I recently did an interview with Blanket Magazine, an online PDF magazine that covers art and design. Each issue is filled with rich imagery and inspiring interviews, as well as reader submissions. The juicy cover art for this issue is by Will Bryant. I particularly enjoyed the interview with Coralie Bickford-Smith who designs beautiful book covers for Penguin.
Thought I would share the text of our Q & A here as well:
Could you tell us a little about yourself and your background?
I live in Portland, Oregon. I graduated from art college nine years ago. I majored in printmaking at Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design. I’ve been a working artist for about two and a half years.
I am a curious person and my interests are broad, but lately I have been focused on learning more about spiritual traditions. This investigation has been going on for the last couple of years, and it has been a big influence on my work.
I also like math, science and being in nature.
Where do you find inspiration?
I don’t know that I can concisely and definitively answer that question. One of my teachers in college said that inspiration comes from work, and that seems to be the only way I can progress as an artist. I have to be there to paint and draw as much as life will permit, so that I can catch the ideas that come to me.
The tough part is working even when I feel flat or totally uninspired. Feeling bored can be a great opportunity to become inspired, if I can find a salve of new information that can drive my next move in a painting. This information could be anything, something that I see in the world somewhere that just clicks somehow, or an idea that just pops into my mind, from who knows where.
I think inspiration comes from being engaged with the materials and being present during the time I am working. Its always about trying to get in touch with the ‘new’ idea, the idea that feels strange or unfamiliar. That can be a really inspiring moment, and a great opportunity to change the direction of a painting. Its like an internal wellspring, that I can never really see or touch all at once, it just sends out little showers of ideas now and then. I don’t think I’ll ever get to see where the spring is or what it looks like. I do think I know what it feels like however. It is the most amazing feeling of total engagement and surprise.
I am motivated and thrilled by works of art in all media that radiate the precision energy, laserlike focus, and skill that all need to come together to make a beautiful object and/or transcendent experience possible. I feel driven by the possibility of feeling resonance with other people and works of art. It feels like being a part of an unfolding consciousness and creation of our own experience.
Well crafted (conceptually and technically) works seem to raise the quality of my experience of the world. It refines and shapes the way I understand the world. I think that creative works help us to be more sensitive to life.
How do you begin your creative process?
It depends on the project, but it usually starts with a thought that I need to get to work. Then I make a cup of tea, and queue up a couple hours of music or podcast material to listen to. I go through a process of setting up, getting the materials ready and maybe straightening my desk. I choose the sizes I will be working on if I am making paintings.
Then I start painting. The first stages are usually priming with a tinted primer. This is a fun stage, I am just trying to find a color that feels right. Its all layers after that. Sometimes I have had an idea that came to me for an image, or an element, and so I set to work to try to get it down on the panel. Sometimes I gather reference images from google images of a particular element I want to work with. Recently I was looking for images of fungi.
Do you keep a sketchbook for inspiration?
I do have several sketchbooks which I use to jot ideas down or to think through options for compositions or gallery installation plans. I am making a paper sculpture right now, so I used the sketchbook a lot to try to figure out how I wanted to make it.
Do you have a particular subject matter you like to explore?
I have developed an affinity for certain symbols, figurative and formal elements which I use to try to describe the complexity, mystery, and seeking nature of our experience. I seem to keep returning to some, but they also shift and change over time.
Have you created any pieces that you can’t part with?
Generally, I like to share my work. I guess I do have a drawer of projects I feel are unresolved, which may never see life outside the drawer. I also have a few things that I made for myself.
When did you first realize you could make a living from your art?
I was inspired to try after having given it a great deal of thought and having seen the example of successful artists around me. This was in 2006. I went to college for art because I felt a funny feeling about it - it seemed so mysterious and intriguing, and I didn’t really have any clear thoughts about the future.
Since I made the leap, to my surprise and continual amazement, my work has been warmly received and supported, enabling me to keep working. I didn’t fully realize that it was possible to make a living from my art until it started happening during the last 18 months or so. I had fully internalized the idea that making a living as an artist was impossibly difficult and miraculous, and probably would not happen for me. But, as I began to see my peers succeed, this idea started to fade, and I got enough confidence to take the risk.
What have been the challenges working for yourself?
Oh, there are many, and there are many rewards. For me, organizing and prioritizing all the responsibilities is difficult. I think it is also key to be able to be effective at accomplishing the day to day work, yet still be able to step back and view the big picture, like where do I want to take my work, what do I want to be doing in the next 5 years, etc.
How have you handled the business side of being an artist?
I generally like the business side, but it is a challenge to balance the creative and administrative tasks. I have a hard time doing both types of work in the same day. The administrative to do list seems to be growing just as much as the creative to-do list.
How do you promote your artwork?
I post images of most of my work, including some work in progress and sketchbook things on Flickr. I also have a portfolio site, an etsy shop, and a blog. I also show my work frequently, which helps bring my work to new communities.
The internet community has been huge for me. There are a few kind and generous people who have really embraced my work and mentioned it in their blogs, which has snowballed into some traditional press, illustration jobs, and other opportunities.
What kind of artists do you admire?
I like artists who have a generous spirit, take risks, and push their work to be the best it can be.
Besides art what other interests do you have?
Gardening, swimming, The New York Times, my cats, and cooking.
