5/13/2011 - Short version

Born in 1951 in San Francisco, California, I began drawing and painting at the age of 27. I continued to create artwork as a hobby for 20 years during which time I owned and operated an insurance brokerage firm in San Francisco. I sold the firm in 1998 at age 47 after my home and art collection was destroyed by a fire. I then moved to Los Angeles in 2003 where I began my full time art career at the age of 52

2010 - David Carmack Lewis ~ The following;

There are artists out there who eschew traditional approaches to drawing but are nonetheless obsessed with detail as a way express what are often frightening visions of the world in general and humanity in particular. H. R. Giger and Chris Mars spring to mind. Their roots lie in the dreamlike visions of Heironymous Bosch. It is a difficult artistic path. Most who try it fail to develop a unique vision or compelling style and get mired in cliché psychedelia. This kind of work is often driven by direct experiences with drug addiction, insanity or both, which can explain the rarity of finding such artists who also have the discipline to excel. R. S. Connett has become one of those exceptions.

7/2010 - INTERVIEW with Ecletix online

Question.. Can you tell us where you were born and a little history about your childhood? 

RSC:  I was born in San Francisco, California. At an early age I learned to draw as an outlet.  I did poorly in school. I was often depressed, and in trouble. Throughout my childhood years I expressed myself by drawing pictures with a ballpoint pen and paper.  Drawing lightened my moods. My parents sent me to a psychologist to address my unhappiness and poor grades. He encouraged me to draw more. This grew into a permanent relationship with drawing and making art.

Out of curiosity- did it help your mood or your grades?

RSC: No, not at all. I was passed from grade to grade without learning to spell nor read. (This came to me later in life) The inner city school system of San Francisco was overcrowded in my day, and children were passed on a “TRIAL” bases. I went from 1st through 6th grade, always on this “trial basis”, afraid they would put me back a grade if I screwed up. Inevitably, I did screw up, but the “trial” was a bluff. I was still depressed and angry. I was aggressive, sullen and violent little vandal. I ended up being tossed out (expelled) from the school district proper. I was sent to a “continuation school”. I cut every class, spending my days in a cloud of oblivious dope smoke, with the occasional heroin shot. I was hospitalized with “Serum Hepatitis” (the kind you get passing around needles) at age 16. I dropped out in the 11th grade with straight “F’s”. However, my art did improve.

Question.. Is there an event or experience that helped form who you are today?

RSC: If I had to point to one experience it would be very difficult, if not impossible. The only experience (experiences) which make me feel fulfilled and happy are my experiences with creativity. Everything else falls short. Consequently, I pursue the experience of creation with more determination than anything else.

In 1995 my house burned down, all the way down to a smoldering pitt. I was drunk, and wasted on mushrooms. I was in and out of consciousness. I was alone with a house full of lit candles. I awoke with the room engulfed in flames. I barely had time to run out the door. In fact, the soles of my feet were burned from the burning floor. I was taken to the hospital for smoke inhalation. The real harm was the total destruction of my home of 20 plus years. I had nothing, not even cloths. In that home was an immense art collection, including many of my own pieces. I was (am) an avid collector. This was a phenomenal life time collection of art and artifacts. All of it gone in a moment. I was in shock. I created no artwork for 10 years. I almost died of self pity manifest through drug addiction. Eventually, I dragged myself out of my despair. I began painting again. For the first time I realized the frailty and shortness of my existence. I think this experience helped me to fully focus my energy toward my art. I became a full time artist who paints every day. To do this I gave up many things, mostly the things money could buy. Living from ones art, and especially a person deciding to drop everything and do only art, is not always lucrative. I sometimes suffer now for lack of money. However, I believe in what I am doing, and I understand the importance of doing what I feel is meaningful, to create a small footprint on this world, if you will, by way of my art. Dedicating each day to art is much different than creating art as a hobby, which is what I did before this fire. I am more serious about the years I have left on this planet. I believe that the fire experience made me see how tenuous my life is, and eventually this knowledge motivated me to do something that I feel I was born to do, my art.

Question. What was first piece of art that you remember creating? The media?

RSC: My first recollection of making art is using crayons in a coloring book. I remember that a woman, (not my mother, probably a babysitter) helped me by showing me that placing all my crayon marks in one direction, rather than scratching erratically, made the picture look better.  That might have been the beginning of my art career. I believe I was 3 years old. 

Do you happen to have this art? or another piece of childhood art?

RSC: No, sorry Anything I had prior to 1995, with a few exceptions was destroyed. Nor does anything exist with relatives.

Question.. What generally inspires you to create a piece? What inspired the last piece you completed and what was it?

