One of today’s featured artist is the lovely Lisa Hanawalt. Most of her wonderfully detailed illustrations and paintings center around anthropomorphic animals engaged in activities like trying on shoes and engaging in fisticuffs. Apparently she also used to be a child model, which is neither here nor there but we feel like telling you about it anyway. We asked her to answer a few questions about various topics, and she said “sure” like the nice lady she is. Keep reading to get the scoop on Hanawalt.
Which is your favorite Wild Thing and why?
I like the one with the long, orange mane and webbed feet–she looks cuddly but she also gives me the creeps.
Domesticated animals are a recurring theme throughout your work. If you could combine any two animals to make a genetically mutated chimera which two would they be and why?
Dog and horse. How cool would it be if my dog was big enough to ride? She’d eventually roll over and accidentally crush me death, but it would be a blast until then.
What are your feelings on PETA?
Good at preaching aggressively to the choir, bad at actually bringing about positive social change… good at nakeding Alicia Silverstone.
Loaded question time: Do you think there’s a clear distinction between “comics” and “art” anymore? Some of my favorite artists draw comics, and I almost feel like it’s a moot point to use those labels, even when something is drawn as a strip.
That distinction seems to be getting smaller as more comics are appearing in museums, galleries, and entering art school curriculums. They’re distinct in my head, in terms of my approach to creating them, but they’re close siblings.
Who, in your opinion, is the best and worst comic book character ever created?
Too many bests to list, but at this exact moment I’m feelin’ Lauren Weinstein’s “Goddess of War,” Jaime Hernandez’s “Maggie,” and Kevin Huizenga’s “Glenn Ganges.”
The worst character is a horse named “Jazz” from a comic I made in fifth grade. He was always using his donkey roommate as a wingman and making out with his dates in front of everybody.
What’s the worst smell you’ve ever smelled?
A rotting possum. It was sickeningly sweet and deathy.
Would you rather smell that smell for five hours a day for the rest of your life in exchange for omniscience or be given the ability to teleport in exchange for being restricted to eating pork brain tacos forever?
The latter, because omniscience leads to depression and I’m already too much of a know-it-all. Teleporting would be the greatest. I’d teleport to toilets all over the world to barf up those tacos!
