Sneak-A-Peek!

Get ready to meet your match in the Great Personality Exhibition, Project, and Interactive Dating Games!

We are absolutely thrilled and proud to present Great Personality, an exhibition and project about the science of attraction, ambiance, and allure. This sultry exhibition opens next Friday, January 24th from 7:00-10:30PM. We will begin with an optional, free artist talk with Sam Wolfe Connelly (In MCAD Auditorium 150) and then make our way over to Light Grey Art Lab to see all of the gorgeous, interesting, and personality-driven pinups of the exhibition and project!



This is not your traditional pinup show- it features a collection of illustrations and characters that are not only attractive, seductive, and fascinating, but also endearing and personable as each piece is inspired by the Myers- Briggs Personality Types. Connect with these characters and even find out more about yourself through these 16 unique personality types that are defined by life goals, energy, values, perspective, and understanding of the world around us. You can find out what your own personality type is here on the Myers-Briggs Personality Test.



Each of these characters is fully animatable and interactive in the Great Personality Dating Games! These are a series of four unique choose-your-own adventure games that allows you to get to know each of these characters, explore a new city, and even find love! The first game will be released at the opening reception on January 24th and available on the Great Personality Digital Gallery. There you will find the first of four games, information about the characters, teasers, trailers, and links to the online shop.



The Great Personalty exhibition is part pinup, part environment! We selected a group of talented illustrators to create intimate interiors and beautiful landscapes- places that are date-worthy, inspiring, and built for experience. Places are directly connected to our actions, thoughts, productivity, and feelings. They often set a tone for our physical, mental, and interpersonal interactions. See all of these landscapes and intricate spaces transform how we see the spaces around us- spaces as platforms for experience, love, and romance.



Each place is used as a background, living room, date spot, local coffee shops, and more, in the Great Personality Dating Games. You will slowly discover each place as you get to know your new world and all of the people that reside there. The first game will be available January 24! Keep an eye out on the Light Grey Art Lab Website.

We hope to see you at the opening reception and events! We are so happy to finally share and bring this project to life!



Artists include: Kyle Cahill, Wendi Chen, Lynn Wang, Geneviéve FT, Jimmy Malone, Nichole ter Horst, Natalie Andrewson, Sandra Bradstaetter, Gloria Pizzilli, Celine Loup, Amanda Lazone, Alice Tse, Jen Mundy, Lindsay Nohl, Stacey Lee, Matt Edwards, Alison George, Evyn Fong, Shanti Rittgers, Richie Pope, Anissa Espinosa, Claire Hummel, Francesca Buchko, Katherine Diemert, Mildred Louis, Xanthe Bouma, Noreen Rana, Angi Pauly Llobet, Allison Strom, Alex Bahena, Angela An, Meg Hunt, Charlotte Mao, Manuel Kilger, Evan Monteiro, Caitlin Clarkson, Evan Palmer, Jenn Liv, Sarah Marino, Elise Hatheway, Kendra Phillips, Bill Ferenc, Claire Mojher,Leonard Peng, and Andrew Kolb

Game Design and visual novels by Lindsay Nohl Game Assets, text, and research by Chris Hajny, Francesca Buchko, Jenny Bookler, Rebecca Olene, and Amanda Ritchie

Artist Interview: John Lee

As the Station Zero show comes to a close, we wanted to take one last opportunity to speak to participating artist John Lee. John Lee is an incredibly talented illustrator, with clients that include National Geographic, FedEx, Harmonix, and The National Park Service. We wanted to ask John about his influences, experiences and process behind his gorgeous and expressive work. And of course we couldn't help talking about his favorite aspects of Science Fiction.


Hi John! I know you're not local to Light Grey Art Lab, so where are you from? Where'd you grow up and do you think your surroundings playing a large role in your career as an artist?

I grew up in Memphis, TN and am absolutely influenced by the South. My childhood was spent playing war in the Memphis summer evenings, surrounded by fireflies and honeysuckle, watching kung-fu movies after eating home-made fried chicken at family gatherings, and drawing spaceships on x-ray backing boards with fruit-scented markers.

I always drew a lot as a kid, and my parents picked up on that at an early age. They exposed me to a lot of Caldecott award winning children's books, comics like Calvin & Hobbes, and traditional Chinese art collected by my grandparents or family friends. I also remember trying to duplicate the visuals from the video games that my brother and I would play (since we could only play a certain amount every week).

Currently, I find myself thinking a lot about the South in terms of my specific racial experiences within it when I was growing up. Memphis is a city with a deep and complex history when it comes to race relations-- after all, it's the city where Martin Luther King Jr. was murdered, and where rock was born from the blending of black and white musical traditions. However, I'm a 2.5 generation Chinese/Filipino, and there weren't a lot of kids who looked like me in school. There also wasn't really a place for Asian-Americans to fit into the larger common narrative of black/white racial history in the South, even if they were just as affected by prejudice as any other group. Recently, I've been doing a lot of research through museums and first hand accounts of family members, trying to piece together just how complex this history is.

I guess what I mean to say is that I think artists should reflect the times in which they live. And I think as illustrators, it's always best to inform your work, not just stylistically, but through content, with personal stories and experiences. You hear this idea tossed around as finding visual distinction through one's illustration "voice." Right now I'm mining my own formative experiences for -- something. Somewhere in this weird intersection of X-Men comics, Super Metroid, Han-dynasty guardian lions, dogwood trees, cicada broods, and schoolyard scraps, there's a story to be told that is currently influencing my trajectory as an artist.


In process work by John Lee

I see you're an instructor at the Memphis College of Art! What attracts you to teaching?

I actually just quit teaching at MCA this summer, so my website is a little out of date--which I apologize for! I had the privilege of teaching there for 2 years, and taught foundational level courses for illustration (composition and color), as well as a senior-level portfolio development and professional practice course.

I think what I love the most about teaching is that I get to share. You can sit in your studio and just absolutely geek out about a color temperature shift in a Winslow Homer piece, and then bring it into the classroom where everyone not only gets it, but is just as excited about it as you are. This idea of being unapologetically ecstatic about things that you love is essential for leading a creative lifestyle. It's also the lynchpin that binds the illustration community together, and why I feel like illustrators are some of the nicest people out there.

Additionally, for me teaching is one way to pay it forward. I remember when I was first starting out as an illustrator, I was fresh out of school with a tangential degree and nothing but a barely functional ability to draw. I was referred to Nathan Fox, who was living in Kansas City at the time, and I dropped him a line for lack of any other options really. Nathan was really awesome, invited me over to his studio, and essentially got me set up. He did a review of the work that I had cobbled together as a "portfolio", showed me how he interacted with clients, and even went so far as to give me some of the documents that he used to for invoicing and contracts. It was the crash course that got me started, and I owe a lot to him because of it.

So when I would interact with students, I would try and keep that experience in mind. What did I want to know at that stage in the game? What did I need to know? Every student's path and style of learning is different, and my knowledge base is only so deep, so I definitely felt like I had varying degrees of success as a teacher. But at the end of the day, I wanted to feel like I helped someone towards their larger goal in some small way. Because everyone deserves that chance, and maybe one day they'll pay it forward to someone else.


Typography process for Station Zero by John Lee

That seems like a really wonderful and generous approach. So if you could give one word of advice to anyone who's just starting out, trying to be a successful freelance artist, what would it be?

My very first piece of advice would be to be careful on whose advice you internalize. Know the context in which people's experiences are formed. In my case, I still consider myself a journeyman illustrator in a lot of ways, and that I still have a lot to learn and a ways to go in terms of my career.

My second piece of advice for students and artists just starting out would be to reevaluate what your definition of success is. Decide what your goals are within art, or illustration, or whatever, and use that as your true north for every decision that you make here on out. Maybe you want a Ferrari one day. Maybe you want to write a children's book that changes how a whole generation thinks about storytelling. Maybe you want to settle down and have a few kids.

Whatever it is, be honest about what you want and then go for it with all of your being. I think about an awesome interview with Bruce Lee that I heard: "When you want to move, you're moving, and when you move, you are determined to move. (If) I'm going to punch, man I'm going to do it."


Process for Station Zero Show by John Lee

From looking at your work it seems like you like to draw everything under the sun! Is there any one subject that you like drawing the most and why?

For a while, I was really into drawing little feral Mononoke-hime-like kids. I like to draw foliage, and also rocks because I'm boring. I've also been drawing little cartoon sheep since I was in 4th grade, and I use them currently for my "branding." But mostly, I just like drawing people. And I don't really mean figure drawing in the academic sense. Honestly, anatomy, muscle groups, etc. kind of bores me to death. I mean drawing people in a way that captures some kind of honest expression or story. I think Harvey Dunn said to his students something along the lines of "if you want to paint the people, you must become one of the people." Sterling Hundley put it another way in a critique at the Illustration Academy when he said "the great unwashed masses are us." So, I really like just going out in different situations and drawing people as much as I can.

You post on your blog a lot of images of you doing observational drawings in your sketchbook at museums and other inspiring places. What about drawing from real life do you enjoy most, and what is your favorite environment to make art?

