– Issue 10 –
Painting by // Ryan Campbell
march 2016 // Issue 10
Cover Artwork by Antonio Páramo
EDITOR-IN-CHEIF ALEX LUCAS EDITOR BRONTE BILLINGS CONTRIBUTOR EMMA BAUSO
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© 2016 INK & ARROWS MAGAZINE
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Letter from editor Hello Everyone! Welcome to Issue Ten of Ink & Arrows. In this issue, we have interviews with Bruno Santin, Bailey Elizabeth, Antonio Páramo, Rotten Fantom, Ryan Campbell, and so many more. Thank you to everyone who submitted their work for this issue and to everyone who has continued to support us online. Without your support and submissions we wouldn’t be here to share our tenth issue with everyone! CONTACT INK & ARROWS General Questions & Advertising
So, thank you so much
and we can’t wait to share more amazing work with you all in future issues.
inkarrowsmag@gmail.com Submissions
inkandarrowsteam@gmail.com For more info on submissions
www.inkarrowsmag.com/submissions
We hope you enjoy this issue and that it inspires you create something amazing or find your new favorite artist! – Alex Lucas (Editor-In-Chief)
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WWW.ZIJUNSTUDIO.COM || WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/ZIJUN.STUDIO TWITTER & INSTAGRAM @zijunstudio
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CAN YOU TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOURSELF? Hi! I am Zijun, and people usually call me Lee because of the difficult pronunciation. I was born in Guilin, which is a very beautiful city in Southern China. I was a very naughty kid so my mom was trying to use drawing to keep me out of trouble. She would give me a different assignment to draw every day, if I didn’t finish it I had to recite a very long paragraph of Chinese classic. Amazingly, I developed the passion for drawing and painting. Driven by this great passion, I decided to become an illustrator after school. So I founded ZJ Studio.
YOU FOUNDED YOUR ILLUSTRATION STUDIO, ZJ STUDIO, RIGHT OUT OF COLLEGE. WHAT WERE SOME OF THE CHALLENGES YOU FACED GETTING YOUR BUSINESS GOING? As a newbie, it was hard for people to trust you, because they have no idea if you are just playing around or being very serious. Besides that, I would say the inexperience of dealing with clients is another challenge. At school, you can have a very direct sense about what you put in and what you get. But in the real world, sometimes it becomes very tricky. The results are not solely depending on your efforts, how you interpret what the clients really wants also matters.
YOUR HISTORY AND EXPERIENCE WITH TRADITIONAL METHODS OF PAINTING AND DRAWING CLEARLY SHOWS IN YOUR ILLUSTRATION STYLE. WHAT MADE YOU TRANSITION TO DIGITAL INSTEAD OF WORKING WITH TRADITIONAL METHODS? Trying new technology always makes me excited. Being an artist, I believe it is important to embrace new things. Since digital painting has so much potential to explore, why not taking full advantage of it? ON AVERAGE, HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO FINISH AN ILLUSTRATION? Usually it takes me no longer than a week.
WHAT ARE SOME OF THE BENEFITS OF RUNNING YOUR OWN STUDIO? I need to put 100% efforts to reap the rewards because I am taking the full responsibilities of the studio. And not being limited by the 9 to 5 schedule, I can work around the clock and use the most of every minute to create. ON YOUR ABOUT ME PAGE YOU TALK ABOUT SOME OF YOUR INSPIRATIONS BEING COMIC BOOKS, JAPANESE PRINTS AND THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY. HOW DO YOU INCORPORATE THOSE THINGS INTO YOUR ILLUSTRATIONS? WHAT ARE SOME OTHER THINGS THAT INSPIRE YOU? Usually I would look up to some of the masters in the industry to see how they incorporate different elements into one piece, and then I would do some exercises to see if I am able to put it off. At the beginning I made a mistake by focusing too narrow on making the image, but later I realized that the miracle of life and the diversity of culture are the mother of inspirations.
WHAT IS YOUR CREATIVE PROCESS LIKE FOR A PROJECT? Because I see every project has its unique spirit, it is arbitrary to conclude a cookie cutter process. In the process of discovering their essences, I will ask different questions to myself based on the given topic in order to define the core ideas. And after that I will use the core ideas as building blocks to begin my creative process. WHAT DOES YOUR STUDIO LOOK LIKE? ARE YOU SUPER ORGANIZED OR IS IT AN ORGANIZED MESS? I like to keep my studio tight and clean. And right after my career turned profitable, I hired a very organized friend as the studio manager to run the daily errands. Because for me an organized studio just likes a healthy body, which runs very efficiently.
