Anthony Carpenter shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Anthony, we’re thrilled to have you with us today. Before we jump into your intro and the heart of the interview, let’s start with a bit of an ice breaker: What do the first 90 minutes of your day look like?
Once I get past all the basic stuff, I make some mushroom coffee and start on a few NYT puzzles to get my brain cooking. Then I work on that day’s daily drawing. I have an Instagram account called “That Daily Drawing Thing”. I do a drawing every day and make up a little silly story to go with whatever I draw. After that, I get going on whatever project is due next.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Anthony Carpenter and I’m a freelance illustrator and painter. I also work on murals (so far, just printed ones but I’m hoping to add a few hand-painted ones at some point). My projects have included book covers, posters, glassware design, tiki mug design, comics and much more. I have two Etsy shops: one for misc. products/original art and the other for a brand I recently started called Pandokeko. It specializes in bright, cheerful patterns and art for various print on demand products. I also publish a print on demand art digest called “jazu”. There are currently six volumes available on blurb.com. My latest venture is submitting a new series of paintings to galleries.
On the personal side, I love sketching in coffee shops, haunting bookstores and watching movies.
Amazing, so let’s take a moment to go back in time. Who were you before the world told you who you had to be?
I don’t know if the world told me or if I just knew…but I’ve been an artist for as long as I can remember. That was always the path. It’s wired into my DNA (I don’t know if that’s a thing…but it sounds like it should be).
If you could say one kind thing to your younger self, what would it be?
Don’t hesitate. Just because you feel fear…don’t let that stop you from moving forward, trying new things and putting yourself out there. It’s still difficult…but I’m getting better at it. The world won’t come to you…you have to go to it. People can’t give you opportunities if they don’t know you’re there.
Alright, so if you are open to it, let’s explore some philosophical questions that touch on your values and worldview. What would your closest friends say really matters to you?
My integrity. I always want to put my best work forward…even when that’s not possible due to time constraints, etc. People only see the end result, not all the stuff behind the scenes…so the work should be good…even when the circumstances are less than ideal.
Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. When do you feel most at peace?
When I’m sketching in my sketchbook or drawing/painting for myself. The world drops away a bit more when I’m just laying down shading or color or adding designs/patterns to fill the gaps between sketched characters/objects. It’s a very satisfying feeling.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://artosaurus.wixsite.com/illustrationsville
- Instagram: artosaurus_66, thatdailydrawingthing, anthonycarpenterdesign
- Facebook: Anthony Carpenter, The Tiki Art of Anthony Carpenter, Anthony Carpenter Illustration
- Youtube: @acarpenterillustration
- Other: All ages Patreon: patreon.com/AnthonyCarpenterillustration437
Age restricted Patreon: patreon.com/AnthonyCarpenterArt
Illustrationsville.etsy.com
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