For this being an artist blog, I don’t actually write a lot about my creative life. As in, the part of my life that involves gouache paint, ink pens, or vector shapes. I see my creative life as not being about the art itself, but about my experience of God, life, and relationships. The art-making is the means by which I tell stories to connect with others, and process personal thoughts and emotions.
But, that being said, I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how to grow in my creative life. I’ve been working on new prints for the Etsy shop, as well as spreads for children’s books, but I feel like my style has been “stiff” for a long time. The types of illustration I’ve always admired are the ones that are bold, expressive, textured, and skillfully chaotic. Here are examples by 2 of my favorite illustrators:
From Maru Godas:
From Ludwig Bemelmans (writer & illustrator of the Madeline books):
Both look very childlike at first glance–maybe the kind of thing that gets the reaction, “My 5-year-old can do that!” But I see the cohesiveness of color and composition (which takes professional skill) and the courage of uniqueness in them. The courage it takes to break out of the prison of technical rules and “accuracy” that produce lackluster work. I’ve been wanting to illustrate “like a 5-year-old” for a long time, but I haven’t had the courage or guidance in it.
So… I FINALLY gave in to this nagging thought about taking an online class by Maru Godas. I’ve wondered for years about her process, materials, and how she sees the world–all of which help her produce the work I admire so much. I’ve tried to emulate her techniques on my own, but I never really got it. Turns out, her Domestika class explains ALL of what I wanted to know, and it didn’t even cost that much. (I don’t know why I resisted paying the $18 for so long.)
So far, I’ve learned that her “skillfully chaotic,” childlike, bold, expressive gouache paintings take a lot more planning and intentionality than I expected. But there’s still fun and whimsy in it. I’ve enjoyed seeing how she plans out her distorted perspective, adds texture to make shapes come to life, layers her paint colors, adds line work and details with colored pencil, etc. She explains some of her creative philosophy, too–the main one being, “Draw without fear!”
Taking her class and seeing her process has made what I want to achieve seem more attainable. Obviously, I won’t copy her style, as I want to find my own place in the illustration world. But I do think there’s value in adopting some of her mindset and techniques–or at least, trying them out for a while and seeing where they take me.
So here’s to growing creatively in boldness of expression, experimenting without fearing the mess, and creating more evocative work.
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