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Introduce yourself: Tell us a little about you and what you do. I´m Bruno Santin and i’m from Spain, I studied textile design at the School of Applied Arts of Leon. Before deciding to work in the world of illustration, I worked in different artistic branches such as glass, sculpture and design of carpets and fabrics. I’ve been in numerous exhibitions in Spain, both individually and collectively. My drawing are characterized by the use of red color, the richness of detail in the lines and the love of portraits of bearded man. I live in Ponferrada (Leon) where I work by drawing portraits and doing fashion illustration for companies and individuals, as well as for different national and international journals. What made you interested in illustration? I read a lot of amazing books when I was young and I love the work of a lot of artist then I thought I want to be like all this artist. I follow the work of the artists like Antonio Soares,James Jean, Ron cheng Hsiao or Vítor Ngai. All of them are wonderful artists!
What do you find yourself being inspired by? Bearded man, Asian And japanese culture, flowers... What is your creative process? I just draw every day like a routine. I look on Instagram or Pinterest and then my imagination can fly with my papers and pencils. I always work on 3 or 4 drawings at the same time. The daily need to draw is to hold off my laziness, to give the best of myself, to make exquisite drawings which are enjoyed by a larger audience, to be really happy doing what I do, and enjoy the moment. Where can people find you and follow your work? brunosantin.tumblr.com instagram @aquilesbrunosantin
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Introduce yourself; tell us about you and how you became interested in illustration. Hi, I’m Tiffany Mallery. I’m an illustrator based out of a very small Midwestern town in the United States. I recently graduated from Lesley University in Massachusetts with a degree in illustration. I would say I became interested in illustration back in high school. Back then, I had wanted to become a fashion designer. One day, I picked up this book, I think it was one of the early editions of Illustration Now! and I fell in love. I’m pretty sure that was a turning point for me where I realized that what I had loved most about fashion design was the illustrative aspect. And once I figured out that illustration was
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like, this magical and extremely broad world... I mean, of course there was no question which I’d rather pursue! I still do love fashion design though. Maybe one day I’ll find some time to combine the two into one wonky passion project. As far as current me goes, I have a day job (sobs) to support myself and stay on top of “Important Finances.” I’m also an associate art editor at a small lit press, Pizza Pi, based out of Boston. It was started up by a friend from school and she had brought me on as an illustrator for a couple of chapbooks she was printing and then officially asked me to hop on board alongside a some of our other peers several months ago. We have some exciting things baking up on the pizza stone (sorry) for next year!
Where do you find yourself gaining inspiration from? I tend to find inspiration in long showers, walking down the street, gazing out of a window in a moving vehicle...basically those quiet moments during the day where you are either pondering deep philosophical thoughts or asking yourself whether you turned off your humidifier before leaving for work. Other avenues of inspiration are: other artists, my friends, food, books, eavesdropping, the banality of everyday life, and the type of music you listen to during a rainy day; The Decemberists, Valerie Jun, Hozier, the Norah Jones and Billie Joe Armstrong Foreverly collaboration.)\\ What is your creative process? Process has never been easy or consistent for me. There are times when revisions and thumbnails are necessary depending on what I’m working on, but if it’s a personal piece or something in my sketchbook, it’s rare that I go in with pencils first or some kind of outline. Definitely in a more professional setting, I’m a little more mindful with, you know, expecting feedback and not really being married to any one idea. My one thing is to ALWAYS set a deadline before the real deadline. It tricks me into finishing my work in a more timely manner. I’m a simple person.
I also like to binge-watch series while I’m working. Usually, I’ll watch the same shows over and over because they’ve already proven their reliability. If I’m doing something where I can’t sit in front of my computer, I’ll find alternatives. Just a couple months ago, I was doing a mural for my sister’s baby room and listened to NPR’s Serial podcast. Now I can’t look at the finished wall without hearing Sarah Koenig’s soothing voice discussing case evidence for a 15-year old murder trial! Where can people find you and your work? I’m absolutely OBSESSED with Instagram. You can find me on there under the name @notiffanyno. www.tiffanyillustrating.com www.tiffanyillustrating.tumblr.com Pizza Pi - www.pizza314press.org Maps for Teeth - www.mapsforteeth.com
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Introduce yourself; tell us a little about you and what you do. I’m Ganesh Rao, a visual artist based in Chicago. I make drawings, paintings, music, and musicfilms. I studied computer science and engineering from Manipal University, in India, and came to USA in 2007 to study fine arts and visualization at Texas A&M University. I currently work with artists, individuals, and businesses, and help them grow by providing creative assistance in their studio practice, by designing and developing their online-presence, and providing technical support and digital solutions to their problems. I am interested in improving life by doing things more efficiently, and by living more with less.
