How do you describe what you do when people ask?

It depends! In my day job, I am an illustrator and designer for a tabletop board game company called 'Camden Games.' That's my go-to answer. I do a lot of creative direction and branding related work, as well as character design. Mainly, though, I get to illustrate and design all game packaging which is absolutely amazing. But when someone asks me 'what I do' in relation to my traditional art journey, it gets complicated. There is a lot of pressure to say "I'm an artist!" Instead, it comes out like "...ohh, umm, well, I do art." It's still hard. But I'm getting there! A large part of my artistic pursuit is connected to social media and content creation, which, you could argue, is a bad thing. But for me, I see my content as mixed media. I get to illustrate, video edit and then also story tell verbally through a voiceover in each 45 second video. 

How long have you been illustrating for and how did you get into it?

This is a surprisingly difficult question because I can be quite hard on myself in terms of when my work became valid enough for me to claim the term 'illustration.' Are my drawings from when I was 5, 'illustrations?' Because if so, I've been doing this over 20 years. Illustration has always been a part of my life. My earliest memories include sitting in my bonus room drawing with my mom in my hometown of Boise, Idaho. That room is now filled (and I mean so filled you can't see the wall) with me and my sister's artwork throughout our life. My mom is definitely my source for discovering art. But if I want to be slightly more technical about it all, I'd say I started illustrating with the purpose of being an illustrator around 2019. I switched my degree from elementary education to graphic design and started getting really focused about how I could make art my career.

How would you describe your style?

I would describe my style as bright, bold and unafraid of being itself. I like the idea that my work can be quite funny and charming at first glance, but the longer you look, the more unsettled you may become. I think the nature of my work is rooted in curiosity, which adds to the oddity. Who are they? What do they want? Where are they going? Are they happy? Because I'll never really know the answer, most of my portraiture work has an almost dark feeling to it as a natural result of my unknowing. But because I use colours that are so bright your eyes might fall out, lots of people first claim the work as "cute." I don't mind this comment at all though. I love contrast. Not only in visual work but in thought.

You’ve recently moved to a traditional medium (oil pastels), what made you want to change from digital?

I was basically only illustrating on my iPad from 2019 to only up to a few months ago. I claimed that it was more accessible, less messy, portable, etc. Really I knew that was because starting a traditional medium was too intimidating. There's no double tap, no command Z. I had many people in my life suggest I simply just move to pen and paper, but still, that felt too permanent. My need for perfection was too strong. I felt like I needed my work to look good. It wasn't until years later that I realised, although my work was starting to look good visually, it didn't make me feel anything. So, what's the point? I moved to England in 2023 for my masters program in illustration and really focused on sketching traditionally. After a year of practice, I graduated and felt really cemented in my style. I had just got a job in illustration, moved to central London, all was amazing. Early this year though, complications with my visa forced me to leave the country and go back to Idaho. I had to leave everything behind so suddenly with no clear understanding if I was ever going to be able to come back. I was absolutely devastated. I thought to myself, I need to make this situation beneficial for me or I'm going to lost my f*cking mind. I was back in my childhood house, in the same bonus room where my illustration journey began. I decided there was no better place to make the jump. I messed around with a few mediums first but once I discovered oil pastels, it was over. 

Where do you think creativity comes from?
(This is a bit of a crap question, but usually when creatives mull on a for a minute, most give an interesting an answer)

I guess for me, creativity comes from curiosity. A crap answer for a crap question, sorry! ;) In all seriousness though, a lot of my creative pursuits happen because I'm unsure about something. For example, I was watching the Summer Olympics last year and thought "I wonder how I would perform if put into some of these sports?" It ended up being one of my favorite series. I think it's because it was a clear question in my mind, followed by a clear answer in illustration. I get to unlock secrets and answer questions about the world through my art. And the best part is that I get to answer any way I'd like! I could have illustrated myself spiking a girl in the face during a sand volleyball match. Instead, I'm building a sand castle. Creativity is the ability to decide the result of any given question in any way you want. It's freeing!

And off the back of that, where do ideas come from?

For me, most of my ideas are based in reality. Regardless of what ends up on the page, the storytelling element, the idea, is always tying back to my own lived experiences. This isn't the same for all artists, but having an idea based on personal experience gives the work so much more depth. You aren't guessing ... because it's happened to you! This doesn't need to be taken so literally either. For example, my masters project was a story called "Me Without You" about a dog who taught himself how to walk on his hind legs, cook, make coffee, and apply for a job following the abandonment of his owner. This isn't a realistic story. But the idea was rooted in a breakup that left me feeling quite emotionally dependent. Ideas can come from anywhere, but I've noticed my best ones are personal. This also allows for people to relate and feel seen, which makes all of us feel less alone.

How do you want people to feel when they see your work?

This is going to sound really bad... but when I begin a piece, I'm mainly focused on how it makes me feel first. I studied a lot about graphic medicine in my masters program at University and it really affected the way I create art. Graphic medicine is essentially a genre of comic specifically targeted towards mental health conversation. Part of graphic medicine is used more technically- for example, as a way to teach doctors-in-training how to understand mental health. But the other side of it is about using illustration, as the artist, to process your own mental state. And this all kind of tied into the previous question of where my ideas come from. Art has always been my outlet and my cure. I struggle with my own mental health issues and have throughout my life, so using art as a way to combat it is very familiar to me. When I begin illustrating, I think about how it can help me. Thankfully, as a result, I've found that it helps others too. I want people to feel seen when they look at my art. 

