RD: When did you start painting??

Jeff Soto: I first painted in kindergarten but i didn't take it seriously until high school. I was looking at painters on public access TV channels like Bob Ross but I did a lot of apocalyptic scenes of earthquakes ravaging the city and cities made of flesh. You know, very typical artwork for a teen. I also started doing graffiti art around the same time.

RD: Where are you from??

Jeff Soto: I was born in Fullerton, California then moved to Riverside, CA when I was 10. I'm still here, though we talk about moving out of state all the time. Portland Oregon is looking pretty nice...

RD: Main art influences??

Jeff Soto: Nature, graffiti, music and just random ideas floating through my head.

RD: Do you have to get in the "zone" to paint, or do you just jump right into it??

Jeff Soto: The more I work on making art the easier it starts flowing. I usually just have to jump in. I'm either very burnt out or I have tons of pent up creativity, I go through periods of not wanting to make art so I have to force myself to get to work.

RD: What kind of Music do you listen to??

Jeff Soto: I've been listening to the new Grandaddy CD- rad album but they broke up afterwards. I listen to all kinds of music. I know people say that when they don't want to name band names, but I really do listen to alot of stuff. I have 30GB (57 days worth) of music on my iPod and I usually just keep it on shuffle. It will play Black Sabbath, Genesis, 2Pac, NOFX, Phish, classical, R.L. Burnside, Bob Marley, Violent Femmes, it's all over the place. I guess my favorite genre is "rock", lately been listening to Kings of Leon, Queens of the Stone Age, old school Flying Burrito Brothers.

RD: How did you develop your stylle??

Jeff Soto: Just painting and drawing as often as possible and making sure to make it fun. You gotta experiment a lot, for awhile I was painting like 10 small pieces every night, after awhile you start finding out what turns you on. after a few years you start developing a style.

RD: Do you have any crazy art gallery moments??

Jeff Soto: I put together a group show in San Francisco a few years ago. It turned into a big party, people everywhere, drinking, smoking, having a good time. I was outside talking to some of the artists and everyone turned around to see something. I look over and two drunk gallery goers are standing on the curb, dicks in hand just pissing out into the street. They had a "yeah, you can fuck off" attitude as people driving by were slowing down to look. I think they accidentally peed on my car which was parked next to them. I guess that's not that crazy, drunken public pissing- more funny than crazy.

RD: Whats your biggest accomplishment in terms of Art??

Jeff Soto: My last show in NY. It almost sold out. There was a giant waiting list for pieces and many didn't even get anything because they were so low on it. It tripped me out, I thought the show might do okay, but it was a real surprise to nearly sell everything. I had no idea there was so much demand for what I was doing and I feel very honored that people are willing to spend their hard earned money on my work.

RD: Do people ever send you pictures of tattoos of your work??

Jeff Soto: Yes, occasionally they do. It's crazy, I always feel slightly bad, like fuck, I hope they still like my work when they're 70, cause that pink robot is gonna be on their forearm until they die! I appreciate it though, tattoos are very personal, it's cool that they like my work so much.

RD: What do you think of porn??

Jeff Soto: I think porn is a sin and it should be banned in the US. Just kidding haha. I'm a fan of porn, but I don't watch it as much as I used to. My wife and I used to be more into it but things change when you have children. Obviously you don't want to be watching porn with kids around! But yeah, I like it, it's sexy watching two people fuck. It's cool when you can see facial expressions and can tell they're really into it. I'm not into porn where they're slapping the girl hard or degrading her in any way. I saw one where the girl was getting choked and she looked genuinely worried and I totally lost my boner haha! I also think it's creepy when they're trying to make the girls look too young. Like a girl with small tits who they put in a catholic school dress with pigtails, trying to make her look 14 and shit. Even though there is a disclaimer that says 18 years at filming or whatever it's just a turnoff to me. I'd rather see two consenting adults having fun, know what I'm saying? But yeah, porn is good, I like.

RD: What kind of girls are you into??

Jeff Soto: Well, I've been with my wife for 13 years so I don't really know how to answer that. I love her, we've been together for so many things and experienced so much together. I guess things I find attractive in women is dark hair, some booty and some boobs, good sense of humor and good communication. And pretty brown eyes. Freckles are cool too.

