A couple days ago, a fan asked me this:
"Aurelia, how come your emails often sound like they are coming from different people from different walks of life? Sometimes you sound like an old, scholarly sage in the style of Leonardo da Vinci.At others, you sound like an unhinged teenage girl who is full of energy and bursting at the thought of adventure.
And at yet others, you sound like the typical, peaceful matron. Who is sitting quietly next to the window, and sewing herself something lovely for her family."
And the answer to that, my friend is because...
... my personality at any given time slightly changes depending on the projects I'm working on.
You see:
My main focus is on honing and mastering my art.
However, while my main art of choice is normally illustration, I dive into lots of different types of art at any given time.
For example...
... sometimes I have this urge come over me...
... and I'll be into hand-sewing for weeks.
At yet others, I'll be studying and learning the crafts of movie producing and directing. And thinking about making myself a feature film.
And at yet others, I'll be doing clay molding and stop motion animation.
But it doesn't just stop at art.
Sometimes I'll take a break from art for a while. And I'll be studying the business and marketing side of art.
At others times, I study the neuroscience and history of art.
And at yet others, I'll be watching old replays of Mr. Bean and laughing hard.
So whatever I'm immersed in at the moment, it affects my mood.
And perhaps my personality.
And that affects my writing. As well as my art.
But you know...
... in a sense, that's also what makes my art so special.
And gives my art that extra edge.
When I'm creating art for children, I'll often be dipping myself into childish pleasures. Like watching classic Ghibli films.
I noticed that it adds a special fairytale-like feel to my artwork that you can't just explain with words.
When I'm creating art that can be used for weddings, perhaps I'll grab my hubby and ask him to get married again.
And my latest example:
Recently, I managed to find myself in a country where everyone's being locked down and longing for freedom.
Including me.
And that helped me create this piece that just screams out with my longing for freedom.
I want to travel!
Actually, I even made two versions of the piece. One with and one without borders.
Because I guess, subconsciously, I just want all the borders and restrictions to go away so I can travel again.
Have a look and just tell me that that doesn't make you long for freedom!
Well:
This is true for me, and...
... as you're working on different types of crafting and artistic projects...
... it'll be true for you as well.
If you have a client, who needs a wood art piece for their children's bedroom, immerse yourself in some childlike pursuits.
Perhaps playing with your kids.
Or take out your dusty, old doll collection and pretend to be a princess for a day.
Or if you're designing a project for someone who's getting married...
... get out your old wedding dress and start making some rounds around the house. ;)
I guarantee you that it'll put an extra special "ooomph" in your artwork that makes it tower over everyone else's.
And your clients will be so amazed... they won't be able to explain just why.
Or you could just use mine as a base...
Since I'm already doing that.
Sincerely,
Aurelia Nobleia
"Still Clinically Sane"
P.S. Recently, I created a masterpiece that feels just like this.
It has multiple styles and personalities all blended into one.
Imagine Pixar + Disney + Papercut + Collage + Watercolor Painting
I made it for submission to a contest with the Society of Visual Storytelling. And the judges picked it as a quarter-finalist. They said they couldn't stop talking about it. Yay!
Unfortunately, I lost in the end.
But it was fun. :)
...
This letter "A Fan Asks About My Multiple Personality Disorder" was first published on turnip.co