Where do you get inspiration for your work? I’m inspired by bodies, both human and animal bodies. The external physicality of skin-folds, wrinkles, curves, structures, appendages, and the manifestation of identity, persona, and image. I search for similarities between human and animal bodies in terms physiology—organs, arteries, veins, bones, muscle, fluids, and in terms of psychology—urges, instincts, sexuality, beliefs, the resulting rituals practices, and performances. There is an uncanny, whimsical world at the intersection of all of these organic aspects of the body. I believe that by understanding our organic connectedness we will better understand existence and develop habits for a fuller and happier life.
Where can people find and follow your work? Instagram @ganeshnrao
Tumblr www.ganeshnrao.tumblr.com
Vimeo www.vimeo.com/nesh
Soundcloud www.soundcloud.com/artrulesmyworld
Bandcamp www.ganeshrao.bandcamp.com
Portfolio www.ganeshnrao.com
Store www.ganeshnrao.tictail.com
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Introduce yourself: tell us a little about you. I’m a 23-year-old artist, currently residing in sunny Los Angeles. I just moved out here from Philly in the summertime, but I’m loving it so far! I enjoy all things creepy, flowery, uncanny, glittery, dark, or hot pink. Also, anything having to do with unicorns. What made you interested in photography and illustration? I’ve been making art as long as I can remember - I don’t remember a time when I didn’t want to be creating something. I began with drawing and illustration when I was really young. I drew what a lot of little kids do - Pokemon, cartoons, horses, things like that. I later began to develop my own style. With photography, I had been seeing a lot of really beautiful self-portraiture on DeviantArt, and I wanted to try my hand at it. I started out with a really crummy tiny little point-and-shoot camera, sometimes even using disposable cameras! I quickly fell in love and could barely put my camera down. I love how expressive photography can be, and how it naturally lends itself to being realistic or dreamlike or a mix of both. It can be anything you want it to be. I’ve been following your photography work since the flickr & deviant days and it’s amazing to see how much your work has grown. What made you start sharing your work online? Do you think sharing your work online has helped you grow as an artist? I started putting images on flickr long before I did photography - I used to make custom content for the Sims games, and I would share it on forums and flickr. Because of that, I was already familiar with flickr as a platform once I started doing photography, and DeviantArt seemed like an obvious choice since so many of my own favorite photographers posted their
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work there. I honestly never anticipated getting any attention whatsoever - I just thought I might get a little helpful feedback here or there! I think sharing my work online has absolutely helped me grow. The internet is such a great platform to get opinions from so many different types of people and artists. It’s one of the few places that you can hear from other creative beings without having to be in a gallery or classroom setting. Your drawing/illustration style is a great mix between horror, surrealism, and art nouveau. Where do you find your inspiration for your work? I pull inspiration from a lot of places! But I think my main source of ideas is actually my own dreams - I’ve always had weird dreams, ever since I can remember. A lot of my illustrations are inspired by images that my subconscious comes up with. I also am very inspired by classic horror stories and poems, myth and folklore, and the natural world. What is your creative process like? Honestly? I would probably be lying if I said I have one specific process. My photography usually has a lot more forethought and planning than my illustration work - I’ll come up with a concept and then execute it to the best of my ability with the resources I have. For my illustration work, though, it’s a mix. Sometimes, I’ll have a solid plan in mind - I’ll have a final image that I want to achieve, and I’ll know exactly what I want it to look like. For the most part, though, I’ll start drawing one little subject that I want to draw - it could be as specific as a certain breed of wolf, or as broad as a girl and then I’ll branch out from there, adding and taking away elements as I go, figuring out what looks interesting together. Some of my pieces have a lot of conceptual or personal meaning behind them, but some just exist for the sake of being nice to look at!
What are your favorite things to draw? What do you find the most difficult to draw? My favorite things to draw are flowers, animals (especially rabbits and foxes and deer!), pretty girls, creepy girls, and invented monstercreatures. I also love drawing hands and copious amounts of shiny eyeballs. I have a really hard time drawing “technical” things, like buildings, cars, and cityscapes. I feel like there’s just… too much precision and math involved in getting them right! I’m also constantly struggling to properly portray ears. There’s so much twisty cartilage, it’s like a maze! Where can people follow you and your work? www.baileyelizabeth.com Instagram: @bailey_elizabeth_art & @ff0xx www.fb.com/bailey.elizabeth.photography
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Introduce yourself: tell us a little about you.
I’m Antonio Páramo, a digital and mixed media illustrator from Mallorca, Spain. At the moment I’m living in Cologne, Germany, a city that I love very much. I also love pugs, curvy girls, movies and sushi.
