Name: James B. Hunt, or NXOEED

Hometown: Orange County, California

Soundtrack: Current 93, Death in June, Boyd Rice

Best movie of all time: Basquiat

Favorite Meal: CAKE AND/OR PIE.

Q: How and when did you get into art?

A: It just happened. I'm not sure how or why. It was something I knew before I was even old enough to talk.

Q: What types of mediums do you use in your work?

A: Paint, brush and whatever I find in the street.

Q: What gets you up in the morning?

A: I have no idea. It just happens. I'm a morning person. Everybody hates that about me.

Q: What is more important to you, color or subject matter?

A:They're both important, though I've noticed that I pay more conscious attention to subject matter and let the colors work themselves out.

Q: Do your peers ever have any influence on your work?

A: Not necessarily on the paintings themselves, though I do have friends who have greatly influenced my promotional sensibilities. My old buddy and fellow Tempe artist Ralph Michael Brekan taught me everything I know about putting an art show together. We paint nothing alike and don't get to hang out as often as we used to, but I still consider him a great painter and a tremendous influence.

Q: What is more important to your work, bold statements or hidden meanings?

A:Hidden meanings are my bread and butter.

Q: Where do you usually get your supplies, do you ever use any non-traditional materials?

A:I'm cheap. If it costs under a buck, I'll figure out a way to work with it. Most of the wood I paint on is found in alleys or in vacant lots.

Q: How much planning and forethought is involved in your work?

A: I really just paint and let the lines tell me where they want to go. The complexities work themselves out.

Q: What is the best place to view your work?

A: In the alley, at the park, behind the dumpster, in the public restroom, at the bus stop, behind the boxes of mac and cheese at your local supermarket, at the library, by the drinking fountain, in between the flag poles, in the elevator. There are approximately 80 paintings of mine hidden throughout the Greater Phoenix area, just waiting for someone to find them and rescue them. I like them best when they're hidden.

Q: In what environment do you work the best?

A: I like the cold.

Q: What is your best or worst experience being an artist in Phoenix?

A: By far the best thing about being an artist in Phoenix is the people I meet at shows. It's such a gift to be able to walk into any venue in town and know that you're among friends. Being an artist has afforded me significant and lasting friendships that I know I'll take to my grave. That's such an important thing to have, particularly when times are hard like they've been this year.

The worst thing might be having to carry ten paintings on a bicycle in the 117 degree heat to a show 13 miles uphill. By the time I get there I'm too exhausted to do anything other than sit around and complain.

Q: Why do you make art?

A: It just never occurs to me to do anything else. It's something I was born to do.