You started a video series where you do a piece of art work a day, usually a portrait, what inspired this?

There are a lot of moving pieces to this! Firstly, as much as I would like to claim the "every day" status, I'm usually only doing about 2-4 oil portraits a week, rather than 7. From 2020-2021 and 2023-2024 I completed a 'daily drawing' challenge where I did draw and post every single day for both of those years- didn't matter if it was Christmas, my birthday, etc. That was really intense. But it is the reason I have developed my style! It propelled me so much further than any other practice could have. This is when I realized the importance of consistency in art. After moving back to England following my visa problem, I knew I wanted to start another series, but now having a full time design job, I knew dedicating an hour every day to personal drawing wasn't realistic anymore. I noticed, instead of drawing for an hour every day, I only needed to draw for 10 seconds. Literally.

I started bringing a mini sketchbook on my commute to work into central London and would draw people sitting on the tube. But because I didn't want them to notice me, I'd look at them once and then give myself 10 seconds to draw them. My sketchbook started filling up with all these different faces. I would always wonder where they were headed, if they liked their life, if they had any weird quirks about them. I would tell myself stories as I drew them. I thought, hey, this might be a fun series. So 2-4 times a week I'll sit down in the morning before work and choose a person from my sketchbook to illustrate in oil pastel while recording the process. Each portrait takes about 45 minutes and it gives me the time to really connect to the person. By the time I'm finished, I'm more emotionally attached than I am willing to admit lol. Before posting, I'll voiceover my thoughts and give each person a story. I am so inspired by people. I think they're amazing. By far my favorite subject to draw. 

What have you noticed/learnt from doing the series?

Personally, the series has absolutely solidified my love for portraiture and the subject of people as inspiration for art. I always knew this about myself, but if there was any doubt, that's been squashed. More importantly, I've discovered a love for verbal storytelling and using my voice as part of the artwork. I think what has been most surprising is that others seem to like it too! For YEARS I've been avoiding speaking in my social media videos. It's so scary. But i've noticed I actually love doing it and my engagement on social media absolutely skyrocketed. I have a community of followers who enjoy my content and it's really weird. I love them all. 

One of the things I like about the videos is hearing the back stories of the characters, are these stories you make up in the moment or something you think about?

Thanks I am happy you like them! I accidently touched a bit on this in previous questions, but it's a bit of both. I definitely vibe check the person immediately as I see them for the first time. In fact, when I'm on the tube, I have lots of people to choose from and I've become quite picky. This is gonna sound brutal, but some people are just more interesting looking than others. Again, horrible, but the judging of the person definitely begins in the moment as I sketch in my small sketchbook. Mainly, though, it actually happens after the oil pastel portrait is finished and I am doing the voiceover. Most of my voice-overs are one take and never pre planned. I've spent over an hour getting to know this person, and then once it's time to record my voice, it is me word-vomiting on the spot. I don't like to write down notes or record thoughts immediately after seeing someone... Giving myself time away from the person allows me to imagine them more as a character, rather than an actual person. This distance allows me to feel morally correct in being a bitch. A lot of my stories are nice, but not all of them, haha! Because my style is so exaggerated, you would absolutely never be able to see one of my portraits and know exactly who I drew. Instead, they're quite vague which makes it fun to engage with. I get a lot of comments saying things like "This looks like my aunt!" or "Oh, I totally knew someone like this in high school..." or "I fear she is me." People can relate to it. 

Have your social platforms grown since starting the series?

Oh absolutely. I posted consistently for 6 years and was working towards 1,000 followers that whole time. Since starting this new series, I've gained 30k in the last few months. I think in the past I saw followers as a coin of legitimacy in being an artist, which, yea I guess it absolutely helps in that arena. But more so, I now see my following, specifically on Instagram, as my community. I love reading their comments and seeing repeat profiles engaging. Call this a toxic trait, but my motivation in opening my eyes in the morning is because I can't wait to run to the comment section. Don't get me wrong, sometimes it's rough. Especially because my style comes across so youthful. Lots of "Oh, my 10 year old grandson could do that." But hate comments are a badge of honor. I'm relevant enough to hate, which is amazing. It's not just my friends hyping me up anymore. It's random grandmas trying to burn down my tent. 

When do you think the series will end and do you know what your next project will be?

Great question. I haven't addressed this head on yet, but I think this specific series will end at day 100. The series takes up all of my personal illustration time, and there are some new ideas I want to try out. I'll still be posting in the same consistency, but just experimenting with some new techniques. I've also been enjoying illustrating animals and have posted a few here and there in my current series. I'd also like to incorporate a bit more storytelling into the work itself, rather than solely relying on voiceovers. Mainly, though, I think the next goal is to work super large-scale. My partner and other flatmates are going to kill me :-) 

Any plans on exhibiting the art?

I actually do have plans of exhibiting and selling this series, ideally before the end of the year. I am in talks with a gallery right now, but nothing is official yet. I have about 40 portraits in my closet and I need to break out my winter jackets, so, they gotta go... 

Is there anything else you’d like to declare?

I think one of my main purposes for posting on social media is for people to watch my progress and hopefully be inspired to start a creative journey of their own. I still have a long, long, long, long way to go. But if you're reading this and want to get serious about an art career, I promise you there is no better time to start than this exact moment.