Artist Interview - Jamie Gustafson
Who are you and what do you do?
My name is Anthony James Gustafson, but my family, friends, and colleagues call me Jamie. I am a science and natural history illustrator from Chicago, IL.
Why do you do what you do?
Art and science are two of the things about which I am most passionate. Having the opportunity to make a living combining those passions has always been a dream of mine.
How and when did you get into art?
I’ve been drawing ever since I was old enough to hold a crayon. And I have been involved in creating art in one way or another ever since. I’ve been doing it professionally, both as a graphic designer and an illustrator, for the past 15 years.
Your drawings are so technical & detailed. Have you always drawn this way?
I’ve always tried to make my drawings as detailed as possible. Learning to see all of those details, and then learning to capture them in my artwork is something I have spent decades practicing, and something I try to improve upon every day. When your artwork is produced for scientific and educational applications, focusing on technical details is always a crucial part of the process.
What are your favorite subjects to draw?
I love internal anatomy. Creating realistic, illustrated models of zoological anatomy is one of my absolute favorite things to do.
In addition to that, prehistoric restoration is probably my greatest passion. That is the process of using existing fossil records and the latest paleontological research to reconstruct extinct species. My paleoart typically focuses on reconstructing prehistoric mammals.
What inspires your art?
Mainly my art is inspired by my love of nature. I love learning from nature and then using my artwork to teach what it has taught me to others. From a young age, I was taught to be curious and passionate about the natural world. The ultimate goal of my work is to inspire that same curiosity and passion in others.
How has your practice changed over time?
For the past several years I have really focused on understanding how light and color function. I have come to understand that drawing is really just the act of mimicking the effects of light and color in the world around us, and then translating that onto paper. That’s oversimplifying it a bit, but in effect, I have spent a lot of time and energy cultivating my ability to realistically re-create the effects of light on different surfaces such as fur, feathers, trees, rocks, and other natural elements. As a colored pencil artist, that means hours of honing my skills at layering and blending different colors, to achieve subtle variations of light and dark hues, tones, highlights, and shades.
What’s your favorite piece of art that you’ve created? Why?
One of my favorite pieces is a work I did last year illustrating a few seldom-highlighted anatomical features found in sharks. The piece focused on a shark’s unique skin texture, as well as an internal mechanism that gives them the ability to detect minute electrical impulses in potential prey. I was extremely proud to have the work recognized when I was awarded the International Award on Scientific Illustration by Academia Illustraciencia and The National Museum of Natural Science in Madrid.
What’s the best piece of art advice you’ve been given?
A few years ago I was given the opportunity to test for a series of books by a well-known publisher. Ultimately, I didn’t land the gig, but the editor assigned to the project gave me a lot of constructive feedback. Most notably, he advised me to “draw life, not taxidermy”. That has really stuck with me. Even though the images I produce are still, I try my best to breathe as much life into them as possible. I find this particularly important when re-constructing animals of the past. I want the viewer to imagine these creatures as the living, breathing beings that they were. Not as the fantastic, mythological beasts that they tend to become in our minds.
What’s one art tip/technique you can share with us that you find really helpful?
This seems like a pretty obvious statement, but I’ve found that it Is one of the most challenging and important things an artist can do: Draw what you see. By that, I mean draw what you really see. Not what you know, or even what you think you know. If you ask someone to draw a tree, most people would probably produce something akin to a vertical brown rectangle, topped with green squiggles, or individual green markings representing leaves. And while that is a universally recognized representation of a tree, it’s not what a tree actually looks like. They, like any naturally occurring object, are far more complex. And so when an artist really learns to see and then learns to translate what they see onto paper, it has the potential to take their art to a completely different level.
Do you have any secret tips or techniques you use to salvage a piece when you make a mistake?
I often like to keep my mistakes. I may scrap a piece and start over, but I will keep those off to the side and refer back to them. I think both as artists and as people, our mistakes can sometimes be our greatest learning tools.
What is your favorite Strathmore paper? Why?
The 400 Series Toned Sketch papers are my go-to. I particularly love the toned gray. The texture of the 400 series lends itself well to the layering and blending that colored pencils require. And the gray surface creates an invaluable, mid-toned background. Allowing more control over lighter values, whites, and highlights.
What art materials could you not live without?
I couldn’t do what I do without high-quality, professional-grade colored pencils. Believe it or not, when I first began working with colored pencils, I’d often rummage through my five-year-old’s arts and crafts box in search of colors. At the time, I barely knew the difference between good pencils and bad pencils. Since then, I’ve come to understand that there is no substitute for quality. It really makes all the difference in the world.
What types of colors are you drawn to for your art and why?
I really use a wide array of colors. It all depends on the subject matter. But I always make sure I have a healthy supply of various brown and gray tones on hand. Even when using vibrant colors, neutrals really help to shape those colors into the specific hues that I’m trying to achieve.
Who are your biggest influences (or who were when you started doing art)?
I have had so many influences over the years, it’s difficult to name just a few. I suppose my first influence was my older brother. I first learned how to draw by copying the things that he would draw. As I grew, many of my influences were comic book artists such Frank Miller, Jim Lee, and Todd McFarlane. Today most of my influences are fellow paleoartists such as Mauricio Anton, and Beth Zaiken, and sculptors like Jim Burt and the Kennis Brothers.
What’s the most common art-related question you get from your followers?
Without a doubt, the most common question I get asked is “How do I turn my artistry into a career?” Unfortunately, there is no one-size-fits-all answer. Everyone’s path is different. My own path was certainly less than orthodox. But I give every aspiring professional artist the same advice: Focus on the work. Draw. Paint. Sculpt. Whatever it is that you do, do it. Do it a lot. Even when you don’t want to. Especially when you don’t want to. Because as any creative professional will tell you, there will be times when you will need to produce artwork, even when you don’t want to. So commit yourself to becoming the very best artist that you can. Then find a way to get your artwork in front of as many people as possible. I am a firm believer that it is impossible to hide good work. Eventually, someone will find it. Someone will give you an opportunity. But until then, be prepared to hear “No”. Or worse yet, be prepared to hear nothing at all. Expect rejection, but never accept it. If a career as an artist is what you truly want, never let anyone tell you that you can’t have it.
Website/social media links:
Website: https://ajgusillustration.weebly.com
Instagram: @ajgusillustration
