Artist Study: Rebecca Green

As almost all the artists before her, Rebecca Green explains that to find a “good” media for you is to try different things and experiment. She adds that you also have to evolve and not lock into a certain style or media for the rest of your career. The same goes for developing your skills: “Keep working. Keep drawing. Keep trying new things.” Stay active in the art world by going to openings, galleries, lectures, any kind of art you can take in. Another important part is to send work to galleries and keep making new work. On the topic of financial difficulty, Rebecca replies that it is feast or famine. The financial instability is the hardest part of the job and she has had some close experiences. It is important not to give up even at the worst of times and that you have to tough it out as long as you can.

After high school, Rebecca went to community college for several years before she switched to Kendall College so that she could get more rigorous and fulfilling classes. when she started she assumed that the best fit would be an illustrator for greeting cards or something along those lines. Never expecting that the majority of her work would be in galleries. Rebecca notes that traveling and other artists are the two best sources of inspiration. Traveling because it opens you up to fresh views and experiences, and other artists who can give you a new perspective or provide new ideas, themes, and styles. Ms. Green says that without a structured schedule, work can be very frustrating. She likes to put in a full days work but also makes time “off the job” to sketch and get caught up on her website and other things like that. As far as college classes go, she recommends to take classes that you’re interested in and not to restrain yourself from interesting classes that aren’t just the “basics.” I think what she means is that if you’re an art major, don’t just take the generic classes that are required: branch out and take ones that you will find interesting and classes that you think will help you grow. She also says that the most important thing about her studio is simply that it exists and that she has a place designated for work and only work. Rebecca goes down the line of the next important things; “ It has to have a wall where I can hang inspiring things, a shelf for all the things that i love, and the ability to get super messy, which I do. Good lighting is nice. Windows are very nice.” A studio away from home is important to her when she can work around and with other artists, although the one she is in now she is using solo. Art supply needs not being met? Rebecca depends on local art stores (if they have what you need,nothing wrong with Michaels folks!) and Blick, which is apparently awesome.

And for the final responses, Rebecca will be the first artist so far to say that she infact would’ve changed something on her path to becoming an artist. She declares that she sometimes wishes she went to school for stop motion animation and “skipped painting”(skip painting!?gasp!!). Rebecca’s final advice is to “make the work you want to get.” I’m pretty sure this means that the work you make should be the same quality as the work you expect from other artists. “Let go of expectations and really make the work that makes you happy.”

I like that Rebecca Green has made a point of creating her own style of work and seems to do what she loves. Her work also has an interesting texture (is that the right word?) or technique to it when you see some of the closer more detailed pictures. Although Rebecca’s work sports a very interesting color schemes, and a freeing, summer-y style, I would only give her work  three stars. Much of the work I have found is somewhat “girlish” and as that is not a bad thing for all the feminists out there, I mean that her work seems more light hearted and sheltered of you will. Like a child, much of it uses easy colors and is simple in its own way.

Artist Study: Eloy Morales

Eloy not only has very broken english (in a charming way) but is also a spectacular artist. He comes form a line of artists as many of us do so it was somewhat in his nature to follow the path of his grandmother and father. Transferring a pencil at age four, for a set of oils at age nine, he advises young artists to work as hard as you can everyday. See exhibitions of all kinds of art no matter if you want to be a hyperrealist or an abstract artist, it is important to be familiar with all aspects of art. Thanks to Eloy’s super art ability, he notes that he has never struggled with money and had his first solo show at 15 years old (well I’m about 2 years too late for that one!)! Since he is basically an art magician, he has never needed another job to support his art making. He goes on to say that the most important thing to him is his “freedom for creating” and to answer his “inner feelings.” Eloy says that his father was a great inspiration in his work through the advice he gave Eloy; “that is important to be a good artist but its more important to be humble.” Great artists are another force that provides unavoidable influence. All these sources define you into what artist you will become and help you grow. Eloy worked eight hours a day on painting but has to take long term breaks to go home, visit family, and avoid art as what I am guessing works as sort of a pallet cleanser. Eloy likes to keep his studio clean and orderly but is able to work in different situations. He adds that he used to watch horror movie while painting so... to each their own I guess. Finally, he notes that because he took each moment and decision to the heart, he doesn’t have any regrets in his career.

