Welcome to my monthly interview feature! I’m so
excited to be interviewing all the fabulous artists, illustrators and designers
I’ve meet over the years (both personally and virtually!) and sharing their
artwork and experiences here on Bird Meets Worm. Look for a new interview on
the first Tuesday of every month.
I apologize for the delay in this month’s interview
(you’ll note today is Saturday, not Tuesday!). I was laid low by the flu
earlier this week, but am THRILLED to now be sharing this month’s interview with
the lovely, brillant Artist/Illustrator/Designer/Retoucher, Tansy Myer. Tansy
and I met years ago thru our men, who both happen to design movie posters for a
living, and we hit it off instantly. Tansy was born and raised in Venice
Beach, California. She paints, draws and creates digital art and is inspired by
strange, pretty, and nerdy girls. You can view more of her intensely beautiful artwork here.
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| Venice Beach Babe. |
Q: In what ways can we see your hometown of Venice, CA reflected
in your artwork? Talk to us about how the city has influenced and shaped your
creative vision.
A: Venice is an eclectic, unique place. It is dirty and grimy
but also funny and bizarre and beautiful. Growing up, Venice was not the bourgeois
enclave it is now, it was a meeting place of artists and musicians and
that's why my parents came here. I grew up at the beach, surrounded by the
strange superficiality of fame and wealth, beauty and sexuality. I think my
work reflects these issues women confront in defining who they are and what is
important to them in this world.
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| Debbie is a nerd girl. |
Q: You artwork explores themes of feminine beauty and identity.
Tell us about how you see your work relating to women in the current culture.
A: I think we are in a very important time where women are
defining their roles and sexuality on their own terms more than ever before.
That being said I still think idealized, traditional and narrow slots are
carved out for women in society and girls are being manipulated from a very
young age what is the right way to look, act and feel. I hope my artwork
celebrates all different types of girls and definitions of beauty. Uniqueness is
the most beautiful thing to me. Being you and feeling you and following your
own heart is the truest
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| Circus Series - Elephant Acrobats. |
Q: You are gifted in your use of both traditional media as well
as digital media. Tell us a bit about your process, how you decide which media
to use and how it all comes together.
Lately I have been painting and drawing more than anything and
have fallen in love with my Pentel Japan ink pens. I spend so much of my time
on the computer for work that it is really nice to get dirty and use ink and
charcoal. It is so different from my digital work because of the unexpected and
happy surprises that happen from the flow of the ink or the stroke of a few
stray hairs in the brush... I love to work big as well so drawing on full 20x28
in sheets of paper has been really freeing. My digital drawings start as a
pencil drawing, which I scan in and color in Adobe Illustrator. That's what is
cool about working in vector is I can print my drawings huge when I'm done.
They satisfy and also personify the search for perfection I'm talking about in
my work. My raw, stained canvas paintings and paper drawings juxtaposed with my
mathematically precise, slick digital drawings represent the two sides of a
woman—the flawed person inside the glossy exterior we construct for the world.
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| Awkward/Beautiful |
Q: In your career, you have worked for wide variety of clients
ranging from art galleries to magazines to fashion powerhouses. What have you
enjoyed the most, what have you enjoyed the least and why?
A: I
enjoy when a client and an artist build a relationship of trust and mutual
respect. That is when projects are most successful, when an artist is allowed
to do what they do best. I love doing fashion illustration and something
magical can happen when an artist and client share a passion for each other's
art.
You will find a lot of people who are untrustworthy and say one
thing while doing another in all of these businesses, which is what I enjoy the
least, so it's important to have a consistent, open dialogue and to know your
worth. You must empower yourself as a businessperson and as an artist.
 |
| LOVE this girlie! |
Q: Describe your most perfect Sunday.
A: Sundays I like to stay home, cook good food, pet the cats,
watch movies and make art.
Q: What are you working on right now? And what can we expect to
see from you in the future?
A: Lately I've been all over the place, studying, learning new
skills. I've really been enjoying my big black and white girl drawings and I am
thinking of making my own graphic novel of sorts/adult coloring book. One
of the best parts of being an artist is seeing how my art can speak to another
girl out there and I'd like to take that to another level. It's been in my
mind for a while, combining writing and storytelling with my illustration. I
think it's time.