Мой разум полностью здоров и находится в отличной форме.

Hello once again and big thanks for answering our questions! I'm really pleased and excited of making this interview.

You're really mysterious person. Although you are a very famous artist I only know you're from Sweden, nothing else I could find in the Internet. Could you tell something about yourself for folks of Brutal Carnage Webzine, please?

Yeah you might call me a private person, I don't do many interviews and don't have a facebook, twitter or any other social media. However I'm not a loner living in a cabin in the mountains. I live in sweden, thats right, the northern parts. I'm married and have a 3 year old and one baby due end of july!

Any of your pictures are made in your own personal style which is the attention to small details and large scale of the whole picture. I'm sure that you have large experience. How long have you been painting? Could you tell us about how did you start to make cover-arts for extreme music bands?

As all kids do I enjoyed drawing but when others started witch hockey practice I stayed at home drawing and basicly never stoped. I've also been doing everything from sculpting, photographing, etching, oilpainting, airbrushing etc, so I've always been intrested in diferent types of mediums. 

My first metal related piece was for the booklet of a Deeds of Flesh album (crown of souls). I had decided to go freelance and e-mailed a couple of labels asking for job. Only answer I got was from Unique Leader records and after the Deeds piece I worked with Unique Leader on many of their releases.

Your creations are really frightening and mad a little bit. What is the source of your inspiration? Is it music or movies? Maybe things which inspire you are literature or your nightmares? Is there any secret for such brutal and violent paintings?

Intresting question. I acually started doing horror related images as a kid. I had the best childhood with loving parents and all that so they couldn't really understand why all I drew was monsters. I still don't know why that is the case, it's in my DNA maybe? Inspiration comes from everywere, movies, music, art but also the little things like the roots of a tree or food or just about anything. Often inspiration hits you like a nice surprice. Guess the secret to brutal painngs is to go with what your gut tells you to paint.

I think that a lot of people don't understand aesthetics of your pictures. Am I right? What do your friends and relatives think about that? Do they support you or think that it's some kind of mental disorder? For example I don't let my parents see most brutal covers of death metal CDs because they think it can be cause of perversions. :) 

Thats true, but it would be extremly boring if everybody liked my work and nobody would be upset. My sister was going over some of my work a mnth ago and asked me if I was sick in the head. I laughed and felt like it was a nice compliment. But my family and friends all support me and understand that I'm not sick in any way. However they do not always understand my work. Since I get rid of my demons thru painting my mind is in exelent health. It's a very good form of therapy. In general I feel that people that's into metal are very non agressive and calm, they get rid of their agressions listening or playing brutal music. So rather than cause perversions I think metal works to prevent it.

How much time do you usually spend to create a picture? Do you make it using only PC or drawing by hand?

 Don't know how many hours I spend on avarage. I've started drawing with pen on paper a lot more the last year. My ambition is to eliminate as much of the digital part of the process as possible. No matter how good you get using a digital tablet it will never replace pen and paper.

Painting and creating of cover-arts allow you to provide yourself? Or it's hobby rather than business like other forms of underground activities?

It's my job however I do other work than just cover art to help pay the bills. I sometimes do matte paintings for commersials and music videos. I've aso worked some in the video game industri. But if I could live on cover art only I'd be even happier since that is were I can be creative and have the most fun.

Which of your pictures you're very proud of? May be there are pictures that you've done but now don't like them? If you could turn back time would you change some of yours paintings? If you could choose the album from the past designed by another person to make your own new cover-art which one would you take? Why?

 I'm proud of many images but as you progress as an artist and develop your skills you find that even the pieces you liked the best in the past would not make you as proud today. That is however mostly regarding the technical aspect. Regarding re-makes I had the chance to make a new version of Exodus classic album "bonded by blood".

Which of graphic artists you think are the best? Could you make a short top-list of your favorite album designs?

Not a fan of top-lists since I would probably feel diferent next week. But I can give some of my all time favorite artists: Odd Nerdrum, Roj Friberg, Geof Darrow, Giger.

Let's talk about partnership with the bands who want cover-art by Par Olofsson. I think it would be interesting for your future clients. Tell us about the way you create album design? Do you listen to music to create something individual or just give a list of options to choose already finished one? Can the band affect the final result of your work or you totally rule the whole process? 

First off I talk concepts with the band, they present their ideas and we might exchange ideas before we are happy with the concept. I then make a first rough sketch, often pen on paper to set the composition. I send it to the band and if they are happy with it I just continue working, sending the band frequent updates of the progress so they know whats going on. Also if they want to change anything it's better to do it at an early stage. So the band is very much a part of the process, if they want to. I however prefer to everything acording to my own head.

Is there any requirement to bands who want cover-art made by you?

No racist shit.. 

There are a lot of bands who already have the cover-art by Par Olofsson so you have large amount of experience in communication with musicians. Could you tell us any interesting or unpleasant story about it?

Think I want to keep those stories to myself :) But most often the stories have a happy ending and most bands have been a pleasure working with. There are always a couple of rotten apples but when you consider I've done about 100 covers that procentage is small.

It seems that you really like extreme music. Could you tell us about your favorite bands? Are there any other music genres you like? And what sort of music you will never listen to?

Yesterday I was "Shining", today I'm listening to "Thy art is murder" and tomorrow it will be something else. But it's mostly death and black metal and I would really like to do more black metal albums. There is so much I don't listen to and never will. It's hard to belive how much crap that's out there but since we can choose not to listen to it it doesn't bother me.

How do you spend your free-time? What are your hobbies? And where can I meet Par Olofsson in real life? Bars, clubs, gigs or any other places?

I try to spend quality time with my family when I'm off work. However I get to drink beer with friends from time to time and I still go to gigs when I want to.

And it's time for final question. What do you think about the future of CDs? Is there any future for it at all? And if everything will be in mp3 or be sold in itunes would the cover-art artists have any work?

 I have no idea. But regardless of the end of CDs or not I think albums will always need some kind of visual idenity. If you're releasing an album on the web you still want it to look good I guess.

Thanks a lot for this interview again. Keep on making extreme and sick cover-arts! Best regards from Russia and Brutal Carnage webzine!

Thanks for having me!!