Lombi asked this question on the artcone forums: First of all check out Oliver’s “Painting A Dragon” tutorial if you haven’t already :)

Lombi: Hey there and welcome to the interview. How are you today?
Oliver: Fine, the weather is great, I have a lot of work to do, what can one wish for more ;-) ok, honestly I’m yet very happy, because yesterday I’ve got noticed, from originalsnowboardart.com, that my only entry there has won the first price for a snowboard-design…man, I did never ever thought that this piece (plant or not v.2.) will end up on a snowboard, but the shape of the image (more tall than wide) was just predestined for that purpose ;-) .

Lombi: Alright, let’s start off with you giving us a little bit of background info … who you are, what you do, where you are from, how old is your inner self, what your foot size is… that kind of thing :}
Oliver: My name is Oliver Wetter, I came from Trier / Germany…
Well, I’m not that one who can fill books with talking about me, but about my art…
There was always the need to paint, and fill everything with colour, I can remember, my parents was not always enthused, by my usage of paint as I was a child.
Also no one from my family was ever artistically talented, so it was always hard for me to get accepted.
I wasn’t that good in school, (excepting art;-), so I have learned a solid job, to earn my own money, but parallel to that I’ve learned that money and financial independence is not the goal of life, at least for me.
I started to get information’s, and inscribed to the IBKK in Bochum/Germany, to study Airbrush -Design.
Now i´am 26 years of age, my diploma is in sight (next year, hopefully), and then I can call myself; “old”…
*just kidding*

Lombi: How would you, in your own words, describe your style? What and who were your major influences in the development of that style? Does your soulmate have any bigger influences in what you do? Which artists do you admire and respect for what they do?
Oliver: My own style? Quite good question *lol*,
well, I try to not met any cliché, so I carefully would say: “surreal-fantasy and dark-fiction”…eh ;-)
My major influences were definitely H.R. Giger and Dave McKean, I have true respect for their life-work, enjoyed to read their biography and whatnot… there are other known artists I also admire, but they might didn’t have that much influence…
Lets say for example Brom, or Joel Peter Wittkin, I love their art, even if I have just seen a few images from them, it’s inspirable, but not influencable.
In some cases, we often see influences in others work, who didn’t know that, or have just seen one image of the artist, and have build the imagination for an idea based on that, that happens more than we can imagine, so I might say, that I’m inspired by all artists I’m in contact through artist-communities, because the communication, and the “network-effect” is something which builds an infinite queue of ideas, what really came to paper or tablet, is controlled by our subconscious mind.
Well and my soulmate has a big influence, maybe not in a style of art, but in herself as a photographer, as a friend, and as a critical viewer, as also the loving one, who cares and turns flaws into improvements, by her constructive commentary.

Lombi: What kind of music do you listen to, when you work? What are your favourite bands/artists?
Oliver: Well, that question is also kinda difficult;-)
Because my taste of music varies in many ways, sometimes I listen to Tangerine dream, Wolfsheim, Anastacia, and Paul Oakenfold, while another image is created by the underlining tones of Dimmu Borgir, VNV-Nation and Pink Floyd…
But all in all, I like Electronic Music, and Metal-stuff, from soft till hard;-)

Lombi: A question everyone wants to know these days … at what point did you want to become the artist you are now … was there any breaking points or such? How did you get started in digital art?
Oliver: Also a heavy to answer Query, but I guess there was no breaking point, just levels, artistically viewed.
I should start earlier;
The will to become an artist was since I can think;-)
yeah, later I started to make comics and caricatures, and I wanted to get as good as Sebastian Krüger, As I was that good, I wanted to get as good, like Luis Royo, As I was that good, I started to learn playing guitar like Joe Satriani, then I gave up… well, that man is crazy, and this story too, but it describes good the way I learned things, everyone has got a point where he wants to be as good as „anyone else”, but any day, and I have learned this lesson by guitar-playing, and learning, at the start you begin to learn the riffs, then you start to cover your favourite songs, and then, if you can play the rhythm, and play everything a hundred of times, it will get every time more boring…
Mostly everyone will strive for better results, but the only way is to develop own ideas and styles.
what I want to say with that metaphor, is that the point of striving for the reach of a new level is our everyday rat race, we have to benchmark ourselves everyday, and “what you see is what you get”, I am no exception, I have ever seen myself hopefully as accepted artist, and I’ve never questioned this matter, and I will always try to improve to get an even better artist.
The interest in starting with digital work, is also a story from over 5 years ago, I bought myself a PC, and learned everything but mostly manipulating photos.
I have to confess, that I learned that the best way, by scanning images from magazines and such, and put them together.
But that was early pieces, which I never show anyone ;-) and their purpose was only to help myself studying the Photoshop techniques without the comfort of having stock photos and a digital camera…
Nowadays it’s easier to mix and paste stock photos than anything else.

