That does sound like a lot, now that I think about it! Art and business are my two greatest passions in life (travel is my third). Because I love both disciplines so much, I find it very enjoyable to pursue them with all my time and energy. School is tough, but, as they say, time flies when you’re having fun!

2. I see you do traditional as well as digital art…do you prefer one medium more than the other, does one come more naturally to you, and why?

 I definitely prefer using traditional mediums for my paintings and illustrations. I find it takes me much less time to complete a picture traditionally than it does digitally (especially when it comes to things like inking an image). I also suffer from tendonitis when I’m on the computer too long which is actually the main thing preventing me from doing a lot of work digitally. My favourite mediums to work with are Winsor Newton Watercolours, Copic Sketch Markers, a pen with a nib and India Ink, and my trusty bic mechanical pencil.

3. You live in Vancouver, British Columbia—very beautiful country! Do you draw much of your inspiration from your surroundings? (I’m often curious if you take an artist out of their beautiful location, if it stifles their ability to create.)

 Thank you! Yes, we are renowned for our mountains, trees, city, and torrential rainy weather. I think the thing that inspires me most about my surroundings is the greenery. I didn’t realize how much it meant to me until I went to Europe. The thing I missed most about home were the lush tree-lined streets, and beautiful mountains and the view of the ocean. We tend to take things for granted and only truly appreciate them when they’re gone. I’m not sure how leaving my surroundings would affect my art. I think that I would try and use the change positively though and let it flow through my work.

4. Please tell us about your coming book project collaboration with other artists! You seem very confident of your projected follow-through plan for it. Are you intimidated at all by the amount of work involved? Do you have established plans for marketing it?

 The book project is something I’ve wanted to do for a while now. My sense of confidence in the project comes from the talented artists involved, and the vision of the finished book I see in my mind’s eye. I have confidence in my ability to create unique and professional page layouts, and to blend all of our pieces together. I plan to make a different page template for each section of the book to keep it uniform and to ‘recycle’ it so that my work is cut down. I’m actually looking forward to designing the page layouts and working on the design part of the book. If I weren’t a fantasy artist myself, I think this is a career I would be interested in pursuing in an alternate universe. 

 The daunting part, that will surely test my ingenuity, is the publication. It involves a lot of shameless grunt work. I’m going make cold calls to agents, publishers, and book distributors; I’m going to send out draft manuscripts, and hopefully meet with some publishers and give them our pitch. I am lucky to have the added advantage of being in a program with teachers who are actually in the industries of art, illustration, design, and publication, and will hopefully give me feedback and contacts to call. 

 It may take a while (and immense determination), but I’m convinced that this dream is possible. I’m very serious and passionate about making a professional, worthwhile product and pitching it to major players in the publishing industry.

*I have also had some artists offer to help put everything together, and I really appreciate it. This is a team project to the  core. Something that will hopefully launch us into the public eye and inspire others. Are you excited? I’m excited.*

5. In an industry genre often referred to as “over-saturated”, what do you feel you do to stand-out and be unique? What must anyone do to stand out and be unique?

 Here’s what I try to do:

One, have kick ass art that competes with established artists. Take what inspires you (whether it be from life, imagination, other artwork) and translate it into something unique and personal.

Two, determination; never give up! Always draw draw draw! You are constantly improving.

Three, promote yourself in any way you can. Make a personal website, put your artwork up on sites like our Fae Forum, or Deviantart, participate in local markets and contests.

Four, be yourself and let your awesome personality shine. Have a strong online identity and you are less likely to be forgotten.

 6. Artists are so much more than their art. Who are you besides an artist–what other interests/hobbies/quirks/unique peculiarities?

I really love watching a good movie, having a strong cuppa joe or a soothing green tea, camping and kayaking, being nuzzled by my kitten, eating white cheddar popcorn, organizing my bedroom, reading the latest young adult fantasy novel, and carrying on with my crazy market pals.

7. Have you ever worked jobs other than art, and if so, what?

I’ve had a few. I worked in a movie theatre selling popcorn to the masses, at a grocery store as a demo girl, and selling soap at the market I work at now for my mom. I can’t wait until my artwork becomes my full time career.

8. Did you always know you wanted to be an artist? What tipped your scales into going to art school? What advice would you give other artists trying to decide about whether to go to art school or not?

