The GODMACHINE Interview and Free Friday Print Giveaway

It's no secret I love Godmachine's work. While some of his illustrations maybe a little on the gory side and not to everyone's taste there is no denying the level of detail that makes them the most sought after pieces of work of any artist. Whether it's a new shirt design for a band, a skateboard, a new movie poster or a new print he always put's his heart and pen into everything he does all the way.

I first saw his work on a Sonisphere poster years ago and tried getting one from him but he did not have any. I was hooked at that point.

Along with the interview we are giving away his badass Take Your Time, Old Man print. It should be noted that my choice of giving away this print with the interview was not a subtle joke directed at Godmachine, but it is kinda funny....

Now go to the top of the post above the picture and click on comments to leave a comment about Godmachine's work to have a chance at winning the poster. Don't worry if your comment does not appear immediately I have to approve them before they are published. I will use the random number generator to pick a winner. Entries are limited to ONE PER PERSON PER HOUSEHOLD. Please leave your name with the comment, comments without names will not be accepted. Entries will be accepted until midnight PDT Saturday Saturday September 15 that's two days to enter with the winner announced on Sunday.

Now the Godmachine interview:

You're proud Welsh man, for those of us that don't know what differences are there within the regions of The United Kingdom ?
I am Welsh, born in Wales but I am not proud of it; I can find no traits I posses that you cannot find in other countries or other people. I am grateful for being born in a country that has free education up until University, free welfare, free medicine and free health care, but I am not proud to be Welsh and you should consider long and hard about being proud about anything you didn’t work to achieve. I don’t really think there is much difference between the English, the Scottish and Irish apart from made up stereotypes and you know those already. No one likes the English though hahah Im joking. I have a hard time with my Welsh friends when I tell them I think the English countryside is more agreeable to me. If pressed I could say that Welsh people are friendly, like a drink and a fight, love to sing, have poetry in their soul, love that fact that we unarguably have the best flag in the world, Batman, Dylan Thomas, Ronald Dahl, James Bond and Odin are from Wales. Wales has more castles per square mile than anywhere else in the world, basically we all have our own castles, its tiresome to be honest and we all long for a studio apartment in a city. And probably best of all we are the only ones not represented on the Union Jack flag.

Does this influence your work in anyway ?
None at all. I should at this point give a wink to my mate Ed who runs Nine Lives in Ireland. Before he moved home to Ireland he ran an art mag in Wales called Designer Violence and in interviews he would always ask whether where they lived affected their art. Most people if not all people said no. We used to laugh our asses off at the question. Ed, this ones for you mate.

Some of your work is referred to as dark or even gory, what do you use as reference to create these images ?
I have a lot of skulls and props and a lot of old “how to draw anatomy” books that often find their way to my desk still. As for the gore its made up from the memories of comic books and trial and error.

Have you ever spent any extend time in a cemetery after dark ?
When we were kids we would smoke weed in the local village graveyard. Doug found this old gas mask and put a cone in the pipe and we’d strap it on and climb a tree. I remember getting so stoned up a tree we had to wait a long time to attempt to get down. Ive never been brought up to find graveyards spooky- they are full of dead people and its the live ones that you want to watch out for.

You have mentioned no religious affiliation, so where did the name Godmachine come from and why ?
I’m an anti-theist; I am against all religion and even have a hard time with people using the word ‘belief’. I think religion has had its chance and its time we moved on and stop pretending now. I find a lot of people find that offensive for some reason, I don’t know why. I guess I am lucky I live in Britain and can be so openly against it, I know a lot of artists in the states that feel the same way I do but are sometimes too afraid to speak out, it seems that bible belt is tight around peoples throats. I am also thankful that I wont get locked up in prison or stoned to death or threatened like they do in other countries for being bereft of beliefs. Unlike a lot of the christians I talk to I have read the bible, that god bloke seems like a nasty bastard, jesus seems alright sometimes but seeing as some people believe they are one and the same ...so I guess he has a personality disorder? I dont know- answers on a postcard.

