Artist Spotlight: Jeff Bucchino

Today's artist spotlight is on Jeff Bucchino. Jeff is a wonderful artist as well as a "very young" grandfather. Jeff was born in Carmel, California on May 3rd. He spent his teen years in Southern California.

Jeff's nickname is "The Wiz" or "The Wizard of Draw." This was derived from a very short-lived cartoon strip he created to make fun of a fellow employee when he worked for The Home Depot in the advertising department.

Jeff's full time job as a Graphic Artist and Production Director for a local newspaper was recently downsized last January. He is currently working as a full time artist to maximize his freelance income. Jeff is always looking for new clients and new ways to make money from his cartoons. Jeff has a degree in illustration.

When it comes to artwork, Jeff has been drawing since he could hold a crayon. When asked what has inspired him to become an artist he stated "It sounds a bit Zen-like, but I always was one." His favorite thing about being an artist is the feeling he gets when a drawing comes out well. He states "Sometimes they just spill onto the paper and almost seem to draw themselves. Time flies by and before you know it, you're done." Jeff's least favorite thing about being an artist is being uninspired. He states "I have to find a way to push through that and find an angle, or something fun in the concept." He admits that he is not always successful in this aspect.

Jeff draws under his given name. He works best in his basement studio. He likes to draw animals in human situations. He believes this gives him a lot of freedom to play with their anatomy. He wants to push this aspect of his work a bit more, making them a bit more extreme. He is currently trying to draw more mechanical stuff like cars and planed and get more at an ease with them. Jeff states that although he has a degree, being a cartoonist is much more immediate, much more liberating than his illustrative stuff.

All of his cartoons start out as pencil sketches and are then inked and scanned once a client has approved them. Everything else is then digital. However, his favorite medium to use is pastels.

Jeff believes that if you are a real artist, you can never give up. It just isn't in you. You will figure out a way to do it one way or the other. He states "It's in you and has to express itself." He compares being an artist to a constantly dripping faucet into a cup... eventually the cup overflows and the creativity spills out.

Jeff does not sell his original cartoon drawings. His traditional media work has not been offered for sale. However, he does take commissions.

Jeff has recently finished a video project for his local area Chamber of Commerce. He is currently working on projects for a retail establishment, an energy drink, a website and a clothing retailer. He is also trying to get his cartoons up on Zazzle, but admits with the amount of cartoons he has, this will take him some time.

Jeff has too many favorite artist to list. However, he is inspired by many artists and cartoonists. Rembrandt and Vermeer by the way they use light. Degas by his loose style. Ingres by her beautiful lines. Cartoonist Mort Drucker by his feet and hands. Cartoonist Bill Watterson by his loose, yet tight inking. Cartoonist Walt Kelly by the velvety feel of his work. Cartoonist Al Herschfeld by his economy. As well as cartoonist David Levine by his texture.

When asked his viewpoint on image and art usage and the Internet he states "I ask for a link back to my site in exchange for the use of my cartoons on a website."

His message to children is "Read, read, read. Read everything. No matter what you want to be, reading will help you do it.

His message to an aspiring artist is "Draw as much as you can. When you don't have a pencil and paper handy, look at the world around you and draw it in your head. There simply is no substitute for drawing.

In his spare time he loves to read history, ride motorcycles, play with his grandchildren and fly. He is a private pilot.

You can find his artwork at several sites.

Free Cartoon Clipart by The Wizard of Draws

Free Original Cartoon Clipart

He is also starting to put a few sketches and some of his older traditional media work on Flickr.

His statement to all of our readers is:

"I hope you are intrigued enough to visit my website and if you enjoy my work, drop me a note to let me know. I always like hearing from my visitors."

I hope you all have enjoyed hearing about the art of Jeff Bucchino and his life as an artist and outside of being an artist. Jeff is a fantastic artist and I hope you enjoy his work as much as I do.