Artist Interview: Brandon Schaefer – Strathmore Artist Papers

Who are you and what do you do?

My name is Brandon Schaefer and I’m an artist focusing typically on drawing and watercolor portray. When it will come to drawing, I enjoy to draw animals and wildlife with pen & ink on toned paper. For watercolor portray, nothing at all beats heading outside and finding an fascinating landscape or subject matter from lifetime. I also share my artwork journey on my YouTube channel and website.

How and when did you get into artwork?

I have usually appreciated art and I begun drawing when I was 5 years aged. I was intensely influenced by Disney animated flicks and cartoons and I would draw numerous of the characters I viewed. When I was more youthful, I believed I wanted to be animator when I grew up. That didn’t close up going on and I didn’t pursue but I’m happy with the options I have made with my art.

How has your exercise transformed in excess of time?

It has changed a large amount over the several years. I mostly drew all over my childhood and only at any time tried out painting the moment I was in higher education. Only then I commenced to go after portray and artwork a little bit more very seriously. I resolved to study watercolor painting but this period lasted all around 1-2 several years. I then moved on to acrylics in look for of more bold colours in my perform. I applied acrylics for about 4 several years just before making an attempt oil painting. Once I tried out oils, I was hooked. I utilised them completely for about 4 years as effectively. Sooner or later, I made a decision to acquire a trip for portray but I required a lightweight, minimum vacation sketching set up and for me, oils didn’t do it, so I commenced relearning watercolors for plein air painting. Ultimately I stopped applying oils altogether and went again to watercolors where my painting journey started. I also began using pen & ink about 2 a long time ago and love it as effectively.

What is the ideal piece of art information you’ve been supplied?

I imagine the greatest art guidance I have been supplied is to simplify your matter. As artists, we adore to observe everything around us and see all the tiny aspects. And I believe we enjoy to overthink, about-complicate, and overwork our items sometimes. So for me, I normally try out to keep in mind and go back again to simplicity in just my function and my daily life much too. Considerably less is a lot more. Allow the viewer fill in some of the facts with their imagination. I consider that would make it significantly far more entertaining for us and those viewing our get the job done. And it provides us a problem and a thing to try for.

What’s just one art tip/system you can share with us that you obtain really useful?

I’ve uncovered that experimenting with my art and the system is just one of the finest issues to do. For example, past calendar year I tried including a splash of watercolors in the track record of some of my pen & ink animal drawings on toned paper. This blend definitely brought an completely new glimpse to my drawings and opened the doorway to striving other methods as perfectly. Experimentation has helped me to evolve with my art and my design and style.

What is your favorite Strathmore paper?

The Strathmore Toned Tan and Toned Grey sketchbooks and papers are my most loved to attract on, no question. I practically by no means use white paper anymore mainly because the toned paper just can make the process much extra entertaining and simple.