RSC: I am moved to create art that stimulates me. I have ideas which are enthralling to me, that make my spine tingle. I want to make them appear! I see these visions in my consciousness and attempt to externalize them onto paper. I am also motivated to show others. It’s something I am proud of. Something that I can do well.  I do not always succeed because my ability to render these ideas is not always equal with the ideas themselves. This is frustrating. However, as I practice, I become better at capturing these elusive ideas. When I do succeed, I am gratified in a marvelous way.

My most recent paintings express my interest in what I call the "UNDERWORLD". I'm fascinated by the worlds that exist beyond our immediate vision. The tiny worlds that thrive all around us, and even upon and within us.

I have an abiding interest in the flora and fauna that live in these tiny worlds "under" our normal field of vision. The things that one must hunt for in the grass, in the pools of water, or with a microscope.

I try to render my interpretations of these tiny worlds in my paintings. I love the insects, fish and simple life forms.

Some of these creatures create exceptionally complex social structures that in many ways mirror the world of human beings.

I've noticed there is quite a bit of wondrous science/life in your images? Is there an impetus for this?

RSC: I am fascinated by nature. I was always the kid who looked under rocks and brought home every kind of living thing as a “pet” … Spiders, earwigs. There wasn’t all that much in the city. We had the old San Francisco Garter snakes, one of the most beautiful of that species. Now on the point of extinction I believe. I brought home crabs from the docks, salamanders from the gardens. I suppose I loved all this because I had so little access to it. I used to fish in the sewer grates with a stick, string and bent pin, (poor worms!) I felt bites too! (in my vivid imagination of course) When I was 5, my father bought a boat. It was something you could take out into the ocean. I recall those dawn fishing trips were filled with the happy anticipation of sea monsters! We brought some up to! I would gaze down into the deep water of the ocean imagining all sorts of things. The real things I saw out there were enough to stoke the fires of my imagination for many life times! Every time we went out there I would see something amazing! My fascination with sea life was created thus. We only had that boat for 2 years, but these were formative years for my young brain. I suppose my fascination with painting the life forms that I do comes from a wish to go back to those wonderful days on my childhood.

My last completed piece was something I created under time constraints for an exhibition. I am not happy with it it. However, I am working on a large painting now that I am very happy with.

What painting is this?

This is a new painting … Something I’ve been working on for over 2 months. It’s large, (24” H X 48” W) and very complex. It’s specifically painted for a two page spread in “BLAB!” magazine. The title is “ANTAGONY”.

 I am most pleased with paintings I do in my own time, for my own reasons. I do not do well with deadlines, even those which are self-inflicted.

5. If there was an artist, dead or alive, that you could spend 24 hours with; who would it be and what would you do?

RSC:  I would like to spend time with a master-painter. If I had to choose only one, I think it would be Mark Ryden. ( Some alternate choices would be;  Chris Mars, Joe Sorren,  Dan Quintana, Victor Safonkin, or Patrick Woodruff) These are some painters who come to mind that possess great technical skills, and use those skills to create master paintings!  I would love to sit with them, in their studios, surrounded by their tools and paints, and see them work. To talk about their ways of painting. 

Question.. What materials, specific brand of paint/glue/pencil do you prefer to use? A favorite? And why? 

RSC: I use acrylic paint. My favorite brands, (I use all three) are OLD HOLLAND, GOLDENS and HOLBEIN, in that order. Old Holland makes beautiful and unusual colors. Goldens has perfect consistency and a massive product line.  Holbein has a super high pigment load and its consistency is between a liquid and solid state. This can come in handy with glaze. I use OLD HOLLAND glazing solution which I find by far the best for my uses. 

I use LOEW-CORNELL brushes (7000 rounds and 7350 scripts) in bulk. These are inexpensive detail brushes, and I go through many.  ISABEY is my favorite brush manufacturer. I use the ISABEY oil brushes, long handled sables. 

I like to sketch with BIC ballpoints. I hate getting graphite or charcoal on my hands, so I avoid using these whenever possible.

Question. Is there a technique, procedure or tip that you have discovered, you could pass onto other artists? A specific tidbit of craft, advice or mechanical expertise?

RSC:  I would suggest trying The OLD HOLLAND glazing solution.  I keep a gallon handy at all times in case of global destruction! 

The best piece of advise I can pass on to any artist is work hard and long, and become totally “absorbed” in your art.  If you have a love of art, you can cause that love to flourish by feeding it. Cease to feed it, for any reason, including good and logical reasons, and it will eventually die. Be intensely and obsessively preoccupied with the art that you love. Make everything else secondary if you wish to succeed.  Be inspired by other artists, but do NOT compare yourself to others. Be your own yardstick.(Love this!, so true...)

8. What is your favorite word? Last song you chose to listen to? 

RSC: I love words to much to have a favorite. I listen to audio books when I work. I do not like to be judged by the music I choose to listen to.