 No. In fact, I never called myself an artist until I decided to go down that career path. I have a great love for history and archaeology (and Indiana Jones lol) and was convinced I wanted to be an archaeologist. When I got out of high school I took some college courses and discovered that I was more engaged in my drawing and doodling than my classes and school work. Then I did a little soul searching and decided I wanted to become an artist; specifically an illustrator (which I needed to be educated for to enter the industry).

My advice to those artists that want to pursue a full time career in the arts to definitely go to school. At school you get to use state of the art equipment, and are taught by people who work in the industry and have important knowledge to pass on. Also, you have the opportunity to make connections with like-minded people and key industry pros that could lead to future career opportunities.

From my experience, art school is divided into two groups; artists and designers. Artists are, to be cliche, those funky, expressive people, who are more about the message than superficial looks of the piece itself. They want to share their messages (such as environmental, social, and political issues) with people in shows and public places. They focus on experimentation and ideas, and are generally into modern art. Designers, on the other hand, focus more so on the aesthetics of a piece. They create art that can be used in commercial work and publication or even galleries (such as a company logo or an illustration for a magazine or a group art show). Figure out which side you fit in, and choose your courses/program from there.

9. If the world did not have the internet, how do you imagine you’d be marketing your art?

The internet has been an amazing asset to artists. To be honest, I’m not sure how artists marketed themselves in the past. I imagine their success depended on connections, exposure, and luck.

10. Is there subject matter you’ve not attempted yet to paint that you wish to, and if so, what?

I’m trying to work on more pieces that involve characters interacting with each other. Like hugging, kissing, or walking together… It really challenges me! I’m also practising painting backgrounds. I would really like to get a convincing old craggy stone effect like other artists I admire do.

11. What other artists (living or deceased) have had the most lasting effects on you in developing your own style and why?

When it comes to colour, style, and mediums, I’m most inspired by Kmye-Chan, Lois Van Baarle, Nati Pierandrei, Stephanie Law, Antonio Gaudi, and Alphonse Mucha. I love the Art Nouveau feel and careful colouring and textures created by these artists, and hope to emulate a similar style in my own.

12. Does the most rewarding compensation from others for your art come via sales or appreciative compliments? What drives you most to create art? Is it for you, or for others?

I really appreciate thoughtful comments on my work. Even if they aren’t compliments, the fact that something I drew made someone stop and say or write something to me… that’s just too cool. When I was younger, I drew to express the characters and worlds running through my imagination. Since I started posting my work on the internet and gaining a small following of online friends and admirers, I find that I am driven to create art for them. I want to hear what they think and feel about what I’ve made.

I feel most confident when I’m drawing or painting something. I feel totally in my zone.

~Sasha Fitzgerald

http://www.solarissky.com

http://solarissky.deviantart.com

1. Tiffany, your artwork demonstrates mastery of several mediums. Is one
your favorite and if so, why, and how do you decide what medium you will
use on any given art piece when the idea first sparks and you begin to
plan your piece?

Why thank you!  I’m not sure I really have a favorite, it differs every
day.  One day I’ll be frustrated with digital painting, and I’ll really
like watercolor pencils, and then I get frustrated with pencils and
really like digital painting, etc.  But of all the mediums I’ve
experimented with, digital illustration and watercolor pencils are the
only two I continue to use.  Typically when I get an idea I know what I
need to use to paint it, and if I try to use anything else it doesn’t
turn out right.  A lot of the time I don’t really plan the piece out,
either, I just sort of get an instinct about it and go for it.

2. You live in beautiful Roslyn, WA (pop. 800) a quaint and charming
town once a logging and mining hub. I understand it was also the set
location for the very popular TV series Northern Exposure as the
fictional town of Cicely, Alaska. Does your lovely environment inspire
your creative process, and if so, how?