Eloy is a hyperrealist artist. for those of you newbies who don’t know what that is, it is fairly self explanatory. A hyperrealist artists makes art that looks like it could be a picture and is hyper-realistic. This type of work is very interesting to me. I was wonderfully delighted when I saw that not only does Eloy make beautiful hyperrealistic art but he makes it HUGE! These monstrous paintings are mind blowing on the internet and unimaginable in real life! I have not gotten a chance to see one of these lovely works IN real life, however it came as no shock when Eloy mentioned that he never had to take another job or worry about financing his art. Obviously I give Eloy five stars and I HIGHLY recommend checking out this magnificent work. Until next week!

Artist Study: Orlando sanchez

Since Orlando could only answer one question of my choosing, this artist study will be indefinitely shorter than some of my other two paged rants. He notified me that he already spends more time promoting and emailing than actually drawing and would prefer to spend a quality amount of time on one question rather than only touching on all of them. I chose the most general and direct question of the bunch being,  "what would you recommend to someone interested in art to develop their skills and assert themselves as an artist?" Pretty solid right? Orlando directed me to a youtube TED Talk video titled:” Richard St. John: Secrets of success in 8 words, 3 minutes.” After watching this the first time the only thing i took away from this was, how old is this video and why does this Richard guy sound so annoying? Luckily I watched it several more times and focused on the content instead of the speaker. Richard points out eight words that are necessary for success; Passion, Work, Focus, Persist, Ideas, Skill, Push,and Serve. Orlando notes that these have been very important goals of his and that patience is another skill needed because success doesn’t happen overnight. I am a little bit disappointed that Orlando did give me much more than that in his email. I understand that we are all busy and there are very few people who would rather answer emails than doing the thing they love, but what he wrote seemed like just a regurgitated version of this three minute TED Talk. I don’t care how short his answer would’ve been as long as it is coming from the actual artist I am emailing.

Although Orlando isn’t my favorite person right now, I give his art five stars. I absolutely love his pen/ink/ marker whatever work and don’t even get me started on the sketchbook! Orlando uses very interactive and complementary colors in his paintings. I also appreciate his process of using models right in front of him and still managing to spice it up with the movement and color of his work. Adieu until next time!  

Artist Study: Sam Wolfe Connelly

As you can all guess by now, Sam has been interested in art since he was a child. Since it has played such a large role in his life, he urges to “follow your passion” and let nothing else such as money or difficulty get in your way. Let the art be the only factor driving you to what you want to be. He used these skills himself when experimenting with media and style of art he was interested in. Sam recommends to “ ignore what other peoples opinions were” and focus on what felt right for him. Much like Byron Merrill and many other artists I have interviewed, Sam notes that going to art college was a critical time in figuring out where he wanted to take his career and grow. It’s also not a bad place to branch out and meet other fine artists with similar goals and tastes. Mr.Connelly’s focus has shifted through the years from just the simple love of art to a slightly more restricted side of how to pay the bills. Although this sounds like big brother has finally gotten to him, he notes that it is important to integrate your personal creativity with (pardon the hostile word) the assignment. Sam has a rather self sustained way of living and falls on the relaxed side of the scale compared to other artists who keep a more rigid schedule. The trick to his simple style is that he usually “[wakes] up at noon and draw until [he goes] to sleep.” Now as this lax way of living may work for some of us, everyone is different and tends to set different boundaries or goals for ourselves. Aside from the friends he met at art school, gallery openings and parties in the city are another way to meet some artsy people. Sams final advice is to keep pushing for what you truly love, no matter how much rejection you may face.

As an artist, I would give Sam four out of five stars. His eerie work is very original and interesting to look at, not to mention the texture and impact of his work. Some of his works are a bit too grim for my style but creative and impactful nonetheless. When I first say his work I was much less impressed but now that I have taken the time to explore and take in a larger variety of his creations I really do enjoy them much more.

