You just recently moved your creative space. Tell me a little bit about that.
Well, I basically ran out of room in my old space. We just moved all my stuff to a bigger room in the house. Now it can accommodate all the art and music stuff, and also be a bit of a hangout as well. It's a work in progress, of course.

What are your "must haves" in a creative space?
In my space, the number one thing is to have music! I HAVE to have music playing while I'm doing my work. I need all my reference materials, a computer to conduct the business end of things, and lots of bits of inspiration to feed my head.

Tell me any tricks that help you stay organized.
Mostly, it's that I just can't create in clutter. I try to clean up the entire studio before I start on a project because I don't want any messes distracting me. I'm kind of anal about it; I want everything in it's right place so that when I'm working, I can just move about without thinking and have all my tools, supplies, and reference right there where it needs to be when I need it. It's really just the discipline of tidiness.

Do you think your work will change in any way, now that you have a new space? Will the room's feel or energy come through in your work?
I think that the more open layout of the space will definitely feed into my work, sure. The arrangement of whatever is in my periphery is always going to have some effect, but we'll see once I actually start doing more to the room as well. One thing I plan on doing soon is getting rid of the drop ceiling so I can have the exposed floor as a ceiling instead, so it's more like a loft.

When do you have the most fun drawing?
When it's something that I'm totally inspired to do! I'll get struck with inspiration for a particular drawing and I seriously have to drop everything else so I can ride that wave of inspiration. Turn on the music, have a good drink, and just immerse myself in that surge of creativity.

I know shoes have a big influence on your work sometimes. Why do you think that is?
Oh totally! Well, basically, it's always been a fetish of mine: shoes and feet. They always come out as a focal point of my work. To me, the notion of shoes reflecting the personality of the person in the drawing is very important. They set a mood, really; they're a social signifier that you can tell a lot about someone by. And I personally like very sexy shoes.... but it is indeed all how you wear them!

Anything else that really influences your work?
Really, anything creative that's crafted well. I really get off on seeing how well something is executed, whether it's a painting, photograph, mechanical device, or even how someone speaks! Balance a mastery of craft with a very gritty subject or notion, and I'm hooked.

X: The Pin-Up Art of Krysztof Nemeth is really popular. Do you have any plans for a second book?
Oh yes! In fact I'm going to be looking into that this fall with my sights set on releasing something in 2008.

Where do you see yourself, artist-wise, in 10 years?
The plan is to not have to work a day-job anymore by that point! I'd love to be able to just make a living selling my work. I'll hopefully be even better by then; I like that continuing struggle towards betterment, and I hope I never attain any sort of perfection!

What has been your weirdest request from someone wanting a commission piece?
Oh geez, I'm actually sworn to a privacy statement on that one! Let's just say I've had some very "particular" requests for some private parties.

If you could be transported to any other time and place, where would you go, and why?
Well, I love the aesthetic of the mid-century America during the "golden age of pin-up", of course, so that's one choice of time period--especially L.A. and San Francisco post-WWII. I'd also love to visit Paris and Berlin in the early 20th century, as well, since there was so much artistic decadence happening there at those times.

Favorite flavor of potato chip?
I'm really diggin' the Salt and Black Pepper Kettle Chips right now, but I dig Tim's Wasabi Potato Chips as well.

Any last words?
"...not saying goodnight, just sayin'..."

You can see some of Krysztof's work on his website Charm School.