Hi friends! This is part II of our series on our artist interviews. Last time we had Melia Newman and this time we are here with Maigan Lynn. Maigan has been with us since early 2009 and is still rocking out the mermaids and fantasy designs. She was the very first outside artist that I hired for the company and I'm so excited that she's with us all these years later.
We are debuting a new line from Maigan on May 2nd, that's next Wednesday! It's called "The Willow Lane Collection by Maigan Lynn" and on May 7th, Which just happens to be Maigan's birthday, we will have a big surprise to reveal to you and her. :) That's right! I've been keeping a secret again. :) Here's a video I made using Sophie, one of the new stamps in the Willow Lane Collection!
Let's get to know Maigan Lynn...
-What is your favorite
medium?
My favorite medium, by far, is
watercolours. For my level of patience I find oils take too long to dry,
acrylics dry too fast, and watercolours are just right for me. I can still play
around with them after they've dried.
What style do you
consider your work to be?
I consider my work to be fantasy
illustration watercolour as I mostly create illustrative characters as fairies
or mermaids.
-What made you start
doing art and when did you begin your career in art?
I know most artists will say they
had been creative for as long as they can remember, which is much the same for
me. I don't ever remember feeling like I expressed any superior talents. I just
always felt I had a bit of a different take on the tasks I was presented with
in school (elementary and high school art classes). I started to take my work a
little more seriously around 2003. I had been dealing with extreme amounts of
anxiety making it almost impossible for me to work so I had to do something and
art was the answer. It was a very meager living at first but it quickly grew
into something sustainable. It was a lot of work but I was passionate about it.
It was a lifeline for me. I had my loved ones to keep me going when times were
tough and coping seemed almost impossible but creating art gave me a purpose.
What/ Who most
inspires you?
As a Taurus I love the be surrounded
in beauty. I love the way I feel when I look at beautiful things. So I find a
lot of inspiration in artists who spark a sense of whimsy, imagination, beauty,
and fun. When I first started, Amy Brown was my biggest inspiration - she still
is. At first it was her artwork - the bratty little pixies and pretty fairies.
I loved the worlds she created. Then I read her story and how she started. It
wasn't anything extremely glamorous and I came to realize that she was a
regular person, just like me. And if she could do this as a living then why
couldn't I? My inspiration really started there but grew to include artists
like Jasmine Beckett Griffith and Rion Vernon (pinuptoons.com). I've also made
a lot of artists friends over the years who inspire me daily and there are
honestly too many of them to name without missing someone on the list. I also
find I'm inspired by nature, movies, books, and the things I see on a daily
basis. It doesn't take much to make the creative wheels turn!
Are you a full time
artist?
Yes I am and I love every minute of
it! :)
What is your favorite
subject matter and why?
Mermaids - though Fairies is a close
second! I love mermaids because they're so impossible, so beautiful, and can
take on so many different characters. Anytime I would be in a bath or swimming
as a kid I would always pretend to be a mermaid or a fish. I loved being in the
water. The magic and the colours that come to mind when I think of them always
give me that warm fuzzy happy feeling.
What are your favorite
colors to use in your artwork? Do you tend to stick to a certain palette?
Anything bright! My preferences are
the cool colours - blues, purples, greens - but there are instances when the
warm colours are necessary as well. Balance is essential. However, I do also
have an inner gothling which calls for a much darker colour pallette. It really
does depend on the tone of the art piece.
If you could meet any
artist living or dead who would it be and why?
Amy Brown - so I could see how her
mind works and just be surrounded by the magic of her mind for a day.
Jasmine Beckett Griffith - because I
am so curious about her process. It seems she's able to come up with these
absolutely gigantic paintings on a daily basis and still maintain a
social/family life.
Leonardo Da Vinci - because I know
he saw things in a way that no one else did and I want to see his mind in
action as well. I also want to know the secret to the Mona Lisa straight from
the horses mouth! :)
I would also like to meet the artist
friends I've made over the years as well. They've been such a huge help in
times when I've struggled and I'd like to be able to thank them all in person.
Even to just go out for lunch would be fun I think. :)
you can find Maigan Lynn here:
Stay tuned for Part III of our Artist interview series. We will have Trish Shufelt up next.
Thank you for joining us.
No comments:
Post a Comment