Artist and author Camille Rose Garcia – whose works of layered, broken narrative paintings of wasteland fairy tales and are influenced by vintage Disney and Fleischer cartoons, and are also in the collections of museums including The Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the San Jose Museum of Art – plumbs her own psychological depths only to discover what makes her love work and life.
What historical art figure would you like to have lunch with and why? I’m going to choose two, because they hung out. I would def brunch with Leonora Carrington and Remedios Varo. I feel very close to them in terms of my art practice, and I feel like we might be friends or even start a band where we dress up like werewolves and play homemade instruments made of donkey bones.
What did you purchase with the proceeds from your first sale? I remember being $50 overdrawn on the night of my first sold-out show in Los Angeles, so I probably purchased a little bit of self-esteem and some rent.
What words or phrases do you overuse? Oh god, these are corny, but its either “We’re off like a herd of turtles,”which my mom used to say before every California summer road trip, or “Still foolin’ em!” which my dad used to say about basically any project he was working on.
Into the Mystic
How do you know when a work is finished? Another phrase from my mother, who was a working artist, “It’s done when it’s due.” And this had proven to be the most true of all the art rules. I actually don’t believe paintings are ever really finished, they just capture a particular moment in time like a diary.
When and where were you happiest? I mean, …. Disneyland. Duh. Probably Jungle Boat Cruise. Basically, anytime I’m around animatronic hippos.
What is your most treasured possession? Currently, it’s a jar of honey roasted peanuts.
Where is your ideal escape destination? Inside of songs.
What’s the worst survival job you’ve ever had? Because one emerges from art school with hardly any applicable skills, I answered an ad in the paper sometime in the 90’s about painting portraits on sports memorabilia. I had to paint Reggie Jackson’s face on a baseball. One of the hardest and stupidest things I’ve ever done. I don’t even like sports.
Your Mouth is like a Ghost
What TV series from your youth best describes your approach to life? H.R. Puffnstuf. It’s gonna get weird, there may be witches, but you always have a magic flute.
If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? I would like to talk to animals with my mind, and I’m a little bummed that didn’t come pre-installed.
What is your most treasured memory? I mean… honestly, probably meeting the dogs that I’ve rescued, watching them sleep the first night. Saving a bee from drowning. Seeing fireflies for the first time. Just dumb,simple things that contain everything.
What makes you smile? Any act of kindness, witnessed incognito.
What makes you cry? Casual cruelty.
The Queen in Her Lair, screenshot
What is your go-to drink when you toast to a sale? Well ,I DO love my Tequila! Or a nice Mezcal, if available.
After an all-nighter, what’s your breakfast of champions? Uhhh…. I don’t really party that hard! Oh shoot, did you mean all-nighter painting? Pancakes are never wrong for both occasions.
Who inspires you? Astronomers and poets, musicians and magicians, writers and hermits. Do you speak the language of the universe? Do you stare into the void, then sing about it? I want to know all about it.
What’s your best quality? I’m a very kind person.
What’s your biggest flaw? I’m a very kind person.
What is your current state of mind? Adrift on a melting iceberg, but I have a record player and my top 10 albums, so everything’s fine?
What do you consider your greatest achievement? Managing to cobble together an art practice for so long, with practically every obstacle thrown in the path. It’s very easy to quit, hard to keep going.
If you were to die and come back as a person or thing, what would it be? People are overrated, so I choose thing. I’m gonna go big or go home, so I choose the planet Saturn. I want to experience planet consciousness. Hang out. See what music they’re into. Get all the interplanetary gossip.
Cover image: Portrait of Camille Rose Garcia, photo by Edward Colver. Visit the artist at her website and at Instagram.
