HS: On the subject of place and space, what was it about the west coast art scene that you think allowed for the flourishing of the “low brow” movement?

TS: That’s difficult to say for sure although I’m sure it has a lot to do with the entertainment business being based here and of course the hot rod and surf culture has contributed immensely to the aesthetics of the movement. That being said, so many of the artists are actually from other parts of the country and somehow wound up out here. Los Angeles in particular is just very open to new ideas, more so than say New York which is slowly becoming the “Europe” of the US, and for better or worse LA is definitely the city of the future.

HS: How did life as an illustrator prep you for your current aesthetic?

TS: I always had my own aesthetic long before I became an illustrator and when I found I couldn’t function in that world with it’s peculiar creative restrictions, I got out of it.

HS: Over time, there have been a number of famed illustrator/painters, and the commonality is that they can speak to the tenor of their time. Thinking here about the Brandywine School, and then with folks like you, pulling in a wider and perhaps more fractured set of influences. Did commercial work tie you to specific audience?

TS: Ever since I was very young, I always had a love and appreciation for the early American illustrators such as Howard Pyle, N.C. Wyeth, and Maxfield Parrish. But as I got older I finally came to realize the big difference that separates an illustration from a painting. With an illustration, the illustration is an accompaniment to an existing story or narrative, usually someone else’s other than the artist illustrating it. With a painting, the painting IS the story. And here is where so many illustrators fall short of being great. Take N.C. Wyeth for example. He’s best known for his wonderful story book illustrations of Pirates, Cowboys, Indians, and Knights in shining armor. However, when he decided to focus his attention on trying to paint “seriously” and hopefully gain some of the critical attention his son Andrew was enjoying, he chose to focus on the most mundane subjects such as cows in pastures, barns, and fishing boats. He just didn’t have the kind of imagination to carry his personal work above and beyond the illustration work he was so famous for. I’ve seen this syndrome repeated all too often with so many illustrators that, left to their own devices really had nothing to say. Conversely, the famous German Expressionist George Grosz, started out as a mediocre illustrator early in his career but went on to become one of the greatest painters of the 20th century. For me, being an illustrator was a waste of time and probably the only positive aspect of the whole experience was it taught me how to focus and get work done.

HS: Finally, you’ve got a new book out. What’s your process for putting together a publication?

TS: My books are compilations of the work I’ve done for gallery shows so when I feel there is enough new work to fill out a book, I go to my publisher and get it done. I’ve tried to keep each book different in appearance so I’ve worked with three different designers in laying out the physical look of each book. The new book “American Surreal” will be my third book and there seems to be a span of five years between each book, “Secret Mystic Rites” in 1998 and “Dreamland” in 2003.