ARTIST INTERVIEW: Christine Anderson
The Directory of Illustration recently had the great pleasure of sitting down with the talented and delightful Christine Anderson for an interview.
MEET CHRISTINE
Christine is a Senior Illustrator and Surface Pattern Designer living in sunny Scottsdale, Arizona. She takes full advantage of the beauty around her and nourishes her creative spirit by hiking and getting out in nature. She creates artwork that would add sunshine to anyone’s day. To Christine, art is a process that is ever changing, growing and with no end. She loves learning and evolving by pushing, pulling and stretching her abilities. She received a BFA in Graphic Design/Illustration from Drake University and continues to challenge herself with classes, building on her broad base of artistic skills.
What motivated you to begin drawing and creating art?
I received my first art scholarship in 2nd grade and have been hooked since then. It was to the Des Moines Art Center and I thought I was in the big time. That place was magical to me and where the REAL artists would go. I still remember the smell of the studios and if I could replicate it I would have my whole house smell like that! Smelled like creativity in motion!
How did you develop your style?
Long story short…out of necessity. I came from purely creating traditionally…with no digital components. As I began doing design work for products, I was seeing the need to be able to move elements around, resize, recolor, etc. Not very conducive with traditional ways of working. So, I had to learn how to use Photoshop. I do not like the “digital” look of things created on the computer and I HAVE to feel the pencil on the paper. So I figured out I could render my illustrations in pencil, with all the details and “bones” of the piece, and then scan in each element, color, size and move things individually to make the piece work best for customers needs. Win win!
How do you continue to challenge yourself?
I finally broke down and bought an XP-Pen tablet. It enables me to hook into my computer and draw with a pen tool directly on to my screen. I am still quite new to it and am looking forward to spending more time seeing all the advantages this will provide. I also take mini classes, and I especially love Domestika. I have several classes waiting for me! A lot of them focus more on creative ways of thinking, not necessarily art skill building.
Much of your inspiration comes from hiking and being in nature. How do you translate the outdoors onto the page?
Everything in nature is so perfectly imperfect. I love the way that every thing in nature depends on and is interconnected with everything around it. Everything exists for a specific reason. Symbiosis. I take the cues from nature and try and make sure that all the elements in my design are relevant to the overall success of the piece. It all has to work together, just like in nature.
I tend to draw things that are real, or alive, because I feel more connected to them. I am in complete awe of the beauty that just is. Naturally beautiful. From tiny leaves and the million different varieties of mushrooms to huge elephants. I would have to say by far my biggest influence and source of inspiration is Sir David Attenborough. His view of the natural word is absolutely fascinating. Seeing his The Private Life of Plants changed my life. I always seem to focus in tight on all the tiny details of things, and this documentary went there. Life is in the details…literally.
“I tend to draw things that are real, or alive, because I feel more connected to them.”
Dream job or client?
The more freedom I have to do “me” is always a dream job. I’ve worked hard to develop my style and have clients continually coming to me for it. That is so rewarding. I have a design degree and can “do” many different things and styles, but my joy lies in doing what is most natural to me, and I know that clients buy joy. Having said that, there are many clients I would be honored to work with. I would love to do a cover for The New Yorker! I would love to design packaging…especially for chocolate companies! Another dream job, but not sure it exists, would be to live in a National Park and just draw wildlife (flora and fauna) all day, everyday!
Do you have an exciting project you’re currently working on or have recently completed?
I recently completed a 40 page children’s book, A Penguin’s Quest, by Scott McDermott. Plus the covers. Phew! That was a huge job but I am very proud of how it turned out. I am currently working on a large project illustrating 8 landmarks, etc in each of many of the major cities across the US.
