Those who inspire.

Today's post won't be a long one--I just wanted to share a couple interviews with two of my favorite illustrators.

close-up of Lisa Congdon's work (from Drifter & the Gypsy)

Drifter & the Gypsy did a Career Day-style interview with Lisa Congdon, who I've mentioned a few times on the blog already. One of the reasons why I really adore Lisa in particular because of how down-to-earth and relatable she is. She didn't start her illustration career until she was almost 40, and now she works for clients like Chronicle Books, Urban Outfitters, and Land of Nod. Her style is straight-forward, and it truly speaks for itself. 

I am incredibly excited for Lisa's upcoming seminar/class at Makeshift Society, which is a relatively new space for creatives of all types to learn, work, and coexist. They host other workshops and classes that focus on lesser-known topics, such as the principles of starting your own business, creating effective design, and using social media to spread awareness about your work. In this class, Lisa will be going over the fundamentals of the professional illustration world, which is something I've been trying to break into since graduating from college a couple years ago. Unfortunately, living in San Francisco hasn't allowed me to pursue this full-time--but the right things never come easy (or quickly). And I think Lisa demonstrates that.

The Sloping Midnight Line, gouache and ink on paper, 8 x 10 inches

Carson Ellis is one of the first illustrators I started following obsessively. I found her through the work she did for her husband's band, The Decemberists. Her work is rich in content, most of which is inspired by novels, Russian history, and most recently, Norweigian/Scandinavian narratives. 

This week, The Morning News offered an in-depth with Carson about her process during this series of works, as well as her perspective on teaching art and her dismal high school experiences. She is charmingly candid and honest, which is always refreshing in interviews.

Hope you guys enjoy these ladies!

Keeping up.

It's hard to fit everything in. There's never enough time. And when there is time, I want to spend it with my partner and my friends. As much as I believe weekends should consist of at least three full days, I can't seem to make that happen. And I hate to complain--I'm lucky enough to be employed at a time like this. But I've been realizing that I need to spend more time making time for my art and music in whatever way I can.

In the meantime, here's a relatively new sketch.

Tommy Gabel/Laura Jane Grace.

These legs belong to one of my newest guitar heroes, Mr. Tom Gabel from Against Me!. Last week, Rolling Stone revealed that Tom has dealt with gender dysmorphia since he was a kid, and is now beginning to transition to life as Laura Jane Grace. I found her story so incredibly inspiring, especially coming from the frontman of a masculine, aggro-heavy punk rock band.

"However fierce our band was in the past," she says, "imagine me, six foot two, in heels, fucking screaming in someone's face."

The article is accompanied by this striking image of Laura sitting on a couch in his recording studio, which is where I got the imagery from. I love the way her legs are posed--she looks so incredibly vulnerable, but so confident at the same time. I kind of liked the idea of leaving it unfinished--I think at this point, her body's a work in progress, and I liked playing with the ambiguity of that.

I threw it all away.

This is my newest sketch. It is totally different from anything and everything I've been doing this past year, and it was incredibly refreshing. I'd had this image of one of those public green wire trash cans toppled over with all sorts of gems spilling out of it floating around for a while, and figured it was time to put it to paper before it got lost in the recesses of my ridiculous head.

Most people who've seen my more formal work probably don't know that I absolutely adore typography and working with pen. It's been an area that I've wanted to explore on a deeper level for years, and I've only done so very, very lightly. I'm aiming to take classes in typography, hand lettering, and printmaking at some point this year. I really missed out on that front while I was still in school.

Day 101: "Knit" by Lisa Congdon

I follow the blog of talented Lisa Congdon, who is currently embarking on a year-long project involving daily practice of hand lettering. You can find it here.

I've gathered a great deal of inspiration from this artist, and hope to soon carry her confidence with color as an idea that will permeate my own work.

For some reason, I haven't been doing these little sketches for about a year or two. I think I was too concentrated on filling my portfolio with things that look cohesive, a.k.a. exactly the same. It felt great to get this little idea out and finished within an hour--I hope to make many more of these. And if I'm going to have a real illustration career someday, people will want to see variety, right?