What made you interested in digital illustration and mixed media? I had my first computer when I was 14 years old and I always loved to draw with it. I started with a mechanical mouse, it was clunky but I loved. I think the reason I love digital art is because it allows you to experiment in an easy and fast way. I’m not afraid of trying new crazy stuff because if I don’t like it I can just undo it and try again without losing anything. I’m also very perfectionist and the digital media allows me to repeat every single line of the drawing until I think it’s perfect. I started with mixed media as a way to expand the digital art. You can scan anything you want and just mix it with digital art, it’s so much fun!
similar work and feedback. I just see a lot of work that I like and let the inspiration subconsciously come to me. Tell us what is the most rewarding part of being a freelancer and the most challenging aspect of being a freelancer. The best part is to make people feel confident with their bodies. Sometimes someone that is suffering from body insecurity issues sees my work and feels himself confident, it just make the whole effort worthy. There are also another nice parts, like working at home or when someone loves your work and tells you about it. The worst part is all the paperwork and to sit so many hours, by now my back just hate me.
Where do you get inspiration for your work?
What illustration means the most to you and why?
I’m always searching for inspirational body positive women to draw, like plus size models or curvy girls I know on the internet or personally. I want to make beautiful and visually appealing illustrations, so everything that improve my mood it’s helpful, like some relaxing tunes. I think my style it’s a little bit peculiar, so it’s difficult to see another illustrators that make
The first serious digital illustration that I made, I think I was 17 years old. It was a young witch sitting in a forest. It was just a flat and not so great illustration, but I made it for a ex-girlfriend and she like it very much and hanged it on the wall, so I was very proud of it. That day I started to think that maybe I could draw reasonably well after all.
Where can people find and follow your work? www.antonioparamo.com www.instagram.com/toni_pg twitter.com/Toni_PG paramoart.tumblr.com
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Zoe Rayner IS A 22-YEAR-OLD, AMERICAN, LIVING AND WORKING IN DUBLIN, IRELAND. SHE,
PREVIOUSLY, LIVED IN ITALY WHERE SHE WENT TO UNIVERSITY. ZOE IS LOOKING TO ESTABLISH HERSELF AS A FREELANCE ILLUSTRATOR.
How did you become interested in illustration and graphic design?
music while I draw - it’s as important a tool for me as the pens I use.
I’ve always loved art and drawing, but it wasn’t until my first year of university that I began focusing on it as a possible profession. I was going to a small liberal arts school in Rome, and I found myself drawing all over my notebooks instead of taking notes. I started creating small illustrations in my free time, and eventually decided to take the next semester off and apply to an art school in Florence.
Do you think having an understanding of graphic design has helped you with your illustrations? If so, what has graphic designed helped you with?
Where do you find yourself gaining inspiration from? One of my biggest sources of inspiration is other artists and creative thinkers - not just illustrators, but architects, writers, and musicians as well. When I first started illustrating I was so intimidated by other artists, and I would constantly compare my work to theirs. But now that I’ve developed a stronger sense of my own style, I can look at their work and appreciate the methods they used to create it, sometimes gaining inspiration from a pen they use or from the way they perceive and depict a certain subject. What is your creative process? It’s pretty straightforward: I’ll decide on the general subject that I want to draw, and then find some documentation of that subject (usually a photo) to draw from. I almost never create drafts of my pieces, so I start out by drawing a rough outline in pencil, and then refining it. I then go over this outline in pen, and begin filling in the details of the drawing with micron pens, embellishing it or adding elements as I go along. And I always listen to
I think studying graphic design for a year broadened my perspective on visual art in general. As a discipline, graphic design seems much more specific in terms of “what works and what doesn’t” - the elements you use are like a set of puzzle pieces, and you have to find a way to fit them together fluidly. Having exposure to this type of work trained me to pay more attention to detail and the importance of each choice within the creative process, whether it’s the placement of a certain element in the drawing or the addition of a particular color. You use microns for most of your illustrations. How often do you have buy new pens for your illustrations? What are some other tools and mediums do you like to use or want to use in the future? I buy new pens every few months. I like to have a mix of really new ones (for creating sharp, clear lines) and ones that are slowly dying. The faded ones are perfect for creating different types of shading, as the lines they create become much softer and more subtle over time. I’d really love to learn printmaking in the future - it’s such an interesting process with so much room for experimentation, I think I would enjoy the chance to apply my style of drawing to the steps that go into printmaking.
