Jack Katz: On Creativity, Synchronicity, Fear, and Romantic Beauty and Human Tragedy

Discovery is an original experience. I first experienced Jack Katz through his art. I saw a drawing that was hanging in the restroom at Sam’s Old Log Cabin in Albany, Ca. My wife and I had stopped in for breakfast. After we ordered our meal I used the restroom and saw the drawing of a mythic figure on the wall. The title The First Kingdom was written at the top. He stood holding a longsword in his right hand, long hair trailing behind him to the cape billowing to his knees. The name Tundran was written at his feet. At the bottom was the inscription To the Log Cabin, the best place to eat in California. All the best, Jack Katz. When we finished our meals I used the restroom again and took a photo of the drawing. Back at our table, I asked one of the servers named Eric how the restaurant came by the drawing. Eric told me Jack lived nearby and came in for breakfast. I gave him my card and asked him to let Jack know that I was interested in a conversation. Eric later emailed me with the contact information for Jack and his associate Brian Miller. We arranged the date for breakfast and sat down in the back of the Log Cabin for a conversation about Creativity, Synchronicity, Fear, and Romantic Beauty and Human Tragedy. Jack's Biography As an artist, Jack has spent his whole life dedicated to drawing, writing and getting his thoughts out to the universe. His working life as an artist has spanned a number of waves of comic book development and his paintings reach down into the present from their original roots back in the early years of 20th century American illustration and art. His most enduring accomplishment has been the production of the original 24-issue graphic novel known as "The First Kingdom". Many have said it was the very first independently published graphic novel and it began to be re-issued as a four-volume set in the spring of 2005. Aside from his drawing and painting, Jack has written extensively through the years on his ideas exploring the place humans have taken in the universe and the directions in which they may or may not take in the future. Today he teaches anatomy for figurative art students and continues to work on his comic book projects. Currently in the works as well are a number of publications and videos presenting his distinctive ideas of teaching figure drawing. Recent publication included the first volume of a collection of sketches Jack has done over the past decades that illustrate for the advanced figurative art student the many different ways in which the dynamic human form can be expressed. With over one-hundred-fifty pages, the book is entitled Anatomy by Jack Katz, Vol. 1. http://www.jackatz.com/bio.html #JackKatz #ComicBooks #Art #Creativity #Synchronicity #