Trent Call

What kind of maker are you? 

I like to experiment with lots of mediums, film photography, computer related stuff, hand-drawn animation, sign painting, time-lapse movies, gifs and most all paint mediums, but I would consider myself mostly a painter.

What inspired you to start making?

Skateboard graphics and underground comics.

Can you talk a bit about your layered oil paintings? You seem to be doing a lot of that lately and I absolutely love them. Who are your subjects? What do you like about painting in this style?

I have always been interested in oil painting ever since my mother gave me her set in high school. I learned how to use them better in college with the help of some amazing professors. A while back, I used to be super into painting plein-air. My paintings over the past decade or so have been about building up, breaking down, loosing the form and restructuring. I just really love using the grid as a drawing tool. I guess the paintings are about time and movement within a space. The figures are either my partner, friends, or models I have hired. I actually don’t “like'' it as in, it being fun. Compared to painting a mural, which is fast and exciting and physical with instant gratification, oil painting is more of a slow struggle with lots of ups and downs. I’ll leave the studio at the end of the day feeling like I either went backwards or made a bad decision. But then when the painting starts to work, it’s all worth it I suppose. So maybe that's why I do it and also why I cannot do it all the time.

I have also been trying to photograph and paint old buildings that will soon be lost to new development. Salt Lake has been a bit tapped out lately, so I took a trip up to Idaho recently to find some good shots.

What processes and techniques do you want to start working on?

I really wish I could get a better grasp on html/code and 3D modeling. But I just can’t get there. I have been trying to get better with making things with wood. Working with my dad and Youtube has helped a lot.

What do you do for work currently? Where are you based out of?

I work out of my studio full time in Captain Captain studio, just outside of downtown SLC.

When do you feel most inspired?

I like mornings a lot! I rarely rely on inspiration or think about it much.

What are some of the biggest challenges you face as a custom builder and designer?

Keeping up on emails and invoices. Doing tax stuff. Dealing with clients that don’t communicate well. Juggling too many projects at once can at times be a bit overwhelming.

What are some pieces that you’ve made that you are the most proud of?

There are a few murals around town that I really like. The Jazz mural on Main St. and 100 south. Working with local breweries and distilleries has been super fun. Beehive Gin, Fisher Brewing, Bewilder Brewing and Uinta. I did a few oil paintings late last year that I really liked.

What is your favorite tool/instrument/toy right now?

I bought a pounce machine a few years ago that is an amazing tool to have. Picked up a Line Wizard not that long ago that is really fun to play with. I got a Pocket Operator that is super fun, but I need to practice with it more. Yet to create anything with it that is not totally annoying.
[Line Wizard - https://letterqueen.bigcartel.com/product/the-line-wizard ]

Favorite design style: (This can be interior design, photography painting, architecture, etc.)

I always have at least 1 or 2 rolls going in a few cameras. I love older architecture, but more specifically the history and story of the building. What is kept and what is lost in the history of a city. I hope to start collaging more soon.

Favorite thing to listen to while you work:

A list of podcasts that would be too long to list here. Bad movies (sometimes decent ones), and various types of music (KUAA is good for radio!)

Favorite outfit/footwear to wear to work:

Crocs with socks in the studio. Adidas shell toes or Nike Max 90’s daily. Levi-517’s. Dickies and Carhartt are good too!

Favorite post-work activity to unwind:

Try to make it home by a decent hour and not work on stuff.

Favorite food:

I really like pho and ramen and lots of burritos and sushi on special occasions. Cheeseburgers are fun to eat and also fun to paint.

Favorite band:

I don’t think I have a favorite band anymore, just a lot of bands that have a special meaning to me. I have been listening to a lot of ambient music lately. I really like Devo, Grace Jones, early Metallica and Tones on Tail, with a heavy rotation of Delta Blues.

Favorite place you’ve traveled:

I guess that would be the furthest place I have traveled. Austria and Hawaii. I did some work down in the Bahamas a few years ago and that was an amazing experience.

Place you want to travel to most and why:

I would really like to go to Japan one day to experience the food, culture and history.

If you could collaborate with one maker/artist (living or dead) who would it be?

That's a difficult question. I guess it would be with someone from a different era or time using older or lost technologies and techniques. I feel like we take so much for granted nowadays with everything being new and shiny and exposable. Oh! Pretty much everything that came out of Art Spiegelman and Francoise Mouly’s RAW in the 80’s is top notch!. Contributing anything to that magazine/comic or being a part of that large group of artists would be a dream.

Where can people contact you and find out more about you?

trentcall.com - swinjart@gmail.com - @trentcall (insta)