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You went to university/college in Florence, Italy. What were some of your favorite places to go when you were there? What was the most important thing you learned while studying in Florence? The most important thing I learned while studying there was how crucial it is to find a community, in any place that you live. I moved to Florence after living for a year and a half in Rome, and it took me a while to connect with people and to discover places that fueled my interests. It wasn’t really until my last few months there that I started exploring what the city had to offer, artistically and socially. That being said, one of my favorite places to go was Piazza Santo Spirito: it’s a quintessential Italian piazza, with a great restaurants, a cool music venue/cafe, and a weekly market. On summer nights it’s packed with people drinking wine, conversing, playing music - it’s wonderful. What are some of your favorite places to go in Dublin? I’m obsessed with cafes (I love drawing and reading in them), so most of my favorite places here are cafes. My favorite at the moment is called Dolce Sicily - it’s a tiny slice of Italy in Dublin, with amazing pastries and a lovely cozy atmosphere. And everyone who works there is Italian, which is fun. I’m hoping
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to move back to Italy next year, so I’m trying to maintain some comprehension in Italian it’s nice to have a place to go that reminds me of that. Dublin is full of great little cafes and coffee shops and bars though, so I’m sure I’ll find a few more favorites as I get to know the city better. If you could create an illustration or work with anyone in the world who would you choose? Such a hard question! But I think one of my dream jobs would be designing the cover artwork or tour posters for this Australian band called Tame Impala. Their music has been the soundtrack to so many of my drawings and experiences over the past four years - it would be amazing to collaborate with them :)
Where can people follow you and your work? Facebook: www.fbcom/Art-by-Zoe-1523077087924874 Instagram: @zoe.rayner Website: www.zoerayner.squarespace.com
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Introduce yourselves; Tell us about a little about you and where you are from. Rotten Fantom is a project by two Russian artists, Helen from Saint Petersburg and Vladimir from Moscow. The name was conceived on December 21, 2012, which is the day of winter solstice and the shortest day of the year, when everyone was expecting the Doomsday to come. For us, on the contrary, this was the beginning of something new, it turned out quite symbolical.
How did you both get interested in illustration? Helen has got a degree in art and has outstanding drawing and painting skills. Vladimir has many years of experience in design and is proficient with Photoshop and fonts and has general understanding of composition arrangement and the steps for implementing a creative concept. This provides for the adequate artistic level of our works. This is how we complement each otherwithin Rotten Fantom.
Your artwork is a beautiful and is a haunting mix between surreal and horror in a dotwork style. It reminds me of old book illustrations. And I was wondering what are somethings that inspire you and what made you interested in creating illustration in a dotwork style? Presently we are comfortable with dotwork style this is the technique when an image is created by lots of small dots. This helps create realistic images with soft lines and semi-tones. It is well-suited for conveying people, animals and plants, and these are often featured in the works of Rotten Fantom. Dotwork drawing gives a particular misty feel. It correlates with the misty and elusive images that are present in our works. We are comfortable with this technique and it enables us to convey the artistic concept. We might want to try something different in the future and work in a different technique. The pieces of the modern artists like Vania Zouravliov, Thomas Hooper, Aaron Horkey, John Dyer Baizley and Glyn Smyth can be cited as the source of inspiration.
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How did you, both, become interested in dark imagery?
Do you listen to anything while you work on project?
“Memento, quia pulvis es”- This quote is translated from Latin as “Remember that you are dust”, and the idea of frailty of life has a wide use in visual art. Indeed this motif is reverberated in many of our works.
We often listen to music while working. Music is important to our work; it helps us get concentrated on the process and sets up the proper rhythm and mood for the future piece.
However, this isn’t all that we are about; we strive to show the two sides of the coin — black and white, the dust and the spirit, death and life. These contrasts form the basic plots of our works. Creative process resembles exorcism. It is like a psychotherapy session, when you struggle to catharsis in a painful strain of research and self-exploration. We use allegory in all our works and the motif of death must be considered as a symbolic act of going through the road of sorrows and purification from passions. A path through flesh to spirit.
What is your creative process? Do your creative processes differ between the two of you or do work in a similar fashion? We don’t have a particular drawing method. Sometimes we work step-by-step, with some features drawn by Helen, and some by Vladimir. Some works are fully drawn by Helen and others by Vladimir. The creative process doesn’t depend on anything and it is mostly spontaneous. Visual images created by us stem from the subconscious. Everything we have seen, heard or read is accumulated and recorded somewhere at the back of mind, like an information debit. Afterwards a key phrase (or thought) is enough to make the image acquire a more or less vivid shape. The acumen and intuition play a decisive role in this intensification and “faceting” of the image. Thus, there’s no straightforward explanation as to why there is this or that element on the drawing. Everything comes to its place naturally.
