In the latest AIGA Design Forum, Steven Heller interviews Irwin Chusid, author of The Mischievous Art of Jim Flora.
Heller: Would you say he was happy being an illustrator? Chusid: Flora was married to an artist, Jane Sinnicksen, whom he considered a superior fine artist. The indications are that he decided to go in the opposite direction—lowbrow, and thus his style of fractured caricature evolved. But he wasn’t a “starving artist.” He made a good living as a commercial illustrator, raised five children, and paid his mortgage. He traveled, and exuded joie de vivre. What this collection reveals is what he did when he wasn’t being paid to help hawk merchandise or entertain tots. It’s as if he was exorcising his demons. Instead of being a serial killer, he painted and sketched. I suspect he often stepped back from the canvas, examined his work, and gave a sinister chuckle.
Link (Previous Jim Flora coverage on Boing Boing here) (via Cartoon Brew)