This week, I was lucky enough to speak to the amazingly talented TovMauzer. Living in Russia, he has an art style that spans the range from stylized to cartoonish to hyper realistic. His ‘Breaking Bad’ pieces are gaining critical acclaim all across the world in the universal language of breathtaking art, but his gallery holds so much more.

Using the magic of the Internet, I was able to sit down with him and pick his brain.

SF: Are the pictures in your deviantART Gallery commissions, for professional work, or just for fun?

TM: I’m trying to lay out less drawings that were made for work. Many of them are quite successful, and I like them, but I believe that in the dA gallery it’s better to add pictures that are not work-related. Although the latest figures (with Freddy and Jason) have been made for the job, and underneath [on deviantART] there are links to a video in which they were used.

SF: How long does it take you to complete a painting, such as the ‘Breaking Bad’ portrait?

TM: I usually try to cope with it for a day. Sometimes it is impossible to meet this deadline. For example, a portrait of Walter White I drew for two days, because I didn’t have time to finish his eyes the first day.

SF: How do you choose what to draw? Do you just like to breathe your style of art into series you love?

TM: I just feel that I need to draw it, and I think people would like it. If the desire is great, the pattern will be successful. If on the rare occasion I couldn’t find a subject for a picture, then I try by all means to distract or take a break.

SF: Do you have any upcoming series that you WANT to paint soon that we should look out for?

TM: My last drawing ‘Breaking Bad’ (Walter vs. Hank) was used in someone’s article, which had a lot of spoilers, and now close friends look at me askance. So maybe I’ll take redraw some of my old work already begun or completed yet again.

SF: Did you go to school for art, or are you self-taught?

TM: I tried to go to art-school, but it didn’t work out. Everyone makes a mistake, and knowing this, I tried to argue with the lecturer so my works never got good grades. So I dropped everything and do self-study until now.

SF: Do you have any advice for aspiring artists out there?

TM: Don’t be afraid to experiment, don’t leave the drawings which aren’t finished, and if you have seriously decided to draw, dedicate to this as much as possible. All efforts will be rewarded.

SF: Just for my own curiosity and blank walls, is your work available for purchase?

TM: Now I’m embarrassed to sell my drawings because I don’t consider myself an artist. Most of all, I’m an experimenter in whose hands are pencils and brushes. Because meth cooking with them is not possible, I paint with these tools :)

Some of these artists are just too humble for their own good! This gentleman’s work is awe-inspiring, and not only is he an artist, but a spectacularly talented one at that! You can check him out yourself on his deviantART page or his portfolio.