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What tools and mediums do you use? We normally use fine-grain medium-density paper and ink liners. First, we make some draft sketches of the future piece, then one final sketch with a pencil, afterwards we finalize the work with ink liners of various thicknesses. However, we try exploring and developing other techniques, drawing with charcoals, pencils, acrylic painting on canvas, wood or other materials. We believe that the most interesting part is mixing different drawing techniques and methods. We will certainly come up with something new in the future.
Favorite Book? Vladimir: As for the fiction literature, I love Haruki Murakami, a Japanese writer. I have read all his books and essays. One of his best works is “Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World”. I also like his “A Wild Sheep Chase” and “1Q84” Helen: I would note “Amenra book (20092014)”. I love how intensely the atmosphere is rendered by works of photographer Stefaan Temmerman.
Album or song you are loving at the moment? Vladimir: I’ve noticed that lately I’ve been listening to OST from “The Revenant” most often; I was heavily influenced by this film. Every time I listen to the tracks I wander in my
thoughts to those faraway snowy mountains and foggy woods. Helen: Right now I can pick out the songs by Threnos - “Adrift” and by Panopticon -“ The Echoes Of A Disharmonic Evensong”, but it is Agalloch band that always plays in my heart.
One thing you could not live without? Vladimir: a cup of coffee at any time of day. Helen: I seldom go without seeing a video with jumping goatlings, thanks to Instagram for that.
Find more work by Rotten Fantom at www.rottenfantom.com www.fb.com/rottenfantom Instagram : @rottenfantom
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Is an illustrator, animator, printmaker, and all around storyteller. www.alexkalomeris.com & instagram @alexkalomeris
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Poppy Rahayu Hello! My name is Poppy, I also go by the penname POPIUM. Currently working part-time as an illustrator/storyboard artist while continuing my postgraduate fulltime study in Fine Art History.
How did you get interested creating illustrations for children’s books? It started years ago when I was attending one of the illustration classes in my uni as a subject. I studied the themes and visualization ever since, thus subconsciously tried to imitate what’s in every picture books I took reference from. Since then I grew a fond of how
What inspires you? Many things from daily activities to subtle things in life that missed from everyday observation, like, domestic animals (fishes, chickens), waiting on cafe, music practice, messy work desk, and such.
picture books is portrayed.
What is your creative process for an illustration? I prefer going outside to observe little things for inspirations. However, I rarely keep them directly into my sketchbook. I would first do a little visual research on how versatile people/artists portray the object I’m working on. I learn how every line is rendered in diverse styles and then try to make one of my own. Visually speaking, personally I often find chinese paintings invigorating.
What are your favorite tools and mediums for creating your illustrations? Mostly (relatively) light tools, like, drawing pens, watercolor, brush pens, etc on paper-based mediums, such as watercolor pads, rice paper, sketchbook— anything below 300 grams, although recently I also tried drawing on wood/ chopping boards.
Find Poppy at popiumworks.com facebook.com/popiumworks issuu.com/poppyprongs
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Many things from daily activities to subtle things in life that missed from everyday observation. -Poppy Rahayu
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I learn how every line is rendered in diverse styles and then try to make one of my own. -Poppy Rahayu
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Introduce yourself; tell us a little about yourself and what you do. I am a multidisciplinary artist. I make work accepting, even glorifying fleeting moments. My approach to this includes incorporating abandoned objects into the images I create. Early in my career I did this by presenting abandoned or castoff places such as industrial sites or structures left to ruin. Often I would represent these places and objects as figures relating to the emotion and energy of the site, many times connecting to the space on a personal level. To me these places deserved a second life. My goal was to reveal the good that remained. Today I have a similar goal. I place fabrics and fibers paintings, prints, and sculptures in an effort to extend life or renew interest in the forgotten and cast off. The history of these fabrics lends weight and energy to the images created. With my photography, I go a step further by layering snapshots of the works I make including the reclaimed, with captures of family, friends, and places I spend time. This offers further credibility to the forgotten with remembrance. Really, more than remembrance it is also integration. Themes woven through my work include home, family, identity, memory, history, and record keeping. I am a documentarian of sorts. When did you realize that you wanted to be an artist? I never realized that I wanted to be an artist, I just only knew it. Image making is a record keeping process for me. I gave myself permission to be an artist at a young age, early high school. Art has been my daily pursuit since, really in every moment since. It is a part of everything I do as a human, partner, mother, friend, as me.
