You're Sketchy...

I've been dealing with a lot of stuff while I've been practically laid off from work.  Mostly stuff in my head, like all the feelings that I don't want to really think about.  At the same time, I've been making some breakthroughs as well.

I've been dealing with an art block for a lot longer than I want to think about.  It hasn't been just a few days or weeks.  It's been years.  But, Shaunna Rai had asked me if I would draw up a cartoon logo for the "Shaunna Rai Brand," now that she has merchandise available.  So, I did.  I'd tried to draw this logo for a while, and could never get the idea in my head to translate to paper, and actually look at all like Shaunna.  So, I had written it off as my just being a crappy artist with no original ideas in my head. (You know, because that's what you do when you can't get something to work...isn't it?)

So, getting through the whole drawing, and having it be approved as actually looking right, I was excited.  My drawing was going to be on a t-shirt.  The expectation was that it would probably be only on one t-shirt, because, well, that's how things tend to go in my life.  So, when it went live, and there were a couple of orders for it, I was really excited.  People were wearing something that I drew.  And, I didn't have to pay them to do it, or talk them into it or anything.

As soon as I posted the final product for Shaunna's stuff, I got requests from other people to do drawings of them.  I'm going to have my artwork potentially given out in Boston for Pride for promotional material.  I'm in talks with a queen from Tampa to do a portrait for her.  I've got a couple of potentials in the works as well.

So, once I got Shaunna's line of merch going, I figured it was time to try again, to launch my own line of stuff.  I've got a shop through Teeblaster, and another through CafePress.  I'm looking for ways to branch out, and offer more than just t-shirts.  But, it's been exciting to be able to get my artwork seen by the internet world...even if my mom is the only one who's buying my line of work...The point is, I'm trying to do something new, in hopes that it will help me in the long run.  I just need to get a better grasp of how to market through social media.

But, the point is, that I've broken through my art block, and, I look forward to drawing again.

And, if you know of anyone who may be interested in having me do a portrait, for them, shoot me an email at Swd88880@yahoo.com.   

Art Walk LA

At the end of the night at the Cancer Schmancer show, I was approached about submitting artwork to the Lewiston/Auburn Art Walk. It was totally out of the blue, and unexpected. But, Grayling asked me specifically to participate,  and show off my photography work.

Scarrlett 

Because most any kind of exposure is good exposure, I figured that I would try it. It would do one of two things...it would make me feel better about being an artist, or it would make me decide never to do it again. The whole time, my mind went back and forth about the ultimate outcome.

Deadlines flew at me, and at the last minute, it was a scramble to narrow down my thousands upon thousands of pictures to just 15.

Wanting to do things right, I did a mass tag of Facebook friends who I have photographed in the past in hopes that a few of them would say yes. The response was overwhelmingly yes, with a few, "yes, but let me see it first. I just want to approve of it."

Jacinda

Once I got all the approvals, I saved all the pictures to my desktop to save to a memory card, to take to be printed. In the meantime, I had Dan go to Goodwill to pick me up frames...which he did with little to no knowledge of what I was using for pictures. The night before delivery, I literally was finishing putting the pictures in the frames, hoping that it was all going to work out ok. 

Porcia Chanel

The night of delivery, almost didn't happen. Dan and Larry (Shaunna Rai and Leanna Love) had taken a trip to Boston in Dan's new (used) car. As I was getting ready to take the pictures to the venue, at 46 Lisbon Street, I got a call from Dan. "Hey, I know you have to drop off your pictures,  but we need to get a tow, and a ride home, we're broken down outside of the Massachusetts and New Hampshire border, by the bridge that they're fixing that I always mess with you about."

So while waiting for a message to see if I could get in to drop the pictures off earlier,  I made phone calls, and got the tow on the way. I dropped off the pictures, and made a flying trip to Massachusetts...it all turned out ok, except for the car, which was kind of a lemon.

Rainbow Frite

After much freaking out, because I had submitted 14 photos, and only delivered 13, because I had forgotten to save the final one on the laptop, I ended up with it in hand for the night of the walk.

I didn't know what to expect from the space, as it was an abandoned looking shop front, which, incidentally,  happened to be where my mom purchased her wedding gown. (Talk about a small world, right?) I waited outside for the doors to open, after grabbing the clipboard and lanyard, that said I was an official volunteer for the night.

Shaunna Rai

Finally the space opened, we got my final piece situated and food and drink set out, and people started arriving. Our venue had boxed wine, and I knew that if I was going to make this better for myself, I at least needed one glass of wine, to keep from being the guy standing in the corner trying to be as small as possible so nobody would talk to me.

The wine worked.  I was sharing the space with another photographer, who does landscape type photography and what she called her "twirl" photos (when you focus the camera on something and then twist it, making it look like you were rolling when you took the picture.  She had also come out to volunteer. The other lady, who was showing, did not come out, but had three paintings on display.

