Talent Alert
with
Chris Clark
Chris: Tell our readers a little bit about who you are and what you do?
Todd: My name is Todd Theron King, and I am a portrait artist, pin-up artist, hyperrealist artist, and performance artist in Las Vegas. I draw, and I paint many different subjects ranging from female figurative pin-ups to celebrity portraits to sports art. I try to achieve a look of hyperrealism using mostly colored pencils, graphite and acrylic paints. I often perform this task in public on Fremont Street in Las Vegas as a street performer.
Chris: What kind of art do you mostly identify with?
Todd: I mostly identify with art that is done with a very high level of skill, not necessarily style or self-expression. I love art by artists who are masters of anatomy, color theory, composition, and the other basic skills used to achieve realism in art. I think art that achieves realism is far more impressive than cubism or abstraction, and this is what I most identify with and try to achieve personally in my work.
Chris: What's your favorite artwork and why?
Todd: There is actually so much that it is difficult for me to narrow it down but my favorite artwork is mainly by famous illustrators such as Norman Rockwell or Frank Frazetta. I love Frank Frazetta's Death Dealer and Norman Rockwell's Triple Self Portrait. I also love the work of Olivia, Hajime Sorayama, Chuck Close and Paul Cadden to name a few. I love that these artists are masters of skill and style and are definitely masters of realism.
Chris: Describe a real life situation that inspired you?
Todd: I am a huge Denver Broncos fan, so when they won the Superbowl in 2016, I was elated and spent a lot of time after that illustrating Denver Broncos art.
Chris: What other jobs have you had other than being an artist?
Todd: Well I have been a self-employed artist for many years now. The last jobs, other than being an artist, were way back in my early twenties and were mostly in retail management. Not exactly creatively inspiring work. I am definitely glad to be out of that sort of daily 9-to-5 grind.
Chris: What memorable responses have you had regarding your work?
Todd: Mainly the responses that I remember the most are from people that I meet on the street in Las Vegas when I am drawing in public, and they can't believe that someone can draw as realistically as I can. A lot of the people that I meet on Fremont Street in Vegas when I am working as a street performer have never seen hyperrealistic art created up close and personal.
Artist Todd Theron King