Nathan Bell is like most artists, he floats from one idea to the next and becomes disinterested in projects that fall stagnate. Bell is also like most designers, following strict guidelines to allow structure and logic dictate the course of an assignment. Call it what you want — right brain or left brain.
Like many creatives, Bell grew conscious of which ‘side’ of the brain was leading his projects — be it art-related or design work. Instead of stopping his more expressive side to takeover solution-oriented work, he began to understand that it’s virtually impossible to even think of separating the two — and as much literature has been written on the subject, it is always best to embrace the merits of both.
“That’s what you’ll see in my work, in the compositions and themes — that’s my designer brain trying to steer the wheel — and then the looseness of the type and the painting is more the artistic side. It’s this very delicate dance.”
Of course, thinking too much about any project and refraining from actually doing it is why most work just doesn’t get done. That’s why Bell likes to work fast — allowing his stream of consciousness to take over and comment on the range of experiences, interests and emotions he observes on a daily basis.
Born-and-raised in Ann Arbor, Michigan and now based in Los Angeles, Bell’s career spans a number of disciplines — from painting, product capsules, anything he can basically create with his hands. Running concurrent throughout his work is his affinity for music and sports — you can probably guess which teams he supports. (Hint: they all wear blue.)
From endless paper-based studies, editorial work for FRANCHISE and SPIRAL, to partnerships with Vans and Nike, Bell approaches each project by allowing both his rigid design mind and free-thinking art side to work in unison. For the latest Pen & Paper, I caught up with Bell at his home studio in LA to talk about his latest artwork and his agency, Creative Drinking.
“Eventually, there were no guidelines on me as an artist as opposed to a designer.”
How did you first get started?
I’ve always had this urge to want to make things with my hands from an early age. Just building things and being reckless with a hammer — from random structures and forts in my room, different drawings and just trying to create things and have fun.
In school, I took the standard art classes which were entertaining, but when things really clicked for me was in high school — I had this graphic arts program that I enrolled in and that was when my eyes really opened to all these different mediums and when computers were really starting to become a thing.
I started creating graphics on a computer and got access to a photo studio with screen-printing and all sorts of printmaking and resources. That was huge for me to connect the dots and I started making t-shirt graphics, which is full circle to projects I work on currently.
So that was the jumping off point for me, where luckily early on, I was able to see a real end game where I thought, ‘oh, I can be a graphic artist.’ It’s a real position that I can wrap my head around, as opposed to the open-ended thing, where I would just be an artist and make paintings.
I was really pragmatic about it, where this is something that I could do for a living and still have this artistic expression.
Do you remember what age this was?
High school, but after that I started to take design programs in community college for a year. At that point, I moved out to California with a friend who was just getting out of the Navy. He said he was going to live in San Diego and I thought, ok here’s my opportunity to piggyback on his plans and get out to the West Coast.
Once there, I attended some trade school programs. I was in a mode then because my friend was in college, I kind of just felt that I needed to be too. Meanwhile, I was working at a printing company laying out business cards and shit like that. And while there, we started printing catalogs for the skate company, Tum Yeto, which is the parent company of Foundation, Toy Machine and all these legendary brands.
All these experiences are very layered, but its cool to see how a lot of things are connected and how some things I didn’t even think are related to where I am now.
Looking back, what are some things that have been constant throughout — whether music, sports, etc?
Sports and music have always been this thread, for sure, but it’s kind of what I was saying about wanting to make stuff with my hands. I don’t know if it just comes from being restless and thinking about things and wanting to see them come to life.
Working in the skate industry, I was exposed to a really close knit creative community and all these cool styles. It was the complete opposite from college, there were no rules and you were just putting out this raw creative output.
I started to think, ‘I don’t need to choose a font, I can draw something by hand it becomes your own and has more personality and soul to it.’
I worked my way up to art director at multiple brands. When I was at that role, I wanted to draw everything and have a really gritty feel on all the graphics and ads — that mentality continued into all my work after that — even early on when I was trying to separate my design brain and artist brain thinking that they were conflicting, it always came back. Eventually, there were no guidelines on me as an artist as opposed to a designer, it’s just me as a creative person making work.
