So you all probably know TJ Schneider as the grizzly bearded, method grabbing, tattoo sporting, Air Blaster Leg Bag wearing pro snowboarder, but how many of you know about TJ Schneider the professional artist? When TJ is not shredding fresh pow, he is often hard at work shredding the canvas. I’ve been sitting on this interview for about two months now… I’ve been itchin to get it posted but after classes ended at Colorado State University for the summer, around the middle of May, Hybrid Sessions had a pretty sharp drop in the number of people checking out the site. Perhaps it was because my young blog hadn’t yet attracted an audience outside the 85% of Fort Collins residents, most likely CSU students, and my friends and family who checked out the blog regularly.
I want as many people as humanly possible to read this interview and see TJ’s awesome art so I’ve waited until now to post this up. The numbers are back up and you know what they say, there’s no time like the present… two months later.
As I explained in an earlier HS post, the Gonz and I met TJ in Breckenridge at the beginning of last snow season. We had a little chat and he told us about his Snow Realms project and we talked about the new Capita boards and I told him how stoked I was on his tye die Airblaster leg bag. He was super cool and we got to watch him shred Breck for a couple days, which was sick. Anyway, after he told us about Snow Realms I went and checked it out on Youtube, watched the first few episodes and eventually discovered his website and his art. I knew TJ was an amazing snowboarder but I had no idea how sick of an artist he is. His work is raw, unpolished, abstract, vibrant, simple, unique, meaningful, soaked in human emotion and feelings, and most of all really fucking rad. I think the best way to describe TJ’s art is visible emotion. He draws and paints what his feelings and emotions would look like if they could be seen. That’s the way I look at it at least… He’s not the product of an art school or hasn’t been classically trained but that doesn't mean shit... his style is very unique and original and that’s what creating art is all about, self-expression, no matter what the hell it looks like. I've been stoked on TJ as a pro snowboarder for a long time and even more now after discovering his amazing art.
After looking through all the art on his site and really, really diggin it, I decided to email him and see if I could get inside his brain a little. I even snuck in a few questions about music and shredding… I couldn’t help myself. Here are a few of TJ's pieces I'm super stoked on, so enjoy!
ART
Hybrid Sessions: How did you get into art?
TJ: I've always been into drawing and writing and such, but never in school. I was never the art guy or the good drawer. I was always making little pictures, coloring. When I was 18 I took a job selling magazines door to door. I spent a lot of time sitting on the side of the road or in parks drawing rather than going up and trying to sell shit to random people. Then when I was 20 I was hanging around Jason Brown a lot and he got me into playing around with paint, watching him and the h5, really got me into using paint.
HS: Who or what were some of your early inspirations when you were starting out?
TJ: When I first started drawing, nothing really. I didn't look at any artists or know what I liked. When I was 18 my friend Mike Carter introduced me to Egon Schiele's art. He was the first artist I really looked into, read about and fell in love with. Right away I was blown away by his stuff. I think that plays a huge part in the style of art that I like. But also hanging out with Jason and the early h5, they kinda taught me that you can do anything you want. The last few years artists like Miro, Darger, Basquiat, Picasso, Matisse, are a few of the artists that I really like reading about.
HS: What inspires you now?
TJ: I dunno a lot of stuff… the biggest thing is probably a change. Most of my shit has a hint of one huge change that’s been pretty hard on me.
HS: The whole culture of board sports, snowboarding, skating, and surfing draw heavily on the influences art and music. Talk about why you think (if you do) art and music play such a large role in the board-riding world. Do you think snowboarding influences you as an artist?
TJ: I dunno how to answer the first part really. I mean you can usually tell what a person listens to from how they dress but I dunno about art... Does snowboarding influence my art? I don't think so. Does art influence my snowboarding? I'm sure it does, but this isn't something I'm consciously thinking about either. I just do whatever feels right at the time.
HS: A lot of your art is pretty abstract, which is super rad. You seem to use a lot of different shapes and designs drawn and painted over creature like people with bright, vibrant colors. Is this just how you transfer the thoughts in your head to paper/canvas, or did you try to adapt this style from something you'd seen, or heard, or any other type of influence?
TJ: I'm sure there are a million different influences but again it’s not something I really think about. If something looks too much like someone else's shit... whatever I don't really care. Things just come out how they come out.
HS: You incorporate the written word into your art quite a bit, which is something I also really like to do with my art. I think when you can't get your feelings across with just pictures, words help. Why do you incorporate words into your art?
