Stressed Out Derek Hess
February 8, 2006
JONATHAN SWIFT SAID, “VISION IS THE ART OF SEEING THE INVISIBLE.” When you’re Cleveland-based artist Derek Hess, nothing rings truer than being able to communicate the unseen through ink visuals. Since establishing himself as commercial artist in the early nineties, Hess has proven himself as a strong catalyst of feeling and thought through his simple and expressive pen and ink drawings. Since then, he has created somewhat of an empire with the Derek Hess name and most recently Strhess Clothing. He also launched StrhessFest (an art and music festival) and The Strhess Tour (a sponsored music tour that has spanned both North America and the UK). I recently had the chance to talk with the 41-year-old Hess about his upcoming year and what he wants to impress his fans next.
What are your plans for the upcoming year?
DH: Well, Strhess Clothing is our focus right now and we’re looking to launch the new line at the end of February. So, that’s taking the most energy. I’m working with a business partner and then we also work with printers, Jackprints, and we are also working with a design firm and photographers and so on and so forth. So this is basically what is consuming my time. I have a few commercial jobs.
Will you have another StrhessFest or will you be making another tour?
DH: You know the tour . . . more than likely. One’s wrapping up tomorrow for the Strhess UK Tour with Stretch Arm Strong, which is the first time we’ve done the Strhess Tour in the UK. A StrhessFest itself? It may or may not happen; we have nothing planned right now but that could change. We got to the point where we are not a huge firm by any means– we cannot delegate a StrhessFest department and all that. It’s up to us at the time if we have the time and energy to create a music festival, especially if we have everything else going on. Another Strhess Tour will 99% chance will happen.
Do you ever get writer’s block, and if so, what’s your remedy for inspiration?
DH: Yeah, well drawer’s block. It’s tough, yeah, I get it. I know when it comes, because it’s generally when I’m drawing well, and I’m drawing well a lot, and I’m producing a lot, I can slowly start to feel it slip away. And then I just stop. I take time off and I don’t draw at all. It can be from a matter of days to a couple weeks unless I have a deadline or really need something. That’s generally how I get back into it.
Have you ever explored outside the medium of pen and ink?
DH: Well yeah, I have been doing some mixed media originals. They are on my website DerekHess.com in the originals section; there’s a body of them right now. And I’ve been doing some art shows that have consisted of 40-80 pieces. And, of course, I do the sign-out print making which is interesting. Those are the two medias I’d like to master, which I like to explore with the pen and ink drawings.
What poster piece do you have on display at the Louvre?
DH: They have a body of my work. It is like my first portfolio from ‘93-‘94. It’s in their permanent collection; sometimes they’ll have a few of them up, sometimes they won’t have any of them up or they will only have one up. I never really know which ones are hanging at any given time. Because it’s in their permanent collection, they rotate what they show.
Can you explain the process of drawing it and moving it to be displayed on a t-shirt?
DH: I do the drawings. We have designers put together the drawing to work on a garment, which is not one of my strong points. So I will come up with a body of work in pen and ink and then we’ll give them to the people we’re working with right now, Jackprints, and we’ll sit down and talk about what’s working and what’s not working, eventually making sure we are moving in the right direction as a whole. So then it really depends on how quickly I get drawings done and how quickly they can put the ideas together and send it to the printers. Then from there we look at what we do have, and choose which articles are working and pick the one we want to go with.
What do you see as the relationship between the visual arts and music?
DH: Well it really depends on the visual art and the music but as far as the rock world goes and what I do and what other artists do, I think there is a like-mindedness thing going on that we are going through, and expressing the same feelings and ideas. Musicians just happen to do it musically and artists do it visually. I think a lot of it has to do with the environment and culture and where we are as people—how we have evolved or evolving— and that’s why there is that like-mindedness. People are growing up and feeling that same types of things.
What’s it like to come out of a smaller market like Cleveland as opposed to New York or LA—or even more locally like Chicago?
DH: I think it’s awesome. I love Cleveland. I’m pro-Cleveland. Alternative Press magazine is based out of here and they are in our same building. And Jackprints, our printing company, has gotten huge, they’ve worked for clients all over the country. I think Cleveland is a good place to work, and I can do this job from pretty much anywhere with what we’re doing. In Cleveland the cost of living is lower and as far as I’m concerned it’s just a cool city. One good thing about developing my drawing when I was first drawing and figuring out what I wanted to do, by being here I have kept the trends and influences out of my art. Whereas if I were on a coast, there are trends that people get on the bandwagons, which separates what is popular at the time from what is Cleveland art or, say, Detroit art.
What are your thoughts on seeing a fan has tattooed on of your pieces on his / her body?
DH: “What are you thinking!?” I think it’s awesome! Isn’t it? That’s totally flattering. I love it when people e-mail [the photos] to me. A kid in Iceland just e-mailed me one. It’s killer. I mean, I don’t draw tattoos, it’s a policy of mine but I will provide the art that I can if someone wants to get it done.
How has the digital world changed the way an artist like you does business?
DH: It’s easier to get your ideas to someone quicker. If something needs to be approved by someone, you scan a piece and send it off. But I’m older school.
You seem to bring a lot of reality to the spiritual world in your pieces, but what are your beliefs as far as spirituality?
DH: I’m very spiritual but I’m not religious, I definitely believe in a higher power, a god, or a greater consciousness. I believe that we are all here and it’s a learning process. We are all presented with obstacles that we need to overcome to grow spiritually. So that’s about where I’m at on that.
Is there anything else you would like to say to your fans?
DH: Oh Lord, I don’t know. (laughs) Keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars.
Now you go...
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