Andrew Williams cartoon-based painting series at Artomatic in Crystal City is the religious-themed The Good News, but he also did a school newspaper comic strip called Mike and Moop. He's agreed to answer our usual questions.
What type of comic work or cartooning do you do?
Well I mainly do newspaper style comic strips on paint canvases.
How do you do it?
I use a combination of pencil and acrylic paint. I really want to get back into digital artwork, so I just bought an IPad Pro. We'll see how that works out.
When and where were you born?
I was born on July 16, 1987 in Washington D.C.
Why are you in Washington now? What neighborhood or area do you live in?
I actually live in Prince Georges County, Maryland now, but most of the time I'm in DC with my artwork, the city brings out my creativity.
What is your training and/ or education in cartooning?
Well, I'm a self-taught artist but I have done one year at the Art Institute of Washington for graphic design. As far as cartooning, I read a lot of comics and watch a lot of cartoons.
Who are your influences?
Jesus Christ, Aaron McGruder, Hanna-Barbera and Banksy.
If you could, what in your career would you do-over or change?
I would have copyrighted all of my images and stayed motivated fresh out of high school.
What work are you best-known for?
I have to say Mike and Moop, only because I've been working on it for over 11 years. Mike and Moop originally appeared in Prince George's County Community College newspaper The Owl. However the Good News seems to be taking the spotlight nowadays.
What work are you most proud of?
The Good News, because I really feel like the series is bigger than myself.
What would you like to do or work on in the future?
As of right now I'm working on combining all of my strips into one book. AND Comics will be an anthology of all the comic strips I'm working on which will consist of Mike and Moop, GOODNEWS and Automatic Water pistols.
Does Good News tell a story?
Good News does tell a story. Unlike Mike and Moop and Automatic Water Pistols the story for GOODNEWS is already written (The Bible). So the purpose for the paintings and comic strip is less dialogue and more visual story telling. The maximum amount of text I want in the GOODNEWS is 10 words. The GOODNEWS ties into Mike and Moop and Automatic Waterpistols, because of the way the characters conduct themselves and the end moral of the stories, even though the characters never come out and say "Hey look, I'm a Christian".
What do you do when you're in a rut or have writer's block?
I like to watch artist and hip-hop documentaries. I feel like whenever I'm in a rut or have writers block, its best to look at other established artist for motivation. Exit through the Looking Glass has been on replay ever since I've started doing art shows again.
What do you think will be the future of your field?
Everything seems to be going digital now, so old-school inking and pencil cartooning will either be obsolete or seen as retro treasures. As far as storytelling goes, I'm interested to see what future kids will have to talk about.
What local Cons do you attend?
This year is the first year I applied to Awesome Con in Washington DC. I do plan on attending a few throughout the year.
What's your favorite thing about DC?
The People, Art and Chicken Wings with Mambo sauce.
Least favorite?
Violence.
What monument or museum do you like to take visitors to?
MLK memorial.
How about your favorite local restaurant?
Ben's Chili bowl.
Do you have a website or blog?
Instagram: @fir3inmybones
http://www.rawartists.org/dr3wwilliams
