Back in September, I answered a letter from a sharp tack named “M” with questions about The Terrible Two. People seemed to enjoy hearing the inside scoop on the art—and I certainly enjoy being the disher of scoops—so when another tack of equal sharpness wrote in with more questions, I figured I’d post the answers here in my secret diary, which is getting admittedly less and less secret by the year. But failure to protect
Yes to everything you said about music. I’ve never put my feelings about music into words before, but you captured it perfectly. I, too, put specific songs on repeat while illustrating. I, too, don’t enjoy live music. I also don’t display any of my work in my studio or any of my paintings in my house. I can’t be surrounded by the emotions or feelings of those pieces all day every day. It gets to me, haunts me. I love a piece with obsessive, feverish passion while I’m working on it only to hate it as soon as it’s done. Yet I can’t wait to start the next. It’s very confusing to people who know I’m an artist - “Why wouldn’t you decorate your home or studio with your work?”. And those who don’t initially know I’m an artist are astounded when they find out. To be honest, I’m quite “Type A” and nothing remotely resembling the stereotypical free-spirited, eclectic creative. I have very bare walls and really keep things extremely minimal, with the few bits of decor mostly being generic pieces and lots of plants, and some family photos. My mind needs a clean slate, a clean studio - and the perfect playlist on repeat - to be able to channel the right feelings to complete a project. Ironically, my illustrations are very colorful and highly detailed - at odds with my black and white minimal-ish home and appearance.
I’ve been told I’m “weird” for an artist, so thank you for making me feel seen for a moment. Your diary entry hit just right today!
Oh, Trisha — we were apparently separated at birth! I've often said that the perfect office for me would be just a bare room — four blank white walls and a desk to work on. I want to be forced to turn to the blank page for stimulation. So glad this entry hit home for you! Let us revel in our weirdness!
Yes to everything you said about music. I’ve never put my feelings about music into words before, but you captured it perfectly. I, too, put specific songs on repeat while illustrating. I, too, don’t enjoy live music. I also don’t display any of my work in my studio or any of my paintings in my house. I can’t be surrounded by the emotions or feelings of those pieces all day every day. It gets to me, haunts me. I love a piece with obsessive, feverish passion while I’m working on it only to hate it as soon as it’s done. Yet I can’t wait to start the next. It’s very confusing to people who know I’m an artist - “Why wouldn’t you decorate your home or studio with your work?”. And those who don’t initially know I’m an artist are astounded when they find out. To be honest, I’m quite “Type A” and nothing remotely resembling the stereotypical free-spirited, eclectic creative. I have very bare walls and really keep things extremely minimal, with the few bits of decor mostly being generic pieces and lots of plants, and some family photos. My mind needs a clean slate, a clean studio - and the perfect playlist on repeat - to be able to channel the right feelings to complete a project. Ironically, my illustrations are very colorful and highly detailed - at odds with my black and white minimal-ish home and appearance.
I’ve been told I’m “weird” for an artist, so thank you for making me feel seen for a moment. Your diary entry hit just right today!
Oh, Trisha — we were apparently separated at birth! I've often said that the perfect office for me would be just a bare room — four blank white walls and a desk to work on. I want to be forced to turn to the blank page for stimulation. So glad this entry hit home for you! Let us revel in our weirdness!