Lombi: The second most common question out there (hehe) … what software do you use in creating your artworks, how does the common process look like when you are creating a piece? Do you just see that software as purely a tool used to create or as something more? What kinds of media and techniques do you commonly like to use when you create a piece?
Oliver: This is Easy…: Photoshop 7.0
Now the process of creating can vary, one time I start with a stock-photography, and another session, I start with a pencil sketch, anyway… There is sometimes the use of other software needed, so I got some pieces, where simple renderings of Poser3 are involved (like “box of Pandora”), but usually my platform is Photoshop. I will not say it´s everything, but for me it satisfies all needs and more ;-) I see it not just as a tool, more as my whole airbrush-equipment, my whole typography environment, my office replacement, my darkroom, and my painting studio…
The only nitpick is, it cannot cook coffee… :-(
Ok, that is not that important, I know, and I use also different traditional techniques to complete my digital works; I often scan painted textures and collages, I collect trash and scan it for example…

Lombi: You opened up a separate account for photography which is quite good. What is the history of your camera equipment … with what did you start with and what are you using today? Any specific styles you admire?
Oliver: Ok, I start with a Minolta Dynax 404si, 6 years ago, my first SLR camera, and it was really heavy to get useful results, and it was very laborious, to develop my black and white films later with my own small darkroom.
Like my girlfriend does now (just with a 100 times better equipment ;-) I decided to get into digital art; meanwhile I started to bid on eBay for a small and nice Casio 8000qx (or so) that piece got 1,3 mega pixels, and a 180 degree -rotatable display, and a 8-times optical zoom, which supplies quite astounding images, even if they was toooo small, for print or so. So I went buying me a better one,1 and a half year later, a Minolta Dimage 5, which was great till today, with its 3,5 mega pixels, and SLR- functionality, but there was often the need for another objective or higher resolution, and so I went buying me a Canon “kiss-Rebel“ now. That was the “wow -effect” With its 6, 5 mega pixels and changeable objectives, optical viewer, and the results… it’s a difference like day and night ;-) When it comes to my favourite style in photography, I have to say definitely black and white with style, like “Newton”, or “Ansel Adams”, But I prefer to use contrasts and strong colours myself more or experimental tones with my digital darkroom.

Lombi: When you create a piece what normally inspires your work?
Oliver: That is surprisingly easy…: Chances by happy accidents ;-)

Lombi: When you are working on a piece, when do you know that it’s finally done?
Oliver: It’s like everything else in our lives, do you know, when the eggs are going to be boiled?
I hear to my inner voice, it says stop! and I do so…
I don’t bother asking myself, why to stop there, it has its reason, why spending unprofitable time on a piece?
Either it will be, and you are happy with the result, or its not, and you better start it over again.

Lombi: Tell me how was it like breaking into the digital art scene … I know it’s very hard for young and unknown artists to get their name out nowadays … how was your experience like? What’s the best advice you could give to someone who wants to break into the scene?
Oliver: I don’t know how it is to break into a scene, but I know how it is receiving a lot of comments, motivating me to keep up, and telling me I should bring up more work… Very surprising!
It’s a difference when you hear that from family-members or friends, than from people you never knew all over the world!
And it’s important to keep on searching for the communication, to learn from each others, and to spread the words and images over any platforms. I remember I started at Epilogue.net, with a gallery, then Renderosity, and so on, now I’ve got my work in I guess over 20 galleries, and its very difficult to manage that all, and having the time to talk with friends, because 40 % of that are communities… And it’s also not so easy to keep on working, to keep submitting: o_O:
But it works, for me at least, and its like all things come slowly, but the come, and that is the most important thing for me, having fun, and to see that the effort results in success!

