Chet Phillips, proprietor of Chet Art, describes his work as a “selection of illustrations encompassing the outer reaches of silly puns and ridiculousness wrapped within a daily minimum requirement of goof.” Working in Painter, the Dallas freelance illustrator makes digital versions of scratchboard and woodcut art for clients like American Airlines, Pepsico and The New York Times. Below, Phillips talks about his technique and his fascination with steampunk and monkeys.
Q: What does steampunk mean to you and how does it affect your day-to-day life?
I’m fascinated by the odd and sometimes arresting mixture of high and low tech worlds, such as the industrial transition during the Victorian era and into the First World War. The mixture of troops on horseback with sabers and lances, with the first steel-plated tanks, gas masks and machine guns, is fodder for strange and beautifully horrifying dreams. The same sort of blending of new with old technology within the steampunk universe translates into fantastic and inspiring visions of fashion, music, weaponry, transportation and architecture.
This technological dichotomy translates directly into my day-to-day life through the creation of my artwork. I was trained in traditional art tools and used them in the commercial world for a decade before walking over to the digital side of art in 1992. So I spend my days recreating the look and feel of engraving, woodcut and scratchboard by pushing around 1s and 0s with software — a practice Captain Nemo surely would approve or perhaps partake in during his down time aboard the Nautilus.
Q: What are your sources for inspiration?
I’m inspired by: The works of Jules Verne, H.G. Wells, Caleb Carr. The films of Terry Gilliam and Tim Burton. The Blackadder TV series, Andy Goldsworthy, my WWI lead soldier collection, NC Wyeth, Rockwell Kent, Steve Ditko and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, just to name a few.
Q: Do you think steampunk will have longevity as an art movement, or is it merely a flash in the pan?
It’s here to stay, without a doubt. The art and culture of steampunk has been around for quite some time now and continues to grow and flourish in the fertile peat-moss minds of painters, writers, sculptors and film directors. It’s exciting to think of the possibilities and directions it’ll take in years to come.
Q: Why monkeys?
Why indeed! It may have something to do with being raised by a family of Howler Monkeys until the age of 7. They abandoned me at a fire station after my grooming habits become more than they could stomach. That brief jungle upbringing had less to do with my fascination with monkeys than with the long hours spent staring at the fire station’s Lawson Wood calendar.
With the Steampunk Monkey Nation and World War Monkey card sets, I utilized the style of turn of the century cigarette cards, which proved to be a perfect vehicle to blend the austere seriousness of Victorian mores with the inherent silliness of anthropomorphic monkeys and apes. Technically speaking, my collections titled as “monkeys” also include several types of apes. I state this distinction as part of the required litigation agreement put forth in the landmark case Harry O. Rangutan v. Howard Mandrill (1947).
Right now I’m hard at work with a new portrait collection of monkeys that combines elements of Victoriana and Steampunk with the inner workings of a secret society of simians most evil and foul.
Each of the 20 cards in the Steampunk Monkey Nation set is 2-1/4 x 4 in., printed in color on both sides. And how about those sides? They feature a front portrait with a bio and “field of expertise” on the reverse. Who knew monkeys, even technologically advanced ones from the 19th century, have fields of expertise? The set even comes with its own Victorian-era styled handbill. Altogether, it’s a perfect amalgamation of the qualities of surrealism, anachronism and snark that define Steampunk. Where else can you have this kind of fun for a mere $10? Check out Steampunk Monkey Nation in the Felt & Wire Shop here. And see all Chet Art items selling in the Shop here.
Great to read the inspiration behind these cards. They’re hilarious!