Riding high on our momentum following the Affordable Art Fair - a major success, thanks to all who came by to visit and shop right off the wall, you made deinstallation so much easier! - the team at LittleCollector remains in high spirits with our latest collaboration: Trey Speegle.
You may have spied the very first print of Trey's HE-MAN (Battles Skeletor) at our booth at AAF (both unframed and framed quickly flew off the wall) but fret not, they're now available online!
We talked to Trey about all the best cereal to pair with cartoons, the strangest paint-by-numbers he's ever seen, and who HE-MAN should take on in the Battle of the Century!
LC: Your work has such a bright POP aesthetic. How do kids respond to your work?
TS: I think they "get it" rather quickly, sometimes more so than adults who maybe over think it. My friend brought her 9 year-old to an opening of mine and after looking at the show, he identified his favorite right away. He was so serious that heasked his Mom the price and then paused and said, "When I get some money, that's the one I'm getting."
LC: You have access to an amazing archive of paint-by-numbers. What does this archive mean to you as its conservator and and as source material for your work?
TS: I really love them and am constantly amazed at their odd beauty, unusual color palettes and real artistry. I eventually want to have a paint by number museum chronicling their history and displaying them by subject.... that will be a real undertaking but with 3000 of them, I'm well on my way to the goal!
LC: What's the craziest paint-by-numbers you've ever encountered?
TS: There are some pretty strange ones but I have one with a giant persian cat with rows of tiny dancers in a smokey void... it takes a while to make out what you are looking at... honestly, I still haven't figured out what it's supposed to be.
LC: Which cartoons did you watch as a kid and/or adult?
TS: Well, I really loved a live action cartoon called H.R. Puffinstuff... that was about a little boy whose best friend was a goofy dragon and their nemesis was a crazy witch called Witchiepoo. And Batman... loved Batman.
LC: Perhaps more importantly, what cereal did you enjoy during said cartoon watching?
TS: Frosted Flakes.... and Fruit Loops. I liked the classics... still do.
LC: If you could pit HE-MAN against any opponent, who would you have him take on?
TS: Superman, I guess. And then I might root for Superman because he seems like THE American superhero of all time. Maybe that will be my next LittleCollector print; "HE-MAN vs. SUPERMAN: The Battle of the Century!"
