1.How does it feel to be where you are right now as an artist?

I’m either not busy enough to feel good about myself, or way too busy to feel good about anything. I’ve been in better head spaces than I am in right now, work-wise. There have definitely been periods that have been more relaxing than the present.

2. What’s your average day like?

Depends. My wife is a nurse and works 3 days a week, while I stay at home with our little boy, he’s two. There isn’t a chance in hell to get any work done while hanging out with him , so I don’t even try. We go on walks and play with toys for 12 hours. On days my wife has off, I’ll paint from 10-3 maybe,take a nap,run errands and then after dinner I might work again from 8-midnight or so. When I have a show coming up we have a sitter come to help with our son, so I can paint more then. Then some days I don’t paint at all. I’ll play music or work on the house or whatever.

3. You used to do skateboard graphics for Toy Machine right? Are you mostly just painting now or do you still do commercial work as well these days? If so what kind of work do you do?

Yeah, I haven’t done any stuff for toy in a year or two.That was fun while it lasted. I still do some commercial stuff, all in illustrator. I never make paintings for that kind of thing. I usually end up getting 3 or 4 random emails a month which leads to a job or two.

4. You have a beautiful style that is totally unique. How did you come to find your style? I think I can see a bit of Margaret Kilgallen’s influence in your work?

She was pretty rad. I’ll take that as a compliment. Style is really about what you can’t do more than it is about what you can. I’m pretty limited, so you get what you get.

6. What’s the driving force behind your work? Or is it purely for the sake of creating?

It’s mainly therapeutic. I do a lot of hiding in it, and I do a lot of finding in it. There’s a element of necessity to it, in that I feel like a lump of shit if I go too long without making things.

8. Who are your favorite artists?

Chris Johanson and Richard Colman. I’ve figured out that I really need to like the person that makes the art for me to be really interested in it. Those two guys are very different guys, but I like them both very much and they both make really interesting things and I like being around them. So, then I look at their art and remember being with them and it makes me like what they make even more. All the paintings that I own that I really like are like that, there’s an emotional connection to the maker involved.

9. I love your music! It reminds me of The Evens (Ian Mackaye). How has the response been with the e.p you put out and are there any plans for other musical projects like this ?

I think about 6 people told me they liked it. So, you’re number 7. I’m pretty proud of it. I worked on it for like a year and a half and I think it came out exactly how I hoped it would, the book and all that accompanied it . It’s on itunes now, if people don’t have a record player and want to spend 5.99 on something, you just have to search my name.

10. I remember reading an interview with you once where you said giving away the first 100 artworks for free would help an artists career. What other advice do you have for any artists wanting to build their career?

If you want to get good at something , do it everyday. Either for 5 minutes or 5 hours , just do it everyday. I don’t care if it’s cooking or dancing or playing the banjo…it’s physically and mentally impossible not to improve at whatever it is you stink at right now , if you do it every day. You might not grow into the worlds greatest, and probably won’t, but you will be better at it than you are right now.

11. What have you learned over time that you wish you knew when you started out as an artist?

Slow and steady doesn’t care about the race. Save your receipts and pay your taxes.

12. What’s in store for Jim Houser in 2012?

Another show or two or three. Some more music. Maybe another book if I can get my act together and whatever else comes up that seems interesting .