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You create in art with many different mediums; painting, photography, printmaking, and sculpting. Each one is so different yet all your work seems to be abstract. What is it about that style that makes you want to create? Abstraction doesn’t compel me to create. My creations implore abstraction to release their reality. My works are the physical manifestation of an emotive response to my subject. Having worked with many mediums and evolving styles over time, I’ve grown into abstraction because of the way essential elements of the subject are made evident in the process and images displayed. Evoking emotion and reaction is a primary goal. This combined with an active interest in process and explorations have naturally led my work into the realm of abstraction. In the same way, my active pursuit of record keeping and study of visual memory lend weight to the validation of abstraction as a suitable presentation of my explorations, due to the nature of memories being built and rebuilt with varying emotion and that history is kept and recorded by emotional beings. Where do you find inspiration for your work? I don’t believe in inspiration, that concept is a bit too romantic for me to accept. I have faith in personal motivation and hard work. Humans are naturally creative beings. We have an inherent need to leave a lasting mark, our own avenue toward immortality. To get there we must pursue our true selves without the distraction or worry for validation from others; our peers, government, family, only ourselves. I am not inspired. I am learning my own way to self-validation.
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Do you have a set creative process? Do you always do things in a specific order or is it very free flowing?
to this identification. Often times I approach image or object building with thought processes I have learned through painting.
At this point, my life isn’t very orderly. The result is this: I work when & where I can. I carry my camera everywhere. Because of portability, I edit images on a handheld device. I work in short spurts throughout the day as I get a free moment from being a partner, mother, & homeschooling my five year old. Longer hours are spent in my studio at night when my family sleeps or when my husband is home from his chef job. At any time you can find me painting or sculpting with my little one joining me in the studio. The only consistent rhythm in my process includes persistence & documentation. I paint and photograph my world daily.
Painting is a part of me that I cannot deny. It grounds me. The processes and methodologies of the practice are those that apply to every project that I involve myself in: observe, define, refine, all in the most physical way with color, texture, and layering of moments past and in action.
What does your creative space look like? My studio if full of recycled fabrics, objects, and paint with stacks of works in progress. Most of the basement of my home is for work with corners carved out for sculpture, (primarily concrete, plaster, & found object), a larger space for painting, and a printmaking space with a small etching press & block press. My goal this year is to install a small dark room. I leave a bit ofl space free for experiments in paper making & textile work. My little one has projects and toys in the mix, which is probably the most fun part of the studio, as well as the most challenging. What are you favorite mediums, tools, and colors to create with? As I mentioned, I paint & photograph daily. However, I work in multiple mediums and have learned to do so in an effort to be equipped with the ability to choose the right technique to convey my message in the best way. I am though, a self-identified painter. Most of the work I create can be traced back
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Are you working on anything at the moment that you can share with us? I am interested in relationships between working artists and crafts people and how those relationships inform our work. I am currently laying the groundwork for a project exploring these relationships. At this time I am also preparing for an exhibit in Atlanta toward the end of this year. Where can people find and follow your work? I can always be contacted through my website, www.tobypenney.com. This site is updated every few months. Daily updates can be found via Instagram & Twitter @TobyPenney. My work is also available through Moberg Gallery in Des Moines, Iowa and Bill Lowe Gallery in Atlanta, Georgia.
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photography by Lance Gerber
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“My name is Ryan Campbell. I am a 34 year old artist based out of Palm Desert California. I was born and raised in Los Angeles until late 2001 when I made the move to the desert. I have always had a passion for the arts in general and found myself working in different facets of the art business over the last 10 years. I am married and my wife and I have 2 dogs, Monster and Walter both of which are of the bulldog variety. I enjoy awful movies, occasionally good ones too and a very wide variety of music. I work with a brilliant group of people at studio PKS3 assisting Light and Space artist Phillip K Smith III as well as creating my own works of art daily in my own studio. “
What type of artist are you and how would you describe your style?
transitions. I am interested in allowing layers to float within my compositions‌either through color relationships, contrasts, or metallic finishes. .
My main focus as an artist is making paintings. My work best fits under the categories of op art, minimalism and geometric abstraction. My work focuses on using a set of numerical and directional parameters and segments of lines that are arranged in layers to create the perception of depth on a flat surface through the use of color gradients and metallic and varied textures. Symmetry of structure is an important aspect to my work. I am interested in qualities of direction. That is, I am aware of my line work moving left to right and reverse, up, down and reverse, and diagonals leading left to right and so on. I use individual and multiple line segments to create color blocks. I work within specific color harmonies, using complementary color relationships and sometimes fluorescents, while also being aware of lights and darks, gradients and
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I like to think of myself as a dedicated artist that is always striving for better results and stronger compositions. Where do you find inspiration for your work? I find my own personal inspiration through the continual search for more precision, aesthetic beauty in composition and visual energy in my work. I am also inspired by the new limits people are taking their art and exhibitions to as seen on social media. Having access to art from all over the world is a great inspiration. Talking with other artists about process and ideas is always inspiring. Those conversations can really ignite something inside of me. At times so much so that I rush back to my studio so I can get right to work.