It definitely does.  I’m lucky enough that my house is on the outskirts
of the Wenatchee National Forest, so it is surrounded by massive
Evergreens and Pines.  When I was a child I would spend most of my
afternoons wandering around my family’s acreage drawing winged people. 
I don’t believe I had been exposed to faerie lore at that point in time,
I was only 3 when it started.  But I felt like I could sense little
forest spirits or more specifically, what I thought were forest ghosts. 
I tried to look for them but as far as I can remember I never did see
one, but I constantly saw them in my dreams and I continue to have
dreams about them almost nightly.  I told a lot of stories about them
when I was a kid, and a lot of the neighborhood parents didn’t like me
because I scared their children with my stories.  I still sense
something when I am in the forest, my studio or my house, and so when I
paint faeries, I try to capture both what I feel in the forest, and what
I see in my dreams.

3. What for you, would constitute “the perfect day”?

Sunny, 80 degrees (F), lunch at the vegan café D’lish in Sedona, Arizona
with my best friend Samantha, talking about art and politics and
stealing sips of her carrot juice.  And maybe some gardening.

4. In what ways do you market yourself and your art? Which are the most
successful for you?

For the most part I just send my work, and attend in person, tons of art
shows.  Pretty much as many as I can fit into my schedule and still have
time to paint and play music and write.  I’m really not very good about
promoting my art online and it’s one of my goals for 2009 to be more
disciplined about it.  A month in, and I’ve not made much progress,
though my website is finally up!

5. What one thing has helped you to grow artistically more than anything
else?

Well, it might sound silly and irresponsible, but when I was 15 and
decided, almost overnight, that I was going to be an artist (before I
could actually make any decent art, mind you!) I also decided I was
going to drop out of high school as soon as I turned 16 and get my GED. 
And I did.  It took me about a month to get my GED, and then I had all
the time in the world to work on my art.  So, I’ve spent just about
every day since I was 16 painting, and I think because I was able to
concentrate exclusively on my art that each painting was better than the
last, and I was able to find my own style and outgrow styles at an
accelerated rate.

6. You demonstrate a generous willingness to help other artists with
advice, tutorials, etc….if you could nutshell the three most important
things you could impart to emerging artists, what would they be?

Start small.  It might seem like other artists who have 15 different
products do really well, but that’s probably not why, and buying all
those products can be really expensive!  When I started out, all I had
was one size of cheap prints, but I sold a lot of those.  In 2006 I
tried out bookmarks, key chains and magnets, and 3 years later I’m still
trying to get rid of them!

A lot of artists also make the mistake of trying to base their own
businesses on the same techniques used by other artists building
theirs.  What works for one person probably won’t work for another.  A
lot of really “famous” artists in the faerie industry became famous
because they were in the right place at the right time, and had a little
bit of good luck.

And along the same lines, you have to put yourself out there and
advertise your products!  You might have the best work in the world, but
no one is going to know about it if you don’t tell anyone it’s there. 
You can’t just expect that by putting your work on deviantART or the
internet in general that someone is going to come along and make your
career happen overnight.

7. Do you ever struggle with feeling motivated to create, and if so,
what do you do to bring yourself out of it?

Sometimes I feel a little unmotivated towards art, but usually when that
happens I work on something else.  Either I’ll work on my website, or
try to learn a new piece of music until I feel motivated again.  I try
to keep it from happening by keeping a journal of ideas, but that
doesn’t always help when I just don’t want to even look at a paintbrush!

8. You mention in your bio that your art “has changed many times over”
…what kind of art did you used to do and what has inspired the changes?

I started out doing dark and macabre fantasy, horror and sci-fi photo
manipulations.  After a short while, I felt really limited by the photos
I could find or take myself, so I started painting little bits and
pieces, at first just grass, leaves, or hair, and over time I learned to
paint more and more until I was no longer using photos at all.  My work
shifted to fantasy, then to gothic, then back to fantasy, and now is
some mixture of fantasy, sci-fi, horror and erotic art.

9. You also state that your work was really popular with the locals in
your area and you started attending more local fairs, festivals and art
shows to promote yourself. Do you believe there are benefits to starting
local and then expanding, in hindsight does it make a difference, did it
for you?