For me, drawing is much more effective at capturing an experience than say, photography. When I look at a drawing that I've done, I can remember where I was, who I was with, whether the sun was on my face, or it was windy at the time. etc. It's probably a byproduct of having to invest a lot of time and concentration into making a drawing, as compared to simply clicking a button. Drawing is more personal, and becomes more than just reproducing what's in front of you. You have to constantly edit information, accentuating some things while downplaying others.

On a more technical note, drawing from observation allows you to perceive form, value, and color more precisely than from a photograph. These repetitions build muscle memory and strengthen your perceptual vocabulary, which you can then use back in the studio.

My favorite situation for drawing is when it starts a dialog. So like when I'm drawing, and someone who is into it comes says hi, and a conversation starts. I guess it goes back to that idea of liking things unapologetically.


Sketches by John Lee

What is your process like, and what materials do you typically use?

My current illustration process is in a lot of flux as I'm figuring things out currently. But in general, my finals are either some kind of linework with digital color, or messy digital paintings that are collaged together from scanned bits and scraps of all sorts of things like monotypes, palette paper scraps, blotting sheets, etc. On the digital side, I use an older 09 Macbook Pro, Wacom Intuos 4, PS CS6, and a Canoscan LiDE 600F scanner.

I'm a drawer first and foremost, so all of my painting sensibilities tend to emerge from that. For instance, I have a tiny Winsor & Newton watercolor set that I have for sketching, but most of the heavy lifting is done with Caran d'Ache Supracolor watercolor pencils. I use Nasutomo Niji water brushes, one with water and one with 60/40 ink and water, a technique I stole from James Gurney. But again, I really like them because they kind of remind me of scummy Chinese calligraphy pens. I also use a little Zebra ballpoint pen for drawing when I don't have anything else, because of James Jean.


John Lee's art making materials

Most your work has an amazing rough quality to it, but is still very recognizable and controlled, with beautifully harmonious color combinations. What are your biggest influences that have helped created you as an artist and how have they helped mold your style into what it is today?

I think in general, I don't like having absolute control over my imagery. I want things to surprise me and my drawing to have elements of tightness and looseness, all within the same image (which is funny considering I work mostly digitally). I love when you're looking at a John Singer Sargent painting, looking at all these chunky daubs of murky browns and blues, and then suddenly this beautiful portrait emerges from it. I love the idea behind Cezanne's paintings where you're giving just enough information and then your brain has to reconstruct the rest.

Absolute representation is already known. We know what something looks like when it's realistic. Where's the fun in that? I tend to focus much more heavily on composition and design than the actual rendering of things.

In terms of color, I heard it explained this way (by Jeffery Alan Love, again at the Illustration Academy): "There are those that have to sneak up on color, and there are those that explode it." My grasp on actual painting color theory is tenuous at best, so I tend to sneak up and "find" my color schemes halfway through my pieces. However, the undergrad printmaker in me comes out at certain times and says "if it's red, make it freaking' red" so that's why you'll see some pretty garish saturated colors in my drawings. I think it's important to be honest about your influences. It's terrible when people won't admit being influenced by someone, even when it's really obvious. I think it's also important to look at who your influences were influenced by. I look at and absolutely love a lot of work, but I find myself only really going back and looking at certain people. Chronologically, it goes something like: John Singer Sargent, Howard Pyle/Harvey Dunn/Dean Cornwell, Charley Harper, Coby Whitmore, James Gurney, Gary Kelley, Sterling Hundley, James Jean. Obviously, the more contemporary your influences are, the more dangerous it becomes.

Graduating with a BFA in Creative Writing, I'm sure you have a list of favorite books. What are some of them and if you read sci-fi novels what are some of your favorite of those as well?

My favorite book is One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I don't know if it's not cool to like that book, or whatever, but man. I love the scale of that book, the weaving narratives, and beautiful matter-of-fact vignettes of the supernatural. Italo Calvino's Cosmicomics is on that list for much the same reason. And as a Southerner, I love Flannery O' Connor's A Good Man is Hard to Find. I actually don't read a whole lot of sci-fi! I think the last one I read before The Jewels of Aptor was A Canticle for Leibowitz, by Walter M. Miller. I get most of my sci-fi dosage from other media. So like, Battlestar Galactica, or the original Ghost in the Shell and Appleseed comics by Masamune Shirow, or incompetently dropping marines off to their deaths in an occasional game of Starcraft.

What about Sci-fi intrigues you, and how did that influence your approach to your cover?

My absolute favorite thing about science fiction is that it stretches our imaginations. How many scientists, programmers, physicists, etc. discovered their passion by watching something like Star Trek or Star Wars as a kid? I also love science fiction when it can make an otherwise fantastic situation feel emotionally real. A series like Battlestar Galactica does that really well-- it forces us to engage with the story in terms that we can all relate to. For my cover, I chose to show one of the main characters, the White Goddess Argo, as the figurehead on the bow of an old frigate. The Jewels of Aptor is a post-apocalyptic story, so there's been a tech reset for the surviving humans/mutants and they use old sailing technology to get around. The true identity of Argo is constantly in question throughout the entire story, so I wanted her to feel kind of ambiguous as to whether she was actually a carved figurehead, or if there was some actual life behind her. I also wanted to use the heavy drapery to tie her back to a previous period in art history, to suggest that the world that the book is describing is actually one that we know very well.

Thanks again to John for taking the time to chat with us! You can find more from John Lee on his website, on tumblr and on twitter @johnleedraws.

Artist Interview: Courtney Billadeau

With Station Zero going on right now, we wanted to take a peek into the minds of some of the many talented artists participating in the show. We were blown away at the expansive knowledge (and interest) in sci-fi that many of the Station Zero artists possessed, and wanted to give them a chance to speak more on the topic!

Meet C. Billadeau- a Chicago illustrator with a widespread pool of interests, ranging from comic art to book binding and much much more. Her work utilizes bold shapes and dynamic compositions (with just the right amount of texture sprinkled on top,) creating dramatic and eye-catching pieces. Aside from her work in several of our shows here at Light Grey Art Lab, C. Billadeau has been featured in Illustration West 48 and 49, CMYK 49, and Creative Quarterly 22. She has worked with Bioware promoting Mass Effect, and most recently participated in a short fiction anthology titled "THIS IS HOW YOU DIE."


Sebastian Orr Photography

What’s one sci-fi book you’d recommend everyone to read, and why?

As an avid reader and huge sci-fi fan, it is difficult to narrow the list down!

My favorite classic sci-fi is I, Robot by Isaac Asimov. The book itself is a collection of short fiction built on the premise of Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics and a logical society that believes them to be wholly comprehensive, with each story upping the ante in showing us robots finding loopholes in those laws and explaining how completely flawed the laws are. His other books in the Robot series are also really great.

If 'hard' sci-fi scares you or you're afraid of being labeled as a nerd or something (but really, it's great, come to the dork side), I'd recommend either China Miéville's The City and the City or the most recent trilogy by William Gibson, starting with Pattern Recognition. They both definitely fall more into the 'speculative fiction' side of science fiction along with "The City and the City", but are just as solid as any other futuristic sci-fi.


Work in progress for Station Zero

If you had to pick a sci-fi world to live in, where would you live and why?

Probably the world described in the Shadowrun tabletop gaming franchise (fun fact: the books are heavily inspired on the earlier, more famous William Gibson novels). See, a lot of my favorite sci-fi is about worlds or societies that are horribly, horribly flawed and that's why I enjoy reading stories about them (but not necessarily living in them).

Did you read the book you were assigned, or pieces of it? If so, what’s your favorite part of the book? Did that moment get included in your redesign of the cover?

I…didn't actually have a favorite part of "Cage A Man" because I really didn't like it! As someone who eats trashy pulp sci-fi like this for breakfast, I generally have a high tolerance for poor writing or dated ideas, but this was not the case here. There wasn't a lot of real plot to follow, as literally three-quarters of the book follow the main character's obsession with coercing and eventually forcing his female alien lover to get futuristic plastic surgery to make her look more human, simply because how she looks is offensive to his sex drive. No, I'm not actually kidding. All done in the name of "true love".

It's exceedingly problematic from numerous perspectives--feminist, racial, and otherwise--so it was difficult to digest because of that.

As such, I wanted little to do with the original content and ended up not specifically depicting anything from the book. I ended up relying on more abstract metaphors, instead, to describe a persistent theme throughout the book that didn't immediately make me backpedal away from the book--the concept of captivity, in its various forms.



What’s a piece of technology that you’d love to get invented in the near future?

Effective interstellar communication and/or travel--for research and knowledge! When I was a kid (and everyone else around me wanted to be a firefighter or a doctor or whatever their parents were), I only wanted to be an astronomer. Mainly to explore the unknowns of space from the comfort of Earth. I eventually grew out of that and into an illustrator, but I still find a lot of inspiration in the mysteries of the universe and deeply believe in what resources and knowledge we could find by exploring it.

What’s your ideal workspace?

My process is both part traditional mediums and part digital mediums, so having a large, dedicated desk where I can roll back and forth from messily inking something to my desktop is a must. As well as a huge scanner and copier nearby. I really prefer working with others, too--mainly for motivation and bouncing and sharing ideas off of each other.