Artist Study: Byron Merrill

Our lovely artist this week is Mr. Byron Merrill. He starts his email saying that he is truly flattered and doesn't mind at all to answer my questions. great! I like this guy already! Byron states in his first answer that he couldn’t not draw and that it was such a natural urge for him to just do it all the time. Unlike me, he says he still has sketchbooks and doodles from middle school and high school. Practice is what really got him through but there are many, MANY bad drawings that come out before the good ones do. “You just need a lot of trial and error to find something that works for you. comfort zones in media can be a gift and a curse.” on the financial side, Byron explains that you just have to  do what you can. In illustration he says, “the longer you're in the game, the more steady the work gets.” He has survived with a steady job and much freelance work. He states that college is where it’s at for really getting your ass into gear and growing up. It allowed him to make the mistakes and successes he needed to and that he would love to tell his younger self to get serious about drawing. Although when he was a kid he just doodled and messed around, his focus and interests have shifted with age and knowledge. Byron also takes a stab at answering a question about where his influence and inspiration come from. He notes that you must live to create. You’re not going to get any good stuff from sitting around and hoping you think of something soon. You have to get out there, do the things that you’re passionate about to really make your art stand out. I very much agree with this in that you can only learn or experience so much from your computer screen ( even with how advanced they have gotten). Mr.Merrill and I are also similar in the way that we are unstructured by ourselves. In response to this, he sets up 8 hour workdays to keep structure and on task. Byron also tries to get as much work done on a project as soon as he can and tends to work when there are less outside distractions such as early in the morning or later at night. His best advice to get your are “out there and noticed” is to simply put it out there until it gets noticed. The internet is a wonderful place and if you send out enough samples of work, and throw it in the right peoples faces, ( and make good work too obviously) you WILL get noticed! Byron goes on to encourage me that artists are not monsters, and sometimes emailing them is the best way to make friends... even when you’re old and experienced. Byron leaves me with the advice to read Paul Pope’s PulpHope. A book i very much plan to get my hands on and an apparently amazing read for any artist at any age, and an amazing artist at that. He also recommends Neil Gaiman’s commencement address, a 20 minute or so, video of, what do you know, Neil Gaiman, giving a commencement speech. I have already seen it but decided to take another look at this inspiring piece of art (yes, this speech is pure art!) onb Byron’s request and was once again, blown away! I highly HIGHLY recommend it to anyone, artist, sculptor, actor lawyer, hobo,( alright Mimi, i think they get the point!) everyone to watch/ read this speech! It will make you want to get out of your seat and to get inspired!

    Although now is the time I usually give artists a rating of one through five stars, I feel like this is way too biased. Byron is one of the more cheerful, humorous, and interesting artists I have gotten a response from, with detailed answers that also seem very understandable! The few sketchbook images I have found are wonderful to look at, although I must admit that I have... not an obsession... a burning interest and appreciation for sketchbooks and all of their glory! I also enjoy the style and texture of his work, although I do believe that his traditional work has much more to say as art work rather than digital, but that’s only my opinion!

Artist Study: Cameron Stewart

This week we have answers from dear Cameron Stewart all the way from Canada. A sassy comic book artist, here to share his wisdom. As first order, he states that developing skills and the best media to fit said skills is simple, yet time consuming; “a matter of practice and experiment.” Cameron went on to quote the famous Chuck Jones by saying that you have 10,000 terrible drawings in you, and you have to get them all out on paper before you can get to the good ones. Although I’ve already heard this quote many times and in fact considered taping it to my wall, yet decided against it as to not fall prey to being a cliche, I strongly agree and think that everyone should hear it. You’re all smart people ( I hope) and are certainly capable of picking this quote apart by yourselves, but to make a point and maybe save a few of your precious seconds, I will do it for you! Of course we aren’t going to wake up one day and be amazing artists, and it does feel like forever getting to that point where you feel you’ve reached success (at least for me anyway, and I’m STILL not there!) this quote gives you, or me at least, hope for the future. There have been countless times where I have been completely fed up with all my crappy sketches yet find some hope thinking, only 9,875 more crappy pieces of art until i don’t totally suck any more! I actually don’t keep track, that would be a mess but you get what I mean. Now that I’ve rambled for a good solid 10 lines or so, back to Cameron!!

    As many other artists have noted, the best way to develop your skills and assert yourself as an artist is to practice your butt off! It really does pay off. The second piece of advice is to follow deadlines, NEVER work for free, and to seek professional jobs which might be more stable in a sense. Instability in an art career is different for anyone. Cameron has been fortunate in finding a job where he doesn’t have to worry about that too much, although he does recommend not biting off more than you can chew, understanding your abilities and how you work best, keeping a consistent quality, delivery, and finally budgeting accordingly.

