While drawing his meticulous graphite portraits, C3 creates elaborate narratives in his mind. The artist sees his work as stills from a film that will never be made, one that involves an intricate mythology centered around the Wizard of Oz, horror films and the Wild West. His source materials are as disparate as his influences: He culls his compositions from antique photographs, portraits he shoots of friends and found objects. Using the same friends’ faces for recurring characters, the works tie the surreal scenes to personal aspects of the artists’ life.
C3 recently invited us into his San Francisco studio, where we perused his collections of antique photos and objects and caught a glimpse of his new series of works, “Before the Sun Dies, Part 2.” He exhibited “Before the Sun Dies, Part 1” last year, and in the spirit of cinema, he plans on making the exhibition a trilogy that continues a narrative thread. “Part 2” will be exhibited in 2013 at Shooting Gallery, though the exact date has yet to be announced. Take a look at some images from the visit.