BY CHARLIE WATSON
In the final 'Into the Spectrum' of this series, I got to talk to one of my personal favourite artists, Emily Bee, who can be found online as 'Travellers and Magicians'. This London based illustrator, who worked with publishers for many years, is now training as a tattoo apprentice at Black Garden Tattoo in Drury lane. Her combination of Art Deco and cultural influence makes for some stunning pieces, including some of the most beautiful portraits you'll see. Check out some of her work, including her apprentice tattoo designs, and our interview, below!
1. At what point did you start your illustration career? Did you go through education or start working on your artwork straight away?
I've always loved drawing ever since I was little, and loved all the arty subjects at school. I hated I.T with a passion and was pretty vocal about it, so my teacher used to let me skip the class and go to the art rooms to work on my coursework instead. I then went on to do a BTEC Diploma in Art and Design followed by a BA (Hons) in Illustration. At the end of the course I exhibited some of my work at the New Designers exhibition in London and was lucky enough to be head hunted by a book publishers. I remember being convinced I'd screwed up the interview, but then I got a call asking me to start the following week. I had no money, nowhere to live and I knew no one in London, but was like 'Yeh sure!' 2. What's made you now start working on a tattoo career? Is this something you've wanted for a while or a recent change? Pretty recently actually, over the last few years I'd say. Once I started getting tattooed it was transformative, that sounds super corny, but I love the feeling you have after coming away with a beautiful piece of art on your body. So I suppose my interest in tattooing came from wanting to be able to give that feeling to someone else. A very good friend started pushing me about a year ago to start painting more and to have the confidence to start an Instagram to showcase my work. When I picked up my first tattoo machine and started practicing on pig skin and fake skin I realised I'd found my happy place, even through all its trials and tribulations (both mediums are shitty as hell!). It's still really only the beginning of what will be a very long and hard road, but I've recently had the incredible fortune of starting an apprenticeship at Black Garden Tattoo and I cannot thank the talented team of guys and girls enough for their willingness to give me a chance and to teach me.
3. What are your favourite projects that you've worked on so far?
If you'd have told me a year ago that I'd be loving painting I'd probably have pissed my pants laughing, but I really enjoy my larger painted lady heads with all the decorative head dresses and jewels. 4. How would you describe the style of tattooing you plan on moving into? I wouldn't say there's one set style, after all 'variety is the spice of life' n'all that. Eventually I'd love to have the skill set and the experience to be able to recreate my larger paintings on skin, but this is a long way off yet, I still have A LOT to learn! To anyone who's seen the movie Point Break, there's a quote in it where the older detective turns to Keanu Reeves and says "You know nothing. In fact, you know less than nothing. If you knew that you knew nothing, then that would be something, but you don't...." That's the reality when you start out. 5. Where do you feel you take influence from the most? I fucking adore all things art deco and take plenty of inspiration from that period, boy did they know how to do glitz and glamour! But I also take alot of inspiration from other cultures, their fashions and traditions, some of my favourite paintings have been inspired by Indian, Thai and African culture; it's so important to research your subject matter and find inspiration in as vast a selection of sources as possible, not just looking at other tattooists work.
6. What would your tips be for anyone who's thinking about starting a career in illustration or tattooing?
It's not for the faint hearted, you have to have balls. When you start out it can mean working 7 day weeks, two jobs, going from one job to the next, late nights and even tears...actual salty tears! You really have to have a hunger and a passion for it like nothing else and, like any artist, be willing to suffer for your art. HOWEVER it can also be one of the most rewarding career paths and if you work hard it WILL pay off. When you think you're working your hardest, work harder! When you're having a shitty day DO NOT QUIT! 7. Seeing that you have a passion for tattoos, if you could collaborate with one tattoo artist in the future, who would it be? I literally dont think I can answer that, there are sooooo many talented artists out there it blows my mind! 8. What do you find the hardest subject to work on is? Thats a tough one, even the stuff I feel quite comfortable with can sometimes pose a challenge, if you get me on a crap day drawing a simple face will have me pulling my hair out (3/4 face angles especially kill me!), but you know what those are sometimes the most satisfying ones when you finally crack it. The hardest part is resisting screwing something up and chucking it in the bin, my mum has piles of shit from when I was a kid that she used to fish out of the bin! 9. If you could work on one subject all the time, what would it be? To be totally honest I wouldnt want to only work on one subject, it would get boring pretty quickly! If anything I want to keep reinventing myself, changing things up, learning and challenging myself. Its good to push yourself outside of your comfort zone, sometimes just outside the cosy box of familiarity is where you find what you're really good at!
