Artist Interview : Jim Auckland

The craft

“As an illustrator, my weapons of choice are typically Liquitex acrylics. I do a tight pencil rendering with a Pentel mechanical pencil (the same pencil I’ve used for over 20 years) I then mount a copy of my drawing using double back adhesive onto 2-ply hot pressed illustration board. I spray Liquitex Matte Medium through my Model H Paacshe airbrush to seal the copy. I lay in dark washes of acrylic and work out the light values with Prismacolor Pencils and dry brush acrylic paint. When I paint for myself I use Griffin Alkyds and had I known about them earlier, I would have probably used them for many of my illustration assignments as they dry overnight.

Currently, my favorite subject matter is what’s floating in my head and screams to be released. But more commonly, it’s what I see and how I want to interpret it and it’s always figurative. I’m a storyteller by nature, an illustrator, and I want the people that look at my artwork to feel what I’m feeling. Having said that however, I’m clearly known as a sport and entertainment artist and I’ve been fortunate enough to earn a living as an illustrator. In the past I sketched daily for my job and for pleasure, but at the moment I really only have time to sketch a few days a week.”

Words of Advice

“My advice for any young artist has always been to keep a keen eye and draw daily in a sketchbook. Honing your power of observation is the most important factor in becoming a successful illustrator.

Part and parcel of observation is the knowledge of what is current in the illustration field. Having said that though, it’s not always important to become a follower, rather than an innovator. What’s in your heart as a creator is the most important thing, and you must stay true to that and not be entirely influenced by other artists.

With regards to promoting yourself as an illustrator – all I can say is do the best work you can possibly do for your client, and hope that they will tell somebody what a great job you’ve done. Word of mouth is the best promotion there is. Always do your best work. Art Directors talk. I can truthfully say, I’ve bought ads in all the major sourcebooks in the United States and never received the number of jobs from those ads that I got from word of mouth. For example, I had worked for years doing really fun, wonderful work for the National Football League in the United States and one of the most lucrative and highly visible assignments I ever received was when they recommended me to do the 75th anniversary Wheaties Cereal Box for General Foods.”

Looking to the future

“At 64, I’ve now given up illustrating full time to work on my own ideas and desires. I really want to finish a graphic novel that I’ve had in my head and my sketchbooks for several years. I also have illustrator memoirs (cartoons) that would make for an interesting graphic novel that Sandy wants to publish. I continue to take on an annual Buffalo Bills portrait primarily because I’ve been doing them from the onset, over twenty years ago.

My single most important advice for a young artist would be, hone your entrepreneurial skills, become a jack-of-all-trades artistically and in particular, understand the business-side of your field.”

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Workshops & Classes

Jim instructs head and figure painting workshops. There are also open Figure drawing and painting workshops on the weekends. Click here for full details.

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