Editor’s note: With ICON9 The Illustration Conference on the horizon—four days of art, discussion, performance, and plenty of talk in Austin, TX—the current roster for the Q&A is peopled with many of the exceptional artists making presentations during this biannual artfest. Robert Hunt will give a workshop on Thursday, July 7, at 10:40 am. Info

Q: Where are you from and where do you live and work now?

A: It would be great to have an interesting origin story; such as being raised by wolves. In my case, the facts are a little less compelling. I grew up in the SF Bay area, went to college in Davis, Ca. and eventually moved to San Francisco. My home and studio are now in Marin County, on the edge of the Mount Tamalpias watershed. The great thing is that we have access to lots of natural open space yet we are still close enough to civilization that I can go in to teach at CCA.

Q: Do you keep a sketchbook? What is the balance between art you create on paper [or other analog medium] versus in the computer?

A: I love using post-its for doing thumbnails. I don’t keep a regular sketchbook in the way many artists do, but I do use them—as combination notebooks and to work out ideas when I am out of the studio.Everything I do is initially created in analog form, on a physical surface. I photograph or scan the work at high resolution. I have a system that lets me photograph paintings when they are still wet, which makes it practical to use oil for illustration. I use the computer primarily for pre-visualization, animating paintings, and for communication. I keep the computer apart from where I do other things—when I am on the computer I tend to think in terms of assembling, and otherwise I think in terms of drawing.

Q: What is the most important item in your studio?

A: Space. I work standing up and I walk back and forth all day—for me it’s important to be able to get back from the work. I am fortunate to have a studio designed to optimize open floor space. 

Q: How do you know when the art is finished? 

A: This is the universal challenge, isn’t it? Ultimately, I guess the thing is that the work itself will tell you when it’s done—but it can take a lifetime to learn to listen to it. As time goes by I have become convinced that recognizing when to stop is one of the most defining skills in developing one’s personal voice. More often than not, things are done long before we stop working on them. 

Q: What was your favorite book as a child? What is the best book you’ve recently read? 

A: My favorite book as a kid was the The Human Body, with illustrations by Cornelius de Witt. The illustrations were great—I still love that book. I just got a used copy to give to my daughter. I’ve also read The Count of Monte Cristo several times, but it never gets old. 

I have a tendency to binge read—I went on a Dickens tear recently and read five or six in a row, currently I am on Little Dorrit. I am also a fan of Scandinavian Noir, especially the works of Jo Nesbo. I could go on and on. 

Q: If you had to choose one medium to work in for an entire year, eliminating all others, what medium would you choose?

A: Artists have been exploring the potential of oil paint for hundreds of years and still the possibilities are without limit. If I couldn’t use oil, I would explore encaustic. 

Q: What elements of daily life exert the most influence on your work practice? 

A: Deadlines have an overarching influence on everything. The one constant in our lives is my teaching schedule—it gives a consistent structure to my life. Another element is music—I have music on all day; choice of music seems to have a lot of influence on everything that happens in the studio. 

Q: What was the painting or drawing or film or otherwise that most affected your approach to art? 

A: I am a child of the 60’s and I was an art history major as an undergraduate, so I was certainly influenced by classical European art, especially from the 19th century. I was also knocked out by the pop artists, especially by James Rosenquistand Andy Warhol. 

I also fell under the spell of Stanley Kubrick—especially 2001: A Space Odyssey. Over the years I learned a lot about Kubrick’s auteur approach to collaborative work, some of which I try to apply to my own practice. 

Q: Who was the teacher or mentor or visiting artist who most influenced you early in your training or career? 

A: I was fortunate to have had several great teachers, but most influential to me were Barbara Bradley, my drawing teacher, and Bruce Wolfe, illustrator turned sculptor. He was my MFA advisor and continues to be my mentor to this day. 

Q: What would be your last supper? 

A: Anyone who has ever been in a restaurant with me knows that I always forget to look at the menu until the waiter is standing over me and then I “panic order.” So I’ll have whatever you are having. 

Robert Hunt has created illustrations for a wide variety of projects including editorial illustrations for many major publications, hundreds of book covers, and numerous special projects including the DreamWorks logo and motion logos, advertisements, annual reports, packaging, and documentary projects on the Bay Bridge Earthquake reconstruction and the Tour de France. He has received numerous awards, including the 2015 Hamilton King award from the Society of Illustrators. Robert Hunt is also an Associate Professor at the California College of the where he teaches Illustration, professional practice and painting.