Right now, I work in a space in my apartment with my significant other, but I plan to open up my own studio space with friends someday!


Work in progress for In Place

Do you listen to any music while you work? If so, what kinds?

Anywhere from industrial grunge to low-fi electronica. Music works, for me, less as a source of inspiration and more of a barrier between me and everything around me. I really can only focus on creating if I shut out the outside world for a bit.

What is your favorite medium to work in, and why?

I love working with ink. I make a lot of my textures by hand, mostly by slinging around ink with brushes on rough bristol.


Limited edition run of C.Billadeau's Mass Effect print through Bioware

In the future, what are some things you’d like to be working on/where would you like to go with your art?

I'm currently in the planning stages for a historical-fiction, surrealist graphic novel I've been doing the research for some time. I'm a commercial illustrator through and through, so, while continuing to do editorial and marketing work, I eventually plan to do more conceptual work for independent game design while making comics that I will likely serialize online.

Thanks Courtney!

To see more of her work, check out her blog or website, and be sure to check out her piece for Station Zero!

Artist Interview: Jessica Roush

With a great love of life, and endless enthusiasm for the outdoors, meet Jessica Roush. A textile artist by trade, Jessica draws inspiration from the everyday. She is in a constant state of art-production: spontaneous sketches, typography, watercolor critters, and a wide variety of product design. A newcomer here at Light Grey Art Lab, our current show You Can Do It, Put Your Back Into It is the first time we've had the chance to work with her.

Master of camouflage: Jessica Roush

Where did you grow up, where do you currently reside, and where is your dream home located?
I was born in Bakersfield California, but moved with my family to Raleigh, North Carolina when I was 6 years old. I graduated from NC State Univsersity in 2010 with dual degrees in Textile Technology and Art & Design. Right after I graduated, I packed up and trekked to Milwaukee to start at my current job.

As far as dream home... I went to Panama a year or two ago and really fell in love with the lost-in-the-jungle, Swiss Family Robinson type lodge my boyfriend and I stayed at in Bocas Del Toro. I'd love to plant myself there one day when I retire... I could be a crazy old lady hanging out with sloths, sleeping in a hammock! (It's called Tesoro Escondido, if anyone's curious.)


What is your current job, and what is your dream job?
I'd have to say that the two are fairly similar. My current job is an artist at Kohls Corporate Office in the Home department, doing prints and graphics for anything from dinnerware, to kitchen towels, bedding, bath towels, decorative objects or even christmas ornaments. I get to paint, draw and be creative the majority of the time, so I feel pretty fortunate.

If I could choose a DREAM JOB though, it'd be a combination hotel reviewer/ travel photographer. And maybe pasta-taster. A girl can dream.

What was life like once you graduated from North Carolina State University?
It was a huge learning curve. And I realized just how sweet I had it in school. Own screen-printing studio? Weaving studio? Laser cutting? All these resources I could leisurely use, (most of the time in the middle of the night) whenever I pleased? I'd kill for that now!

Also - that huge blizzard of 2010 happened right after I moved up here - Welcome to Wisconsin! ...And then I got towed. That was the REAL learning curve - City of Milwaukee's ridiculous parking rules.

Wisconsin Winters strike again

What are some hobbies you have outside of art?
I love the outdoors ... that's one thing I love about Midwesterners is that they really take advantage of the good weather - because it's so rare! So whenever it creeps above 50 degrees, you'll find me biking around town, or hiking, or kayaking, or just lounging on a picnic blanket, drinking some beer...

I also adore traveling. Researching before a trip, the trip itself, and the photos and inspiration gained afterward - I love it all. My boyfriend and I are planning a trip to Thailand and Cambodia in the fall. We were originally thinking about South America, because we've both wanted to backpack there, and I speak a fair amount of Spanish. But Southeast Asia will be so rewarding I think - I've always wanted to go, after hearing my dad's stories about getting bit by a monkey, crazy jungles, and other adventures from when he lived there shortly as a kid. And of course, anywhere WARM. I mean, seriously, I need a break from Wisconsin winters sometimes.

When is your favorite time to make art?
Late at night - even though my definition of "late" has changed since school. My "studio" pretty much consists of a big drafting table with my computer/wacom/etc, and bookshelf. My boyfriend also has his desk in the same room, so we just put on music or a whole season of Arrested Development or Flight of the Conchords or something, hang out and have burping competitions. Just kidding. ...Maybe.

At work, all of us artists sit in a line of cubicles, and joke, sing, and curse all day. They're the best. I have a cubicle-mate, named Sampson, who is an African Water Frog (or so I'm told). He is the most handsome amphibian you'll ever meet.

Hello Sampson.

What materials do you typically work with, and what is your favorite medium?
Watercolor would be my usual go-to medium, because the result can be unexpected and natural, and it's easy to set up, clean up, and doesn't take forever to dry like oils. This is especially important at work - when they want a sunflower today, or a bunch of painted leaves this week, or spring flowers in repeat by tomorrow, etc - it would be silly to use a process or medium that takes a lot longer. It's really made me results-oriented after working a few years, since coming from school where everything was so process-driven - and that has also spilled onto my personal work as well... for the better I think. Instead of tons and tons of exploration or sampling, now I just kind of ... dive in, whatever medium it is.

What are your biggest influences as far as types of art? Like graphic design, sculpture, screen printing, modern furniture design, etc.
Interior Design, photography, vintage travel books, gig posters.... I could browse through flat stock all day long.


What are your favorite subjects to draw?
10-year-old-me would without a doubt say unicorns and horses. Well, that might still be true. But 26-year-old-me, along with painting, loves drawing from nature, in the moment. I try to keep a good sketchbook of quick doodles of whats going on around me. My friend took a picture of me a few years back sketching / taking a nap in Pamukkale, Turkey, and I recently pulled out that same sketchbook to look through, and there was that same sketch I was working on in the picture!

What do you like most about being a textile artist/designer?
As a corporate artist, I love the continual challenge of creating graphics that will be both marketable and also new and fresh.

Thanks, Jessica!

To see more of her work, take a peek at her website, as well as her piece for our You Can Do It, Put Your Back Into It show.

Artist Interview: Taryn Gee

Meet illustrator and pom-pom enthusiast, Taryn Gee. Born and raised in Canada, Taryn uses bold, flat colors accented with phenomenal line-work to create captivating portraits and places. A Light Grey veteran, you can find her work in several of our shows: GIRLS: Fact + Fiction, Beautiful Forever, Macro + Micro, and of course our current You Can Do It, Put Your Back Into It.

The lovely Taryn Gee

Where did you grow up, and where do you currently reside?
I am Canadian and have never left the country! I currently live in Oakville, Ontario but grew up in Ajax, Ontario. I basically have always lived around Toronto, but never in it.

What is your current job?
I'm currently working part-time as a framing assistant and part-time as a freelance illustrator.

When and how did you decide to be an illustrator?
I have always loved drawing and it just made sense to pursue a creative career. When applying to schools, I decided to go into illustration because it would teach me more of a business aspect as well.

A wall of inspiration

How do you stay active with your art making?
I always keep a sketchbook on me to draw in when I find myself unoccupied. I try to sign up for as many projects as possible to keep me active. Unfortunately when it comes to self directed pieces things don't get done as fast, so I try to work with others as much as possible.

When I get the chance, I love do draw with Kelly Bastow and Ashley Mackenzie! We usually visit independent/quieter coffee shops because there's less people in them. They live in Toronto and it isn't the easiest for me to travel out there often. When I was in school cafe sketching with other illustrators was very common, but now it's been a while I feel sad that I don't do it as frequently.

I wish I had a studio away from home! My studio is totally half of my bedroom. I love to go out to have a change of environment and brainstorm/sketch/paint in the mall, the lake or a cafe. Actually it's really hard to tie me down to one spot when I draw in my sketchbook, I'm all over the place determined to find inspiration.

What materials do you typically work with, and what is your favorite medium?
My favourite medium changes between graphite to ballpoint pen (I definitely go through phases) and colouring my line work in photoshop is a really important part of my process. Though I have been experimenting with acrylic and pencil crayon and have been really enjoying it. I'm always trying to find something new that can add to my technique!

A peek into her sketchbook

Can you talk briefly about your sketchbook? Is your sketchbook a place for ideas and experimentation, or do you spend more time finessing the drawings inside, like an artist's book?
I have different sketchbooks for different things! One is always on me that I invest more time in, it's more like an artist's book. There was a point where everything was done in my sketchbook, including finals. I think it was more of a comfort thing that I thankfully grew out of - lugging giant sketchbooks across campus was tiring! When I'm not feeling happy with a spread, I draw and paint over the previous pages until I am satisfied with it. It's this place where there's no external expectations and I have the power to show others only if I want to, which I think is really important. I have another book for concepts and rough work and it's definitely not as pretty, haha. Actually... I throw them out after they've served their purpose, which is probably not a good thing.

Who is your biggest influence as an artist?
The people around me are my biggest influence, I draw a lot of observational studies of them! As for artists I love, Kent Williams is my hero (I recently helped frame one of his original pieces and nearly cried). I also enjoy Klimt, Yoji Shinkawa and life style illustrations from the 50s and 60s! I find textiles super inspiring, I really enjoy knitting and cross stitch.

