Meet Crystal Dayton, Graphic Designer and Photographer

Crystal Dayton is a passionate graphic designer from Toronto, Ontario. Her talents are varied with a predominant focus in graphic design and photography. She holds a diploma for the Visual and Creative Arts program at Sheridan College, and she currently works as a freelance graphic designer. She is a creative, reliable, hard-working designer who has helped businesses and individuals with professional designs.

Learn more about Crystal and her work by visiting crystaldayton.com and by checking out her blog and her Twitter feed.

1. How did you know you wanted to pursue a career as a designer?

I really always wanted to be a graphic designer, but I had people saying to me, "you should find a more stable job," so I listened. Then eventually I decided I need to do a job I love, and design is something I love. Also, I don't like the idea of a stable job; I like adventure, not knowing what's next. I know eventually my art will turn into a career. So I've had a lot of going back and forth with my career.

2. How does your creative work as a painter and photographer influence your perspective when doing design jobs?

My creative work as a painter influences my design work because instead of simply thinking more for appeal, I want to make something unique like a painting rather than just a design. My photography influences my designs because I usually add my photos to my designs.

3. Would you tell us a bit about some of the design projects you've especially enjoyed working on?

Lately I have been really enjoying designing logos. I find logos are really fun to make, and they require a lot of creativity. Also, I get to meet a lot of people who have their own businesses and sometimes even other artists. I really enjoyed making one logo in particular; it was for a graphic designer who wanted a logo for her graphics company called TaylorMade named after her son. She didn't know how to use the software so I designed it for her.

4. I see that you offer design services through your own website as well as through Fiverr.com. Are most of your clients local, or are you finding clients all over the world these days?

I just joined fiverr.com in October of 2016. I used to have my clients more locally, but now since I have joined several freelance sites, I am acquiring clients from all over the world.

5. What's your advice to someone who needs something like a logo or a book cover design and isn't a designer but wants to do it themselves instead of hiring a professional? What are the benefits of hiring a pro, and do you think the design services are actually more affordable than people might think?

If someone doesn't want to hire a pro to do it, I would suggest learning the programs, showing your design to other people to get feedback, looking into what kind of company you want to be because that should be portrayed in your design, and also reading up on design. The benefits of hiring a pro are it saves you the time to learn the software; the pro is already creative so you may get more options from them; and it's good to discuss what you want because it helps to brainstorm with another person. Services are usually more affordable than you would think; depending on what you want, for example, on Fiverr you can get a basic design for about $5, but if you want something more you may have to spend a little more.

Thanks, Crystal!

Meet Alexandra Francis, Artist

Alexandra Francis is a Leeds-based Fine Art artist, who experiments with creating artwork that is generated to promote world peace and equality. Promoting world peace and her career as an artist are especially important to Alexandra Francis, and so she has decided to combine the two, by promoting world peace through the artwork that Alexandra Francis creates.

Learn more about Alexandra and her work by following her on Facebook and Twitter.

1. What have been the challenges--and the pleasures--of building a career as a full-time visual artist?

Being a full-time visual artist offers you the opportunity to work with any type of material, art form or space, which is essential to individual growth, learning, and understanding of not only art, but also life in general. You learn how to see the world through a way that other people may not be able to do. You learn how to become the viewer, the curator, the set designer, and the reviewer as well as the artist of the artwork that you create. One of the main pleasures I find whilst creating and building a career as an artist is that you can imagine and fantasize to yourself about how an art sculpture, or piece of artwork will physically appear, before you create that particular piece, whilst everyone else other than yourself has to wait until the artwork has been physically created to see it. There is something nice about the time between imagining what the artwork will look like and having the artwork physically there before you. It's a quiet, peaceful time for me, much like the feeling you receive when you're about to fall asleep, when you are calm and your body is in a relaxed state. The idea of the artwork, I suppose is like a dream, in a sense that only you can have that dream whilst you sleep--it is not something you can share with the entire world unless you make it physical. You can express that dream through writing about that dream, or painting a scenery from that dream that you have had. There's something really satisfying about creating a piece of artwork from the way that you visualize the work in your head, from every detail, color, material. Creating the artwork so that it is a complete replica to how you imagined it to be.

It's like you're unlocking your mind with a key, and allowing all of your wildest dreams and ideas to appear to other people--maybe in hope that they will be able to understand your work the way that you do--for others to understand exactly how you felt in terms of the ideas, the thoughts, and the emotions that you had when creating that artwork. I guess that's what it is all about really as an artist, or for me at least.

