Billy Tackett is a Kentucky-born horror artist. He has done over 200k book covers and illustrations and still counting. If you haven’t heard of him, then I am sure you probably have seen his work. His most famous piece is the Zombie Sam. But the best thing about Billy is that he totally took the time out of his busy schedule and interview with Belkis NYC. So without further ado, let’s enter the mind of this not-so-artsy-fartsy-artist.
BelkisNYC: Billy, I read a blog post called, “I’m Not as Artsy Fartsy as I Should Be.” In it, you say, “My art is an escape from reality, not a mirror image of it.” Great quote. Explain the difference between your real world vs. your horror world.
BTackett: That quote reflects my attitude towards social commentary in art. Many artists, musicians and filmmakers devote a lot of time to the noble cause of bringing injustices to light but for me that’s a turn off. In today’s information age we are overrun by all the bad news going on in the world. I don’t need someone to tell me that genocide, corporate greed, disease etc is bad. What appeals to me is art that helps me to leave all the everyday horrors behind even if it’s for just a few minutes at a time. That’s what I try to achieve.
My horror world mirrors my real world in a lot of ways. But it’s a world in which the horrors are fictional. Even though the monsters may be the stuff of nightmares they are often humorous in some way.
The irony is that even though I had no statement to make with pieces such as Zombie Sam, a lot of people will tell me “That’s a great commentary on our current political situation”. Of course I never correct anyone because I feel my main objective as an artist is not to tell people how to feel or what to see in my art but to just put the art out there and let the viewer decide for themselves.
BelkisNYC: You described yourself as a “guy in his room drawing monsters.” Which were your favorite monsters growing up and how did they influence you?
BTackett: My first love was the vampire. The images of Bela Lugosi and Christopher Lee in all their Gothic glory in magazines such as Famous Monsters of Filmland were such a huge part of my childhood that I really can’t imagine what my life would be like without them. But I think an even bigger influence was the paintings of these characters on magazine covers by artists like Basil Gogos and Bob Larkin. I still have a couple of the mags with these paintings that I refer to from time to time today.
BelkisNYC: I see quite a schedule on your website. There’s lot of conventions. Tell us why you go to different types of conventions (i.e. comic, film, tattoo).
BTackett: The cons I attend can seem radically different but the people that attend aren’t. Comic books fans are movies lovers who can be tattoo fans who may be sci-fi geeks who may be horror fans etc…Even though the cons are usually genre specific the people that attend are not. Plus my Dead White & Blue series of paintings has become very popular with people from many different walks of life. From the obvious horror fans to people that aren’t to people that don’t even consider themselves art lovers! In the past we’ve chatted with people that stopped by the booth and tried to get a bead on who my biggest audience is. Our results were all over the board!
BelkisNYC: Billy, you definitely have the right concept. I try to tell many of my artist friends that they should not stick with just one type of conventions but to venture out simply because people don’t label themselves a certain genre even though they might like it.
BelkisNYC: Besides making appearances at events, how will the world know about you?
BTackett: For starters I’ve done over 200 book covers and illustrations since I started more than a decade ago and I’m adding more to the list as we speak. I’m currently finalizing a book featuring my art called For The Love Of Monsters which should be out later this year. Once that’s off to the publisher I’ll be able to focus on another project that I’ve had in the works which is the graphic novel Dead White & Blue comics. The story, which features some of the characters in my Dead White & Blue paintings as superheroes, is my chance to write and leave the art up to someone else.
While all of this is happening I am the Lead Artist for author Shane Moore’s Abyss Walker series of novels which means I am responsible for the book cover art and design as well as doing some character concept art.
BelkisNYC: If you can create a creature for a film director, who would it be and why?
BTackett: That’s a tough one to pin down! I may be doing some work in the near future for some lesser known production companies but the one “big guy” that comes to mind is Roger Corman. I’m a huge B-movie fan and Roger has been behind the best of the best…or best of the worst! Lloyd Kaufman and Charles Band would probably be tied for second on that list. Yes, I love my B-movies!
BelkisNYC: I love B-movies, too They totally rock!
BelkisNYC: What is your ultimate goal in your career path?
BTackett: Before I answer that let me say that if my career goes no farther than it has at this moment I will consider myself one of the luckiest men on Earth! My art has taken me places and introduced me to people that I would never have dreamed of.
BelkisNYC: Any final thoughts or comments?
BTackett: Just a thank you for all the people that have stood behind me all these years and a huge thank you to my wife and business manager Heather without whom I would still be just a guy in my room drawing monsters and nothing more.
For more of Billy Tackett art, go to www.billytackett.com. If you are in the Kentucky area, definitely check him out at the World Independent Film Expo this weekend. More info on his site.