What is your creative process like? My creative process typically starts with a simple notion of a color combination or a loose concept for a composition. I make drawings to better understand compositional elements and regularly make small color studies as well. I often fixate on colors when I mesh variable spectrums of colors or work monochromatically. I create custom wood panels that are seamless and have deep edges so the entire surface can be used. I prepare the surface so that it can receive lines. Then the first segments of lines are marked accordingly. After the first layer is dry the next layer is marked out and so on. This goes on for every new layer until the composition is complete. Working this way allows for time to be devoted to editing which consists of both additive and reductive processes. Knowing when the work is complete occurs in my immersive studio experience and tends to be the most crucial part of the process. It is very easy to get carried away and take the piece to far. I have to say that patience is something I am happily learning from my process. Where can people find and follow your work? You can follow me and my work on Instagram @rmc1 and go to my website for more info www.rmc1studio.com
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Introduce yourself; Tell us about you and what type of creative you are. I was born in a land of ancient artistic traditions, Tuscany, where every city, every street, every corner of the landscape, reminiscent of the visions of the great artists of the past. To think that I was born a few kilometers away from where they were born and have lived Michelangelo, Masaccio, Giotto, Donatello and all the other great artists that have made the reputation of Tuscany, it makes me dizzy. But at the same time it fills me with pride and enthusiasm and it makes me feel part of an ancient tradition renewed in time by hundreds of artists.
What made you interested in design and fine art painting? I started very early to draw all that I could think of, especially those fantastic things, but the decision to pursue an artistic career came later. After studying it, I started working as a designer in the architecture, while continuing to paint and draw. I studied art and architecture in Florence. In those years, I learned to measure my strength, to dominate my vehemence, to draw and paint with my head than with my hands. I studied the various theories of colors, the infinite possibilities of colors, the composition, the rules, the design ... Then I put everything aside and started to paint my way. Do you think having an understanding of design helps your when you are painting? Design is the base of all the art and craft practice. The careful design of the space available, both in the large architecture that the small size of a painting canvas, is what makes it enjoyable to see and facilitates the reading of the article. Obviously before us he had already noticed by the ancient Greek and Roman architects, then also in the Renaissance, the golden rule has been used for the design of many works of art. Where do you get inspiration for your paintings and drawings? I think that any time is good to paint or draw. Every situation, every moment of the day has the aspects that can be analyzed and fleshed out and can become excellent subject for a painting or drawing. No need to fabulous landscapes or beautiful models, everything we need is all around us, are the simple things, usual, those who no one thinks, but an artist can isolate out of context and place them in prominence .
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What is your creative process? My creative process involves different times. First of all there is the birth of the idea phase that may last a few minutes but also several weeks; often a thought turns me on my mind for months, unable to find an exit, then suddenly takes shape and appears in front of me ready to be developed. Then comes the stage of development of the idea that involves a variety of sketches, essays, sketches. Hence the final layout of the painting with the choice of color scheme, composition, format. Lastly comes the final version on canvas or paper.
What are your favorite products/tools for creating? I paint mainly with watercolours and acrylics. My watercolours are the winsor and newton Do you have any advice for people wanting to be a fine artist? For all those who have a passion for art and are attracted by the possibility of turning a passion into a profession I can only say that my understanding and I would encourage them not to be afraid. At the same time, however, I must warn them that it is a hard road that will hardly enough to live decently. My advice is to combine the passion of art to a craft that will guarantee a salary for a living. passione dell’arte ad un mestiere che garantisca un salario per vivere. A Few Random Questions: Favorite place to go? Paris Favorite Color? Cerulean Blue Favorite book? Moby Dick
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My name is Haomin Wei, people call me El Chino, because I am from China and I do not really want people to struggle on pronouncing my name, therefore I simply want them to call me Chino. I am currently studying photography in Detroit, MI. My inspiration is mainly from the News and painting. I grew up with my grandfather who was the president of a news agency and print house for the Chinese Government. He taught me about painting and I, also, took political propaganda illustration in the past. The images featured are photos I took during my last visit back to China. They are very important to me because I have too many things I have to do
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here in America and I haven’t gone back home to see my parents for 2 years. Every time I feel like going home I just look at them. I have really mixed feeling about China, one hand I really do not like the living environment of China due to the fact China has changed a lot and those changes twisted the Chinese people, issues about society, class, censorship and living difficulty just drives people crazy. I love China because Chinese people are more friendly and easy going.” Find more work at Weifoto.net
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