Life In A Bungalo

If you want to get a major toy manufacturer to take notice of your work, you make a custom figure. If you want to blow the playing field away, you start by making an entire custom line of Dunnys and follow that with an endless flow of custom paintings and platform toys. Shan Michael Evans, better known as Squidboy has built a name for himself in the vinyl art/toy underground by customizing everything from Labbit to Qees with his dreamy world teeming with clouds and robots. Life In A Bungalo chatted with Squidboy shortly after receiving our own stellar custom Mad*L.

You definitely have carved your own artistic voice on both canvas and toys. How have you developed your style since you started going full tilt as an artist?
I just let it happen…or maybe I’m just trying to get “worse” at it now. “Reduced characterism”…that’s what I try to accomplish aesthetically. The work has gotten more childlike and doodley over the years and it fascinates me. Whatever that is I’m still going at it. It’s nice to finally start getting these things out there after all this time.

There are many repetitive characters in your paintings, such as the robots, can you explain why the choice of characters? Are you trying to tell a story?
I use to say that robots where easier to draw than people and how you can’t draw people with smoke coming out of their heads. And I’ve always said that the robots are not robotic but emotional. More like a tin-man? Looking for love. Floating always but not aimlessly. They’re little people. I have over hundreds and hundreds of different characters but I focus on only handful in the last year. I like the repetitiveness of it. They seem to embody what I’m trying to communicate–wonder and soul. I don’t know if the story in my head really comes out though…all will be revealed in the numerous animated features.

To say you have a growing and outspoken fan base is an understatement. How do you see yourself growing as an artist and how do you go about handling each custom job that you get?
Most likely someone will want something similar to what they’ve seen. Equally, they let me just go at it as well. I try to make it a little different by maybe moving one star sticker over a bit. LOL. I got a limited palette I enjoy working with anyway. I love to create that cloud world with the characters living there more than turning the toys into actual characters themselves. The whole cloud thing was to be on one custom I was working on at the time–somehow that became what it is I always do–it took over and I’m happy with the results. Growing is good but so is taking the time to stop to enjoy it all. The fans have become beautiful friends. Very supportive and encouraging. I wouldn’t get to do what I do without any of them. I thank them more than they know. There was a time I had some customs, but they just had to occupy my own shelf. I’m happy to see others liking them as well now.

Your paintings have wordage on the back. I don’t necessarily want to call it poetry. What are you trying to realize with the sayings or is it just meant to be decorative?
Oh, those are the actual titles of the pieces. After I’m through with the work I’ll give it a good look and see what comes out as far as a title goes. Sometimes is rather imaginative and at other times it’s an explanation of what might be going on.

You sign your name Squidboy is Shan Michael Evans. Was Squidboy meant to be your artistic name or is it just a handle on Websites that became synonymous with Shan?
Squidboy was just a message board name and I’ve taken it out into [the world]. “Squidboy is ShanMichaelEvans” is me trying to bring it all together. Eventually it will become simply Squidboy. But as it is now, I’m known as both, here and over at www.kidrobot.com. I’m trying to ease the confusion. Squidboy has its roots in an experience when I saw an enormous squid slithering over the atmosphere of our earth. That led me to this and to that and to H.P.Lovecraft and the Cuthulu Mythos–and so I use it as a symbol of the cosmos, or the creator–but unlike Lovecraft, mine would be a magnificent being of love.

You have received minor criticism for your use of mixed media, particularly stickers, in your custom work. What is your take on the negativity, and how do you handle it?
Well, god bless ‘em…and their toys are not made of marble and their bodies are just made of dirt. They shouldn’t be so afraid of moving into the great unknown–it starts to affect their daily perception of the here and now. It’s all just design. My make believe punk rock pad printing. Just enjoy it or at least enjoy something. I don’t get where they’re coming from sometimes. Stickers are fun!

As your popularity with custom figures grows, people are noticing your plush designs on your Web site, tragicmagichead. What got you into plush and how is that path evolving?
The plush came about in 2002 and well refined in 2003. It was something we could do here and now and with our own hands. So we just went at it. It’s not evolving all too much as we’ve been busy with other projects. Of course they are always available. They sell-out where ever the pop up but you can get them from us. They’re the best plushes out there.

What does the near future hold for Shan Michael Evans?
As I always believe…the substance of things unseen and of things hoped for.