What was the first thing you ever drew?
The earliest memory I can remember is drawing tanks and spacemen for my dad, to be fair the main reason I remember this is because he still has the drawings.

What era most influences you?
It would have to be 90′s upwards, the style of music based artwork from the 90′s punk/alternative scene filtered quite a bit into modern styles and so I think its quite prominent in my own work.

Run us through a typical day in the life of Dan Mumford.
Typically I will get into the studio at around 10, check out the world on the internet, look at some blogs etc, procrastinate for a bit, go through my emails, and then spend the rest of my time mostly drawing up designs/sketching out ideas. Around 7 I will generally pack up and head home!

Where’s your preferred place to work?
In the studio, I cant work at home, I would just procrastinate to much and find other things to do!

Who are your favourite artists of the moment? (both musical and art based) and do you ever find these channeled through your work?
I love a lot of modern art that is coming out of the music scene at the moment, there’s a lot of great artists around working in the same field as me, so its really nice to be a part of working with all of them, people like Hydro74, the Black Axe, Keaton Henson and Godmachine.

How do you feel about turning a hobby into a career?
It’s something you have to be careful about as you can end up ruining something that you enjoy so much. I’ve found a nice balance though, but I do sometimes find it is too much of a job.

If you hadn’t become an illustrator, what would you have been?
I probably would have stuck at attempting to become a musician, I used to play in quite a few bands, so I think thats probably where I would have focused my efforts.

If you had to choose one medium to work in for the rest of your life what would it be and why?
Pen and ink, it’s the most enjoyable and satisfying way to work. I do a lot on the computer now, but its not quite as skillful as being able to handle a pen and ink well.

If you could work with any band, who would it be?
I would quite like to work with ISIS, I think there’s a lot of scope to interpret their music within artwork.

What are your plans for the future and where do you see yourself in 10 years time?
My immediate plans are to launch a clothing line within the next few weeks, thats slowly coming together and following that more personal work, prints etc alongside my usual client work I think. In 10 years time I hope to be working in a similar fashion but also working on bigger and better projects.

If you could have done one thing in your career differently, what would it be?
Probably nothing, any mistakes i have made have shaped who I am and how I got to this place right now, and im pretty happy with that, so I wouldnt change anything.

Finally, name and explain. Your favourite:
Cartoon character -Raphael, because he wore red.
Band of all time – Shai Hulud, because they write insane music.
Movie – Aliens, because when i was younger it blew my mind, and now im older, it STILL blows my mind.
80’s icon -Arnold Schwarzenegger, because when your 8 there really is no one more awesome.
Man crush -I will just say Mark Pavey because no one knows who that is.
Tv program -24, because its absolutely ridiculous and i love it for being that.
Brand -Johnny Cupcakes, because its totally blow up from something very small, quite inspiring.
City -New York, because its like London but better.
Drink -Coke, i cant resist its sugary sweetness.

Words George Russell

see more of Dans work here www.dan-mumford.com.

This entry was tagged as ART., dan mumford, gallows, isis.