Aug 10, 2015 8 Questions with: Jeff McMillan
We got to meet so many incredible people during POW! WOW! Long Beach earlier this Summer. That list includes incredibly generous local business owners, wonderful volunteers, hard-working politicians, enthusiastic community activists, and of course, the absolutely amazing artists who participated in the week-long mural festival. It was especially nice getting to know Long Beach-based participating artist Jeff McMillan, as he’s a great guy, and we’re practically neighbors here at Imprint. We got to see a lot of his detailed mural work, which is located between Long Beach Convention Center and the Hyatt Regency Long Beach. Part of the RVCA ANP team since 2007, he has also done projects with clients including Nike, Microsoft, Disney, Mike Tyson, Justin Timberlake, Linkin Park and Mountain Dew. Read on to learn about Jeff’s work, his day-to-day, what inspires him, and more.
What are you currently working on?
At the moment, I’m working on a solo show that’s going to Melbourne Australia next month. The show will tour Australia for around 5-6 months. It opens in Melbourne, then to Sydney, and then the Gold coast & Byron Bay. It’s centered on a sport called Prigus Sport, the first show, The Spring Season Opener was in San Francisco earlier this year in March. It’s a mix between that, and gearing up for some murals in early October.
How would you describe your job?
My job, it’s all over the place. I initially went to school to become an illustrator to do print work, but once I graduated I just went for any opportunity I could get, and one thing led to another, meeting new people on the way, and now I work all over the place. I do freelance illustration for print, web and product, I do shirts graphics for RVCA, I exhibit my work, do murals, put together and curate shows, and I teach. There are always several irons in the fire at once. So my job is all over the place. The constants are RVCA, teaching, and running the Prigus Sport website.
What does your average workday look like?
The average day is getting up around 6:30. Coffee. Breakfast, coffee, check emails, coffee, watch baseball highlights, and then take the kid to school at 9. Then, come back home and work until 12:30. Get the kid from school, run errands, work and play with her until around 5, make dinner. Hang with the wife a bit. Then around 7:30-8, fight the post-dinner drowsiness by drinking more coffee, and head back into the studio and work until about 12:30-1am on whatever needs to be worked on. Repeat that routine all week.
What’s the best thing about living and working in Long Beach?
I like how everything is local. I have everything I need here. And it’s keeps getting better. And if it’s not, I live close by the 710 and 405 so anything is a quick trip depending on what time I go.
Where do you find inspiration?
Everywhere really, I love meeting people and seeing new things. I find new opportunities very inspiring. I love getting outside and seeing progress here in Long Beach. Mostly the regular stuff too, watching movies, going to the museum, seeing mind-blowing paintings that were done hundreds of years ago, listening to music, seeing the occasional show here and there. My kid, she’s 4 now, I’m having fun slowing things down a bit and taking a walk with her or going to new places. I often try to remind myself to remember what it was like to be a kid again. Taking the day in, realizing how amazing the everyday kind of thing is for her. And then I try and enjoy it as much as she does. Like, the other day, we watched the garbage truck collect trash, waved hi to the garbage man. We went over to this park and watched those crazy oil pumps that are all over Long Beach, we listened to the buzzing sounds they make, and realized how big they are, and what they’re actually doing. This is the fun stuff for me.
Rad! As a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
As a kid I wanted to be a chef, ninja, or the guy that rode on the back of a garbage truck. I struck out completely.
What are you reading at the moment?
I’m rereading Andre the Giant’s biography. There’s this part in the book where Ted DiBiase recalls being at a bar with Andre while on tour back in the 80’s. Andre had a trashcan filled with cans of beer and ice to the rim. He drank all of them down and still was the designated driver that night. No one had a bad thing to say about the guy. That dude was incredible, such a legend of our time.
What’s your favorite post-work destination?
Barbecuing in the backyard, kicking back watching the clouds go by. Going for a long walk by myself. Get to do a lot of thinking.
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