Q & A with David Kramer

We've emailed a little previously about your process, but I'm curious how it works. Do you typically start your paintings then, somewhere along the way, the words/text comes to you; or do you usually start with some kind of sentence and paint from there; or is there no real "standard"?

Well, I don't really have a formula but I do typically start with something that I like. Wether it is an image and really want to paint or draw or a catchy word play that makes me interested. Sometimes I stumble across and expression that I just have to do something with, and then start looking around at images (from magazines), looking for something that is close to what I've come up with so far in my writing. Then, the whole time I am working on something, I am mashing it around trying to refine it or trash it or simplify it until it sounds good. Nothing ever turns out like I planned. I just try to make myself laugh. Then I know I have something.

That said, this being the games issue, I'm wondering what inspired this Scrabble painting? Did you grow up playing the game or is it something you've played recently or...?

I saw this old cigarette ad from the 70's in an old magazine of a couple playing Scrabble and smoking.I love looking at couples in old ads. There is an implied dialogue. I have always been a remarkably bad speller and I was thinking that playing Scrabble and sort of "putting the moves on" seemed like a funny and ironic mismatch from were I came from. The rest of the painting fell into place with all of that back story to work from.