Do you have any big projects in the making?
Nothing big other than trying to really promote my work and get more illustration jobs. I'm working on some little zines for conventions and craft shows.

Can you tell us about some of your zines?
I only have sketchbook zines for now. I do a lot of personal comics of my experiences and I was hoping to make it into a zine in the future! There's a Goosebumps fanzine coming out in the fall that I will be taking a part of, it's run by Jennifer Ilett + Sabrina Parolin. I'm actually really excited to read the book I was assigned, it'll be so nostalgic! I'm still in the process of applying to several craft fairs and Art in the Parks, but I will definitely be at Fan Expo this year with the wonderful Kailey Lang!


Thank you, Taryn!

To see more of her work, check out her website, and be sure to take a gander at her piece for You Can Do It, Put Your Back Into It.

Artist Interview: Leonard Peng

Meet Leonard Peng. He is a current student at the Maryland Institute College of Art pursuing a degree in Illustration with a focus on Book Arts. His unique illustrative style and interesting concepts have allowed him to be featured on Juxtapoz.com and in many shows at MICA. Leonard enjoys illustrating narrative based work, especially for children, but adding his own fun conceptual twist. Leonard is one of the artists in the You Can Do It, Put Your Back Into It exhibition, and will be displaying work again with us this August, in the In Place Exhibition.

Where did you grow up, and where do you currently reside?
I grew up in sunny California and I currently reside in Baltimore pursuing an illustration degree at the Maryland Institute College of Art.

What are some hobbies you have outside of art?
There are only two things that I like more than art and that is swimming and watching movies. I have grown up near the ocean so swimming has been something important throughout my life. As for watching movies, I love the idea of escaping into another world and experiencing emotions and thoughts of other people in film. Also both activities help with my creative process. When I'm swimming, I clear my thoughts of distractions and think clearly. While watching movies I am able to feel motivation and find inspiration.

What materials do you typically work with, and what is your favorite medium?
For the bulk of my work, I use acrylic paint and add highlights or details with either graphite or color pencil. In "Reach For The Stars", I used half acrylic painting and half digital and it worked out better than I thought, so that's something I'm working with now. I like using traditional mediums especially acrylic because of how versatile it is. You could use acrylics for washes or for dry brushing and also I find that using traditional mediums come with more variety of control. Sometimes surprises and mistakes can make a piece far more interesting than what I was expecting.


Detail of "Reach for the Stars" by Leonard Peng

What is your favorite historical art period?
My all time favorite historical art period is a tie between the golden age and the 1910's - 1930's lifestyle illustrations. The illustrators that influence me the most are Erté, Kai Nielsen, and Jon Bauer. The illustrations during these times all had beautiful and smart shapes that were integrated well as design elements – not to mention the figures are very elegant.

What are your favorite subjects to draw?
My favorite subject to draw is people. It's extremely satisfying to capture moments in time of someone's reaction or pose. Through drawing people, I get a sense of personal intimacy with that person. Sometimes this helps me jumpstart new ideas that I want to work with for future projects.


Illustration by Leonard Peng

What is your favorite aspect of working with type?
Finding the right type is difficult but once you find one that fits the illustration, it feels like a real accomplishment. I don't have much experience with type so it was hard choosing which typeface to use. I always feel that choosing the right type either makes or breaks a piece, so my favorite part is meeting the illustration halfway to complete it.

What do you like about illustrating different types of stories? Like fables, folk tales, and children’s books.
What I love about illustration is its narrative properties. Ideally, I would work as a children's book illustrator so working with stories is what I look forward to. I love the fact that an illustration can represent an entire story from beginning to end. It's magical in its storytelling qualities and pleases people with its aesthetics.

What inspired you to depict the quote “Reach for the stars”?
After bouncing off ideas with my friend we came up with "Reach for the stars, and never look back". I quickly became inspired and motivated to create something fantastical and imaginary. I ended up only using the first half of the quote because I felt it was so applicable to everything you do and that looking back isn't always a bad thing. In "Reach For the Stars", I combined two elements that I loved as a child, aquatic animals and space. I am enamored by both subjects because of how mysterious they are. It's interesting how vast the ocean is and how much unexplored territory and new creatures have yet to be found. I thought it would be appropriate to have a futuristic space like fantasy setting along with these weird fish like creatures.


"Reach for the Stars" by Leonard Peng 2013

Are there any quotes/mottos you live your life by, or feel strongly about?
I don't have any mottos that I live by but there is one quote by Maurice Sendak has said that I feel strongly about. In an interview on what being an illustrator means, Maurice Sendak said that he felt being an illustrator was the closest he could get to being a writer. In a way I felt that was applicable to me because as an illustrator you are giving life to sentence, you're supposed to make a simple sentence into a fantastical story. And that's part of the magic of being an illustrator!

What do you like most about being an art student?
My favorite part of being an art student is being in a community filled with artists. I think it's important to be in a place where other artists can help critique, motivate, and inspire you. Even though at times being an art student isn't as glorified as people believe it to be, I think it was worth it just to meet the people. It's also nice to have the security of being in school!

Thanks, Leonard!

You can see more of Leonard Peng's artwork here

You can also check out his poster on the online shop and the entire collection of work on the Light Grey You Can Do It, Put Your Back Into It Gallery Collection

Artist Interview: Danamarie Hosler

Currently living in Baltimore, MD, with dreams of Portland, ME, Danamarie Hosler has a great love of all things creative. She draws inspiration from all corners of her life, perhaps the most readily noticeable being pigeons (and the many parallels they present.) Her work spans across a great deal of mediums, ranging from small gouache illustrations, various plush creations, large-scale murals, and much, much more. Here at Light Grey, she has participated in several shows, including Macro + Micro, Smart, and our most recent You Can Do It, Put Your Back Into It.


You work in quite a variety of ways (plush dolls, accessories, murals, paintings), do you have a favorite among them? How do they overlap?
I can't choose a favorite! Are you kidding me? They're like my kids! I think its less about having a "favorite" and more about which medium I'm finding most interesting or most challenging, or even most appropriate at any given time. In general, I tend to only be able to do any one thing for a few weeks before I find myself feeling antsy and wanting/ needing to try something else (which is why being an artist is so perfect for me). I find that I learn a lot from each medium & way of working & when I get tired of one thing, the next one is waiting for me and I'm able to bring something new to that way of working. Gouache, for example, is a new medium for me--- I'm a teacher too & I realized it wasn't fair that I couldn't say anything nice about it to my students, so I made myself learn to use it and now I LOVE it. It's made me a better watercolorist & its given me a new way to think about pattern & application.

I think they all overlap when it comes to my style & my subject matter. I tend to talk about the same things, no matter how I am making the piece-- my aesthetics are the same. I just tend to choose the medium based on what will work best for my message & for the audience I'm trying to reach.

How does your family influence your work? Does your son like to make art as well?
Definitely! My husband and I met in college-- we were both Illustration majors, but we have very different styles & approaches to art making, so that's a pretty big thing-- having a partner who is also an artist. Its nice having a studio mate & a build in guest critic at home!

My son is 2.5 & yeah, he's pretty creative. We've always let him paint & draw; I think its really important for children to have opportunities to create and experience outlets with no wrong answer. He goes to an art program at a local museum I used to teach at & usually comes home from those classes very inspired. At home, he's basically living in an art gallery. Our work & our friends work is hanging on every wall. He spends a lot of time in my studio, so he's no stranger to color or texture.

My background is in Children's Book Illustration, so I was making work for kids long before I had a child of my own, but actually LIVING with your audience is a huge advantage. He's the reason I created my Under Appreciated Animals ™ series! I feel pretty proud to be able to bring things to life for my kid.

Various pieces on the fabled "pretty sure this is done" wall

What is your ideal work environment?
Having my studio in my home is a big part of what I'd consider ideal. Being able to roll out of bed and walk a few yards to "work", in my pjs, and never have to get in a car or commute anywhere? That's pretty awesome. My studio is an extension of the family room-- I'm able to close off my work space if I need to really concentrate on something, but otherwise, its nice to be able to paint in the same room my son is making epic Lego awesomeness. In terms of the ideal work environment, I've pretty much got it-- great natural light, big windows, tall ceilings, lots of wall space to cover with things that inspire me, a great big desk & room for all my gadgets. I could probably use more storage for my fabric and yarn stash though.

Who is another artist you’re greatly inspired by and why?
I have a lot of favorite artists, who I look to for different reasons: John Singer Sargent is my favorite painter--- if you ever get to see one of his paintings in real life, you'll know why. The man just had the most amazing sense of color & what, to me, just seems like the most confidence I've ever seen exhibited in a brush stroke. In Illustration, I love Mary Blair (I'm a huge Disney fan… Small World!?! The colors and patterns. Ugh. Amazing), Lisbeth Zwerger & Ed Young-- their compositions and use of texture & line work. Jim Henson, because he was brilliant & his work has shaped SO much of my world view. Kermit for president, am I right? And of course John James Audubon. Oh the birds.

And then there's the murals… I could spend months just walking around Philadelphia chronicling them all. I find a lot of inspiration in art I see on a daily basis, that might not even be considered "art".