Lombi: I’ve asked you to choose 5 of your favourite artworks to be featured here along with this interview … so tell me … why do you like these 5 so much, what are the stories behind them?
Oliver: I guess you mean 5 pieces of my own?
Hmm, that’s could end up into very voluminous answer ;-)
Ok, there could be readers out there, I try to condense… :P

STILLIFE
this is my most complicated and heaviest work, it took me over a week in fulltime, to work with plaster, with physical airbrush and whatnot, and 3 years later I’ve got the idea to make it digital, no idea how…with again heavy work of 15 hours on Photoshop and shootings. What you see is the result of a complete new view of that work. I tried to capture the state of being isolated, imprisoned by the own physique, but with a mind and maybe a heart that strives to live. The feather should be a symbol for the death, which awaits us all, implemented into that image, it complements to the cracks in the wall, like the feeling of sadness underlined by the sepia colorations.

theMARRIAGEofHEAVENandHELL
this piece has a long story, but to keep it short: the differences between man and woman are tiny, the need to love each other is important, but the infinity is the only thing that can break everything, so I tried to create something, which could BE eternal, based on the natural counterparts, with a harmonic balance…the title is leaned on the story from William Blake, who describes the eternal counterparts very nice… But call it pure fantasy that it looks how it looks, there are several ways I’ve tried to work this piece over. Another version I like to work on, where with machines/robots ;-)

Phase 5 part 4 (plant or not plant)
this one is ironically identical with the marriage of heaven and hell, but was completely done in Photoshop, the idea behind was to create something like a mothership, floating over the ground, it has no extremities but the head and a bottom tail, because everything else was eaten by the little blackheads and ants whose smitten her, she is a combination of plant animal and human, a hybrid-form of life… I tried to also show up the problems which can happen by such experiments with genetics.

Box of Pandora
I tried to find a composition which lets you clearly into the image, let the view rotate one time and then let it go out of the image, back to the start, I don’t know if it’s succeeded, but it was that damn idea, the story is about the “box of Pandora” which contains all evil, and the one who did opens it will need a strong equilibrium of mind over matter, to not end up with harmful consequences. That’s the reason why his head is empty; the symbolism should explain that equilibrium with the spheres, like:”whats in your hands is what is in your head”

Astralinterpolarnonretrospectiveimagination
ok, this is maybe the weirdest part, but I loved the process of that image, which forms so much of my digital and traditional work coming from this scraper-techniques, its one of the strangest pieces I have, and yet with its hidden beauty, the most fascinating and original, I know I could try 1000 times, and I cannot reach the level of this emotions again, to recreate this artwork…

Lombi: So tell me … how would you describe the digital art scene roughly around your location? I’ve heard many artists complain about almost complete ignorance towards digital art … especially from traditional artists, galleries and such. Your two cents?
Oliver: In my location? There is no art-scene…
Or mainly I didn’t know, at least no digital ;-)
Also I didn’t know any artists (especially digital) in my location. Excepting my fellow students, I study in another city, and that’s indeed a totally other world, and if I confront people with my or others digital art, and if it’s coming to discussion, I received mostly positive feedback till yet. Also I tell people who are that intolerant, “I put my hat on and go my own way…”

Lombi: What would you do if you were in an empty room (and no cameras anywhere) with a tied-up ripper?
Oliver: I know what you mean, but, I believe in the goodness of all people, so I try to give everyone a second chance. Rippers are poor people, who have learned nothing else than to earn appreciation for a work that others have done, isn’t that pathetic?

Lombi: Utterly. What do you think about the whole online art community thing at the moment? Where would you like to see the future of art go? What are your plans for the future?
Oliver: The community -future tends to get into “paid-business” at the moment, and if you ask me, we do more or less support that matter. For about three years, no one would have paid for an art-account on a community, but now it’s merely a peer pressure! I will try to reflect for myself what ´s necessary on this subject and what not. That is a thing everyone else has to decide for him/herself. I guess there is nothing really brand-new to expect, general in the art-community-scene, so I’m a little bit strained what comes next. The future of art as a whole? I don’t know, maybe I hope the globalization brings up new possibilities of artists working together. To make people understand, that this is our only world, and hopefully open eyes to those, who believe that there is a second one in the garage… The future of my own art will be a very interesting one, at least for me…:P
But I am very flexible and confident…

Lombi: So… put your shameless website plug here ^_^:
Oliver: Honestly? My website and my account on deviantart :}

Lombi: You wake up one day and find out that you have amazingly cool superpowers. What are they?
Oliver: Time freezing… ;-)

Lombi: You find out that you will be relocated on a desert island tomorrow. You can only take one thing with you. What is the one thing you can’t live without?
Oliver: My girlfriend

Lombi: Err … umm… any questions for me?
Oliver: London, fog, to the left you see a tree, and to the right a tree, on the left tree sits an owl, on the right tree sits an owl…
What owl does move on first?

Lombi: None, cause the trees are props of a Taxidermy store across the street ^_^. Did I guess it right? Probably not, ehehe. Well, that’s kinda the end of the interview. Thanks for taking the time, Oliver. Any final words of wisdom you would like to share with us?
Oliver: “…There is no art without practice, the practice of pure exploration, till the deep boundaries of mind, to finally redefine the possible!”