I think it worked really well in my case for a variety of reasons.  One
is that I live in rather eclectic community.  There is actually a good
amount of diversity even though there are so few people here.  There are
rich people, poor people, people from different countries, different
skin colors, different religions, and different sexual orientations. 
Having my art at local fairs showed me that everyone likes my work.  It
didn’t seem to matter if they were hippies or yuppies, young, old, rich
or no, there are even local Harley riders that have large collections of
my faeries.  One of my mother’s friends from before I was even born now
displays my work in his store, the Roslyn Natural Market
(www.roslynnaturalmarket.com).  Starting local was also a really
inexpensive way for me to find out what sells and what doesn’t.  I
didn’t have to pay for hotels and other travel expenses to start selling
at the local fairs, so I got some good experience out of it without
feeling like I had to make a thousand dollars just to make back my
expenses.  I’ve had some of the best experiences at local shows as well,
and I usually make the most money when I stay close to home.  I get a
lot of repeat customers, and I get to make friendships that I wouldn’t
have had otherwise.  So I would say it worked out pretty well!

10. Do you use reference photos when creating your art? What is your
take on this?

I do, sometimes I take them myself, sometimes I use stock photos, I also
use Poser for models.  I wouldn’t be able to make my art if I didn’t
have anything to go by, although sometimes it can be a pain. Most stock
providers are supportive and helpful, and I couldn’t do it without
them.  But some are really tyrannical and make life as an artist
ridiculously hard.  At the end of the day though, I think you have to
come up with your own opinion on it.  You have to decide what’s ethical
and where the line is, and then keep it to yourself.  I don’t think
there’s anything more annoying than artists who criticize other artists
because they think that something unethical has been done at some
point.  What happens in an artist’s studio should stay in that artist’s
studio, and the rest of us should be busy making art!

11. What do you believe is the future for fantasy art, particularly in
difficult economic times?

I’m not really sure.  It’s been strange for me, many people have
reported decreasing sales every quarter.  The first part of the year was
really slow for me, but the rest of the year ended up being the best I
had ever had as far as sales go.  I’m honored that in these tough times,
people have continued to put their limited disposable income toward my
art.  I can’t explain how it makes me feel to know that there are people
out there that think my work is worth it.  Ultimately I think as long as
people can afford it, they will turn to fantasy art as an escape and
spend money on it as long as they can.

12. As a full-time artist, are you a disciplined planner and goal setter
or do you just take things as they come?

I’m working at being more organized and disciplined with my business,
and I’m getting a little bit better at it.  I struggle with it though. 
My family calls me the absent-minded professor, and I really am.  I tend
to get lost in my head when I’m working, and then a week will pass and
I’ll be freaking out over art show deadlines and whatnot.  Most of the
time I forget I even have a to do list!

13. Are you inspired by, in awe of other artists? And if so, who? Who
would you most like to meet and have a brain-picking session with if you
had the opportunity?

I’m not really the sort of person that is ever really in awe of
anything.  I have to figure out how it all works.  If I weren’t an
artist, I’d probably be a detective.  If I see someone making something
really cool, I have to figure out how they did it, and then I might take
some of the techniques I learn and apply it to my own work, or I might
not.  I’ve actually met a lot of artists at art shows and had many
opportunities to pick their brains and have gotten some really good
advice from Alan Clark and Amy Brown.  I wouldn’t say I’m really
inspired by artists, but more by certain pieces of work.  Just about any
art I’ve ever seen has had some sort of influence on me, whether I took
it as an example of what to do or what not to do.  I really like
Bouguereau and Waterhouse, and a few of Royo’s pieces inspired me in the
past to be more bold with what I paint and not so afraid to offend anyone.

14. Please tell us about your love of music and what instrument you
play! Do you perform publicly?

I inherited an antique H.C. Bay piano when I was about 4 or 5 and
started playing Disney theme songs by ear after we got it.  My
grandmother enrolled me in classical training when I was about 8, and I
quickly outgrew the local teachers.  I’ve been teaching myself since I
was 13.  I also played clarinet and oboe for school, and occasionally
percussion even though I didn’t want to.  I also play electric and
acoustic guitar, pan flute, and am currently teaching myself how to play
the cello, and I can sing fairly well.  I haven’t performed publicly in
a really long time, I did talent shows and recitals when I was younger. 
I’d like to find some other musicians in the next couple of years and
maybe form a band.  Recently my grandmother helped me get a
keyboard/midi-controller, and I’ve been figuring out how to record music
on my Mac.  Next I need to acquire a microphone and some other
components to plug my guitar and other instruments into, and I should be
ready to start recording music!