Progress shot of Danamarie's piece for the Smart show "Pigeonholed #7"

What made you choose the quote you selected? Any personal attachment to it?
SO much attachment. I mean, I grew up with the Muppets-- Sesame Street was my first babysitter (I think that goes for most of my generation)-- and The Muppet Movie just gets me. The song 'The Rainbow Connection'? I have literally never been able to sing it or hear it without melting into a puddle of blubbering tears by the end; I can get through it dry eyed until the "there's something that I'm supposed to be…" part. That just wrecks me. And if I think about it too much now, I'm going to ruin my keyboard, so I'll move on…

Obviously, I wasn't going to be able to illustrate THAT song, but the reprise, at the end of the movie, with all the Muppets coming in behind Kermit & joining in, after they've all had this awesome journey, together, to create something meaningful… I dunno… its just so beautiful. When I think about wisdom I want to impart to my son, I think that's what I want him to really understand. You write your OWN ending. You're in control of you & you should never stop dreaming or pretending. None of us should. I get to spend 85% of my day dreaming and pretending… for a LIVING. That's pretty awesome. Kermit taught me that.

Do you have any words of encouragement for the world?
Listen up, world. You've got this. Ask for help if you need it. We're all in this together. Be kind to yourself.



When you’re having a bad day, is there something that never fails to lift your spirits? A favorite comfort food?
My kid has a pretty incredible gift for saying something so unbelievably cute & perfect, at JUST the right time. These days, he's pretty much the spirit lifter. Even when he's wrecked something and then had a tantrum and screamed in my face about it, he manages to remind me what really matters, just by virtue of existing.

And when that fails, watching Gordon Ramsay yell at people, with some jalapeño Cheetos or pizza & a frozen Kit-Kat bar will usually do the trick.

I also have a special place in my heart for Space Unicorn, by Parry Gripp. I share this with all my Seniors before they graduate, because I think you need to have a go to song to snap you back into place, especially if you're going to be a creative person for a living. Bad days can be really tough. Anyway, if you aren't familiar, you need to google it. Immediately.


Daily Pigeon #122

As they are generally under-appreciated creatures, why are pigeons special to you? I mean this with *all* the sincerity in the world-- I could talk about pigeons for DAYS. You don't have the data allowance to upload everything I could say about pigeons. I promise you. Hmmm… let me summarize. Give me a sec.

Ok.

Basically, pigeons *should* be special to everyone, because they are intrinsically linked to humans and are, in a LOT of ways, very like humans…And, because if you take any amount of time to actually look at a pigeon (really look at them), you will realize how much information they hold. I seriously think that the world would be a better place if more people appreciated pigeons.

They're hugely misunderstood (but so many people perpetuate stereotypes & negative falsehoods about them). They operate in family units, with both mom & dad (monogamous partners) raising the young. They're actually quite smart & have been at the center of tons of research, holding the key to questions about magnetic fields, sonar, the extreme possibilities in areas of memory & genetics. Heck! Darwin used pigeons to uncover the mysteries of natural selection. They've saved lives in times of war, doing things that human soldiers couldn't do. AND pigeons are doves. Everyone loves the pretty, solid white dove-- symbol of peace and whatnot. I could go on… But they're proud history & scientific contributions aside, I'm most fascinated by them as a parallel to/ stand in for, human society. You could easily look at a pigeon and say they all look the same, but each one has a unique & special coloration & feather pattern-- even if the difference is slight. Most people, I think, look at a group of pigeons in the city and see one big nameless, faceless mass-- not the individual birds that make up the group. And those birds all have families & special skill sets & unique features. I've lived in an urban environment my entire life, and no matter what city I'm in, I've experienced people looking at & dismissing groups of PEOPLE with the same nasty assumptions they'd place on those birds. I don't think anyone should be written off based solely on where they live or what they look like, or what someone told you might be true about them. Pigeons have a bad reputation for being dirty (they really aren't), for spreading disease (they really don't), for being dumb (totally false) and for being expendable (no living thing is expendable). And what's more, I see pigeons as a mirror for humanity. For example, people despise pigeons for pooping everywhere (where *should* they poop, by the way?) and the damage it does to our property, but did you know that if WE didn't litter & make OUR food available to them, if they were able to just eat the food nature intended them to, their poop would rinse away with rain, and damage nothing? So that part fascinates me too, because what we really don't like about them seem to be things we've either caused them to do/ be, or things that we don't like about ourselves.

I could go on. But seriously, if anyone is interested, I invite you to follow my tumblr & my Daily Pigeon project. I have already heard from dozens of people who've told me I've converted them & they look at pigeons totally differently now. Mission beginning to be accomplished!

Daily Pigeon #127

Where do you find inspiration for your Daily Pigeon project, and how long do they usually take you?
Inspiration comes from all over the place-- sometimes I go out on pigeon "meeting" trips (where I walk around the city looking for them & when I find one I always say "Hello, my name is Danamarie. May I take your picture?" and then I take their picture, because that's the polite thing to do…. Totally not kidding). Other times I draw them from my head (which I've gotten pretty good at by now). I try not to over think the Daily Pigeons too much-- I want them to have whatever feeling the day had for me. In my bigger works I can get more cerebral, but these are really just trying to pique peoples' interests; give me a way to use different tags on my blog, find new followers, get them seen more. I might explore pattern or text. It might just be a doodle. They can take anywhere from 30 seconds to 8 hours. A few of them so far have been much bigger pieces, which are obviously not completed in one day, but on the day I finish them, they are that day's Daily Pigeon. I like being able to "reward" people with something more substantial every now and again. Really, this project is a way to get people to see beauty in them, the way I do & hopefully get them looking at real pigeons with the same kind of enthusiasm as they do my renderings of them.

Thanks, Danamarie!

To see more of her work, check out her website, and be sure to take a peek at her piece for the You Can Do It, Put Your Back Into It show.

Artist Interview: Chris Hajny

Artist Interview with Chris Hajny
by Lindsay Nohl


Meet Chris. He’s the stealthy part of Light Grey Art Lab—the behind-the-scenes guy. He works for Paper Bicycle LLC and Light Grey Art Lab, and spends his free time playing video games, making artwork, petting pets, and hanging out with friends. He is a funny, quick witted, and super tall guy.


Chris, can you describe what you do at Light Grey?

I am the photographer, podcast producer, press contact, dog walker, errand boy, Dungeon Master, and IT support. I also move all the heavy things that need moving and reach all the high things that need reaching.


What are your other claims to fame? (What else are you doing with your days?)

I’m not sure fame is the right word, I try to keep a pretty low-profile. I work as a product designer at Paper Bicycle with all my bestest buds (both of them!). That consists of concepting, design, illustration, pattern making, and production-work.


Tell me a little bit about the art you make? Any favorite subjects? Materials? Themes? Do you have some defaults?

I love drawing, although everything I do ends up digital in the end. One thing I’ve found, which took some time to actually come to understand and appreciate, is that I value mark-making and spontaneity over refinement and precision. I don’t differentiate between sketching and a finished rendering; it’s all just drawing. I try not to treat anything precious. Material-wise I don’t really have any special tools, I’ll draw with (and on) whatever I can find.




Conversely, I also love working with illustrator, where I mainly use the pen tool and mouse. It’s obviously a very different experience than putting pencil to paper, but I enjoy them both.

Subject-wise I tend to make things that are very cute or very ugly, but lately I've been really into on-site observational drawing. People, architecture, nature; it doesn't really matter. I find it soothing and rewarding, which is only odd because I didn't enjoy it much in my younger days.


When you travel, what do you like to do and where do you like to go?

Traveling is a love-hate relationship for me. I hate to plan ahead and think about the bad things that can happen, and all the work I’ll be falling behind on while I’m gone. So getting out the door is the challenge. But once I’m there, I usually fit in and get lost in the experience pretty quick.

I’ve traveled a fair bit and there’s definitely a theme to what I like. I like cold climates. I’ll take mountains, glaciers and bulky jackets over beaches, oceans and swimsuits any day. I also don’t like schedules and plans. I’ve been to Japan a couple times, and I spent my days on the trains without much of a plan (apart from hitting all the arcades) which was great. In Iceland, we rented a car and hit the road with no plans or places to stay. My favorite thing about vacations is discovery; coming across things you didn’t know existed, and you feel like you might be the first to ever see it (even though you are most certainly not).


One of the things that I think is really interesting about you is that when you get into something, you get really into it. For example, the podcast. Or D&D. You also have an encyclopedic knowledge of what’s going on in the videogame industry and encyclopedic knowledge of movies before 2000. How often do you find a new obsession? What kinds of things have you obsessed over in the past?

I’m not sure. I don’t find a new obsession often and I don’t actively look for them, either. I don’t have enough time to spend doing the things I love as it is, so adding more to the mix isn’t something I usually seek out.

But when I do find something I actually care about, I tend to research and learn as much as I can about it as fast as I can. It’s not something I consciously do, I just can’t help myself.

Previously I've been obsessed with Printmaking, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Film & Video, Street Fighter, Hip Hop, and musicals.


I also know that you are a pretty good dancer. How did that happen?

It did not happen. It is a gift. I do not dance, I am but a conduit for the jams to express themselves visually.

