@ajh_illustration

Instagram: @ajh_illustration

1. What's your story? Where are you from?

I was raised in a small town in Oregon. I spent my youth drawing and painting. Eventually I grew up and got a job working in New York City. I am not a professional illustrator (although I often daydream that I am).

2. Tell us about your aesthetic.

My aesthetic is nothing more then an attempt to tell a story. My illustrations usually express how I am feeling, or what I am thinking about in the moment. The images have different characters, different settings but they are always driven by an emotional feeling.

3. What is your favourite medium and why?

My work is digital but I have a great appreciation of flat media and the hand drawn image. Because I use a computer my lines could all be perfect 90 degree angles with a smooth texture but I prefer to give my images a gritty texture, drawing by hand allowing for the small imperfections that come with that choice.

4. What is your artistic process like?

I spend the week soaking up all that life has to offer. Then over the weekend I sit down to create a drawing that synthesizes my experience. Basically I'm a weekend warrior:)

5. Who and/or what inspires your work?

What: Maybe it is because I currently live in a big city, or because I grew up in a very small one, but I am currently very inspired by the dichotomy between the stresses of modern city life and the calming effects of nature. Who: all of the great illustrators on Instagram. There are too many to name.

6. What role does art play in your life? How does it change the way you view the world?

When I was a child I viewed artistic expression as a refuge against the stresses of life. I could get lost in a painting or drawing for hours and when it was all done I would feel better then when I started. Partially because there is a certain meditative effect that occurs during the process but also because I believe that artistic expression can serve as a powerful vehicle for emotional understanding. I forgot this truth when I became an adult. It was not until this last Summer that I took up drawing again for the first time in years. It has been such a great experience rediscovering my creativity.

7. Where did you study?

I studied in the US.

8. Where do you see yourself in five years? Working in an agency?

I often imagine my life like a leaf that is in the process of falling from a tree branch. It drifts about and goes wherever the wind takes it.

9. What about in ten?

I have absolutely no idea to be honest. I would like to take a crack at writing a children's book one day.

10. What do you hope to achieve with your art?

I don't have any overarching goal other then to make images that process my experience in the world. I do my best to make them as honest and true to my feeling as possible. My hope is that in making work that is true to my experience others will find value in connecting with and sharing that experience.

11. Now, tell us a little more about you as a person: what is your favourite food?

I won't like, I'm a big eater. I love all non-precessed food.

12. Favourite book?

That changes every few years. Currently my favorite book is my great great grandfathers civil war journal.

13. Favourite genre of music?

This also changes quite a bit. It also depends on what I am trying to accomplish at the time. If I am drawing I like to listen to electronica, if I am driving I like to listen to folk music, if I am commuting to work I listen to 10,000 different podcasts (currently all politics related) if I am studying it's jazz - you get the point.

14. What are your hobbies?

Really long bike rides.

15. If you weren't an artist, what would you be?

A poet.