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BY CHARLIE WATSON
In our second 'Into the Spectrum', we get to talk to artist and caver, Tyler Thrasher. This US based artist works with skeletons, dead bugs and more, to create amazing crystallised pieces. You can check out our interview with him, and some of his unique work, below!
Q. At what point did you start experimenting with Crystallisation in your artwork? A. I didn't start incorporating crystallisation or any real principles of chemistry in my work until about 8 months ago! I've always played with the idea of using chemistry as an artistic medium, but it took a while before I found a method I actually liked. Q. Seeing that you grow your own crystals, is this something that you learnt through education, or that you took up in your own time? A. I studied advanced chemistry (AP and IBHL chemistry) in High-school, and studied chemistry on my own throughout college these last four years, so I have an educational AND self taught background of chemistry and it's repsecitve principles and applications! Crystallisations wasn't something I was taught, as it had very little function or use within the premise of my studies. The idea of crystallising foreign objects such as insects and skulls sort of dawned on me after walking through a gem and mineral store in Springfield, MO. Like most of my ideas, a random and spontaneous chain of thoughts and tiny ideas sparked all at once, and said "Hey! You should cover dead stuff in crystals. THAT WOULD BE COOL, HUH?!" and I said, "yup." Q. What inspires your artwork? Did you always want to be an artist or was it something that happened spontaneously? A. I've wanted to be a professional and full time creator since my sophomore year of highschool, about 7 years ago! I even recieved my Bachelor of Fine Art degree with an emphasis in Computer Animation from Missouri State University. The big challenge though has always been, how to support yourself as an artist, and a very daunting question that looms over you during your years in college. I never let that steer me away from pursuing art full time though!
Q. Moving away from your 3-Dimensional work, and towards your paintings/drawings, what would you describe the style you work in as?
A. I would describe my 2D work as "sketchy". My pen/ ink work has always been very "scribbly" and sculptural, and I would say the same with my paintings. I've always had a love of the "painterly" look. I believe that if you're using a medium you should at least explore it's unique advantages at least a couple of times. If you're using pen and ink, you should explore the different types of line work unique to ink and if you're painting, you should be pushing those brush strokes! At the moment, I don't have a consistent body of work among my 2D portfolio. I sort of just paint/ draw what I think looks cool/good, as amateur as I know that is. Haha! I just get an idea or a piece in my head, and it usually doesn't leave until it's manifested on paper. Q. Do you feel you take influence from any other artists, traditional or contemporary? A. Absolutely! I've been realy big on landscapes recently, and Thomas Moran is 100% to blame for that! I try to keep those landscapes in the same realm as contemporary digital paintings however, really pushing and emphasizing the "structuralness" that brush strokes have to offer! Q. What have been the biggest challenges you've faced whilst trying to promote your artwork, gallery shows, etc? A. The biggest challenge I've faced with promotion, is simply getting people to care. Starting out, your friends and family are all on board, and It's amazing! However, it doesn't necessarilly get your work outside of your immediate circle. I've also had many frustrating moments trying to submit my work to galleries and shows, only to never hear back- even from ones promising a reply. That's where social networking is a life-saver. platforms like Instagram, Facebook and others allow artists and creatives to put their work and where it ends up back in their hands. Social networking allows creatives to promote themselves and sell their work to suppoters and fans without the use of teh gallery or "middle man", and I love that. The big struggle I've found with galleries and competitions is, there are too many artists competing for the same limited amount of space, which really adds an element of competition that I find incredibly silly. But when those hundreds of artists are promoting themselves on social networks, there's no competition. People will like and follow whatever they stumble upon, and they'll support whatever they like - not what's just displayed in galleries. Once you pick up a social media presence, and an amazing group of followers and supporters, the rest is easy! Q. If you could collaborate with one artist who would it be? A. Roger Hiorns. I would love to collaborate with him! He's a UK based artist who's famous for his installation, "Seizure" where he literally crystallized an entire UK flat! It's absolutely incredible, and I would kill to have it as my personal alchemy dungeon! Q. What has been your favourite project you've worked on so far? A. My favorite project so far, is a rabbit skeleton I'm currently crsytallizing. It's one of the biggest challenges I'm facing yet, as the skeleton is incredibly fragile, and the crystals are having a hard time adhereing to the surface. I also plan on growing two different kind of crystals on this compound, which means I have to pick two four different chemicals to yield two different crystals that won't react with one another, so it's gonna be tricky! But I do love puzzles. Q. If you could work with one 3-D object all the time, what would it be? A. That's a tough question! I would love to synthesize minerals, such as true amethyst, quartz, rubies, etc. I have a few processes lined up to test this method but it could be fairly dangerous, so I would need a lab. Once I can successfully achieve that, it could be an exciting new step in my work! |
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