    After high school ,Cameron decided to try his luck in a workforce. This allowed him to do his art independently, focus on the points he wanted to learn to improve his art, and learn the discipline to hold down a “real” job. Since he started as an artist, his focus has remained on comics with the exception of technical practice and drifting away from Marvel/ DC to more personal and independent comics.

    As one of the FIRST artists to understand what I mean by this question, Cam, his new unauthorized nickname, advises youngsters everywhere to find inspiration and to expose themselves to as much of the world as possible(... wait, what?). Let me rephrase that... meet people, experience the world, try new things,read, travel, watch, listen, write! Well, maybe not write... but find inspiration! It DOES exist! Go find it... now. Go!

    Although not all of us can be as motivated as Mister Stewart, who varies from working 10 hours a day uninterrupted to “jerking around for a couple of hours” and then calling it a day, I always enjoy getting such varied answers from this question. Cameron cites the internet and various social media sites as a good way to spread art around. If its good, it will get noticed, therefore, make good art because “the best stuff gets noticed.” as other artists, Cam tells me that working hard is the most important thing; “It's a long road, and you will never actually reach the end, but it can be a very rewarding journey.” As for his most unusual advice, he notes that a good way to meet artists is to simply ask. Look up local artists in the area, find someone whose work you like, and send them an email or invite them to coffee. According to Cameron, this is a great to find people to share some good art talk with.

    Cameron was a very fun person to talk to and I really enjoyed the energy and answers he gave me. Now to clarify, I know that saying “energy” like that makes me sound like a crazy hippie; “that tree is giving off really good energy dude...” but thats not what I meant. I mean more on the lines of; “he sounded like a really nice, good natured person” kind of energy. Now that i've cleared that up, I would give his art three or four stars. I really enjoy his comic book-like style although I prefer his work that is more on the realistic, accurate side.

Artist Study: Mark Demsteader

Mark Demsteader is the candidate for this lovely week, giving us a short and sweet little refresher from previous weeks.Mark has always been an artist and experimented with as many types of media as he could to develop his skills and see what works for his style. He recommends practice to improve skills. He also says to focus on the art style you want to pursue, not to just follow the “trends.” Mark used to be a butcher. Life drawing classes kept his art interests alive during this time until he got fired and didn’t really have anywhere else to turn except for art and he thought ‘I might as well give this a try!’ Throughout the years he has become more focused on what he is doing and somewhat settled into a process that works for him, whereas shen he just started out, he was doing more experimenting. When faced with the question of work habits, he usually works for four hours in the morning, takes a nice little lunch break, and then works for as long as he has to for a project to be completed. He mostly shows his work in exhibits but his website also brings in a lot of buyers. Unlike some other artists i have been graced with, Mark says that he is fairly isolated when it comes to work and only sees other artists at exhibitions. Mark’s final advice is to work hard and stick with what you believe in. “It sounds simple but there are no shortcuts as many students think there are.”

In contrast to my very first artist study, so so long ago, I enjoyed that Mark’s answers were short and to the point. What I was most fascinated with was that Mark’s soul job, before art, was being a butcher. I always had in my head someone waiting tables and coming home to a cramped apartment full of unfinished work, half painted canvases, and paint messily arranged on the side of the counter... but butcher works too. I was also surprised that none of Mark’s work seem to reflect his time as a butcher. As far as I know it would seem to be a very likely thing, and proven to be more realistic than my possible future of trying to live in NYC. I also would’ve like to know how long he worked as a butcher and how it may have affected his life (I know, I’m really obsessed with this bitcher thing! whatever!). Finally, if he had to add one more thing, I REALLY want to know what artists inspire him, what actions he took in and just out of high school that maybe helped him improve and what he uses for inspirations. All the artists that I have seen so far mention that they get inspiration from “everywhere!” which always frustrates me. Somehow, i was more frustrated by Mark’s response: “I don`t think outside influences come into it for me, i tend to be focused on what i do.” That’s all well and good but you have to be inspired by SOMETHING! He may have also just not understood the question, inevitably making me look like a dumbass. That’s cool too.

Moving on from my nosy inquiries, I would give Mark Demsteader four stars. I have always admired the “unfinished” effect. Mark also does a magnificent job at capturing the eerie side of things by using intense shading, and bright focal colors. I really enjoy his (almost foggy) technique in many of his paintings and drawings.