CAROLINE WEAVER

INTERVIEW BY STEVE WILLIAMS

A.k.a. Dead Man’s Hands, Razor Knuckles, Screamin’ Weaver, C-weed, Corpsie, Whale, Carebear. Caroline Weaver is a chain-smoking dolphin with gold fronts on a bad salvia trip.  Her paintings will tell you the same story.  She was born in the ‘burbs, lives in East Van, but belongs in a zoo, this loud and energetic chick with a trucker’s mouth will leave you laughing ’til you cry. Caroline has been painting up a storm as early as she can remember.  A self-taught artist who’s shown her work all over Canada, she has upcoming shows in Portland, Guadalajara and Monterrey. Things are quickly heating up for Razor Knuckles and her rowdy pack of wild animals.

STEVE—Hey Caroline. So, how did you get started?

CAROLINE—Well, I was always drawing as a kid.  I remember my mother always telling us to go paint in the backyard. When I got out of high school, I started painting a lot.  Things really ramped up after I broke up with a boyfriend and I made the decision to start doing something for myself.  I could have kept painting as a hobby, but decided to take a real go at it.

S—What or who inspires you?

C—Umm… I guess I’ve always had muses and now I’m muse-less. So, I’ve defaulted to using myself (chuckles).  My ex-boyfriends would always ask me, “What’s this about?” I’d say, “Nothing,” although it was totally about them.  They were usually painted as a rat or a dog, but I didn’t mean it in a bad way.

Also, Robert Bateman is huge for me.  I used to go into those cheesy poster and framing shops to see Bateman’s work and was amazed by how he painted fur so well.  Someone once told me my paintings were like Robert Bateman on acid and I felt so victorious.

S—If you could have dinner with a group of talking animals, whom would you invite?

C—Definitely a skunk.  I think they’d be the best pets on earth, but I heard their guts fall out if you remove their scent gland.  We’d likely talk about our mischievous adventures.  Umm… a fox because they’d be so sly and smooth.  I heard when they’re hunting, they dance and jump around playfully to trick the young rabbits into thinking they’re just a fun neighbor.  Then they get their neck crunched up. Also, an otter ’cause they’re fun and cute… he would be the fun, drunk guy with all the stories.  No birds, though.  They’re too skittish and annoying.

S—Yeah, birds would make shitty people.