Local Artist of the Week

John Pundt is not the typical confessed "home body." All is peaceful and serine in his home, with seemingly less than five pieces of furniture, until he turns on his rigged up stereo system that blares the untuned eclectic songs of a fellow artist from every room with a click of his iPhone. The walls are covered in pale swirling patterns and randomly placed paintings of dark subject matter in every room.

Pundt doesn't remember a time in his childhood, spent in Charleston, when he wasn't drawing on walls or doodling fantasy characters. At 18 his brother attempted to get Pundt out of the house and got him a job working the night shift at a printing shop in Atlanta, making everything from signs to Epcot uniforms. However, with a love of rock posters and "low brow" art Pundt became inspired by the works of graphic designers Lindsey Kuhn and Frank Kozik and realized that the machines he worked with daily could be used to create something more. After a brief stint at SCAD, Pundt returned home and now creates a vast array of t-shirts, posters, books and prints from his home, (saving the creation of messier works for his parents' home).

Though he works on odd jobs for people he knows from Taco Boy advertising to background posters for the set of Army Wives to a book about Obama speeches to works for an upcoming Alice in Wonderland themed show in Salt Lake City, Pundt still spends time experimenting. With a certain amount of whimsy seen in his work, as well as his energetic and amused personality, he is not afraid to try anything and everything. Some of his recent animal prints, inspired by people he knows and a desire to stay child-like, that he hopes to eventually turn into a book of sorts all have background patterns printed in coffee instead of ink.

Believing in happy accidents and inspiration from anything, including a spill on the floor, Pundt derives most of his inspiration from his personal life and the people around him, who he also aims to influence in turn through serious works as well as jokes.

"Even something as simple as a fake Spoleto poster can be fun," Pundt said. "Anything to make people think causes some change in the area and is instrumental in making the area more creative."

Contact: john@zen-grafix.com

Residence: Charleston

Birth date and place: July 2, 1976, Charleston SC

Career: Professional free lance artist, Redux Studios

Price Range: $20 and up