What is your favorite song to sing in karaoke?

It was ‘Every Rose Has Its Thorn’ by Poison, and that song still holds a special place in my heart. But it’s so cliche that some karaoke places won’t even play it. So I guess Meatloaf’s ‘Paradise By The Dashboard Light’ or RUN DMC’s ‘Tricky’ if Ryan Michlitsch will duet with me. Or anything from any musical ever.

Name something that is intense.

Camping. Circuses. Boners.

 

Thank you, Chris!
You can see more of Chris's artwork on his hilariously out-of-date website here and follow his slightly more up to date blog here. 

Artist Interview: Rory Phillips

Hailing from Portland, Oregon, meet Rory Phillips: illustrator, graphic designer, printmaker, animator, and all-around art enthusiast. His work encompasses quite a bit, from character design to typography. You Can Do It, Put Your Back Into It will be the third show Rory has participated in here at Light Grey, alongside Macro + Micro, and Girls: Fact + Fiction. His dynamic compositions, detail, and bright color choices are featured in a wide variety of projects, both collaborative and independent.


Rory Phillips, hard at work

How would you describe your work? Your favorite thing to draw?
Magpie-ish, I'm really curious and have a wide range of inspiration that influences my work. Also I am lucky enough to work on a lot of different kinds of projects for a wide range of audiences and that adds a lot of diversity to my work. I say lucky because I really like new challenges, and get bored if I'm not pushing myself. As a graphic designer I'm used to adapting my style to the needs of the client/job and I find I bring that approach into my illustration and printmaking as well. While I know I have a certain style, I think it is process that defines my work more than anything else. My favorite thing to draw are people, they are infinitely interesting to me.

How do you plan your compositions? What’s your sketch process like?
I start by exploring a concept with a bunch of really quick thumbnails in a sketchbook. When I think I have explored the idea enough, I usually do a few more just to be sure. I pick the concept I am most drawn to and I explore it with more thumbnails, these won't be as rough, but I still don't spend more than a minute or two on them. When I get something I like I will start laying out the actual piece using the thumbnail as a reference, this is where I usually struggle with preserving the loose feel of the thumbnail. Once I have that larger sketch I just start rendering it out in what ever medium I'm using.


Progress shot for Rory's You Can Do It, Put Your Back Into It piece

What sparked the idea behind the Versus series with Fred DiMeglio? What’s your favorite piece you’ve done so far?
It started when we both attended a WeMake SketchXchange here in Portland that focused on a collaborative project between Jon MacNair and Santiago Uceda. After a few beers that night we decided we should collaborate on a project that; involved the community, was based on screenprinting and got us out of our comfort zone. Soon after we brainstormed over a few more beers and came up with the concept for Versus, a print series of Heroes and Villains each print in the series based off the last print by the other person. To get us out of our comfort zone we decided no computers, everything would be done with a variety of analog screenprinting techniques. To involve the community we decided we wouldn't see each others work and would let volunteers give us four words to base the next print on.

My favorite piece from Versus is probably "The Bad". But I was really excited about the "MS Gundam" print because it was the first time I'd played around with oiled photocopy in my screenprint process. Even though I don't think it's necessarily reflected in the end print, my process was a lot looser and organic, which is something I've been striving for.


"The Bad" by Rory Phillips

What are your top three book recommendations?
Only three!? That is super hard, it probably would vary from day today, but right now. Pattern Recognition by William Gibson, because everything Gibson does is thoughtful and smart, plus it specifically appeals to the designer in me. Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, because it's hilarious, and I can recommend two great authors with one book! A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin, It probably doesn't need my recommendation but I feel it would be wrong not to big-up it, since I'm reading it again for the third time.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
My wild uncle told me when I was a kid something to the effect of "The greatest danger in life is to not take chances". It's advice that I've lived by and it has lead me on many great adventures.

What’s the worst weather you’ve ever had to bike through? The best?
The worst would be during hurricane Georges when I lived in Key West, I foolishly went out in the eye to take some photos and nearly didn't make it back (seriously don't try this at home). I think the best, the one I remember as the best, was one fall night when I lived on Nantucket I left work early and rode through the quiet empty streets. The weather was mild and the leaves were falling, the only light was from the moon. I ended up not going home and riding for hours, it was very peaceful.

What brought you to the quote you chose for the show? Were there any other quotes you considered?
I did consider other sayings like "What is not started will never be finished", or "You’ll never plough a field by turning it over in your mind". Something to help motivate the procrastinator in all of us. But I ended up choosing "Don't let the bastards grind you down" because it felt a bit more punk rock and irreverent, and I wanted to juxtapose that sentiment with something that is stylistically more sweet.


"Wonder Woman Redesign" by Rory Phillips

You’ve done several homage/re-designs of superhero gals, do you have a favorite superhero? Why are they your favorite?
I'm not sure I have a favorite superhero. Though I do really like sequential art, honestly when it comes to superheroes and comics I'm a bit of a dilettante. I've never really read them, I think because I didn't have access to them growing up. But even so they are such a cultural phenomenon I find myself really curious about them. For me those redesigns were more of a subversion of superhero aesthetics that have their roots in lurid boys' own pulp illustration (which I still really like). But I wanted to get away from that and depict characters that visually reflected the strong women I know in my life.

Thanks, Rory!

To see more of Rory's work, check out his website, and don't forget to check out his piece for the upcoming show You Can Do It, Put Your Back Into It!

Artist Interview: Francesca Buchko

Artist Interview with Francesca Buchko
By Chris Hajny

Meet Francesca Buchko. She is a talented watercolor and digital artist, an avid book reader, and a sketchbook lover, as well as a great colleague and friend. Francesca graduated from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design with Illustration. She works as a product designer at Paper Bicycle LLC and and a curator and assistant at Light Grey Art Lab. She is one fascinating lady!




Hi Francesca! What you do at Light Grey Art Lab?
Hey! I do a lot of odd things! I update the Light Grey Tumblr. I have been doing artist interviews lately, too–it’s been great getting in touch with artists. I am at all of the shows, often manning the sales table and cutting fruit, sometimes I help edit writing, or I’ll make a sign if we’re missing one, or I’ll take a picture if we need one and there isn’t anyone doing that, and on a rare occasion I’ll stay in the gallery for gallery hours. I might be a professional intern.

It’s rare to see you without a sketchbook in hand, how long have you carried one? Do you use it as a dumping ground for ideas? To test out techniques? Or is your sketchbook precious, and you think of it as a whole? 
I’ve had a sketchbook since I was sixteen–my first one was a present from a coworker. After that, I couldn’t believe I hadn’t kept a sketchbook earlier, because it’s exactly the thing I needed. I use it for everything—drawing from life, drawing characters, writing down the name of a song or a story idea or someone’s number. I guess it’s kind of like a journal, but it’s mostly pictures.






What about your more finished artwork? Any favorite subjects? Materials? Themes?
I really have been into painting lately. Watercolor and gouache are my favorite media right now, though at some point I think I need to reinvestigate digital. I loooove drawing people. I didn’t realize it until fairly recently, but I love drawing places, too. People in places is probably my favorite subject. I draw a lot of cats in my sketchbook.


 
Francesca at a Light Grey Lock In.


If you didn’t make art for a living what would you do instead?
I don’t even know if I’d be doing anything! When I was little I wanted to be an artist, a ballerina and a vet. I like to think that there is an athletic alternate universe version of me somewhere that is a stellar dancer. I imagine she would work very hard at it. 

What hobbies do you have outside of making art? 
Hm. HMMMMMMM... I like reading a lot, and biking around (though I am by no means a biker) and exploring. I also spend a considerable amount of time on the phone, thanks to having a lot of really good friends and family out of town. I really really like eating.

Your love of Minneapolis is widely known. If you had to choose ONE aspect of Minneapolis as your favorite, what would it be and why?
It’s the people! Aside from the fact that this is where my closest friends are, there are so many cool things here because there are so many cool people. Every awesome gallery and bike trail and coffee shop is thanks to a dedicated group of folks and some really devoted patrons. Those guys are my favorite.




And if you had to choose one thing you hate the most about Minneapolis? 
Hah! I wish it was harder...a year ago and I would have said not a thing. Sometimes it’s too snowy. Or a little too hot. Hate is pretty strong, but I might hate that snow.

Have you ever been anywhere amazing? Is there anywhere you just have to visit in your lifetime? 
I haven’t been out of the country yet, but I’ve been to a lot of places in the U.S. that were pretty incredible. I’m always blown away by mountains. When I was a kid I really wanted to see the ocean, and even though I love the ocean, the Rocky Mountains might be my favorite land feature I have seen. As weird as it is, I want to see cities. Maybe to compare to other cities? I love that a city is like a person that has been built out of a million people. I’m really curious about San Francisco. I mean, with a name like that, why not?

(This question was answered last week, before their trip to Iceland! I look forward to hearing how this answer changes- what her new favorites places and cultures are. )

 Do you have a favorite artist? It could be a visual artist, writer, director, musician?
It’s really hard to pick just one. I have mini art crushes. A little bit ago it was Mark Gatiss, a British writer/actor/producer (he wrote a few episodes of Doctor Who and Sherlock). I was listening to an audio commentary with him and I was impressed by the way that he talks about his work. He’s definitely a nerd—he’s writing for things that he obsessed over as a kid—but he has great integrity about it. I think that’s really difficult to do.