“I think I just like to work fast and get an idea on paper as quickly as possible and not trying to overthink it.”
Your hand-drawn work shows a sort of stream of consciousness flow to it. Can you describe how you approach a piece? And apart from messaging, is there a through line from one work to the next?
Over the years, I’ve latched onto certain themes, whether lists or this idea of dualities and comparing things — that’s been a huge thing. I feel like the work is really type-based because in real life I’m very reserved and not talkative at all — so my art practice is my way of being able to be outgoing and bold.
As far as the content, it’s like you said, a stream of consciousness is really a good way of putting it. I’m always putting notes on my phone and writing things down in sketchbooks — creating this log of things that come to me or are interesting. I constantly revisit those [notes] and see where I can plug them in any type of project I’m working on.
The duality theme — it’s not even something I really notice it — but when I go through a bunch of work, it’s a theme I explore a lot, such as the Versus series where I compare two things. In general, however, I just take these different vessels and use them for messaging and commentary.
Your latest series of paintings is a noticeable jump, aesthetically speaking.
There are a lot of changes for my work in general, be it scale or using color. It’s also been a true testament of sticking with something and seeing it through. That original mushroom painting goes back to a residency I was in Finland in 2018. I did a drawing of a mushroom I saw wandering in a forest behind the residency. I started getting really hyped on all these crazy, bright, Super Mario-style mushrooms. Making that drawing got me thinking out of my element in this part of the world that I had never been to and immersed in a language I couldn’t understand and just trying to figure it all out. It was comforting to create these answers and solutions in my head, even if they were completely made up or ridiculous.
I was there for a month and really cut myself off from my ties to a day job — so I was hyper-focused. When I got back, I scaled it up from this paper study, which was new to me, then put it on canvas and added color. I still don’t feel really comfortable working in a larger scale, but it’s been a learning process of pushing myself.
It’s just not as immediate as your quicker paper-based work.
Yeah, I think I just like to work fast and get an idea on paper as quickly as possible and not trying to overthink it. This could be going against what you would do in design world, where you’re going to reviews and you’re showing clients rounds and there’s this process to it.
For a drawing, I’ll sit with an idea for a while, but once I’m making it, I like to create really fast. These color paintings are like adding a new area that I can easily overthink, but I start to get in a groove of thinking about it more which adds to the experience. I can see the evolution from the early ones, which were only two or three colors, to now, where I’m adding more objects and color to the composition.
“All my work is about connecting with other people at the end of the day, so why waste it?”
Are you planning an exhibition around this particular series?
That’s definitely the goal. I don’t want to make stuff and just put it in storage. I’m trying to get better about that — I have this thing where I make a lot of pieces and just hoard them — whether I just get bored with it or I don’t think it’s strong enough. I’m just trying to get better about getting work out there and not being too precious about it. Even older work and studies, I’m trying to not hang on to it and would rather give it to someone so it lives on someone’s wall where they appreciate it, as opposed to in my flat file. All my work is about connecting with other people at the end of the day, so why waste it?
On the flip side of things, when it comes to design, can you walk us through your recent NBA and Nike work?
The running collection was a little further back, but it was a two-parter, which the whole situation was pretty wild. It all came from having an art show. Essentially, I had my first solo show at Subliminal Projects where there were about 400 six-by-six drawings which were all studies for larger works. Once I filled the whole wall of my old studio, I started to think that these studies could actually be the installation. I had that show and someone from Nike reached out after seeing the work and wanted me to make graphics for the running category.
They didn’t give me much direction, which was kind of nice, it was just supposed to be about running and a stop sign — the idea of ‘try to stop me’. It was very minimal input, they just told me they like my style and to talk about running. I love playing sports but have never considered myself a runner. So I internalized it and thought if I’m getting into running, what are my experiences? Once I started doing it more for myself, I had this real love-hate relationship with it and it turned out to be the theme of the project.
