The Wacky World Of Dave Higgins

I often get coffee with Dave. He is always ready for a cup of coffee. I look at his colorful, expertly designed works and I wonder if we are all part of his elaborate dream, maybe it is the coffee talking. You can see the work of Dave Higgins in person in two of my Oakland shows this summer. 1)Zza's Group show, 550 Grand Ave, reception July 18th 6pm and 2)The Modern Chimera, Sweetart Drawing Gallery, 6603 San Pablo Ave, reception August 7th, 6pm.

I stopped by his studio recently and asked him some questions.

Obi: How do you decide if one day your gonna paint a crow, or build a crow? is there a different process between toymaking and painting for you?

Dave: Well I'm assuming that you're not specifically asking about the subject of black birds in my work, I guess the decision for whether to paint or build comes from what my mood is like that day ... sort of simple ... Most days I'll do a little of both ... as I work on either one, new ideas come to mind and I'll switch and start planing a new piece. The difference between toy making (sculpture) and painting is a little like the choice of driving your car or to ride your bike, each has it's benefits and difficulties... it's not how you get there it's the ride.

Obi: How did you come about your color palette? I think I could spot the Higgins color spectrum from a thousand yards away.

Dave: I have always used more of a "comic" book palette ever since I was a kid. Colors are subjective, meaning it depends on the mood I want to convey in the image, whether the viewer feels the same or not. Dark images can be brought to light hearted happy place.

Obi: Do you still read comics? What are your inspirations these days?

Dave: YES... Cartoons too but I love Comics, Books, Graphic Novels, Zines, old and new... some of my favorite living comic artists in not any order are: Charles Burns, Daniel Clowes, Adrian Tomine, Aya Takano, Dave Cooper, KATZ, Mobius, Chris Ware, Gary Panter, Linda Barry, Yoshihiro Tatsumi, Compilations like the old RAW, Kramers Ergot and Gandzfeld are always full of fun.

Inspired by coffee, friends and making new stuff... taking a new direction is always inspiring.