Visual contribs
We’d be kidding ourselves if we thought that great writing is the only reason people buy and subscribe to Maisonneuve; lots of people, people we know, friends and family members, admit they were first drawn to the magazine because of the way it looks. For that, you can thank Anna Minzhulina, Maisonneuve’s award-winning art director.
In the current issue, you’ll find an illustration by the legendary Barry Blitt, whose richly textured, light-hearted drawings have been appearing in the New Yorker for many years, the first instalment of a new comic series by Roman Muradov, and more. Here, we present a series of interviews with some of the visual contributors who made the Spring 2014 issue such a feast for the eyes.
Roman Muradov
The first instalment of Muradov's new comic essay for Maisonneuve, Lauren Ipsum, appears in Issue 51.
Rhiannon Russell (Maisonneuve intern): What led you to become an artist?
Roman Muradov: Boredom and depression.
RR: Do you have advice for young artists?
RM: Ignore all advice from people like me. Including this one.
RR: Any funny/bizarre/memorable moments from your working experience that you can share?
RM: I usually write silly things for magazine bios. Recently I listed “passed out in a park, woke up in another park” as my greatest achievement, even though it's only half true.
RR: What new projects are you working on?
RM: I'm supposed to have a graphic novella coming out in Fall, then a couple of children's books, some covers & illustrations, as well as more of my increasingly self-indulgent Yellow Zines and other vanity projects.
Aaron Leighton
RR:What led you to become an artist?
Aaron Leighton: I never really thought of doing anything else. Plus, I love to draw!
RR: Do you have advice for young artists?
AL: Keep a sketchbook. It's fun, free, therapeutic and helps your work evolve.
RR: Any funny/bizarre/memorable moments from your working experience that you can share?
AL: A client once called Christmas Eve and wanted an illustration done by Christmas Day.
RR: What new projects are you working on?
AL: I’m currently working on a piece for the Pictoplasma character design conference in Berlin.
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Patrick Doyon
Brendan Adams (Maisonneuve intern): What led you to become an artist?
Patrick Doyon: I've always been attracted by drawing when I was young, but I never thought I could live this way until the age of my 20 years. After studying "pure science" and abandoning my industrial design courses after only 2 weeks, I had to reconsider my path. It appeared to myself that illustration and animation was the best option, so I studied graphic design at university.
BA: Do you have any advice for young artists?
PD: Haha. It's not easy the everyday life as an artist. There will probably be many moments of discouragement, but the important thing is to have fun doing what we do. It's cliché but it's true. And if someone is proposing you to do something for free in exchange of big exposure, say "NO!" and run away!
BA: Any funny/bizarre/memorable moments from your working experience that you can share?
PD: My work is a pretty lonely job, so anecdotes are rare. But I would say the whole adventure related to the Oscars was surreal. I mean, I consider myself as an associal and to be immersed in a media whirlwind during 1-2 months and to walk on a red carpet is not part of my DNA. However, it was all very pleasant.
BA: What new projects are you working on?
PD: Right now, I am working on some animated short film projects (I do not have the ambition or the madness to get into the direction of an animated feature). All the projects are in the development stage, so it will take some time to see a final product. I also want to write (and maybe illustrate?) children's books, a sector that I am discovering since the birth of my daughter, 4 years ago.
BA: We also need a 100-woord bio from you. As we're a bit behind, we're
PD: hoping you can get this back to us as soon as possible.
Nich McElroy
Megan Dolski (Maisonneuve intern): What led you to become an artist?
Nich McElroy: I wouldn't say there are discrete events that led me to become an artist. It's been the cumulative accidents of reading, listening to records, looking (at the world, at other art), talking to strangers, spending time outside -- all of which have added up to a life that includes art making.
MD: Do you have advice for young artists?
NM:If you haven't started making the work you want to make, keep trying to start, and then keep trying even after you've started.
MD: Any funny/bizarre/memorable moments from your working experience that you can share?
NM: I had this horrible job working on the wheat harvest in northern Montana one summer. I drove a combine and a semi-truck. One day when the weather was too wet to harvest my boss gave me a .22 and asked me to drive around the farm shooting gophers. I drove around shooting pictures instead.
MD: What new projects are you working on?
NM: I'm thinking a lot about the Greek Moirai, or Fates. I'm not sure what will come of that.
