Today I’m talking to Vincent Serritella, a very talented, highly trained {and generous} artist who, somewhere along the way, also taught himself to be an animation effects specialist … which landed him an amazing job at PIXAR! What? Yep. We’re chatting about free drawings, a bizarre artsy family tree connection, and the inside scoop about working on PIXAR’S latest film, Inside Out! You can listen right up there, or you can subscribe on iTunes. Here is what we talked about, in the order that we talked about it. First of all, a few images from his ‘365 FREE DRAWINGS project’… which is how I scored that awesome blow-pop above!
Obviously this is just a fraction of the 365 drawings he gave away, but these are a few of my favorites. Here is the final, self-published, kickstarter-funded book! If you want one, you can order them here, through the Children’s Creativity Museum … to which Vincent has donated 100% of the proceeds. For real. Generous on top of generous!
Alright, now on to his day job. Inside Out... have you seen this yet? It’s the latest film from PIXAR and it’s so good! Vincent is an “Effects Technical Director”, and he worked on this {very exciting to see his name go by in the credits!}. Building magically appearing trestles and cables for the “train of thought”, and shooting fire out of the top of Anger’s head… that sounds like a pretty fabulous day job to me!
Ha! Love that angry little guy! And finally, a very weird discovery that Vincent’s mom made… he is related to a 17th century Baroque painter from Spain, named Pedro Nunez de Villavicencio. Hm. Notice anything similar about their paintings:
What?! So insane! Vincent painted that self portrait years before he found out about this artsy connection to the past. Look at the pose?! And the color palette!? So weird. And amazing. And a bit spooky. Alright, and with that bit of craziness, I’ll say thanks to Vincent {who totally sounds like Mark Ruffalo, no?}, to Saatchi Art for supporting this episode, and to you for looking ‘n listening! So excited for next Saturday… my friend Lisa Congdon will be on the podcast!
TOTALLY sounds like Mark Ruffalo. And generous beyond generous BEYOND generous, which made me love him more. Gotta go see Inside Out now. Great interview, as always. (and Lisa Congdon next week!!!???? HIP HIP HOORAY! Can’t wait. I love Saturdays. 🙂 )
haha! right!? apparently he gets that a lot 😉 … and yes, ridiculously generous (and so modest!). yep, lisa is up next week… it’s gonna be GOOD!
I find it endlessly fascinating learning about the different ways people navigate a creative career, balancing the need to make a living and at the same time satisfy that artistic drive. I especially loved hearing the small details like what Vincent’s workspace looks like, and the fact that he was couch surfing for a while in his early career. Being a working artist can sometimes feel like a solitary endeavor, because so much of the time, it is just you, in your studio. It’s comforting to hear that other people struggle with the same kinds of issues. Thank you for doing this podcast!
oh i’m so glad you got so much out of this… yes, i thought exactly the same thing as he was talking. it’s easy to assume these people “have it made”… nice to hear that they struggled/struggle just like everyone else!
This was fabulous … on so many levels!
I’m so glad that you talked to him! I actually acquired one of his little 52 Pick-up Paintings (#23) when I saw that it was hiding out in a shop in my neighborhood, but otherwise knew next to nothing about Vincent. Thanks for the “introduction!” What a cool guy. And yes, he totes sounds like Mark Ruffalo.
ha! oh that’s so great maggie! what is your pick up painting of? (and yes, he is the nicest guy EVER!)
It’s a row of little gray finches. They sit on the fireplace mantle with a hodge podge assortment of things, waiting for frames.
Just found out about this podcast and started listening from the very beginning. Love it! This was my favorite interview so far. It is so inspiring and cool to hear stories like this. Amazing work Vincent! And great podcast Danielle 🙂
thanks so much amelia… and welcome to the podcast! : )
[…] Vincent Serritella, Episode No.9 […]
Loved this episode. Isn’t it amazing the way life and the universe allows things to happen? I actually tried the link bc I would love to get one of the 365 Free Drawing Project Books. I am sure bc this was years ago, it’s not working. Might you know if he still publishes them or where I might be able to order one?