Featured Art Student: Elia Murray
It’s time for our next Featured Student! For April we are featuring:
Elia Murray
Website: www.eliamurray.com
Instagram: @eliamurrayart
SVS Forum: @ELIAMURRAYART
Art by Elia Murray
Below is an awesome Q&A that Kathryn Adebayo (@KATHRYNADEBAYO) conducted with Elia Murray:
From day to day, it may be hard to remember the deepest reasons behind why we create art. What really propels us to put pencil to paper? Who, or what, drives our passion for visual storytelling? Here is a chance to jump into the mind of artist, Elia Murray, as she gives us her perspective on what moves her - from influential parents, to a commitment to joy and laughter, to some of the most heartfelt sources of inspiration.
Could you tell us a bit about yourself?
A bit about me. Well, my name is Elia Murray. I live in the Bay Area. I grew up going between San Francisco and Sonoma County, so a bit of a city mouse/country mouse upbringing. Both of my parents are artists/musicians and that has really been the main influence on how/why I make art. My dad is an illustrator as well and was my first teacher. We used to sit at the kitchen table and he would put his wooden drawing models in front of me and talk to me about drawing the figure and how to look at things "through artists eyes." My mom jokes with me a lot that her and my dad never really emphasized math or science when I was growing up, but if I didn't practice my fiddle or spend some time on art projects then they would intervene. I say she jokes, but that really was how my life went. When I was getting ready to go to college I told my mom I wanted to be an English teacher, and she laughed and said "oh honey, no, you're going to be an artist." I spent a defiant half semester as an English major before switching to a BFA in Illustration.
Today I work as an artist/designer at a fabrication studio in Oakland, CA. I count myself as extremely fortunate to be fully employed as an artist and love the life I'm designing for myself. I have an amazingly supportive husband who laughs and accepts the massive amount of mess I create on the weekends when I "get a wild idea." I spend my days working on a wide variety of commercial art, and then my evenings are spent practicing my illustration skills and story telling.
What about being an artist has made you into the person you are today?
As a kid I was constantly building/painting/sewing/writing/singing... you name it, I've either tried it or want to try it. I think it's made me a curious and very patient person. I look at things and say, “Can I make that? How did they make that?" I never start off thinking a task is too tough, or too confusing. I look at most things like a giant ball of yarn, waiting to be untangled. Sure… the bigger the yarn the more daunting the task - but every ball of yarn has a beginning and an end. You just have to be patient enough to get through all the knots.
How do you want the art you create to affect the world?
I want to bring joy and laughter. I want people to look at my work and smile. I'd like to delve into more emotions too haha but currently I'm stuck on the feeling of happy. I think it's the easiest one for me to explore. Someday though I want to reach people through other emotions. The emotion of loss, of love, of anger, of peace. I want to tell stories. Human stories full of emotion. Those are my favorite children's books: the ones that can make you laugh, cry, and sigh all with a turn of the page.
What is your goal as an illustrator?
My goal as an illustrator is to transition away from the heavily designed/abstract/hospitality oriented artwork that I am currently working in and focus on storytelling and character based artwork. I want to write and illustrate my own, and others’, work. The biggest thing I feel that I miss in my day to day life is working with stories and feelings and worlds. My main love is children's books. I find that when done right, a children's book is the perfect balance of narrative and art - the story only gives you so much information, and then the illustrations bring you into the world and expand on what the words don't reveal. I have a couple of my own children's books that I have been developing and I would love to get them produced into actual books someday!
I would also love to work in the game/entertainment industry. Games for younger children, educational or not, would be such a joy to work on. I took a game design course a while back, and I really enjoyed the world building aspect of it. It would be incredible to see my characters march across a screen and interact with each other and with the little humans using the controllers!
Could we see some of the pieces that you've made to help you move towards (or reach) that goal?
Art by Elia Murray
Homebody - This piece was created when the “shelter in place” was first really setting in. I hoped that people could look at it and find an animal they related to. (I'm the little shrew at the top)
Art by Elia Murray
Old Bangum - This piece was inspired by an old folk song that my stepdad sang to me when I was little called Old Bangum. I recommend going and reading the lyrics. Because this was my lullaby when I was little, I always picture Bangum as a little boy marching bravely out into the woods to go hunt a wild bore. As an adult looking back, I laughed at my little child self and decided to draw that little boy, with his wooden knife, marching bravely on.
