What is practice? To me practice is the way artists physically create their work (e.g. through certain mediums, techniques and processes, the imagery they use, etc) and the reasons or circumstances as to why they make it (e.g. for a client or for themselves, the ideology or concept behind work, where they make from and where they are from, what kind of groups or associations they support, etc).
When talking about practice we also talked about style. This was the most important conversation we had and I found a lot of it very important:
- the idea that a style can be stifling. (I draw unconventional girls who are grumpy or weird or sad looking. I like drawing 'ugly' aka I like to pick up on body hair and pimples and weird wobbly bits of the body, I don't think they're ugly I just think it's a different look from what is in mainstream media. I like using a lot of tiny thin, wobbly lines, close together and lots of little sharp marks because I think it looks busy and rough and grimy and odd. I think it looks less polished or beautified and I like it because I want to pick up on the weird, fun details of people and things. When I was younger I used to try and draw everything to look pretty and now I think that's boring, because how the thing looks normally should be what you capture. I think in accepting that things are ugly or weird or not perfect you can capture the real vibe or essence of them) I love my style but because I have one I feel like it's hard to ever draw outside that and think of it as worthwhile, because I feel so tied to a style.
- we shouldn't talk about style, we should talk about practice because that helps you see your work as a infinite way of making images and not a specific type of drawing. I think practice is more broad and more about how you embed you're own way of thinking or a feeling into your work, and all the reasons your work evolves the way it does. The 'style' is more the genera;l aesthetic or look and is far more surface. When talking about the way an artist brings the pizzazz (that indescribable thing that makes something an illustration, not just a drawing) it's far easier when referring to practice rather than style, because practice is all about them as a whole and an image maker.
Carson Ellis
From exploring her various online pages and social media apps, and a couple of interviews, podcasts and videos she's done I found a lot of information that could influence her practice. She had two children and a husband, and she lives on a farm in Oregon with lots of animals. She illustrates children's books, some of which she writes, and is the illustrator for her husband's band The Decemberists. She also designed a wallpaper inspired by her move to a farm, which for me is a big example of how her lifestyle and her location influences her practice.
When researching Carson Ellis I found two quotes by her that summed up why I felt her practice was interesting.
'When I die I'd like someone to say 'she really followed her instincts and followed her heart creatively and did the things she wanted to do as an artist'
'I feel like being an artist is such a journey and you have to always check in with your inner compass' 'instead of following the money or following the easy route because you don't have time to do it the hard way'
Overall she seems to genuinely enthusiastic and interested in making work for herself and her passions and work that is authentic. I think the way she says 'followed her instincts' and 'her heart' shows just how dear illustration is to her and how it's a part of her mind and her soul and her life. I really love to see when people are a bit soft and flowery about the way they love illustration instead of talking about it as a stone cold career or scientific way of making images. I think illustration is all about love and passion and heart, because if it's not it's just like technical drawing or trying to capture something as it is with no frills. I just like how into her work she is.
Why you like their work?
I love Ellis' work because to me it just seems magical. There's a fantastical element to everything she draws. The imagery is already quite witchy, magic, ethereal or whimsical but then her use of ink and the deep starry night colours she uses add to this feeling. She also embeds a sense of calm and mysterious tone of voice into her work. Nothing in her work is hard or sharp or mean, the colour is strong but the ink looks soft and rich. The shapes and lines are curved and deliberate but not jagged or erratic, it's very clean and considered. It reminds me of a misty day, everything seems still and sweet and cosy, her work reminds me of watching fantasy films when I was little and being so interested in the world but already comfortable in that world even though it's new and exciting.
I'd love to get this sense of magic and delight in my work.
How do they make their work?
'I sketch with mechanical pencils and these days most of my finished artwork is in gouache and ink on watercolour paper. I use india ink and a nib pen with a #56 nib. I got a light board last year and now it’s one of the most indispensable things in my studio.'
I was really interested by the use of a nib pen, and it's something I keep seeing at the moment in artists work. I really want to try it because I really like my Rotring pen because of the sturdy nib, and I love working with ink.
'I dipped that nib pen in that ink and the heavens opened up and it was like 'This is it!''
What do you think is central to their practice? (perhaps consider their interests, personality, location, background, other creative endeavours, tone of voice, clients, media, anything else?)
I think her location at her farm is very key to her practice. She lives outside of the city, away from lots of people or noise and the countryside is the perfect place for fantasy stories or folklore to originate. Her barn was constructed in 1910, so she is surrounded by structures that are full of character and feel less like modern homes made for purpose that are mass made at the moment. She made her book 'Home' all about homes, which I feel was definitely inspired to some extent by her home and the general feeling of different homes. She also made a wallpaper design purely inspired by her move to the farm and finding owls in her barn.
Despite the fact that Carson didn’t set out “to say anything too profound about homes and what they mean to us,” the book is also an ode to the very notion of home—and where creatures in the world find comfort.
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