arthouse interviews:
YeYe Weller

AH: Hey YeYe, thanks for chatting with us. First off, we’re in love with your illustrations, design and overall point of view. Can you give us background on your YeYe brand? Is that your given name?

YW: No, it’s not my given name. It was my first name as a music producer as a teenager. YeYe was a style of pop music that emerged from Southern Europe in the early 1960s, and because of laziness I took this name for my illustrator alter ego… so I didn´t have to create new email accounts, ha.

AH: How did you get started? Our clients and followers would love to know your background.

YW: It all started with my passion for skateboarding. I was just a kid, but I was totally in love with all those crazy and awesome designs of brands like Powell-Peralta or Santa Cruz. I was almost addicted—I collected every sticker and advertisement I could get my hands on. Then, when I was about 14, a school friend gave me a cracked version of Adobe Photoshop. A few weeks later we founded our own little skateboard clothing brand. It was totally noobish… we just sold some shirts to our circle of friends. But this was the starting point and things took their course.

At first I wasn’t actually the strongest draftsman, but I’ve always had a good eye for design and a feeling for balance and colors. Photoshop gave me the platform to use all those skills, and with time and a lot of practice my drawing skills emerged.

AH: Skateboarding, huh? Did you get into any trouble? What helped shape you as the artist and person you are today?

YW: I wasn´t the typical stay-at-home kid who drew pictures for hours in his room. I grew up in a small village in Germany, so most of the time we were outside doing classic childhood things: playing football, roaming through the woods. But I’ve always been interested in nicely designed things. I still add to my childhood collection stickers and beermats to this day.

AH: How did you get started? Our clients and followers would love to know your background.

YW: It all started with my passion for skateboarding. I was just a kid, but I was totally in love with all those crazy and awesome designs of brands like Powell-Peralta or Santa Cruz. I was almost addicted—I collected every sticker and advertisement I could get my hands on. Then, when I was about 14, a school friend gave me a cracked version of Adobe Photoshop. A few weeks later we founded our own little skateboard clothing brand. It was totally noobish… we just sold some shirts to our circle of friends. But this was the starting point and things took their course.

At first I wasn’t actually the strongest draftsman, but I’ve always had a good eye for design and a feeling for balance and colors. Photoshop gave me the platform to use all those skills, and with time and a lot of practice my drawing skills emerged.

AH: Skateboarding, huh? Did you get into any trouble? What helped shape you as the artist and person you are today?

YW: I wasn´t the typical stay-at-home kid who drew pictures for hours in his room. I grew up in a small village in Germany, so most of the time we were outside doing classic childhood things: playing football, roaming through the woods. But I’ve always been interested in nicely designed things. I still add to my childhood collection stickers and beermats to this day.

AH: Who would you consider to be your biggest influence and inspiration? Professionally and/or personally?

YW: I’m not a big fan of generic statements like, “I´m inspired by nature" or “All my works are inspired by music". I think that’s totally rubbish.

For me, there’s nothing better than the internet. Of course, I watched countless cartoons throughout my childhood and I still love so many of them, but I wasn´t inspired in an artistic way. The only artist I can honestly say has inspired me consistently over the years is Heinz Edelmann and his animated film Yellow Submarine. I watched it a hundred times, but always felt just as amazed as I was the first time. Perfect in colours, characters and music.

AH: Who are some of your favorite clients? Why?

YW: I think it was it was illustrating a shop for Warby & Kennedy. Big walls, great freedom, an amazing result and a client who is open for new ideas.

AH: Do you enjoy having your work—and your self—in the spotlight?

YW: In my early life, I was always striving for recognition. Maybe it´s still part of my work… a few months ago I saw an interview with Niki de Saint Phalle. She said that she doesn’t care what other artist say about her work; she just want to make the observer happy for while. It might sound a little bit hackneyed but I think that’s what it’s all about.

AH: Do you have another favorite project? We would love to hear about your process.

YW: My creative process is nearly always the same. It always starts with listening to music and doodling on some paper. If I come up with something nice I digitize it with a Wacom tablet and Photoshop. The most important part of my work is the coloring process, because I always want to create a nice overall picture, which is flashy and harmonic at the same time. So I’m very particular about achieving a balance of colors that satisfies my standards.

But I´m really not sophisticated in my working conditions. Typically I´m just sitting in front of the window at the desk in my studio, listening to music or some podcasts and drinking coffee. To make the scenario perfect there would be some rain outside. I don’t know why, but I love nothing more than working in my studio on rainy days.

AH: What goes on behind-the-scenes in your creative practice—something an observer might not immediately recognize?

YW: Good question. I think creating is always a little bit of luck and talent. But, to me, the most important thing is hard work and having fun. In the beginning you have to motivate yourself every day, working on your own projects or whatever jobs you can find, even if all your friends are hanging in the park and enjoying the sun or having a drink.

Don´t get me wrong. You should enjoy your life! But being self-disciplined and working hard is the base of this job.

"Developing a style is like cooking a soup."

AH: How has your art and approach evolved since you first started creating?

YW: Developing a style is like cooking a soup. Find out what you like, then take the best ingredients from all over the world and create a tasty and harmonic result that bears your own hallmarks. And, like with soup, it’s very important to be patient. The longer the soup simmers, the more intense the flavour will be at the end.

AH: What do you like to do when you're not working?

YW: Find me lying in bed, playing soccer, having a drink with friends, cooking or making some beats.

AH: Who are some fellow up-and-coming artists you've got your eye on today?

YW: I don´t know if up-and-coming is the right term, but I like the colorful work of the Berlin-based duo Zebu very much. The abstract illustrations of Marc David Sprengler are also really great.

AH: What's next? We'd love to hear something you're excited about.

YW: I´m working with two old friends on my own online shop. We want to sell limited edition, high-quality products, with love in the detail and produced with local partners. That’s taking most of my personal time at the moment, but it makes for a lot of fun, and I´m so excited to hold my own products in my hand.

AH: Let’s cap it off with a list of some brands/clients/agencies you’d like to work with this year.

YW: Adidas, KFC, Adobe, Big Wave Collective, Netflix, NYT China, WWF, SNapchat, Zeit Magazine.

AH: Thanks YeYe!