Currently, I am
participating in IlluXCon, am the Guest of Honor at Furpocalypse, and will be
dealing and giving a lecture at Midwest Furfest.
Location: Cincinnati (Oakley/Hyde Park)
Website: http://patreon.com/jonathanvair
On the Drawing Table: Convention plans and digital sketch commissions.
Coming out soon: My first personal art painting series.
On the Drawing Table: Convention plans and digital sketch commissions.
Coming out soon: My first personal art painting series.
How did you get your start as a professional artist?
I felt I needed to
make most of my mistakes by taking on freelance commissions in the beginning of
my college career. I opened for commissions in 2007, but was not commissioned
once until 2008. Fast forward to today, I am an active artist within the furry
fandom (think talking animal characters), have a Patreon account funding
personal work endeavors and mentee relationships, and I travel the country at
cons selling work, getting commissions, and giving lectures.
Describe your work.
My commission work
almost exclusively features anthropomorphic animals. These character designs
usually serve as my clients’ avatars, so
it is my responsibility to render them with as much love and intention as
possible. My commissions have affected my clientele’s relationship dynamics and
self-image.
My desire to foster
wonder and imagination in my viewer’s eye is what drives me towards visual
abstraction. I want pieces with less polish, that a viewer’s mind may
participate to complete the image.
Tell about your workspace.
Because I work in
our small apartment, space is a precious commodity. I use an exercise ball as a
chair combat my sedentary periods as a digital artist, and make good use of the
foam grid floor panels to adjust my height or sit directly on the floor for
particularly intense traditional projects. A south-facing window allows natural
lighting suitable for traditional painting during most of the day. Under my
worktable is an assortment of canvases, frames, and mediums.
My work table is
currently being used for some huge personal paintings. Above my table is large
piece of paper full of some
stream-of-consciousness doodles.
What are your favorite materials digital and traditional?
As a basis, I love
working in any medium with a handicap. I’m a firm believer in limits bringing
about incredible solutions, and for this reason my traditional mediums include
absolutely anything I choose to explore—sharpies, whiteout, once I even
used chocolate! My Digital program of choice is a free program called
Alchemy, used in the entertainment industry for quick concepting and heavy
experimentations. Currently, I’m the only artist who uses the program to finish
pieces. You can download the program here: http://al.chemy.org
What’s your typical workday/work session like?
Before bed around
9:30PM, I ready some coffee in a pour-over and prep some sweet potatoes in our
toaster oven.
I wake up at 6AM to
take care of our two huskies, check messages, and make breakfast for my wife
and myself. By 8AM I try to have my workout and cleanup behind me, so I can
start an hour-long process of art warmups. The rest of the day is filled with
commission work, small exercises, and sometimes I take calls with clients and
broadcast my computer screen over a stream, which you can view 9AM-6PM EST on
most weekdays here: https://picarto.tv/jonathanvair
What do you do to keep yourself motivated as you
work?
Streaming my work
and timing every sketch commission to the minute allows me to maintain a
professional state of mind, even in the otherwise leisurely atmosphere of home.
If I have a big project I need to churn out, I buy a pint of Ben and Jerry’s
and tear into it once I’ve done a good job.
What is your dream job?
I am currently
doing my dream job. Getting to talk to clients directly while creating
characters to change their lives for the better, that is the greatest job I
could ever hope for!
Do you keep a sketchbook?
Last year, I
ditched sketchbooks in favour of folded cardstock paper. This formatting seems
to be easier to carry in a pocket, tear apart and reorganize by subject, and
also works well when needing to expanding my image’s dimensions later.
What do you listen to while you work?
I try to avoid
listening to anything during design and construction periods of art, since the
multitasking won’t allow me to be my best. When detailing or colouring after
the drawing process, I will listen to assorted lectures or go through a music
playlist I’ve cultivated here: https://goo.gl/as7sVR
What are you reading?
“Consider The
Lobster” by David Foster Wallace
“Understanding
Comics” by Scott McCloud
“My Name is Asher
Lev” by Chaim Potok
Who are your artistic influences?
I deeply resonate
with the works of Andrew Wyeth, Wassily Kandinsky, Zdzisław Beksinski, Rick
Berry, Phil Hale, João Ruas, and Woodkid.
What do you do that is not art-related that inspires you?
Anything that helps
me in my pursuit of Truth is how I want to spend my time! My current
favourite topics are philosophy, religion, conceptual maths, and cultural
diversity. Being my best artist means
finding inspiration in all places.
What was the best advice you got in your career so far?
I recently came
across this quote, and found it to be the backbone of everything I would desire
in my career.
“The only way to
deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very
existence is an act of rebellion.”
-Albert Camus
What is your favorite color?
I don’t have a
favourite colour, since I’d be fine if I only saw black and white the rest of
my life. I do love seeing grey used creatively around bright colours, though!
How can we get best follow your art online/on
social media?
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