You always play a Ranger/Hunter in games. Why is that your go-to choice? 
I think that skill is cool; to just be so good at something that you can just pick it up and go. I also feel good about slowly whittling away at something. It suits my real-life strategy—pick a stance and be devoted to it.

If you stumbled across a bazillion dollars what would you do? 
I would for real pay off loans. Good thing they’re less than a bazillion dollars! After that I would set up retirement properly and put a good chunk of away. And then I would go on sabbatical, all around the world. And I’d eat everything.






Describe your perfect day.
It would be 67 degrees and sunny, I’d wake up at 7:30, go to a coffee shop for a hour of writing. Then I’d go home, clean, call my fam, eat lunch at 11. Take a bike ride to a bookstore or library. Draw outside for awhile–by this time it would be 75 degrees–then go to United Noodle around 3-4, buy a bunch of imported snacks and possibly dinner ingredients. Bike to your (Chris & Lindsay’s) house to visit for a couple hours and share some snacks. Then we’d call up the rest of the friends, go out to eat around seven and talk there for a couple hours. Then I’d go home and work on comics until bed. 

Thanks, Francesca!

You can see more of Francesca's work here and follow her blog too.

Artist Interview: Richie Pope

Richie Pope is another artist participating in our SMART show, and one of our most frequent contributors.  His work has been in six of our previous shows: Pokemon Battle Royale, Tarot, Mystics, and the Occult, Girls: Fact + Fiction, Macro + Micro, Beautiful Forever, and Night of the Exquisite Corpse. He will also be showing in our upcoming sci-fi show, Station Zero, and our RPG self-portrait show, Role Models.  Needless to say, we are very big fans of his work.

Where are you from, and where do you currently live?
I'm originally from Newport News, VA, but I've been living in Richmond for 9 years now. 

How would you describe your art? 

My work combines my sketchbook observational drawings with more imaginative concepts, resulting in very dreamlike images. 

Many of your illustrations are surreal.  Where do your ideas come from?
My ideas really just float around in my head until I can reach up and grab hold of one. Fireflies is based off a childhood memory of catching fireflies with my older sister outside our family's apartment.  I depicted the kid (myself) as a cartoon character. With Adapting to Extreme Conditions, I wanted to play with the idea of someone being out of place, yet finding a way to exist. The result was a man in a deep-sea diver suit waiting for the bus in an underwater neighborhood.  How Cats Find Their Way Home is about the mystery of how lost cats return to their owners from as far as hundreds of miles away. I imagined that cats might have some sort of inner compass.  I also made a visual connection between the shape of a cat's eye and the shape of a compass, so that became the driving idea. 

Over Nine Thousand by Richie Pope
Featured in Macro + Micro Exhibition

How long does it take you to make an illustration? 

Depending on how complex it is, anywhere from 2 to 15 hours. I usually start and finish in one or two sittings. 

What materials/processes do you typically use? 
My illustrations usually start with a quick and loose graphite drawing. I like to use 2B-4B pencils because of their value range. Carpenter pencils are pretty much made of magic.  I sharpen them with a knife to get really irregular tips for a wider range of line width. I just started getting into gouache a couple of months ago. I paint on top of the drawing or on another sheet of paper that I scan in separately. Once I scan in everything, I just start collaging. The final becomes a mix of final drawing, drawings on different layers, stock textures that I made, scribbles and other things. In general, I know where the illustration is going, but there's a good chunk of spontaneity involved as well.  

As one of the artists in our upcoming SMART show, how are you interpreting the title? 
I want to communicate an idea, but how do I do it without spelling it out for the viewer? This question is what drives my illustration work, so I took the same approach with my piece 'Goodbye, Max' for the SMART show. 

Is there a trend in art/culture that is particularly interesting you right now? If so, is it influencing the work you create? 

It's really interesting to see my generation of illustrators and how big a role the internet is playing. It's easy to dismiss the number of ‘likes’ and ‘re-blogs’ as lacking any true value, but all of the recent opportunities that have come my way were because something I drew blew up on Tumblr, Facebook, or other social media. The internet is free promotion if your work is strong enough and seen by the right people. 

What are your main sources of inspiration?
Memories and dreams are a huge inspiration for my work. I like people and situations that are familiar but not quite 'right'. That ambiguity is really interesting to me. Anime (and manga), film, comics and video games find their way into my work. Street art is really beautiful to me as well. It's often so loose and full of energy, like giant sketchbook pages. I'm also a sucker for the composition kings of 60's and 70's illustration.



   The First Bionic Hand That Can Feel by Richie Pope

How do you spend your time when you’re not making art?

I like to make music, mostly EDM/hip-hop stuff. I'm a gamer for life, so video games are a nice interactive way to escape. I also practice scales on the harmonica. I can't play any songs (yet). 

Your lady, Nicole Hamilton, is also an artist.  How would you describe her work in comparison to yours? Do you collaborate often?

Nicole's animation and illustration work is really energetic and loose, which plays nicely with her clean line work and coloring techniques. I draw just as fast, but my line work is more raw and imperfect. We sometimes collaborate on some exquisite corpse drawings.  We had a blog with some of these drawings and actually thought about re-vamping it recently. There was the quintessential Adventure Time fan art that we worked on together. Nicole did the line work, and I did the coloring.  It turned out really creepy, bizarre, and beautiful. Our collaborations really just evolve into their own weird amalgamations of both our voices. Nicole draws a lot from her own imagination, which I had neglected in school in favor of a heavy reliance on reference.  Her work has definitely influenced me to trust my own imagination more, and it's given me more confidence in my work. In other words, she's pretty swell.

What are your artistic and career ambitions?

I want to build my illustration work and brand to the point where I can work on my own intellectual property, whether that be animations, comic work, street art, fine art or whatever. I want people to believe in the world that I'm building. I look to people like Mike Mignola, KAWS, Murakami, Aryz. People have complete faith in them as creatives and that's pretty amazing. It's a lofty goal, but I wouldn't mind being up there in that same league of creative freedom.

 What other artists should Light Grey and our blog followers check out?

Leslie Herman, Cathryn Hutton, Jeffrey Alan Love, Eric Pfeiffer, Dadu Shin, Julia Scott, Allison Smith, Chris Visions. They're all really talented, original and good people. 

We have an upcoming show about inspiration posters?  Do you have any inspirational words of wisdom you'd care to share? 
Take the advice that helps you. Throw out the advice that doesn't. This is how you'll carve your own lane. 

Goodbye, Max by Richie Pope
Featured in Smart Exhibition


Thank you for the wonderful interview, Richie!

You can see more of Richie's work and process  on his website here
And you can purchase the three piece print Goodbye, Max here

Artist Interview: Lindsay Nohl

Artist Interview with Lindsay Nohl
By Jenny Bookler

One of my favorite things in the world is getting to know new people. I love to sit down, grab a coffee, and talk about all of their thoughts and ideas. I have had the honor of getting to know several of you through artist interviews, online conversations, and in person, and I am always blown away by the breath of artwork, enthusiasm, and interesting personalities- you all are great!

So many of you ask, who runs Light Grey Art Lab? how many of you are there? what do you do? where do your inspirations come from? Well, to answer all of those questions and to return the openness you have shared with all of us, we will be conducting artist interviews within the Light Grey team!

To start this series of interviews, I want to introduce Lindsay Nohl, founder and owner of Light Grey Art Lab and Paper Bicycle LLC and Illustration Teacher at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design.  Lindsay is one of the most talented, kind, and hard working people I know, with unlimited enthusiasm and big ideas. I sat down with Lindsay this week to ask about her thoughts, motivations, collections, and upcoming projects:

You are the founder of Light Grey Art Lab, but how would you describe all of the things and parts you manage everyday?
Whoa. I don’t even know where to start. Well -- I come up with a ton of the exhibition and project ideas for Light Grey. (But I definitely couldn’t keep them going without everyone else, that’s for sure.) I usually write most of what people see on the internet. I’m in charge of the Twitter, Facebook and the calls-for-art on the blog.  I suppose I’m the marketing person (Is that even a thing we do?) and I’m the all-around ‘starter’ of things. I usually plan our trips to different places, and often bug the crap out of everyone else here with my “what about this!” ideas, and “let’s put this on the pile!” attitude. I’m really lucky everyone’s always so nice about it. I am totally a brain-stormer. I love brainstorming.

You are often coming up with new ideas and projects to start. What is your primary motivator? or inspiration for new projects?
I have an extremely short attention span, but a really wide array of interests. Plus, I get obsessed with things easily and tend to devour topics like I used to devour bubble tea. For some reason, when I’m hot on something, I’m super hot on it and my obsessions tend to be top-of-mind for me until I’ve somehow satiated my hunger for them. Sometimes I’m motivated to do a project because it’s challenging, other times it’s because I’ve convinced myself that I couldn’t live without seeing an idea come to fruition. Most times I’m inspired by totally serendipitous things like, for example, stumbling upon all of these amazing Sci-fi paperbacks in a local comic shop. I bought 13, then 20 more... and that’s when I was hooked. And Station Zero was born.