A challenge I find as an artist is space. There is never enough space for the artwork that you create, and if you are an artist who is limited to space, you will understand what I mean when I say that it is sometimes difficult to enjoy making artwork when you only have a certain sized area to work in. That said, limiting yourself with space can also be a good thing, as you are always challenging yourself and your art practice through being limited.

2. What is your artistic process like when it comes to getting an idea for a piece and then creating the work over time?

Most pieces of artwork I create are created within a short amount of time. When I begin working on a new piece of artwork, I am often fixated on the completion of the work, and spend countless hours working on the artwork until it is finished. This does often mean that the work is completed within just a few days, or perhaps a few hours even. I do not often plan the artwork before it is created, as I simply enjoy to become hands-on with the work. I don't think this is a bad thing as it gives me no time to regret about the way I create a particular piece. Is that the right color that I should have used on the painting? Is this the right material for this sculpture? It does not matter. What I believe is most important when creating artwork is the concept behind the piece of art that you are creating. You could draw an X on your bedroom wall, and it could be a piece of art, but the interesting aspect of the artwork is why did you choose to draw an X? Is it from the idea that behind the X lies treasure? Or did you close your eyes and press a random key on your keyboard, to choose the letter to draw on your wall? Perhaps it is something more, the beginning of a word, or two drum sticks where one overlaps the other? I can't say I often have a story for each piece of artwork that I create, or a personal meaning behind the individual art sculptures or installations that I generate throughout my career as an artist, but that's not necessary a negative aspect of my career; it just offers my viewers and audience the opportunity to explore the artwork for themselves, without having my view of my artwork affecting how the viewers view the artwork that I create.

3. Would you tell us a little more about the connection between world peace and your role as an artist?

Peace can be promoted through word of mouth, through congregations and talks, through helping other people, and through artwork, music and books. What I'm trying to say is that there is no wrong way to promote peace or world peace--any way is a good way as long as you're promoting it. There's a lot of negative events happening in our world right now, and we don't often hear about the good parts that are happening in the world. Now is the time when we as the human population need to start promoting positivity and peace. We need to put our feet firmly on the ground, stamp and shout together, and show that we will not tolerate bullying, abuse, wars, neglect, and negativity in general. Sure, we may not be any better than those that have gone before us, but by not promoting peace and positivity, how can we expect wars and negative events to just end? I don't know about everyone else and their opinions on war and negativity, but I know that come fifty years down the line, I hope that wars will decrease and more people out there in this world will be supporting and promoting peace themselves. People often say that they want change to happen in this world, but yet, how will it happen if we do not do anything about it? I'm sure wherever you go, you will find bad people--that's inevitable, but by working together we can help prevent some of the negative actions that take place in this world on a daily basis. I am very passionate about promoting world peace and I am very passionate about creating artwork, so why not combine the two?

4. Are there any projects you're currently working on or have recently completed that you're especially excited about?

There is a new gallery opening up in Bradford in England, and it's due to open up at the end of October. It's being organized and opened by a lovely artist known as Lorain Be. I passed by the gallery recently, and painted a few of the panels in the gallery space, so that was very exciting. It's a wonderful place and has potential, so if there is anyone out there interested, then the gallery is called Boots Rebooted, and Lorain is very interested in artists showcasing work there in the future. I will also be showcasing my sculpture "Let"s Play!" at the gallery in the future, as the first group exhibition at Boots Rebooted.

I've just completed two pieces of artwork recently. One is called "Lick" and is of chocolates on a canvas. The idea initially came from the scene from the movie Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, where the characters are invited to lick the fruit wallpaper in the factory and physically taste the fruit. I wanted to capture that moment of magic, but of course, if I'd have drawn a strawberry with a red felt tip pen, visitors would be quite disappointed in the artwork not tasting like a strawberry! That's where the chocolate came in handy with the artwork. I made small incisions into the canvas and inserted small chocolates pieces into the material. That way you not only get to see the artwork, but taste it as well.

The other piece of work that I have only just created is of an art sculpture and known as "Fly Home Sweet Bird." It's quite difficult to explain how the artwork visually looks [see the photo of it below for an idea], but it's about the lifecycle of birds, from a young to an old age.

5. What is the arts community like in Leeds, and what are some things you enjoy doing there when not working on your art?

