+ Art of Skateboarding Articles

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MD:	What was that idea?
LM:	It was a "family crest" basically.
MD:	Which is what you have right now [new Flip graphic]...
LM:	Yeah. Exactly. <laughs> I gave them a sketch of that and they�re all "Uhh� no". And the reason I think� now I realize the reason they didn�t want that was that it was too close to the Variflex and they wanted to have a break. But they didn�t really explain it at the time but I think that�s probably what it was. But I wanted that. They had this one drawing of what they thought it should be and I was all "I don�t really want that". Then they showed me these other sketches of the Future Primitive and I was all "Oh that�s cool. I like that" and that�s where it went. It was good. Then after that I was trying to push them on the family crest again and they just wouldn�t draw it. They finally just used the drawings that I did. Which was, you know, it was cool but whatever I couldn�t� draw right. But it was a learning experience for me to kinda learn how to do graphics.
MD:	I didn�t actually know that you drew that...it looked very VCJ [Victor Courtland Johnson].
LM:	No!...you�ve got to be kidding. It�s horrible.
MD:	Of all the graphics you've ever done, which is your favorite?
LM:	I like the doughboy future primitive and a lot of the Firm stuff. Some of the stuff that was extension off of my kids' drawings.
MD:	Of all the graphics out there, OTHER than your own, which is your favorite?
LM:	Ray Bones [Sword and Skull]...Best graphic ever
MD:	I was actually really surprised when I read through Disposable[book by Sean Cliver]...You�ve actually drawn a lot of graphics for different guys.
LM:	A little bit here and there...
MD:	There�s that Ben Schroeder graphic?
LM:	Lot of baaaad graphics, yes. I did a sketch for Ben Shroeder and I did a sketch for Spidey. I did a bunch of Girl graphics before. Some of them were really horrible. Some of the worst ones ever. Some of them were cool. I did a couple of Koston ones that were cool.
MD:	What do you think of your own stuff?
LM:	It�s horrible...
MD:	If it�s so horrible then why do you use it?
LM:	I don�t use it.
MD:	hmmm....OK....
LM:	I don�t know! I think when I started the Firm I used it out of necessity. Just had to do it you know? Some stuff is cool. A lot of it is horrible. When you start mass marketing stuff and just having to make a bunch of everything� you just kinda...there's a difference between graphic art and art. You know what I mean? When it starts becoming a product for the masses it goes into another genre of being �real good art is what�s necessary...Rather than something cool and personal.
MD:	What do you think was the most personal graphic you ever had?
LM:	The only ones that were really cool to me were the ones that my son drew. The first family one was taken from drawings he did. The 2nd one was a little guy skating was taken from a drawing he did. One of the last ones wasn�t taken from a drawing� just me mimicking his style. A lot of the stuff I did was me mimicking his style. I did Firm boards with his art. It was cool to me. It wasn�t cool to put onto a product to sell. At that time it was cool. Skateboarding was different then. I always lost interest. I wish I would have just stuck with that.

new Flip graphic