Exclusive Interview by Art Business Today

Todd's painting 'Drinking Boas' was used for the front cover of Art Business Today, on their commemorative centenary edition.

ABT is the leading trade magazine for the art indusrty in the UK. Running since 1905, it is published by the Fine Art Trade Guild.

The characters in Todd White's paintings are having a ball - drinking, smoking, flirting, smirking - and with appearances on American television's biggest entertainment shows on his CV and Hollywood A-list actors among his collectors, so is Todd White.  He explained to Mike Sims why he feels he has 'lucked out'

You have a very clear signature style.  Did you develop this very early on?

From when I was a kid, I've loved comic books, cartoons and especially the work of Frank Miller of Batman:  The Dark Knight Returns and Sin City fame, and Eric Sokol, who did those beautiful girls for Playboy magazine.  I still see elements of their styles in my work.  I also learned a huge amount in animation.

Such as?

I would draw up to 14 hours a day at Warner Brothers, working alongside some of the best in the business, so I really learned how to draw.  I have a very confident stroke and I don't labour over a line.  The way I use black comes from the technique of blocking, the idea that you can tell what a character is doing from the silhouette alone.  In Breathless, my painting of a guy at full stretch over a piano. It's impossible to mistake what he's up to.

There are some stylistic similarities with Egon Schiele

Definitely! I was really excited when I found about Schiele.  But he is very downbeat.  What I paint is the Rat Pack era of cool - people partying, a cigarette in one hand and a drink in the other.

Which is all very glamorous…

That's why I like it though some people would really flip out about the cigarettes,  I used to get asked to paint them out which is why I painted I'm quitting tomorrow, in which everyone is smoking - so much that the top of the painting looks nicotine stained!

As the lead character designer of SpongeBob Squarepants you have a profile most artists can only dream of

Warner Brothers called me in to discuss an idea for a series.  I came back with some drawings and give years later, it's everywhere,  But it grew quite slowly.  It was during the show that I decided to quit animation to become a painter.

How did you get into the art market?

As an artist you have to go to the right places to find your audience.  If you're painting hip scenes, you have to show in hip places so I started out showing my work in high-end, Martini bars in Beverley Hills.  Kelly Scott, who is now my agent, bought three of my paintings in one of those bars.

Who are your buyers ?

I once found myself in a bar with Sting, watching his fans approaching him - from 18 year old girls to 80-year old guys in suits and diamonds.  That's what I want, I thought, and I lucked out. Young people buy my work because they think 'that's me, that's how I am' and the old guys think: 'that's me, how I used to be'.  Art should engage people, it's not about matching the carpet or curtains.  It's like the movies or music: there should be a connection.

I can imagine that your paintings might make great cartoons

There was an idea to create a kind of 'Sopranos' cartoon of the characters but now I am against that. I don't want the paintings to be seen as merchandising.  I like being an artist; I'm kind of goofy so I like the aura of cool it confers.

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