Interview with BrockDavis

Brock Davis is just an all-around creative person. From music, art, photography and graphic design, Brock does, loves and has it all. There is no limit to his mediums and only one direction for his creative future. Currently Brock works as the creative director at Carmichael Lynch and is doing very well for himself. Winning a Cannes Lion award for creative excellence is not an easy task.

 

Brock’s influence is centered around his extremely creative family. Growing up in Marietta, Georgia he rocketed into the art world winning award after award and making huge ripples in the advertising industry. His most recent work includes print campaigns for Harley Davidson and the hilarious Jack Links Beef Jerky ads.

 

Brock got a chance in his busy schedule to chat it up with me.

Adam- So you seem to be involved in any and all mediums of art. Would you say you had one form that was your favorite?

Brock- As a kid, drawing was always my favorite. I would draw all the time and it was the best way for me to express myself and visually portray my imagination. Lately I’ve really been into photography. I’m not really trained in any medium so any time I try something new, it’s definitely stepping into uncharted territory, which makes it exciting. Typically, I tend to utilize whichever medium I feel will best execute the idea. I start with the concept first and think about how best to physically create it. Sometimes it’s design, sometimes it’s a painting, sometimes photography.

Adam- Ok well my favorite is the Birds and the Gum. What was the inspiration behind that?

Brock- That design came about while I was looking at a bird identification book. The book had really detailed illustrations of different bird species. 

These illustrations are very series in tone, so I thought it would be funny to recreate an illustration like this, but add an element of humor to lighten

up the style. The first thing I thought of was to show a faux species of bird that chews gum and blows bubbles. It made me laugh to think about birds like 

this really existing, and how funny it would be to hear their distinct “bubble-popping” sound while walking through the woods. So I did my best to recreate the look and feel of the illustrations in the book. 

Adam- Well I’m a fan. Did you get any formal art education??

Brock- I never went to art school or had any formal art training or education, but I did grow up in a family full of artists and musicians. My mother did a lot of painting and drawing and my brothers and I would do the same under her influence. I also watched a lot of cartoons and I would study how the characters were drawn and how the environments were created. I think the fact that I was so interested in art and drawing helped keep me driven and motivated to in wanting to learn as much as I could about how to do it myself.

Adam- Oh man you gotta tell me your favorite cartoon. Where did you grow up and how many siblings?

Brock- We watched a lot of Tom and Jerry and Droopy. As a kid I loved Scooby Doo and the Flinstones…but as I got older I was more into Transformers, Mask, Star Blazers, Galaxy Rangers and G.I. Joe. I grew up in Marietta, Georgia a suburb of Atlanta. Although we moved around a lot due to my dad’s job. I have 3 brothers and a sister.

Adam- So where is home now? Are you currently doing exhibitions?

Brock- I currently live in Minneapolis. I’ve lived here since 1995. I work as a creative director at an ad agency called Carmichael Lynch. It’s a great job and thankfully, it enables me to work on many of my side creative projects.

Adam- awesome! I hope to see you exhibit in LA in the near future too!