TJ: Why not? If I have something to express that I want to get off my chest ill write it. I just think with art or whatever you can do whatever you want.
HS: You've done a bunch art and designs for your sponsors and some really awesome board graphics for Capita. Do the companies give you free reign to do what ever you want, or do they sort of steer you in a certain direction? What goes into the process of creating a graphic for a board or a tee shirt?
TJ: With Tee shirts I just take pictures out of my sketchbooks and lay em up and submit them. If they use them cool if not... That’s fine too. For boards its a little tougher. I’ll come up with an idea, draw a picture or take a photo, lay it up send it in. I do what I want and then we go through a million, “try this, lets do this, try this” type of thing. My work is pretty impulsive, so it’s nice to have some other points of view to help make things better. When I look at something too long it’s hard for me to do anything with it.
HS: What is your favorite medium on which, and with what to create art? (paper, canvas, mural, restaurant napkin, acrylic, markers, pencil etc....)
TJ: Paper with pen. I like simple and easy art. I think that probably comes from loving Schiele's work, but I also love complex layering like Basquiat. I dunno I guess it changes all the time. Just doing whatever I wanna see on the page as best I can also depends on what I have in front of me. I’m pretty broke so pens and paper are the cheapest.
HS: Do you sit down and try to think of things to draw/paint, or do you wait for something to inspire you?
TJ: I don’t really think about it too much. I usually will just get an impulse to make something. I’ll sit down and see what materials are around me and then something will come out of that. I've done a few little videos of paintings and its really weird for me to see how they get made. Episode 2 of the realms was one, when I sat down I had no idea what I was going to make. I just knew I wanted to make something. When I painted the hallway at the Source, I had a pretty vague idea of what I wanted to do at the start but I just ended up painting whatever I felt fit. I plan very little. I figure without any expectations I can never be let down with it. With boards I have to plan, but again initially the idea is pretty impulsive.
HS: Final art question... What do you hope people will take away from your art?
TJ: I dunno, whatever they want.
MUSIC
HS: What types of music do you listen to?
TJ: Shitty music
HS: If any, what do you like to listen to when you're shredding?
TJ: Mellow. I used to listen to a lot of metal but I found it got me too wound up. If I have something mellow with some story or feeling I find that I can stay a lot calmer.
HS: What bands or artists are you stoked on right now?
TJ: Kind Of Like Spitting, Brand New, Flowers Forever, Bright Eyes, David Dondero
HS: Better form a self-expression: Music or Art? Why?
TJ: For me making pictures.
SNOW
HS: How was your shred season? Highs, lows?
TJ: It was good. I had a lot of fun and very little stress from shredding. I’m not the type of guy that likes the stress of trying to film a video part, it’s a lot of panic from here to there to find the snow and that’s not my deal. I traveled around with Joel Fraser and rode pow, hit jumps, and had a lot of fun.
HS: What was your inspiration for the Snow Realms video project? How do you feel it was received?
TJ: I just wanted to make something that was real. I didn’t want to have a panic shred season focused on filming for someone else to cut all my shit. I wanted to make something that everyone could be involved in. I dunno how it was received… I guess pretty well. Some people didn’t like it, but whatever I had a lot of fun doing it and it’s really cool to be able to look back and see my whole season in 30 short little films rather than in a 30 second video part slapped together in the middle of some film that kids have to pay for. It also gave me an opportunity to work with more of my friends.
HS: Where was the best snow this winter?
TJ: Japan by far
HS: Who were some of the biggest influences on your riding style?
TJ: Back in the day it was Jamie Lynn, Peter Line and Terje. Now a days I have no idea. I don’t really watch too much snowboarding. I love doing it but I’m not comparing myself to anyone else.
HS: Super floaty, stylish, poked out backside one of a cliff... or a super tech 9 or 10 in a contest?
TJ: I’d rather ride pow, but both are fun if you want to be there… both suck if you don't.
Well there ya go... I'd rather ride pow too! Along with painting and drawing, TJ also takes some really cool photos, old school style. None of that digital nonsense, all film and dark room and shit. He's got some really good ones up on his site.
TJ has a ton more paintings and drawings posted so be sure to check out the rest of his work. If you're interested in buying any of TJ's art, shoot him an email and he'll hook you up.
TJ's website
Art
Photos
Time lapse painting
Snowboard Realms
If you haven't seen the Snow Realms project you need to go watch the episodes as soon as your done reading this... very cool.
