CoffinRust Biography

• November 2005 (The Ghost, Vol. 4)
• August 2007 (Art On You)

Conducted by Sonny for The Ghost, Vol. 4 in November, 2005:

The Ghost: Mr. Byrd, I would like to thank you very much for this interview. How are you doing after the passage of all these hurricanes?

DB - I am delighted to be featured in The Ghost – thank you for having me! My fiancée and I have come through the hurricanes quite well this season with very minimal damage.

The Ghost: Would you like to introduce yourself to The Ghost's readers and tell us what is your involvement with The Church Of Satan?

DB - My name is Daniel Byrd. I'm a freelance artist from Alabama and I received my Crimson Card from The Church of Satan on the Spring Equinox of XXXVIII A.S., and I am currently anxiously awaiting the response to my Active Membership application.

The Ghost: How did you discover Satanism and what was your very first impression of The Satanic Bible?

DB – Having always been drawn toward the darker aspects of life, one of the things I indulged in after having discarded Christianity in my teens was drawing Satanic imagery. I was in New Orleans looking for reference material at one of the city's little Occult bookstores. There were many books that had neat illustrations of medieval woodcuts and paintings of Satan torturing sinners in Hell…but what really caught my eye was this little $6.99 paperback. With the simple, elegant cover design and that bold, undisputable title I picked it up and began reading it immediately in the car before heading home.

I've heard a lot of Satanists describe their first encounter with The Satanic Bible by saying that it was as though they were reading all of their own thoughts and feelings that they've had all their life – and the same is true with me. I found myself constantly nodding in agreement and read the book very quickly, and then I read it again, and I've read it countless times over the years since then. After that I sought out Magus LaVey's other books, as well as Magistra Barton's books, and it wasn't long before I found the Church of Satan website.

The Ghost: You are a very talented artist. What is your artistic background?

DB - I've had a deep interest in art for as long as I can remember. I've drawn constantly from the time I could hold a crayon and all throughout school, which earned me excellent grades in art classes as well as a few awards for my art. But in other classes my preoccupation with drawing caused me to receive grades that were generally passable, sometimes good, but not always great. I knew from the beginning that art would be my career choice, so everything else in public school felt superfluous.

After high school I attended a Community College, but I wasn't very impressed with the art program there and I often felt that I knew more about art than the professors. I transferred before graduating to The Savannah College of Art and Design, in Savannah, Georgia, where I majored in Sequential Art and graduated in 2003 C.E. I've been working as a freelance artist ever since.

The Ghost: Which artists would you consider to be a major influence and why, if any?

DB - From my childhood I'd say Stephen Gammell, who did the art for the Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark series. In my preteens, Mark Bagley and Todd McFarlane were favorite comicbook artists. In my teens I got into the work of H.R. Giger, Edward Gorey, Frank Frazetta, and Simon Bisley. In my late teens and early twenties I became very interested in Goya, Schiele, Mucha, and in art movements like Mannerism, Minimalism and Expressionism. In addition to those, I'm currently very fond of the Pre-Raphaelites, like John William Waterhouse.

The Ghost: On what projects are you working now?

DB - I have some large-scale paintings that I'm currently working on, including a very elaborate self-portrait, which I hope to be complete sometime next year. I also create the hand painted Baphomet Altar Plaques available at the CoS Emporium. And for a while now I've been developing some stories for a graphic novel, which I plan to self-publish hopefully in another year or so.

The Ghost: Would you like to give us more details about this graphic novel project?

DB – So far I've written four short stories, which I'll illustrate in a comicbook format and compile into this graphic novel. Three of these stories are loosely based on nightmares that I've had. >I'm still filling out the stories, and once that's done I'll begin the sketches for the page layouts. I'd like to say I'll have this done by next year at some point, hopefully before next Autumn, but we'll see!

The Ghost: I saw a magnificent piece of art you have done; a Baphomet sculpture. Will you do others masterpieces like this one for sale one day? Is sculpture another passion in your life?

DB – I'm definitely considering making some that can be reproduced for sale. That first one that I made was pretty experimental since I wasn't too familiar with the clay, but I'm quite happy with the outcome and I look forward to creating with it again.

I haven't done much sculpting, but I've definitely had some success in what little I've done. The Baphomet came out well, and the very first sculpture I ever made won me First Place in an art show in college and was on display at the Savannah International Airport in Savannah, Georgia for a little more than a year.

The Ghost: Is there any time you prefer to work and why? Are you working in a special environment? What does it look like?

DB - For me, night is much more conducive for creating art. There's a still calmness that blankets the world, which allows me to work with minimal distractions and with a comfortable sense of solitude.

The walls of my studio are painted black and they have built-in arched bookcases, the interiors of which are painted red. The wall that my drawing desk is against displays some of the awards that I've won, which serve as good motivators. On other walls I have some of my movie poster collection displayed (like an original poster for Rosemary's Baby) as well as signed prints and artwork by other artists whose work I enjoy.