From there, the project evolved from tees to shoes and it’s been a great partnership with Nike since.
From there, the project evolved from just tees to a full on collection with multiple releases. I was basically the guinea pig for their very first A.I.R. program, which I take pride in. It’s been a great partnership with Nike since, as I now work with them on the regular through my agency Creative Drinking.
As for the NBA Finals collection, it was a long process, but it was a dream come true to do something on such a big scale, especially with basketball. Of course, I can get nit-picky about it and there are so many people involved with so much red tape and editing — but at the end of the day, it’s still has my hand on it and has this really loose feel that I’m known for.
“You can’t just wait for something to come to you and just have to keep powering through.”
Continuing on sports, we’ve chopped it up before about football, but would you say basketball is number one for you?
Yeah, definitely. I grew up loving baseball and Michigan football too, but I always played basketball. I still play every week and find myself watching it more than anything else. I like to refer to myself as an ‘art jock’ — I have always been very competitive in general.
Your whole family is still out in Michigan?
Most of my family is still in Michigan and my dad’s side of the family is in Arizona. A lot of roots in Michigan, so that’s why I stick to all Michigan sports. It’s such a sports-driven state, especially where I’m from, Ann Arbor, which is probably why I’m connected so much to college sports because it’s a college town — I never really wanted to let that go.
I also think that sports makes its way into my work — sometimes literally and other times just the competitiveness of it — which can be a negative or positive thing, I guess haha. This concept also plays into the duality and Versus series we were talking about earlier.
What would you say as an artist who loves sports are the similarities between the two fields and what an artist and athlete can learn from each other?
Good question, I guess there’s just this sense of practicing and honing your skill and craft that goes along with both of them. If I don’t paint or draw for a while, I feel like I have to pick it up again. It’s the same way if I’m playing basketball or running, you kind of have to take a little time to get back into it and work through the soreness and pain.
Also there’s a competitiveness as well, whether you’re trying to secure a spot on a team or get into an art show or get a gallery’s attention. You can’t just wait for something to come to you and just have to keep powering through. Failure and losing is a big part of sports and the art world.
“I really like the mess-ups and humanization of my work.”
I think now more than ever, athletes are becoming their own brands and having a more creative voice. Football has always been a little more buttoned-up, whereas the NBA has led more in terms of expression.
In terms of exhibitions, are there any you are working towards now that you can speak about?
There’s a lot of Nike stuff coming out on the agency side. The All-Star Game and maybe more Finals stuff may be in the works again. I have another collaboration with The Quiet Life coming out next year. In terms of our agency, we’re doing a lot of college football playoff stuff next year, which has been a beast of a project, but super fun. It’s kind of like the NBA Finals, where every moment has a different graphic.
Exhibition-wise, I’ve just been trying to focus on getting work completed and finishing all these different bodies of work. The next step in that process is trying to find a landing spot to show all the work. I have an issue with staying focused and losing interest in things and just jumping from project-to-project and being burnt out from my daily agency routine — it can be a struggle sometimes to carve out studio time.
I was listening to a podcast recently and one of my favorite artist’s said, ‘people always ask me for advice and the only difference from me and most people is I finish things. You just have to finish’. That really resonated with me.
That’s the downside of being a perfectionist, because a lot of times perfectionists never get work done because they’re too nitpicky with things.
I feel like I’m an over-thinking perfectionist, but not with everything. I really like the mess-ups and humanization of my work. In these new color paintings, you can see all the splatters and mistakes in different areas and I try to embrace that stuff. It’s almost a calculated looseness.
For a long time, I really struggled with splitting up my designer brain and artist brain, thinking they are conflicting. I wanted my art to shut the organization off and be this free kind of output. But then I realized I can’t cut off stuff I’ve learned and my design mentality I have, I should really hone in on it and use it to my advantage. That’s what you’ll see in my work, in the compositions and themes — that’s my designer brain trying to steer the wheel — and then the looseness of the type and the painting is more the artistic side. It’s this very delicate dance.
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