RSC: I do believe it’s inevitable that people draw opinions from the music one listens to. These opinions are a reflection of themselves, not you. It’s very difficult to be subjective about music. One is either moved or not. I am more into books than music at this point in my life. I just read a book (listened to it actually) that I thoght was truly a great work. The title is “Every Man Dies Alone” by Hans Fallada” Here’s a link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Every_Man_Dies_Alone It’s a story written in 1948 about Germans living under Hitler during the Nazi regime.

If you insist a word, I’ll give you one I invented; “OBLIGATIONIST” and/or “OBLIGATIONISM”. I defined the word in my 8/11/2001 entry in my online journel here: http://www.vomitus.com/museum/rants/connett_rant_03.html

reproduced here, unchanged;

An 'Obligationist' ... Yes, you know one ... Perhaps you are one? It's that person who's name causes you to roll your eyes and taste the metallic acid of dread in the back of your throat. The Obligationist is the reason that you screen your calls. The Obligationist is the person behind the dreaded holiday dinner that ruins the spirit for the day. The Obligationist is the person who "volunteers" to help you out, just to be "a friend", then reminds you of that favor for the rest of your living days. The Obligationist is the person who is somehow in your life, but you can not figure out what terrible thing you did, in this life or some other, that you should deserve this. The Obligationist is a vile person who feeds on your life energy so it can feel alive.
This is someone who keeps showing up in your life like dogshit on your shoe. This person is a continuous source of frustration and irritation. A gnat circling your head in the night, it's incessant buzzing waking you just before you drop off into peaceful sleep. They are like a rash that will not go away. Obligationism is an artform for the losers of our world ... It is a black art. A dark craft practiced by people without a clear vision of "self".
They will find something that you need, or get involved with someone who you can not avoid. It is as difficult to rid yourself of the Obligationists as it is to rid your body of a wart, or an infestation of lice ... Serious measures must be taken. The question is; Are you willing to do what must be done? The Obligationist will always try to have some sort of hold on you. It is not easy to escape once one has latched on.
Perhaps your Obligationist is a family member? ... Perhaps someone you thought was a friend? A neighbor? Maybe someone you had sex with one foolish drunken night. Perhaps an ex-lover whom you feel sorry for? Oh yes!, sympathy is one of the greatest weapons in the arsenal of the Obligationist . Sympathy and guilt are their weapons of choice. Many an Obligationist will be stricken with serious and debilitating illness, (or feign it!). The Obligationist will use their illness or handicap to control you! They will milk it for every inch of sympathetic POWER it will give them! And BEWARE of any person who does you a FAVOR! This too, is a weapon of the Obligationist. THE DREADED "FAVOR!" If you let an Obligationist do you even the smallest favor, they will bind you with it as if it were chains of iron! Only your life's energy can repay the Obligationist once you are obligated!
The web of the Obligationist is tangled and complex. One obligation leads to another, and another, AND ANOTHER, until you are caught as a fly trapped in the lair of a spider! ... The Obligationist instinctively pounces upon any weakness you may have. The things which make us human, our caring natures, our generosities and pity. These are the qualities which the Obligationist will attempt to exploit to control you!
Why? What is the reason for this Obligationistic behavior? It is jealousy, envy, insecurity and fear! The Obligationist is a weak quivering thing masquerading as a normal person. A tiny naked being shivering in the dark cold closet of their head. The Obligationist is jealous of your life! Jealous because theirs is empty and devoid of meaning. The Obligationist has no substance, so it must feed on yours! They must seek, through trickery, to obligate others to be part of their shallow lives. Since the Obligationist has no confidence in their own identity, they are driven to create a symbiotic relationship with you! They are as Vampires, stealing your soul by devouring your energy, your time and attention.
We all have them. Admit it or not, there is one or more in your life. I wish you well, and may I suggest that you look at yourself, and try to recognize that part within you that is ... an Obligationist!

Question. If you could pick one piece of art to own, out of the world's museums, personal collections and galleries, what would it be?

RSC: Artist; HIERONYMUS BOSCH,  Painting; THE GARDEN OF EARTHLY DELIGHTS, link:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6d/The_Garden_of_Earthly_Delights_by_Bosch_High_Resolution.jpg
OH YES!

Question. Of all your works, what is your own personal favorite? What was the thought or vision behind the work and why is it your favorite?

RSC: It’s difficult to say which of my own works is my favorite. I have different reasons for feeling strongly about many of them. I feel my most successful work is “CRUSTACEAPODS” completed in 2008 (link:http://www.vomitus.com/museum/NewVmmPages/crustaceapods.html) It all came together for me very nicely from beginning to end. It’s my favorite because it’s a world my mind can walk into and be fascinated.

Older Bio info _ Taken from 2007 ...

I was born in San Francisco on August 19, 1951. I lived in San Francisco until 1999. I then moved to Los Angeles, CA, where I live currently.

