project-bg-top
INTERVIEW NO 20

Daniel

ENOUGH SLEEP
daniel-1

“Flying on a carpet over the Austrian Alps.“

daniel-2

This is Daniel. He illustrates for a living and loves to create bold, minimal and geometric compositions. We met him on a sunny morning in Vienna and chatted about weird dreams and such.


JUNE 2016
VIENNA, AUSTRIA
ARTWORKS: DANIEL TRIENDL
PHOTOGRAPHY: WOLFGANG LEHRNER
INTERVIEW: VM
daniel-3
daniel-5

“I dreamt I was a cat and I was really into space. I tried to use my favorite plant to build a rocket or something like a spaceship.“

daniel-4
WHAT ARE YOU DOING DURING THE DAY?

I’m an illustrator from Austria and based in Vienna. I  have a love of bold colors and consistently use it in my work as a tool to inject a sense of energy. My forms and shapes mimic this sensibility often through geometry and abstraction. 

WHAT TIME DO YOU USUALLY GET UP? ARE YOU AN EARLY BIRD?

Actually I’m not an early bird, but I try to get up during the week around 8 am to work off my todo list.

HOW DOES YOUR ALARM SOUND?

It's the oxygen ringtone on a google nexus mobile phone. I set the alarm 3 times in a row to make sure I’ll get up. The sound of the alarm really annoys me, but It works.

WHAT ARE THE FIRST THINGS YOU DO IN THE MORNING?

Checking my mobile phone for news and trying not to be grumpy. 

DO YOU LIKE HAVING BREAKFAST? AND WHAT DO YOU HAVE?

I love having breakfast. Especially on weekends. I like to celebrate a long Austrian breakfast with all goodies from the fridge. During the week my breakfast is a coffee and a chocolate croissant on my way to the studio. 
Austria is a big breakfast country. Many Austrians are obsessed with the idea that the breakfast is the most important meal of the day and at least on weekends. The traditional Austrian breakfast includes a Semmeln (a type of breadroll); butter; coffee, muesli, cold cuts, (ham, bacon, cut sausages); boiled or scrambled eggs cakes and pastries jams and orange juice.

ANY BREAKFAST OR BRUNCH PLACES IN LA YOU RECOMMEND?

I think there are plenty of nice places in Vienna to have a good start into the day. Places I can recommend are Hotel DanielUlrichHimmelblauTop KinoCafe CentralCafe PrückelVollpension, and many more.

WHAT TIME OF THE DAY ARE YOU MOST PRODUCTIVE OR CREATIVE?

I think I am more creative during the night but more productive during the day.

DO YOU THINK YOU GET ENOUGH SLEEP?

I usually get enough sleep, yes. It can be an issue if I have some different projects cross over at the same time. I think I need at least 6 hours of sleep to be fit for work.

HAVE YOU EVER USED AN APP TO TRACK YOUR SLEEP?

Yes, I have used the sleep cycle alarm clock app. It's actually really nice, because it tries to wake you very smoothly during your light sleeping phases, but I felt my mobile phone is too close to my head that's why I stopped using it.

HOW DO YOU RELAX AND RECHARGE

I try to relax and recharge with a long sleep on weekends. Also a good way to recharge is to go outside in the nature with friends. Austria offers many great places for that.

WHERE DO YOU SLEEP BEST?

In my own bed.

DO YOU SHARE YOUR BED?

With my girlfriend.

ANY RITUALS BEFORE GOING TO BED?

Taking a shower everyday before I sleep.

DO YOU REMEMBER YOUR DREAMS?

I dreamt I was a cat and I was really into space. I tried to use my favorite plant to build a rocket or something like a spaceship. Then I thought that this wasn’t a good idea and woke up. It felt so real, so I made this Illustration to remember the crazy adventure in my dream.

EVER HAD AN IDEA IN A DREAM THAT YOU BROUGHT TO REAL LIFE?

Yes I used a dream as a kick off idea for a project I did some years ago. Actually it was my first illustration project as an application for the University of Applied Sciences in Salzburg. I was strongly engaged with the given topic xenophobia and one night I had a dream about it. I dreamt about the saying "Some people won't eat what they haven't seen before". ("Was der Bauer nicht kennt, frisst er nicht“). I felt this was a good metaphor to describe the xenophobia, so I build up a illustration series based on this idea.

WHAT INSPIRES YOU?

I try to get inspired from my daily life and things around me. I collect a lot of ideas and inspiring pictures in my notes. I always check them at the beginning of a new project. Also a big influences and inspiration are my friends who are also artists / illustrators.

DESCRIBE YOUR BED IN 3 WORDS.

Queensize, warm and cozy.

DO YOU CARE ABOUT WHAT YOU WEAR FOR SLEEPING?

Not really.

FAVORITE SLEEPING POSITION?

The log position.

THE MOST MEMORABLE SPOT YOU’VE EVER FALLEN ASLEEP?

I slept in an igloo on a mountain at an altitude of 2000m in Tyrol (Austrian alps).

WHAT DO YOU THINK HAPPENS WHEN WE SLEEP?

We travel through time.

HOW MANY SHEEP DO YOU COUNT?

I count geometric shapes.

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DREAM ABOUT TONIGHT?

Flying on an carpet through the Austrian Alps.

daniel-6


project-bg-bottom
– RELATED INTERVIEWS & STORIES –

Sand & Such is a magazine dedicated to sleep and everything around. The moments before and after, rituals, snoozing, slumbering, drifting, breakfasts, brunches, the night, the morning, insomnia, dreams and snores ... read more.

Sand & Such is a magazine dedicated to sleep and everything around. The moments before and after, rituals, snoozing, slumbering, drifting, breakfasts, brunches, the night, the morning, insomnia, dreams and snores...

Sand & Such is a magazine dedicated to sleep and everything around. The moments before and after, rituals, snoozing, slumbering, drifting, breakfasts, brunches, the night, the morning, insomnia, dreams and snores...

Sand & Such is a magazine dedicated to sleep and everything around. The moments before and after, rituals, snoozing, slumbering, drifting, breakfasts, brunches, the night, the morning, insomnia, dreams and snores...

Sand & Such is a magazine dedicated to sleep and everything around. The moments before and after, rituals, snoozing, slumbering, drifting, breakfasts, brunches, the night, the morning, insomnia, dreams and snores...