Finally, I want to throw a huge thanks to TJ for hookin up Hybrid Sessions with this interview. The pro shred/artist lifestyle has got to be hectic so it's really cool he took some time to answer these questions. Hope you enjoyed, peace!
I want as many people as humanly possible to read this interview and see TJ’s awesome art so I’ve waited until now to post this up. The numbers are back up and you know what they say, there’s no time like the present… two months later.
As I explained in an earlier HS post, the Gonz and I met TJ in Breckenridge at the beginning of last snow season. We had a little chat and he told us about his Snow Realms project and we talked about the new Capita boards and I told him how stoked I was on his tye die Airblaster leg bag. He was super cool and we got to watch him shred Breck for a couple days, which was sick. Anyway, after he told us about Snow Realms I went and checked it out on Youtube, watched the first few episodes and eventually discovered his website and his art. I knew TJ was an amazing snowboarder but I had no idea how sick of an artist he is. His work is raw, unpolished, abstract, vibrant, simple, unique, meaningful, soaked in human emotion and feelings, and most of all really fucking rad. I think the best way to describe TJ’s art is visible emotion. He draws and paints what his feelings and emotions would look like if they could be seen. That’s the way I look at it at least… He’s not the product of an art school or hasn’t been classically trained but that doesn't mean shit... his style is very unique and original and that’s what creating art is all about, self-expression, no matter what the hell it looks like. I've been stoked on TJ as a pro snowboarder for a long time and even more now after discovering his amazing art.
After looking through all the art on his site and really, really diggin it, I decided to email him and see if I could get inside his brain a little. I even snuck in a few questions about music and shredding… I couldn’t help myself. Here are a few of TJ's pieces I'm super stoked on, so enjoy!
ART
Hybrid Sessions: How did you get into art?
TJ: I've always been into drawing and writing and such, but never in school. I was never the art guy or the good drawer. I was always making little pictures, coloring. When I was 18 I took a job selling magazines door to door. I spent a lot of time sitting on the side of the road or in parks drawing rather than going up and trying to sell shit to random people. Then when I was 20 I was hanging around Jason Brown a lot and he got me into playing around with paint, watching him and the h5, really got me into using paint.
HS: Who or what were some of your early inspirations when you were starting out?
TJ: When I first started drawing, nothing really. I didn't look at any artists or know what I liked. When I was 18 my friend Mike Carter introduced me to Egon Schiele's art. He was the first artist I really looked into, read about and fell in love with. Right away I was blown away by his stuff. I think that plays a huge part in the style of art that I like. But also hanging out with Jason and the early h5, they kinda taught me that you can do anything you want. The last few years artists like Miro, Darger, Basquiat, Picasso, Matisse, are a few of the artists that I really like reading about.
HS: What inspires you now?
TJ: I dunno a lot of stuff… the biggest thing is probably a change. Most of my shit has a hint of one huge change that’s been pretty hard on me.
HS: The whole culture of board sports, snowboarding, skating, and surfing draw heavily on the influences art and music. Talk about why you think (if you do) art and music play such a large role in the board-riding world. Do you think snowboarding influences you as an artist?
TJ: I dunno how to answer the first part really. I mean you can usually tell what a person listens to from how they dress but I dunno about art... Does snowboarding influence my art? I don't think so. Does art influence my snowboarding? I'm sure it does, but this isn't something I'm consciously thinking about either. I just do whatever feels right at the time.
HS: A lot of your art is pretty abstract, which is super rad. You seem to use a lot of different shapes and designs drawn and painted over creature like people with bright, vibrant colors. Is this just how you transfer the thoughts in your head to paper/canvas, or did you try to adapt this style from something you'd seen, or heard, or any other type of influence?
TJ: I'm sure there are a million different influences but again it’s not something I really think about. If something looks too much like someone else's shit... whatever I don't really care. Things just come out how they come out.
HS: You incorporate the written word into your art quite a bit, which is something I also really like to do with my art. I think when you can't get your feelings across with just pictures, words help. Why do you incorporate words into your art?
TJ: Why not? If I have something to express that I want to get off my chest ill write it. I just think with art or whatever you can do whatever you want.
HS: You've done a bunch art and designs for your sponsors and some really awesome board graphics for Capita. Do the companies give you free reign to do what ever you want, or do they sort of steer you in a certain direction? What goes into the process of creating a graphic for a board or a tee shirt?
