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!