You know, it's as good as any other city or country, really. We have Art galleries, an Art Hostel, cafes and venues that exhibit artwork. It's interesting, because everywhere in the world is similar. You can visit any country and you'll find an art gallery. I'm not saying the arts community isn't individual and different from other places than Leeds; we do have events like Light Night every year, but then again, Liverpool has a Light Night event every year also. There is always something interesting in Leeds that relates to art, though, from annual events to new exhibitions in galleries all across the city. It is quite enjoyable, really. When I'm not creating artwork, I enjoy promoting peace and equality, spending time with nature, traveling, and socializing with people around my city, in England, and across the world.

Thanks, Alexandra!

Meet Robert Goldsberry, Artist

Robert Goldsberry is a Colorado-based visual artist. He has been painting and drawing for over 30 years in different mediums and styles. His current work involves painting in a realist style, doing still lifes with various objects and designs. Find samples of his work at robertgoldsberry.com.

Below is a painting called Always.

And here is another recent painting called Treaty.

1. What do you most enjoy about working in a realist style, and what are the challenges of working on realist paintings?

Throughout my career, I've typically done a little of everything. What I enjoy most is the challenge of it. The attempt to make it realistic is an ongoing pursuit and quite challenging. I enjoy watching the work evolve and change over time. What is important to me is the feeling it creates. If I'm working toward a realistic work, I want it to be the best I can make it look. Same goes for any other style. I work hard to achieve what I'm trying to do with these paintings.

2. What inspired you to focus on still lifes for the series of paintings you're currently working on?

My inspiration for working on still lifes comes from the simplicity I find in assembling the objects I wish to interpret. Stills are a time-honored tradition and one I've not worked at until ten years ago (my first still life was a drawing I did in college). Painters think in terms of weight, value, variations on color and composition. The process of doing the painting is always intriguing and captivating. Painting is magic in that sense. What is inspiring is the finished piece looking like the painting you imagined it would be. It does not always work out that way. Many good ideas are never fulfilled because of hesitation to push on.

3. How do you choose the arrangement of objects for a particular painting?

I'm not sure that I choose the objects to paint, but that they choose me instead. I make up every painting I do. I'm always looking for another piece of the puzzle, an object or thing that will enhance the work and make it a balanced effort. At times I will reference an object to make sure I'm doing it as close to what it is supposed to be, but most all time spent is envisioning the image I'm trying to produce and just doing it from memory. Arrangement is nothing more than, "What will I think of next, and what looks good with that?". I never really know what is next. I've just finished two paintings that I painted at the same time. Now I'm feeling lost as to what to do next. But that lost feeling does not last very long because when something strikes a chord, and I think to myself, that will look good on canvas, it usually does.

4. What are some other styles and media you've worked in as an artist, in addition to realist painting?

I've worked in many styles and media, from crayons to trowels and sticks, abstracts, surreal, real, to impressionism. I would like to try sculpting someday. I think the clay would be interesting and fun. But painting on canvas and with a brush has stuck with me for all these years. I've been known to produce vivid abstracts, which at times blend and morph into abstract/surrealism, or straight up surrealism, or to realism, and at one point, some super realism. Painting is an evolving process for me. At one point I painted strictly abstract imagery for 17 years. And then while working a horse ranch in Evergreen Co., I dropped the abstracts and started working on paintings of horses and equine portraiture. The best part was my influence and subject matter were all around me.

Again, painting is an evolving process. In the beginning stages, components of a painting come from the objects and their inherent beauty, and during the process, things can quickly change to more abstract and conceptual ideas. I love doing the abstracts as a way of releasing tension, energy, and emotion, all depicted by color and technique. Also, if I have a period of time in which I have not sat at the easel much, I find that working in an abstract style loosens me up to more vigorous detailed work. Kind of like getting paint on myself, it gets me involved and motivated and messy.

5. How do your surroundings living in Colorado influence your work?

I'm from Colorado and have lived all over including the deserts of southern Arizona. I've found no direct connection between my work and my surroundings. I don't paint in plein aire much because I'm usually a studio turtle and love to hibernate there. On location requires another painter to say let's go there and paint. What I do paint in plein aire usually ends up in the studio to be completed. My all-time favorite artist is Vincent Van Gogh, and I paint nothing like him, yet find inspiration in his work, style of painting, and his life story. He never liked painting indoors and that's okay. One day maybe I'll get that urge to paint in the wind, rain, and blasting sun like he did, but not just yet.

Thanks, Robert!