You have two cats Bear and Kitty, for people that don't know that I'm sure they are surprised to learn how much you enjoy them, so why cats ?
You should check out my blog piece on men who like cats. Its a new one to me, I never knew it was a point of debate for a man to like cats. I can be brief and say that a man who loves cats is an animal lover- that’s the only thing you can be sure of, but a man or women who would presume they know what kind of man a cat lover is, is quite frankly a small minded presumptions dick. Go read my blog.
I love cats because they are independent and don’t fuel your ego. They wont come if they don’t want to, do tricks, give you the time of day if they don’t want to. People often like animals that fan the flames of their self important ego and need to fill their world with things that do that. I wouldn’t want that in a lover, a friend or a hero. People who don’t like cats often project their insecurities onto them because a cat wont bow down to their frail little ego and say stupid things like “cats are sneaky and they are cruel”...how unbelievably stupid. Be careful when you start anthropomorphising a beast, you will show your true self. Plus I love living with animals that have yet to be domesticated, a wild animal if you will. I don’t deny the fact that if my cat were any bigger it wouldn't think twice of eating me alive. I kind of like that idea.

Are going to get one just for your new studio space ?
By the time I have finished this interview (sorry for the delay) some that follow my Twitter and Instagram would have seen the kitten we had briefly. I saw from the window a lady on the street with a kitten in her arms; she had rescued it herself but didn't want it so I took it off her. We fed it, cleaned it, smoooshed the shit out of it, she purred, farted and slept then wrecked everything on my desk. We managed to find her a few forever-homes and she finally settled on one in the country side with a dog, some chickens and some ducks. We couldn't have one in the studio- it would be unfair; there are too many nooks and crannies for it to disappear down and as much as it would be the most loved cat in the world I think it wouldn't be the best of ideas.

Is your friend going to be making any new cat toys ?
. It was a girl I met at a market place. She wont be making anymore for me because she had a hard time working out how business works.

Last I remember you said you had 12 cat mugs for your much loved coffee, how many do you have now ?
I have finally gotten off my ass and started to make my own coffee mugs with my artwork on them. I'm in talks with a few bands and friends to bring you guys some great stuff. My friend Sineater lived in Cardiff for a while and he told me about how French had made a few for an exhibition and we talked about doing our own for ages. Around the same time Palehorse in Florida was making candles and telling me about the band Big Business commemorative decorative wall plate. I hadn’t found the time for a long while and Sineater released some seriously beautiful mugs since then, if you haven’t seen them go find them they are beautiful. So months later and a chance meeting with a new friend and I have finally found the time to look into it. Godmachine and coffee seem to most almost inseparable so its evolutionary in its nature.

Do you stick with one brand of coffee or do you have several on hand and which ones are they ?
I love a few, let me see if I can remember them: Colombian, Guatemalan Elephant, Kenyan Peaberry, Monsoon Malaba..... I try all of them and find which one I like the most. Dont take anyones word for it when it comes to people, art, sex, books, food etc...you should try it all yourself.

Top 3 favorite Vegetarian dishes, yes folks he is a vegetarian too?
‘Vegetarian too’ hahaha. Yes, I like dogs and cats, I dont drink or take drugs anymore but think that they are important- especially drugs, I think film as art is vital, yet giggle at Madagascar. I think for too long we have been told we must chose one or the other. Its a marketing strategy: you must chose Coke or Pepsi, Metalica or Megadeth, pop or metal, Nikes or Adidas...its all so willfully stupid. Dont let them tell you what you can or can not like, don't let them divide and conquer you. They do it on purpose to make you buy more products. Don’t do it. Be a complex, varied, brilliant human being and make up your own mind not influenced by others.
I like Pizza, Pizza and Pizza...but not necessarily in that order.

