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Opportunity LOL's Spotlight Interview: Artist Philip Lumbang
How did you learn about Philip Lumbang and his Awesome Bears? Was it Watsky? His prints? His street art? His many gallery shows? I first saw Philip Lumbang's work online in late 2010 and immediately had to contact him. His art has a fun, simple, and clever edge to it and I wanted him to know any time he had something we could promote that I would love to do so. Philip took me up on the offer and we began posting his work on Opportunity LOL. Following that, he hooked us up big time - we reviewed some of his t-shirts and one of his prints. Life is good, right? Well today it gets even better - we have a great interview with the artist below. Learn Philip's thoughts on shows, Watsky, t-shirts, toys, collecting, and more. Enjoy! What have you learned from your many gallery shows and how have you benefitted? Philip Lumbang: "I've learned a lot from all those gallery show, like; always make sure there is a contract, watch out for shady people, and try not to get stressed out. I show take a lot of time and effort and could really be hit or miss, I try not to have any expectations so don't feel bad if I miss and feel really awesome if it does well."
Do you think you could have had the career you have now if you were born in Ohio? Is California a must for your line of work? Philip Lumbang: "I think determination is born everywhere and the internet makes everything easier, but I do suggest moving to california or new york to meet the right people. It's just a matter of if you have the guts to go out and risk it all." When did you get involved with Watsky? His use of your art must have helped get your name out to a larger audience. Philip Lumbang: "It was actually my intern jona's idea to get in contact with him, it was his idea to send t shirts to internet-celebs to see if they would rock our gear. Then one day watsky wore one of the t shirts on his videos and he hit us up afterward and we became friends. watsky has been really awesome about linking my site on his channel and all that and we have defiantly seen a lot more traffic." How do paintings sell vs prints vs shirts? Philip Lumbang: "paintings take the longest to complete, with the highest profit margin. prints sell well but are very costly to produce and same with the t shirts." Where do you store the shirts you have for sale? What's the process been to have them produced and are you a one-man operation selling them? Philip Lumbang: "the t shirts are actually a 3 man operation; me, the intern, and the business man. the business man, CJ, is the brains of the out fit and deals with all the production, vendors and shipping. the intern jona, well he interns, and me I do all the art." Your work with Ernesto Yerena is extraordinary. What's next after "Dead Relatives" and the recent prints? Philip Lumbang: "yea man thats my boy, we went to college together and worked at obey together. as of now we don't have any other plans for a colab, we wanna focus on our solo stuff, but you never know!"
How much work do you put in on a daily basis and doing what? How many days do you take off per year right now? Philip Lumbang: "people may hate me for this, but I honestly don't do shit. I maybe work 5 hrs a week tops. with all that extra time I play skyrim and take care of my baby boy, oliver." What would be a "good deal" or at least an "acceptable deal" for a company to produce an Awesome Bear vinyl toy? If all the deals are in the region of "we'll give you a bunch of your toys" would you think about pouring resin or going with a company like Maqet? Philip Lumbang: "talk is cheap yaddamean? I've been asked, told, and promised for a designer toy deal. so far flakes all day. so if I would ever go into toys, i'll be the one to produce it. I mean it only makes sense, my whole career I have never relied on anyone, so why not take the reins on my own?" How often do you take on private commissions for street art? Philip Lumbang: "here and there, my last project was with DETAILS magazine, I did an outdoor mural for a party the threw in hollywood"
How often and what sort of e-mails do you send? Are people constantly offering you shows or are you sending galleries proposals? What frequency do you call people to get things done? Philip Lumbang: "I get emails often, its not super crazy but enough to keep me busy. I mostly get asked to do commissions or freelance graphic design work. since this is all I do for money i usually say yes to everything hahaha. fuck a "real job"" Your Awesome Bear seems to be the antithesis to Luke Chueh's bear, who is constantly going through tough times. Can we get a collab where your mascot helps Luke's character have a good day? Philip Lumbang: "haha you are totally right, he actually went to one of my art shows and I was super stoked, and he told me he really like my art! *squeal* as for a collab? who knows, and if he reads this " you know I'm down!"" Is there a market for Awesome Academy shoes? Any interest? Do you collect sneakers? Philip Lumbang: "Im not one to rule anything out, but not now, maybe in the future. I'm not really a shoe-head. I have like 3 pairs of shoes haha." Do you collect art and toys? If so, could we see a shot of your collection? Philip Lumbang: "I collect transformers, I am a HUGE transformers fan! I a lot of them displayed in my office. from hasbro, to takara, to 3rd party releases I want ALL THE TRANSFORMERS, I even have a decepticon/cobra tattoo on my arm."
What advice do you have for an aspiring artist who has some skill and wants to start making money immediately? Philip Lumbang: "man, thats tough, I always thought I had dumb luck in this industry but you just gotta hustle smart. find a niche and stick with it, really try to brand your self and make people notice." You are really active online. How has this behavior helped you succeed? Philip Lumbang: "god bless the internet, even the trolls. honestly I would not have a career if there was no internet, it is so easy for me to update my online store and send an email blast to my customers from all over the world." What can the Opportunity LOL readers look forward to from Philip Lumbang in 2012? Philip Lumbang: "MORE EVERY THING, but for something more recent, I have my very first art show in the UK on feb 3rd." Very exciting! Follow Philip Lumbang on his Website | Store | Awesome Academy Store | Hug Life on Facebook | Twitter Read our review of Philip's Awesome Academy Tees plus his "Lion of the Dead" print and check out our previous posts on the artist here.
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