“We wanted to collaborate and do a show together, which has all kinds of different potential, and instead of trying to take it too, too serious and trying to make it this epic thing, we decided we’d do this cryptozoological theme,” said Craig.
After deciding on the theme, the two decided on the number of canvases from which they would work and what creatures they would undertake. They drew out of a hat to decide which painting each would start. From there, they swapped back and forth, each painting changing hands three times.
“Every time we swapped we had no idea of what the other was going to do at all,” said Craig. “Whenever we swapped off, we almost didn’t want to paint on them anymore because it seemed like they were finished paintings. But we just kept adding to them.”
The finished paintings, from which creatures of mythological proportions such as that of Yeti, Bigfoot, Mothman, El Chupacabra and the Loch Ness Monster emerged, also captured some of the legends a little closer to home, like the Lizard Man and Hogzilla.
“We tried doing weird stuff that we wouldn’t usually do,” Craig said of their technique.
The texturally rich pieces are more collage-like than traditional paintings and involved processes such as gluing watercolor paper to canvas and mixing cotton with paint to create the furry trout, which, as legend goes, inhabits the northern regions of North America.
“We just didn’t want to have a narrative for any of them; we didn’t want any of them to tell a story. We just wanted them to be interpretations and almost abstract. That way people can find whatever they think is going on in them,” Craig said.
Each artist boasts a unique style that, while distinct, is not too far removed from the other.
“We both use a lot of black outlines; we both use similar color tones. Our lines are different. I use a lot more complex lines than [Jacobs] does, I think,” Craig said, “But then again, he gets a lot darker feel. He gets a lot of emotion out of fewer strokes. With my stuff, I have to put more details in it to get the same amount of emotion that he gets.”
The two did take two different approaches to their works, though.
“We each have our own interpretations of the theme and how we wanted to go with it,” Craig said. “Mine is a little bit more satirical, and [Jacobs’] is more true to the legend, more traditional.”
As far as the legends go, what is it that makes us so curious?
“I guess it’s an escape from reality that monsters exist,” Craig said. “Anytime you can have a suspension of disbelief and accept something that makes no sense and takes you out of reality for a minute, it’s almost like seeing a magic trick. Someone tells their Bigfoot story or their Hogzilla story… and then it gets validated with news stories and everyone wants to believe it.”
But Jacobs has different feelings on the subject.
“I’ve never seen a baby pigeon but I know they exist,” he said.
In fact, while working on the Mothman piece, Jacobs experienced some strange occurrences, including having his computer crash and his power go out. Twice.
“He was happy to give it back to me,” Craig said.
by Alice Wynn
http://metrospirit.com/index.php?cat=1993101070593169&ShowArticle_ID=11010604104591546
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