Leanna Love

The first few people who came through, just looked around, like they were in an art gallery, then left. Ivy, the other photographer and I, started talking about our work to each other. I was surprised that none of her stuff was for sale, because it was really good. She told me that her goal was to let people see what they could do themselves, with Goodwill frames and a point and shoot camera. That was why she wasn't going to sell them. Well, that along with the feeling that art is a very personal thing, and sometimes it's hard to part with.

Cecelia Grace

She asked me, and I was asked many times through the night, how I got into the field of portraiture. I did a bunch of plugging for the blog, which as of now, appears to not have done any good...(Probably because, with everything I remembered,  the business cards were what I forgot.) I went on to explain that the pictures had chosen had been my favorites out of a ton of choices over the last four years or so.

Miss E,on

People finally started asking me questions, or just talking to me. One gentleman, an older guy, I had to correct his terminology, and explain the difference between drag, cross dressing and transgender. This was a very long conversation. He had heard a story on NPR, about a drag queen, who became addicted to her drag personal so much, that she basically had to kill her drag career, to keep her real life. (It seemed far fetched to me, but, what do I know. Stranger things have happened.) We then moved on to trans women. He told me the story of a professor at Bowdoin College (I think) who had written a book about her transition, and this gentleman thought that the whole thing was amazing. I thought it was cool that he told me the story.  He eventually moved on, and left.

Lili Whiteass

A bear couple (for anyone not in the know, a burly, gay couple, presumably with a lot of body hair, and usually facial hair) came up and told me how great the pictures were, and asked where they could see a show, without having to drive all the way to Portland. They explained that they had moved from down in the south (Baltimore, I think), where they could go to a show anytime they wanted. I explained that the drag scene in Maine is dwindling, but promoted an upcoming show at the Elks Club in Lewiston. I'm hoping to see them there.

Diamond Dunhill

There were a lot of people who legit thought that all the pictures were of real women. There were a few who, upon realizing that the pictures they were looking at were male, turned and booked it out of the venue. And, an overwhelming amount of people who either knew the queens or had actually been to the shows. These were the ones I enjoyed talking to the most. These were the people asking how did you get such good pictures, and where can I see them in person? I took that time to plug upcoming shows, and lament the lack of shows in the area. This was when I realized that I want to do something about the lack of drag in Maine. (Not that I know what to do, where to start, or how to make something happen, but it gave me a starting point. )

Cherry Lemonade

As the night wore down, and came to a close, I stopped for a minute to think about all the stuff I had accomplished. First, I had a showing of my work, for the first time ever. Second, I did all of it on my own. Third, I talked about what I do with total strangers, and didn't get much of a negative response. And, last, but certainly not least...I'd on fact, most important, I had a hell of a lot of fun. And kind of want to do it again next year.

Bunny Wonderland

Yes, occasionally, I need someone to light a fire under my ass, to get me going. And, there's a good possibility that I may buck it the whole way, because I'm scared. But, I really need to just remember that I am my own worst enemy, and that I need to just do things, instead of worry about the bad things that could happen. Because, truthfully, the things I worry about rarely come to fruition,  and then I've spent so much energy worrying that I have none when it comes time to have fun.

ClubKid MizzDiveena

Oh, and Bunny Wonderland, just so you know, this picture of you actually sold.  Granted, it was to my mom, but...

Chad Sell is my Hero...

Latrice Royale

At the beginning of the year, I decided that this was going to be a year to try to keep up on blogging, and try to crank out as many posts as I could.  But, I wanted them to be worth-while.  I figured I would keep with the posts about the shows that I go to, and random things that pop into my head that have to do with drag.  So, it seemed fitting that I talk about an artistic idol of mine, who is best known for his RuPaul's Drag Race girls' portraits.

The question became, how do I tackle this?  Do I just write about how much I love his artwork, and leave it at that?  And, then, during an overnight, the thought hit me...I learned of Chad Sell through Facebook, so I could probably contact him the same way. I don't know exactly what it was about the work that I loved, whether it was the cartoon feel of the illustrations, or just the graphic way of capturing the costumes and personality quirks of the queens, but from Roxxy Andrews's fringe dress illustration, I was hooked.  And I've looked forward to each new season, for the new illustrations.

So, in the middle of the night, I took a shot in the dark and sent him a message. I honestly didn't think that I would hear back from him, so I was very surprised when I got a response a few hours later.  Even more so, when the answer was a yes, both to being able to use some of his artwork in a blog post, and to answering some of my questions.

With the beginning of Season 7 of RuPaul's Drag Race, being just around the corner, and the fact that I put in my requests right at the end of his annual Week Of Ru (when he posts daily, two of the queens from the new season, until the whole cast is revealed) , I wasn't concerned with how soon I got back the answers to my questions.  I was still basking in the fact that my hero actually answered me.