Oliver, one of Lindsay's cats, guards these precious Sci-Fi books

Where is your favorite place/atmosphere to make artwork?
I’m all about coffee houses. In fact, I’m also all about different places. I like to be where people are when I’m working. I’m not sure what it is about it, but I just feel energized. I had a corporate design job for a couple years right after school and when I decided to go off on my own I spent the next couple years loitering at coffeehouses all day / night. It was seriously the best. I’m sure I looked like a pack-mule with all of the stuff I hauled around with me, but I LOVED it. And when I’m not working there, I just really like being upstairs in my home studio. It’s super chill. I put the jams on and sing while I’m working. You can’t do that at a coffee house.

It's common for Lindsay's work-space to have everything and anything on it at all times. Here, you can see her prized possession, a white tiger lamp from Francesca. A gift to remember.

What are some common themes and subjects you like to draw?
I’m also an impatient creator, so if I’m trying to do something quick, I usually do one of two things. For the last couple years I’ve been drawing portraits of people - face only. (Or even more specifically just noses and mouths.) or patterns. Most of the things that I’ve shared in my personal portfolio / online are my patterns. I make them at work all the time, but I also make them for fun. I had a project a couple years ago called Daily Pattern for our blog.paperbicycle.com - where each of us in the studio did a pattern a day for 8 months. That’s a ton of patterns. And recently I’ve been creating patterns once a week (give or take!) for a similar project called 101florals. It just ended a bit ago, so I'm eager to start on a new project where I draw things. I have been tossing around a couple new ideas. If there's anyone out there that wants to collaborate on a sketch project, hit me up.

A sketch from one of Lindsay's sketchbooks. Venus Fly-trap!

Tell me about your favorite thing you have ever made. 
Well, I’m one of those artists that hates everything they make a day after they finish it. I revel in my projects for as long as I can, then I get all weird and self-conscious and move on. I’m sure that’s normal, right? So, to answer your question. I’m not su--- WAIT. THAT IS NOT TRUE. My favorite thing that I’ve made so far is Light Grey. (Didn’t see that one coming, did you?)

Besides Light Grey, I think it might be the projects I do for other people. If I'm making something for someone else, I find it so much more exciting. I adore giving gifts and I love the creating something for someone else.

What is the weirdest thing you have ever made (either by assignment or personal)?
Oh man. I have made a few that are mention-worthy. One time I made an illustration of Corey Feldman picking up dog poop. Another time I made 60 gouache paintings of  ‘bad things that people do’ , including pushing people’s faces into water fountains, spitting in people’s food.... but that was in school. I also made a wire sculpture of an opossum for some reason. We all do weird things in college, right? Just recently I did a project where I had to make a pattern out of meat. That was for a very reputable client. (and it was not my idea.)

If you could learn any new skill, what would it be?
Speed reading AND retaining the information. I can read pretty fast but I have a memory like a sieve. I adore books but I have the problem of digesting them and then confusing them with others.

What are your vices and things you cannot live without?
Currently? Eating bell peppers like apples. I’m all about cats. Actually, I’m all about all of the animals. I’m totally a tea person. Lately I’ve been adding lattes to my daily ritual because I drag in the morning. I am a night person, so that also means that I wake up horribly late. Collecting things. I am a hoarder of things. Specifically old paper things like vintage greeting cards, old books, and old wrapping paper.

What do you like to do in your free time?
…. free time. That’s a concept. I teach in my free time? I talk about projects and then do projects? I talk to my parents? I don’t even know anymore. I often have everything so packed in there that I’m not sure I actually have free time. I have a sliver of time when I’m eating at night after I come home from teaching and that’s usually when I put on an episode of something and pig out with Chris. Besides that I like to throw a much needed vacation in the mix and go on adventures to places there are no lines -- where you can crawl on everything, and be the only person for miles around. I also like the days when I sit down in a small space with someone and have heart-to-hearts. I love one on one conversations like nothing else. I'd always make time for those.

Lindsay teaching about succulents

What is your dream place/landscape?
I think everyone in the universe has heard that I want to retire when I’m 40 and move to Iceland and wear the same wool sweater all day, paint and read books in my 2 story library. Maybe I’d have a duck as a pet. All while with my back to a glacier and my face toward the sea. I’m sure it’d weather me as quickly as the first season of Man vs. Wild grizzled up Bear Grylls, but I’d be willing to take that chance.

In an alternate reality (which I only talk about when I am feeling frumpy) I'd live in an a creaky, four-story, turn of the century tudor-style house on a wooded corner of town. I would grow my huge hair out until it was long, grey and gnarly. The children would ride their bikes past my overgrown iron gates and they'd shriek when they saw my silhouette in one of the ivy-framed windowpanes. I would have taken up wood carving and topiary making, and my yard would be strewn with my endless 'projects'. Inside, you'd find me slowly shuffling through secret passages, or pondering my cabinets of curiosities. Stacks of my 'collections' would litter the hallways. Not as much a hoarders-situation as an ill-kept museum. At the back of the house I'd have a huge leaded greenhouse where finches and other songbirds kept my plants company. I'd have a crow for a famili-- I mean, a crow for a pet. My house would be drafty but my 6 cats would keep me warm at night.

What is the best advice you ever received?

My dad has the best sayings. One of them, (which I quoted in the Happiness & Success lecture) was in relation to allowing one’s self to pursue goals that are ambitious or far-fetched. He says “If it doesn’t work out, no one is going to take you out back and shoot you.” to which I say “Good point!” So we might as well just do the things we’re excited about without the fear of failing. I’m not even sure that failing exists. I’m not sure why people stop themselves from doing what they love, or going for something they want. I totally live by that idea and that particular shred of wisdom has given me all sorts of guts to try things I never thought I’d be able to do. It’s also given me more hope that I can do all sorts of other things if I keep trying.

Lindsay and her Dad, Victor.

If you could teach a class on any topic in the world what would it be?

I’d love to teach a class on collaboration, specifically. Now that I think of it, I’m not sure why I’ve never done that before. Think of the possibilities!

What is one of your life aspirations?

I’d really like to visit Europe one day and meet some of the amazing people I’ve met through all of our projects in person. Maybe couch surf my way around, eat all of the delicious food and enjoy myself for a couple weeks. I’m thinking that this might be a possibility some time soon. Might as well try, right?

I’d also like to learn how to meditate. Like, for real. I’d like to remember my dreams. I’d like to author a book about patterns. I guess you only asked for one aspiration. Whoops.

Do you have any guilty pleasures? Things you know you should not do, but do anyway?

I have many pleasures, but I do not feel guilty about any of them. :)

Thanks, Lindsay!

You can see more of Lindsay's artwork here and follow her blog here

Andres Guzman! (And all of the things that make him special!)

Over the past few months we have held several classes, such as Handmade Typography, Portraiture in Ink, and Character and Concept, taught by an important member of our Light Grey Art Lab faculty. We would like to take this time to introduce and celebrate Andres Guzman as an amazing teacher and as a local illustrator and typography artist.



Andres Guzman is originally from Lima, Peru, and spend a majority of his childhood in Denver, Colorado. A few years ago he graduated from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design with a major in Illustration with an interest in Graphic Design. Since graduating, his has been creating art as a full time freelance illustrator, under the art collective Steak Mob, working for companies such as Wired Magazine, Mountain Dew, Nickelodeon, and Vice Magazine, just to name a few. He has also been published in Front Magazine, Thrasher Magazine, The Washington Square Review, and Vitamn. He is extremely versed in concept and client based work, creative teaching, and multimedia projects.

As a freelance illustrator, Andres is constantly at work. Sometimes, spending an entire day learning how to perfect an ear, an arm, or a letter, always trying to improve his craft and versatility; His severe focus and passion for the creative process, and his love for form, type, and illustration has pushed him to where he is today.




" I try not to limit myself by any specific visual style as I believe there are too many beautiful methods and processes in the world of art to just settle on one."- Andres

As a teacher, Andres is extremely engaging. He sets the tone for his classes by playing relaxing music, talking about technique, and working by your side on his own illustrations. The entire class is about making, process, practice, hands-on type, and great conversation.

Although most of his classes are primarily studio and work time, he does a great job of sharing inspiring images, techniques for specific materials, and drawing demonstrations that make character and type look incredibly easy.

As a coordinator and student of Andres', I appreciate his organic classroom style, throwing structure out the window, and reacting one on one to students needs, interests, questions, and styles. It is great to be surrounded by someone so skillful and personable.



Thank you, Andres, for inspiring all of us to work harder.


This upcoming Sunday, November 18th from 12:30 to 3pm, Andres is teaching our second Handmade typography class. Using traditional ink and brush materials, this class in intended to push the envelope for creative design and typography. He will lead you though the basics of type, and catch everyone one up to developing letter forms, both though form and play. This class will delve further into type, and is a class appropriate for all skill levels and disciplines. I encourage you to all come and meet Andres, and experience his teaching style and all of his great type advice. This class costs $25.00 per person, or $20.00 each with a friend.


Blog post written by our awesome Light Grey Art Lab gallery manager, Jenny Bookler