Art by Elia Murray
Slowly Rising - I can honestly say I have NO idea what happened here. I was drawing tortoises over and over (practice practice) and kept exaggerating them until one sort of looked like a hot air balloon. And then, boom, I was laughing at that idea and rolled with it. Just for the lark.
Art by Elia Murray
Tea Time - This was created for SVS! It's one of my favorite pieces now. It makes me chuckle every time.
Art by Elia Murray
The Lesson - This piece was created when I was struggling with my family and I felt lost. I have this idea of what a grandmother or mother, or family in general, is supposed to be, and at the time I did not have that. I drew this from a point of longing for a bond that did not exist.
Could you share a story about someone important in your life helping you on your journey as an illustrator? What did they do to support you?
My dad has been one of my biggest supporters, and my biggest critic. I constantly check with him on what I'm doing and what I can do to make it better. When I was struggling through college classes, he would call in and check to see how my assignments were going and critique my pieces. Even this last month's prompt he had a lot of input in. He's good at being someone who pushes me to do better, reminding me that if I spend a little more time, practice a little more often, draw every day, that I can make it. Sometimes his criticism is harsh too. Like all good professors I've gotten terse remarks from him of, “No that composition doesn't work,” or “That doesn't read right. I don't get it,” but it's always followed up by recommendations, or an artist to look at to do a master study.
What do you feel is the most important thing you've learned in the last year that would help other artists who read this interview?
Woooo gosh. Well, the biggest thing I learn year after year is patience. Be patient. Don't rush learning. Sure, rush a piece of art, we all have deadlines. But don't rush learning. Every good artist, musician, human being, is living in a world of never ending practice. Take time to study other artists, and I mean study (which I myself often forget). Take time to make bad art that you're not going to show anyone (which I myself often do). Get off the ipad, or the wacom, and make traditional art even if it's something you struggle with. All of that struggle is great practice.
I find that I get burnt out working 100% digitally. So I make a point to do sketches on paper or sculpt something. There is something about the tactile quality that can jump start creativity. Even just pushing paint around in blobby forms can really change the way you think about your art. So try a new medium. Try painting with tea, try drawing with a stick you've burnt into charcoal. Try sculpting! Be patient, learn, throw out art, try again. None of that is a waste of time.
Oh - and laugh at yourself. One of my favorite parts about creating art is when it gets a chuckle out of me. I know I'm on the right track if I look at my page and it makes me chuckle.
Some of the characters and scenarios that are showcased on your Instagram feed made me smile and even laugh. As a final question, what inspires the joy in your art?
This is the part where I get pretty introspective... I think a lot of the joy in my art comes from a place of sadness. I know the answers above paint a picture of a pretty good childhood (I mean come on, I made so much art as a kid!) The fact is, I struggled a lot as a child, and as an adult. There's been a lot of pain. My childhood had a lot of loss, and a lot of instability. I struggled with anxiety, and some depression. I'm in a great place now but I worked hard to get here. Art for me was always a bit of a security blanket. I know some people create art to express their emotions. I create art about the emotions I want to feel, even if I am not currently feeling them. So if I'm feeling sad I draw a picture of a dancing bear because that makes me happy. If I am feeling lonely, I draw a picture of a little girl and her grandma because it makes me feel connected to family.
Hoping to end on a light note! I also find inspiration in the stories around me. I listen a lot. I watch a lot. The other day I saw a little girl in a pink dress, with a blue dinosaur hoodie on. She had a home made pink face mask on and her mom was buying her a cookie. She held up a barbie doll, and the barbie doll had a matching pink face mask on. That tiny blip of a scene made me laugh and smile so big - it's definitely on my illustration idea board. So keep your eyes and your ears open to the world and invite stories in! It's like that saying if you think of a red car, suddenly all you see are red cars. If you start thinking of finding stories, stories will find you!
Thank you, so much, Elia!