Being born in 1951 makes me a Geezer in most of your young eyes. Unfortunately, If you live long enough, becoming old is unavoidable. At least, for now ...

When I was young I thought that I would die young. I hoped that I would die young. Now, I want to live forever because I feel the reality of death. I hope that technology will be able to augment my existence so that I might never die. Better a living brain in a jar than death. I would prefer my dreams to nothingness. I would like to live indefinitely, choosing the time and place of my death. I would like to perfect who I am until I grew weary of my life, and choose to end it. Though I believe this will all soon become possible, I think I may have been born too soon to benefit from the science that will come to make it happen. That science that may make immortals of us all is coming. It may actually be an evolutionary step for mankind. ... but I digress.

I like to believe that I have not lost the idealism and fascination with life which I have seen die in the hearts and minds of so many of my contemporaries. (contemporaries = The people you grew up with) I also believe that throughout the years my soul has been saved by my art. Through my art I have been able to maintain an important balance.The creation of art has helped me gain a certain amount of pride and sense of specialness. It is important to feel special. In some way we all are. When you forget that, or take for granted that you are not, you begin to lose the game of life.

There are many artists 'better' and 'worse' than me. Comparisons of this sort do not matter. It should not matter to anyone. Comparing yourself to others is a deadly trap. You must have faith in the knowledge of our uniqueness. I have seen envy ruin many a good soul. The world is a place of relativities. We all see things so differently, that I believe we might go mad if we were able to see through the eyes of another, if even for a few moments. I think when one goes mad, truly mad, it only takes a moment.

For over 20 years I worked by day, and created my art by night. I disliked my day job. I resented this job. I was always angry about that. I was envious of what I thought I saw in others. Those who had the wisdom or luck to be doing things they enjoyed. I was forced to work for money as most of us are. The days of hoping life would change for me, (Rather than I changing it) turned into years and then decades. Life is a very short dream. The awakening is in your death bed.

I lived in the city of San Francisco all my life.In 1998 I moved from my home in San Francisco to Los Angeles. I was married that year. I was 47 years old.

My wife is my great support, in all ways. In LA I worked as a general manager in a film distribution company, another job I loathed, ( including 3 hours a day of unpaid commuting time) My wife suggested that I quit this job because I was miserable. She said, "You can work only on your art and I will support us while you build a career." I jumped at that opportunity! The first year of that was wonderful. it is a VERY different thing to work a few days or nights a week doing artwork, than to do it every day, for many hours. When one works many hours every day, one develops abilities and builds knowledge quickly, (through trial & error in my case because I have no art education) In fact, I find that as I work on my art every day, my artistic expertise and knowledge grows exponentially. Once I discovered the joy of working on my art every day, I could no sooner think of stopping the process than to stop eating or breathing.

Then suddenly everything changed. My wife was diagnosed with breast cancer. This happened about one year into her support plan of me. She was forced to go through the hideous treatments; chemotherapy, radiation, etc. and of course, our 'deal' was cancelled by fate. Suddenly, my comfortable 'slow & steady' career move had to become our main source of income. I had to take care of my wife and bring home enough money for us to keep our home. All this is terrifying for many reasons. It was like jumping from heaven into hell within 24 hours. The randomness of life can pull the rug out from under us, and I'm afraid it does this to most of us, often repeatedly.

I had to find a way make enough money for us to live with my artwork alone. I'd compromised all my life to make money. The only thing I held sacred was my artwork. I look back now and see much of my earlier art as being immature, pretentious and derivative. However, that was me!

My art is the sanctuary where I protect my heart and my individuality. I believe that in creating my art I have saved my eyes from total blindness. It is why I see things with eyes that can still recognize the magic in the world.

I am now still in the middle of this 'mid-life career change' fight . I do whatever I have to do to keep us home and eating. I sell prints and small originals on Ebay. I take on private commissions. I sell originals and mounted 'Giclee' prints privately to a growing list of private collectors. I even painted a portrait, (http://www.vomitus.com/museum/new_work/Portrait_Magee.html, or see it here on my 'myspace' page under 'music') That's all much more than 'okay' because I enjoy and feel pride as a craftsman in the creation of these works.

After 25 years of creating art for my own catharsis first, and for public scrutiny second, I'm not sure I could become 'commercialized' now ever if I wanted to. And I don't want to.

I appreciate the support of anyone who cares to write me, make a comment, or to critique. I learn the most from negative criticisms concerning my technique than anything else. As I said, I did not attend any art school, and so the world is my teacher. I study the art of the contemporary artists, many of whom have 'myspace' pages. I watch their work and dissect it. I see their originals in the galleries of LA, my one remaining social practice. I do my best to deconstruct their works and learn from their ways. Of course, I am very influenced by these artists. I'm sure you can find similarities of their styles in my work. This is a homage to their talent, craft and imaginations. I feed from their minds.