Immediately, after sending him the questions, I remembered that he has a blog on his website, and went to it immediately, to try to ascertain that I wasn't asking questions that he had already answered on his own site.  (After about 3 hours of trolling his site, that night, I didn't find anything that was quite what I asked, so I figured I was safe.)  I also reinforced my love of his artwork, by checking out his older blog posts.  There are so many illustrations that I am in love with, and would have loved to feature here, but, I'm featuring pictures that I got his express permission as an artist to use.

After what felt like a year (and was in fact only about 2 weeks), I got the response to my questions.  I'm sure that he's probably asked most of these questions on a regular basis, but he was very gracious about answering them all for me.  So, here are the answers, to my most burning questions.

When the episodes start airing, how do you decide which queens to draw?

After I watch each episode, I start sketching out ideas for my favorite runway looks and moments.  I tend toward the more theatrical, outrageous outfits with bold colors and shapes which lend themselves to my style the best.  

Delta Work's First Workroom Look.

I often start with rough sketches for a lot of the queens, but I winnow down that number throughout my day of drawing as I run out of time.  There are frequently queens and outfits I *wish* I had drawn, but I just couldn't figure out a cool way to draw them in the time I had!

(Because I draw some myself, I'm always most interested in finding out how other people's artistic process works.)

What does your process look like? (Do you sketch on paper, or do you do it all on the computer?)  From initial sketch to final product, about how long does it take you? And, what program(s) do you use?

Depending on my moood, I'll either sketch out my ideas in a sketchbook or on my computer.  My process has changed a lot over the years, but these days, I do most of my work on a tablet monitor attached to my desktop.  I draw in a program called Manga Studio 5, which I love and evangelize to all my artist friends.

Following the Monday night airing of each episode, I give myself all of Tuesday to work on that week's pieces. I make final touches the next morning and try to post my work by around noon Wednesday.

Some pieces come together really quickly, and other frustrate me endlessly.  I fuss over likenesses and color palette at the end.  The self-imposed deadline helps me keep things in perspective, though, and it helps shut up my inner perfectionist.

The most important question, of course was: Were you surprised by how popular the RuGirls' portraits have become?

Yes. It's awesome.

I have my own favorites, including the Latrice Royale picture at the start of this post.  So, I was curious:  Do you have a favorite portrait?

BenDeLaCreme: Black and White

I'm always my own worst critic, so there are usually little things that bug me about a lot of my work.  That's true of even some of my most popular pieces!  I'll always be particularly fond of the very first Drag Race portrait I ever finished of Delta Work's first workroom look.  Something about my All-Stars portrait of Latrice Royale still sticks with me.  And, I was really happy with how BenDeLaCreme's "Black and White" portrait came out -- she's one of my all-time favorite queens and I was trying to depict her with a sense of grace and intensity.  It's definitely not one of my most popular images, but I love it, anyway.

Any responses from the RuGirls, that I've seen online have been overwhelmingly positive, so I had to know, if there have ever been any negative responses from them.

I feel supremely lucky to have been embraced by the Drag Race queens and community -- every season brings new thrills, excitement and favorite new queens.  

I don't recall any negative responses from the actual queens on the Drag Race, though.  I think their approach to fans making art of them is to appreciate the effort, even if the final result isn't always very flattering.

A Self Portrait by Chad

 As he had just finished the Week of Ru, with the new Season 7 girls, I had to ask...Any predictions or hopes for Season 7?

I HAVE NO IDEA.  This is the first season where I personally knew some of the queens before they were cast.  So, that's weird and crazy. (Trixie Mattel and Pearl have both performed extensively in Chicago, and I've gotten to meet both.)

To me it's not so much important that all my favorite queens make it far in the competition. I just hope that they're depicted well and get a chance to show what they've got!

When it came to advice for budding artists, Chad's advice was this:

1. Get good.
2. Don't expect to be the best before you put your work out there.
3.  Find others who are excited by the same stuff you are.  Make art about that stuff, and they'll be excited about it, too.

Be sure to check out his website, www.chadsellcomics.com, during the Drag Race season, because he'll be featuring lots of fun interviews about the show, as well as his own thoughts and illustrations of the queens.

Books, postcards and prints of all his best Drag Race work are available at his Etsy store, https://www.etsy.com/ChadSellComics

And, aside from his illustration work, he's also written and drawn a ton of different comic stories, which can all be read at http://www.chadsellcomics.com/comics/.

You can also follow Chad on Twitter and Facebook.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/panja57
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chadsellcomics

If you're not following him and his work already, I suggest you do.  It's fun.  And, now that you have some of the inside secrets of what goes into the illustrations, keep an eye out for the Season 7 illustrations.

Chad, thank you again for your cooperation, and for being so sweet and responding to a crazy fan interview.