About ZCM
A brief look into the twisted, dark and hollow soul of Zachary MacPhearson, a deeply introspective and telling biography of sorts.
How old are you?
25 years young.
Tell us a little bit about your life. What’s made you who you are?
Hmm. Let’s see. I was adopted at birth, raised knowing. I used to be really bored as a child and would spend a lot of time drawing. I spent a lot of time alone. Started to get out and make friends in my teen years and was going to raves, listening to music.
A series of misfortunes led me to an attempt to hitchhike to Bangkok until I discovered there was an ocean between here and there, and I was without a boat. I arrived in Burning Man in 2000 and met up with two women headed towards Chicago, caught a ride there, stayed there for two weeks sleeping on the couch of the mother of the artist who developed Meteor Man, Tony Akins. After painting their back porch, we went to St. Louis where I lived for close to a year, before returning back to the Bay Area.
Upon getting back I was all over the place, met my biological parents and… yeah.
What do you paint about?
Anything and everything, lots of things with botanical influence, along with big influences of street art and modern cultural stuff. Bold color usage.
Do your paintings have meaning and inspiration behind them?
Sometimes. I like to just let them come out. I used to think when I was younger that if I altered my state of mind paintings would come easier, but it’s not the case. I’ve found that I would continue to add and add things to paintings until they were just too much, too difficult to decipher and ruining them.
What’s your favorite thing to paint?
Circuses. Um… Houses. I’m sorry. As far as subject matter, it’s never consistent, one day it might just be cactuses with eyes, or just eyes, or a spray can or a group of nothing, lines and leaves to faces in trees. I’d like to do more graffiti based art but I feel like that wouldn’t get anywhere, it’s a very limited audience.
What are your favorite mediums/tools in your work?
Canvas, wood, stone for surfaces. I love Sharpies, I love Sanford King Size Markers and Krylon. I like to keep it old school. Oh, and Sakura’s.
Do you have a favorite animal?
I like armadillos. And skunks.
Why all the eyes in your work?
Cause you need eyes to look at art and you don’t need eyes to see you need vision. I started playing with Sharpies at a very young age because my mom told me I wasn’t allows to have them because they were special pens, and that’s what I was drawing with them.
What is your studio like?
Chaos! I’d like it to be in order but it’s never in order. I’d like to paint the walls to clean it up a little bit more but I haven’t found the time.
Is this your main creative outlet? Or do you do other things?
Music. I mix records, club music, and concoct beats and rhythms on drum machines and samplers and synthesizers. I used to think I was going to be a world famous DJ until I realized it’s not really all that cool.
I garden constantly. If you’ve ever gardened my lantern light you might find your a bit of a plant nerd. I’m constantly gathering seeds and cuttings to see what I can propagate.
How do you think music and gardening reflect in your artwork?
I draw a lot of plants and I think some of my music sets the mood and tone for my paintings.
What would you say the overall tone of your work is?
Oooh… I don’t know. It’s all over the place, some days it’s happy and bright and some days it’s a bit mysterious.
What’s your goal in putting your work out there for everyone to experience?
I just hope that some people enjoy it. When I was about 9 I got offered $100 for a painting, the first painting I ever did. I politely declined, and now I’m amazed that something I did so young could go for so much.