The Ghost: You painted the current issue cover of The Ghost (thank you very much!). How much time do you usually spend to achieve a masterpiece like this one? Where, if it possible could we buy your paintings or arts?

DB - I always forget to glance at the clock before I start on a painting or drawing, because I'm usually too anxious the get started! And by the time I think about timing myself, hours have passed and I have no clue how long it's been. But, I'd estimate that the piece on the cover of this issue took something like six to eight hours, dispersed over the course of three or four days.

Most of my paintings are available for sell at Conventions and Art Shows that I attend or am featured in. If someone sees a painting or drawing on my website, CoffinRust.com, that they would like to buy, they're more than welcome to contact me to inquire about its availability and price, or to see if there are any prints available.

The Ghost: Do you think that inspiration come easily? Where do you find your inspirations?

DB - This may sound a bit clichéd, but I honestly get most of my inspiration from my dreams and nightmares. I keep a pen and notepad next to the bed so that I can jot down or sketch what I dreamed before I forget it.

I also always keep a pen with me wherever I go because I never know when inspiration might creep up – it usually appears in the strangest and most unexpected places, like in the dirty water of a sink, for example.

The Ghost: Are you listening to music when you're working? Who are your favorite musicians and why?

DB - I listen to music with nearly everything that I do – my fiancée and I own over 1,000 CDs, not to mention a decent collection of records. It depends on the mood that I'm in, and I try to find music that fits that mood in order to amplify it. So the music I listen to can range from Chopin, to Depeche Mode, to Cannibal Corpse.

King Diamond is among my all-time favorites, without question. The combination of his storytelling abilities, his voice, and the music make listening to one of his albums a real experience to behold!

The Ghost: I had the luck to see King Diamond live two years ago and it was a dream come true for me. What is your preferred album and what do you think of the live album Deadly Lullabies?

DB – King Diamond is incredible live. I've gotten to see him live both with Mercyful Fate and King Diamond. I'm always apprehensive about live albums, but I picked up Deadly Lullabies without hesitation and I think it's great. The sound quality is excellent and it makes it easy to relive those times I got to see him live.

If I had to pick a favorite album, I'd say The Graveyard. That was my introduction to King Diamond, and the story and music are simply incredible.

The Ghost: Do you love movies? Any preferences? What is the last movie you've seen?

DB – I'm a big Horror fan – everything from the silent like The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari and Nosferatu, to the classic Universal films like Dracula and Frankenstein, to modern films like A Nightmare on Elm Street.

The last movie that I saw was Saw 2, which I thought was an incredible sequel. While maybe not quite as good as the first, it was still excellent, especially for a sequel.

The Ghost: Can you name some of your preferred books and tell us why you loved theses in particular?

DB - Everything by Anton LaVey. No other author has written books that keep my head shaking in agreement from cover to cover like his. My favorite Horror fiction author is Richard Matheson, with classics like "Hell House" and "I Am Legend." Another author I've been enjoying a lot lately has been David Skal, who has written some pretty good books about the cultural history of Halloween and Horror. I also enjoy art books, whether it is artist specific, art history, or art technique.

The Ghost: For which of your realizations do you have the most pride? Why?

DB – I'm always trying to better myself with each piece I create, so I'm quite proud of my more recent paintings like Arousal of Secrets and Ensorcell because I feel that I'm getting a better handle on lighting. But of course I'm quite proud of any piece that I've won an award for, like Wisdom Teeth: The Nails of Truth and Autumn's Echo.

The Ghost: Are you an arts collector? If yes, can you talk about your collection?

DB - Indeed I am. I'm fortunate enough to own one of Warlock Malebranche's fine original paintings, and I also have a nice collection of signed prints by artists like Brom and Basil Gogos. My fiancée and I also own many autographed artist's books by Ken Kelly, J.P. Targete, Brom and others.

The Ghost: Any exhibitions coming soon?

DB - In 2006 I plan to hit many Art Shows and Conventions, including DragonCon in Atlanta, Georgia, Necronomicon in Tampa, Florida, among others. I'm also looking into several local art galleries and events here in Mobile, Alabama and along the Gulf Coast.

The Ghost: You have created a magnificent Halloween print. Since Halloween is everyday is it still possible to buy one? How was your Halloween celebration this year?

DB – The Halloween prints went very well and I definitely plan on making this an annual event. They're completely free; I even pay for the shipping (including international shipping). The first 31 were signed and numbered, which of course went pretty quickly, but unsigned and unnumbered prints for this season are available as long as anyone wants one, up until next Halloween when I create and release a new print for 2006.

We had a nice and quiet Halloween this year – everything has been so busy and chaotic this Fall that it was nice to set up the yard, give out candy, and then go to one of our favorite restaurants for a delicious meal.

The Ghost: Mr. Byrd it has been a great pleasure to do this interview with you. Is there anything else you would like to add to The Ghost readers?

DB – The pleasure was all mine, Sonny, thank you! For more information about me and my work please visit my website, at www.CoffinRust.com