think Hawaii sounds nice. So does Santa Cruz. What do you get really excited about? I get excited listening to other people that are excited about something. I don't care if its something I have zero interest in. It could be golf, it could be bowling, changing a tire, fixing a leaky roof, anything. I love it when people are passionate about things and I love to listen. Unless they are raving about television shows, the "war", religion, or celebrity scandals. In which case… I have no interest. Do you have any advice for young artists? Something I struggled with and also hear from a great deal of people, not just young artists is that when you're starting out and even sometimes years later you might be thinking, "i don't have an established style, all my pieces look different." And get hung up on it. I'd say it's possible that a reason for that is because you are making big leaps in ability each time you create something. The best thing to do is keep painting. Eventually things will level out and when you notice you have a certain "look" to all your current work, you might want to do something COMPLETELY different anyway so it's best to just create what you want to because you enjoy it and not think about what other people have to say or worry if other people will take notice. If the passion is there, good things will follow.

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