RD: Do you have any "art groupies"??

Jeff Soto: I don't think so. No one's ever gave me that "art groupie" vibe so far. They're mostly just art students and want me to do a quick drawing or sign their book. Some artists like to think they're rockstars but no, we aren't that cool. We don't have art groupies. We have art fans but they aren't groupies.

RD: Any Crazy Sexual Exploits to brag about??

Jeff Soto: Nah nothing to brag about, nothing too crazy. No orgies, no fucking in the airplane lavatory, nothing like that. My wife is studying to be a teacher and I don't want this stuff to come back and mess something up someday haha. We have a very enjoyable sex life. Some people think sex can get boring if you've been with the same person for a long time but that hasn't happened. We're down with exploration and trying new things and keeping things fun. Isn't that what it's all about?

RD: What do you think of razordolls.com??

Jeff Soto: From what I've seen it's pretty cool. Usually when I think of porn it's all big pumped up fake tits and blonde hair and too much makeup, stuff I'm not into at all. Razorgirls seems entirely different, the girls don't look like your typical porn chicks which is nice. I'll have to download some porn and see more. Funny, I've never downloaded porn, I guess I'm analog- magazines and some DVD's but no internet yet.

RD: Whos your favorite razordoll??

Jeff Soto: Don't make me choose. I like them all!

RD: Do you think Porn will ever be an accepted art form??

Jeff Soto: I don't really look at it like that. There are people who like watching porn and people who are against it. But if you look at how much porn is on the internet and under the bed in people's homes, and how much money people spend, then yes, it's already been accepted. Is it an art form? Well, it is acting in some ways, and I'm sure it takes skills and a certain mindset when having sex on camera. I think if I tried it I'd have performance anxiety! If you look at porn as a performance then yeah, people spend their cash on it which shows acceptance. In a way it's already an accepted art form.

RD: What upcoming artists should we look out for??

Jeff Soto: Some artists you should interview: Dave Cooper, Souther Salazar, Randall Sellers, Alex Gross, Megan Whitmarsh, Cody Thompson, Martha Rich, Saelee Oh, David Choe, Kozyndan, and Caroline Hwang... there are many more, that's just off the top of my head...

RD: Do you like Horror Movies??

Jeff Soto: If so Whats your Favorite??

Jeff Soto: My dad is a big horror fan so I grew up watching them. I'm not really into the bloody gory slasher flicks, I like the ones involving ghosts and shit like that. Ammetyville Horror still freaks me out - that doll with the red eyes! I think the movie that still freaks me out the most is Poltergeist. And I like Alien, sort of a sci-fi horror movie.

RD: Whats your opinion on the art scene today??

Jeff Soto: The art scene is as stiff as ever but slowly something is changing. Galleries and museums still love highly conceptual driven art but over time the climate has changed and you're seeing more image based art. This new movement, some call it Lowbrow, some call it Pop Pluralism, some call it narrative art, none of the names seem to fit in my opinion. It's hard to nail down because it encompasses so many new genres- tattoo art, graffiti, comics, anime, vinyl toys, advertising, pinstripping, street art, and also traditional genres like landscapes, photography, sculpture and figurative painting. There's definitely a return to some craftsmanship and skill. Concept is still important but is not the defining factor with this movement. It's gaining momentum but it will take a long time to be completely accepted in the "fine art world". In any case, I'll just be doing my thing as always. I'll let the art critics define the scene.

RD: What would you say is the biggest problem with society today??

Jeff Soto: People not giving a shit about anyone but themselves. It's true you have to put yourself and your loved ones first but people don't even think about anyone else. Just think, if everyone did just one nice helpful thing for someone else everyday the good feelings would spread. World hunger would end, all fighting would cease, the Israelis and Palestinians would hug, it would be a great place. Okay probably not. What really pisses me off is seeing people throw garbage out of their cars while driving. I saw a guy in front of me dump an empty soda cup, a bag, french fries, napkins and ketchup packets and a half eaten Whopper while he was driving. I damn nearly ran into him with my car I was so pissed. Asshole...

RD: Anything you want to plug, do it here:

My next show is in November 2006 at BLK/MRKT gallery in Los Angeles. I'm starting to get working on the art right now and am looking forward to it.