You are the son of an Air Force pilot. How does this affect your childhood?

I went to a lot of schools. Four while I was in the first grade! World War 11 had just begun. We settled down for a while until the war was over and then we moved again and again. During that period I met two of Dad’s friends, who had both survived the “Batan Death March‿. For some reason they took an interest in me and invited me to trout fish. One of them loaned me an old Model 97 Winchester shotgun. Mom would drop me off in the far corner of the Air Force base in Utah to hunt and picked me up later in the day. That was in 1948. Things really have changed since then! As far as art, I was like all kids…. We drew….I just never stopped. When I was little I drew picture stories about the war and I use to lie in front of the radio and draw what I heard.

Your animal illustrations are very nice like the others. We know that you are interested in fish and fishing. Can you please tell us about this?

I started hunting and fishing when I was thirteen. I really like it and am now knowledgeable in this area. So it was only a natural that I use this subject in my artwork. So many of my illustrations are the result of waiting for the hatch or watching the sunset over West Texas quail country.

How can you explain why you've chosen the magnificent lifestyle of art, instead of another fairly exciting profession?

When I thought I needed to find a career, I figured I would become a game warden or forest ranger to match my outdoor interests. Well my Dad pointed out that the only problem of being a game warden was that those folks were all working while everyone else was hunting and fishing. He said, “Maybe you could make a living as an artist and then fishing and hunting could be your hobbies‿. I took that advice. The other reason I am an illustrator is I really can’t do anything else worth a damn to make a living …it’s really handy this worked out!

We are really appreciating your enviable productivity. In one of his articles, Jack Summerford says "I have no doubts that my good friend and great illustrator, Jack Unruh, will be found dead at the age of 100 slumped over his drawing board with pen still in hand with a colorful expletive scrawled on his last illustration". Asking this to a master, who loves his art this much, may be odd but, which one do you like most; illustration or fine art? Do you think there is a big difference between these two?

I love the challenge of being an illustrator. It’s the process that is different.. Illustration involves parameters that are imposed by your client. You have to find a way to put your identity on the project. The challenge is to make it look like yours with all the dos and don’ts that come along with assigned illustrations. Good illustration art and good gallery art are just that… "good art". Fine artists set their own parameters. They paint what they want, when they want. There is no excuse for not doing a great piece every time.

As an American artist, how do you evaluate the position of illustration in your country and in Europe?

The overall position of illustration in America "sucks". I think it is because we think of illustration as only a print medium. In general terms, electronic image-makers seem to be doing OK. Illustration for computer games and computer-animated films offer strong possibilities. Print media is not a growth area. Pick up a magazine say "Time", dated 2006 as well as one from 1980 and just feel how much heavier the old one is. Also corporate America is not doing annual reports as they once did, which offers less opportunity for artists and photographers, another profession in difficult times. I don’t really know anything about the illustration business in Europe.

You are separating your works as 'real' and 'unreal' ones. Can you please explain us the differences between your real and unreal works? What is the reason of this distinction?

My real work is a reflection of what I see. My unreal work is a reflection of what I think.

The theme of our second issue is "White", and it is fairly noticeable that whites are very important in your works. Ingeniously left unpainted, the white parts of the works leave a remarkable space of relaxation for the viewer. Maybe one of the most important qualities of Jack Unruh style is this. What does this word -white- mean to you?

White is a very important area that I do not draw. It makes what I do draw all that more important.

We know that you are using photographs for your realistic illustrations. How often do you use technology? Do you use a digital camera or are you one of the believers of "analog is always the best"?

I use anything that I think will help me create an image in both my real and unreal illustrations. I am not very good at technical stuff, which includes any kind of camera or computer. I use a point and shoot conventional camera and a digital camera for reference pictures. I have step by step directions written on a note pad so I can print out the photos from the computer! I’m probably just too lazy to learn new technology. I flunked typing twice in high school, so my emails are very, very short.

Can you please tell us about your working habits? What does Jack Unruh do before, during and after working? What are there on his table?

I get up around 7:30, shower, dress, fix breakfast and read the paper. Then I feed the dogs, 3 German Short Hair pointers. I start work about 8:30 in my studio behind out home. I go to the YMCA (gym) for an hour at noon on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I quit work at 6:00, feed the dogs, and clean the kennels. Then I fix dinner for Judy and I. After dinner I watch a bit of TV, work on sketches and concepts for jobs and go to bed after the 10:00 news.

I love to have friends and family over for weekend dinners. I like to cook and serve my friends good wine from my collection. I have four children. Susan, the oldest is Saudi Arabia in the Foreign Service. Kim a Special Education teacher lives in Dallas with her husband, Russ and our two grand children, Max, 12 and Will, 8. Next is Christy who is a jewelry designer and works for the Dallas Zoo. The youngest is Christopher, a photographer with his wife Barbara, a stylist and their one-year-old son, Jack. My wife, Judy Whalen represents two photographers and really stays busy. She's generally working late evenings at her computer.

Judy and I have traveled a good part of the world and have fished a lot of the places we have traveled. This past fall, I started pheasant hunting in N Dakota (for Field and Stream Magazine), later Kansas and now Texas, where the quail season lasts until the end of Feb. Fishing is on the calendar for Colorado in April, Montana in May and Colorado in July. We’ll see what happens after that.

This month we travel to New York City to receive from the NY Society of Illustrators, a silver medal in editorial and a gold in advertising.

Which illustrators do you like the most? Is there any inspiring artist in your life?

Illustrators working now who I most admire are Robert Andrew Parker, John Collier and Jason Holly. The artists that have inspired me are Gustav Klimt, Aubrey Beardsley, Albrecht Duerer and Bruegal. Klimt and Beardsley for their design. Duerer for his drawing and detail. Bruegal for his story telling.

What do you know about Turkey? Have you ever been there?

I have never been to Turkey. I know very little about your county. I apologize for my ignorance.