TJ: With Tee shirts I just take pictures out of my sketchbooks and lay em up and submit them. If they use them cool if not... That’s fine too. For boards its a little tougher. I’ll come up with an idea, draw a picture or take a photo, lay it up send it in. I do what I want and then we go through a million, “try this, lets do this, try this” type of thing. My work is pretty impulsive, so it’s nice to have some other points of view to help make things better. When I look at something too long it’s hard for me to do anything with it.
HS: What is your favorite medium on which, and with what to create art? (paper, canvas, mural, restaurant napkin, acrylic, markers, pencil etc....)
TJ: Paper with pen. I like simple and easy art. I think that probably comes from loving Schiele's work, but I also love complex layering like Basquiat. I dunno I guess it changes all the time. Just doing whatever I wanna see on the page as best I can also depends on what I have in front of me. I’m pretty broke so pens and paper are the cheapest.
HS: Do you sit down and try to think of things to draw/paint, or do you wait for something to inspire you?
TJ: I don’t really think about it too much. I usually will just get an impulse to make something. I’ll sit down and see what materials are around me and then something will come out of that. I've done a few little videos of paintings and its really weird for me to see how they get made. Episode 2 of the realms was one, when I sat down I had no idea what I was going to make. I just knew I wanted to make something. When I painted the hallway at the Source, I had a pretty vague idea of what I wanted to do at the start but I just ended up painting whatever I felt fit. I plan very little. I figure without any expectations I can never be let down with it. With boards I have to plan, but again initially the idea is pretty impulsive.
HS: Final art question... What do you hope people will take away from your art?
TJ: I dunno, whatever they want.
MUSIC
HS: What types of music do you listen to?
TJ: Shitty music
HS: If any, what do you like to listen to when you're shredding?
TJ: Mellow. I used to listen to a lot of metal but I found it got me too wound up. If I have something mellow with some story or feeling I find that I can stay a lot calmer.
HS: What bands or artists are you stoked on right now?
TJ: Kind Of Like Spitting, Brand New, Flowers Forever, Bright Eyes, David Dondero
HS: Better form a self-expression: Music or Art? Why?
TJ: For me making pictures.
SNOW
HS: How was your shred season? Highs, lows?
TJ: It was good. I had a lot of fun and very little stress from shredding. I’m not the type of guy that likes the stress of trying to film a video part, it’s a lot of panic from here to there to find the snow and that’s not my deal. I traveled around with Joel Fraser and rode pow, hit jumps, and had a lot of fun.
HS: What was your inspiration for the Snow Realms video project? How do you feel it was received?
TJ: I just wanted to make something that was real. I didn’t want to have a panic shred season focused on filming for someone else to cut all my shit. I wanted to make something that everyone could be involved in. I dunno how it was received… I guess pretty well. Some people didn’t like it, but whatever I had a lot of fun doing it and it’s really cool to be able to look back and see my whole season in 30 short little films rather than in a 30 second video part slapped together in the middle of some film that kids have to pay for. It also gave me an opportunity to work with more of my friends.
HS: Where was the best snow this winter?
TJ: Japan by far
HS: Who were some of the biggest influences on your riding style?
TJ: Back in the day it was Jamie Lynn, Peter Line and Terje. Now a days I have no idea. I don’t really watch too much snowboarding. I love doing it but I’m not comparing myself to anyone else.
HS: Super floaty, stylish, poked out backside one of a cliff... or a super tech 9 or 10 in a contest?
TJ: I’d rather ride pow, but both are fun if you want to be there… both suck if you don't.
Well there ya go... I'd rather ride pow too! Along with painting and drawing, TJ also takes some really cool photos, old school style. None of that digital nonsense, all film and dark room and shit. He's got some really good ones up on his site.
TJ has a ton more paintings and drawings posted so be sure to check out the rest of his work. If you're interested in buying any of TJ's art, shoot him an email and he'll hook you up.
TJ's website
Art
Photos
Time lapse painting
Snowboard Realms
If you haven't seen the Snow Realms project you need to go watch the episodes as soon as your done reading this... very cool.
Finally, I want to throw a huge thanks to TJ for hookin up Hybrid Sessions with this interview. The pro shred/artist lifestyle has got to be hectic so it's really cool he took some time to answer these questions. Hope you enjoyed, peace!
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1 comments:
Good interview H.S.
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