Are Brits still fascinated with American Culture and what is that you find the most interesting ?
Young people in the UK are becoming more and more Americanised all the time, its most noticeable in our language because of the web. I read somewhere that our languages will be no different in a few years; kids are using words like ‘sidewalk’ instead of curb and ‘mail’ instead of post and so on. Kids are using fucking exclamation marks all over the place too!!!!!!!!!!!! But English pedants will be pleased or horrified to learn that most American words were English first; ‘fall’ was widely used in Victorian Britain before we switched to Autumn. I don’t mind so much but please for fucks sake don’t export your prudish nature; its TIT BIT not Tid Bit, I know you are scared of females nipples but seriously, its language, not a real tit (more on that later. Also its ‘I couldn’t care less’ not ‘I could care less’, saying you could care less is the exact opposite of what you are trying to say. I also used to hate the way Americans say ‘niche’...Nitch...But I am sad to say that language historians have reported that both ways are acceptable. )
Jesus I could wax lyrical about the export of American culture, but I will leave you with 2 stories. A paper was written about Americans foreign image after 9/11 and how to improve it, if memory serves me right it was titled “We hate you America- But don’t stop sending us Baywatch”. I think people have a love hate relationship with America all over the world. I propose its because of one simple thing; America is an awesome place, a beautiful land, and most if not all the Americans I know and lovely polite and kind people, but, it is still very young and ill and the only reason people get upset with America is because we know you are young and have every opportunity to do things better than we did and be better than anyone can be. E.g. I heard that some didn’t want health care in the states because its crap in the UK, well here’s an idea, why don’t you do health care in the states better than anyone else ever could. We , well most of us, want you to do well, but you keep doing weird things like voting Bush in hahahah. stop it.
I forget what the other story was now. But I can’t stand being called ‘dude’ by a brit or hearing them say ‘yo’. I know I’m being a pedantic fool but its a pet peeve of mine. Of all the art community I hang out with online its awesome to see them all start using the term ‘brother’ as a term of endearment . I have always said that since I was a kid, My uncle calls my dad it and its lovely. I think its a brilliant thing to call someone. I wish I could used the term ‘sister’ for girls.
I am hoping that you also export your lack of class too. Whoa, wait, I don't mean it like that, easy, I mean your class system. In the UK we still very much have this Old Boy system whereby you can only get any sort of power by being part of the elite already, but, and I know its almost cliche, you can make it if you are anyone in America. If you don't believe me- get a passport and travel the world, it will help you to see that you have got it good in the states and it is worth fighting for, not the world, you need to fight your own nature. This is just my opinion and it will charge as I learn, so please don't get upset.

Have you been to America and do you have any plans to return anytime soon ?
I was dating a girl who went to Rhode Island University. I went to a sorority house, it was like I’d died and gone to heaven. Plus they were all fascinated by my accent, they kept coming up to the room and wanting to meet me and asking me to say things. at the young age of 22 I bloody loved it. Also went to a frat party. All I will say about that is that campus cops aren’t friendly are they. I went to Boston and got lost and ended up in a few local bars with a load of track suited locals- I have to say it was a great place and they were brilliant people. I dont think I have drank so much in my life. I would love to go again soon, I keep threatening a few people I will turn up.

If a project is mainly for an American audience do you approach it differently then say something for the UK market ?
If I draw for Americans I don’t draw nipples. Seriously. People have noticed this as well and asked me about it, as a force of habit I just don’t draw them at all now. I also used to have trouble with pentagrams and upside down crosses, not so much these days as its a whole new world but back in the day it was still scary for people. But I’d say 99% of my clients are American so it doesn’t really affect anything anymore.

How does your creative process begin for a project ?
Smash coffee against the computer screen screaming about the existential hell of it all. viola.

Do you listen to any music as you are drawing and sketching and working ?
I listen to a lot of film scores. I like Blade Runner, Monsters, Event Horizon, Moon, Leon, Shelter, Batman, and many many more. Soundtracks these days are getting more stylized- they used to be the same old man using the same formula with the same orchestra. Now its an art that thankfully more attention and therefore money and eventually credit comes to.

Do you think art can be taught to someone or are people simply born with the ability which is then refined through education and experience ?
tough one. I would say that you could teach it..... but some people cant be taught fuck all.

What work from other artists have you recently acquired ?
I have had some amazing stuff recently- some originals and some prints from http://misterbeaudry.tumblr.com/, some pieces from http://www.mdcindustries.co.uk/, and there is a load more and I am being incredibly rude by not remembering, I hope they accept my apologies.

Can you share any information about any upcoming projects ?
I haven't got anything planned that I can think of- If I did I wouldn't tell you anyway haha!
I hope I haven't offended anyone and made myself look an ass in anyway. Thanks for the chance to piss off and bore your blog readers.

HUGE THANK YOU TO MY BROTHER from another country for the interview and print giveaway. I don't think you look like an ass at all

He has some new prints dropping today also

Check out his work at > http://godmachinedesigns.blogspot.com/
Like him on Facebook > https://www.facebook.com/pages/Godmachine/197401676950391
Send him pictures of Spiders on Twitter > https://twitter.com/godmachineuk