Look, I can watercolor

From earliest to more recent painting:

Collaboration is Fun!

Part of the reason why I felt like I needed to step back from my work this past weekend stemmed from the fact that there was no longer any surprise in what I was doing. As I look at these pencil drawings, I can tell exactly what needs to happen between now and March 26, the date that everything is due. I can make a time line that tells me exactly what needs to happen each day. While this is honestly a very good position to be in, it's also not so much fun. The advice that I've been getting has consistently been about Balance.

One project that I've periodically been working on has been a collaboration with another illustrator, Micah Lidberg. While we've never met, he studied abroad with a classmate of mine. She found a lot of similarities between our work and general personalities and put us in touch with each other. He and I have started a fun project where I mail a drawing and he responds with a new one from which I then create a new work, etc, etc. Who knows how it'll turn out. It's totally low key, no pressure, and just fun.

I need more things like this in my life.

To be finalized...

These are the 10 full-scale, 15"x20" pencil drawings of my final illustrations. It's crazy to think that this is going to be my final exhibition (well, part of it anyway). It's also probably hard to imagine how they are going to look after they've been inked and watercolored.


Elephant Seals: Harem Dominance and the Sneaky Male



Praying Mantis: Mate Cannibalism



Mountain Goat: Aphrodisiac



Atlantic Puffin: Monogamy



Formosan Squirrel: Deceptive Vocalization


Deep Sea Angler: Self-fertilizing Hermaphrodite



Bowerbird: Female Choice



Checkerspot Butterfly: Explosive Breeding Behavior



Chameleon: Penis Anatomy



Clownfish: Sequential Hermaphrodite

And if these don't entirely make sense, that's okay! I'm writing up the accompanying text over the next couple of weeks.

Reflections: The Content

I’ve been thinking about where my project has gone over the past several months. While the topic has remained the same, I seem to have been wrestling with the best form for my concept. The central debate revolves around the relationship between text and image. Putting more emphasis on my writing pushes the final project towards a book form and putting more emphasis on the illustration leans towards a more typical gallery art object.

While I have received some very good response from the two illustrations I did over winter break- the bowerbirds and squirrels—I don’t think that this is the best form for my IP concept. I will say that I am also pleased with the result and would love to continue in this manner…in the future and based on my own experiences. Allow me to explain: the style that these two pieces is reminiscent of what one might find in an old naturalist journal/field sketchbook. It includes a journal entry, a map, and other notes/drawing studies. However, there are two main issues that I have with this using this format for IP.

First, because all the information, research, and images were gathered from outside sources like scientific journals and stock photographs, it doesn’t feel authentic/personal enough for me. If I’m writing in the first person and pretending that these are documenting my own travels and explorations, then all my source material should be real, not stuff that I’ve pieced together from the Internet. This type of project isn’t conceivable while I’m living on campus for the next three months. But after graduation and I’m living out west with plenty of new territory to explore, I fully expect to document my experiences in a manner that I illustrated over winter break. And then publish it in book form, make tons of money, and travel the world.

The second issue that I have is simple: no one reads the text in these illustrations! From what I’ve observed in the studio and what I saw at Work gallery when the squirrel piece was exhibited, no one took the time to actually read what I had to say. It’s completely understandable. While it is in a somewhat illegible cursive, the main reason I can surmise is that people don’t read art pieces. They look and reflect for about 10 seconds and move on. If I really want someone to read what I have to say, then I have to stick with a familiar format for reading…like a book. People expect to sit down and devote their attention to the words and ideas when given such a form.

So what does this mean and how does it explain my current project?

One of the goals I set for myself as an illustrator was to reach a point where I could create an image that was narrative enough where no text was needed. I think that I’ve come close with my current 10 pencil drawings. Before I started these, I did an exercise where I wrote out exactly what I wanted the viewer to learn from each illustration (what specific reproductive strategy does this animal have?). In other words, if the entire exhibition was a thesis, what points did I want to make to prove the thesis? Having assigned each image to one main point might seem like a reduction in complexity, but it was also a challenge. Sometimes it’s harder to be succinct than grandiose.

Perhaps to better explain my intentions with this project, I should speak a little bit about my audience. I realize that this might not seem specific, but I intend for my work to be accessible and educational to just about anyone. This philosophy stems from my training as an interpretive ranger. I never knew who would attend my programs- it could a family of 5 from rural Washington or a retired couple from Seattle. I feel like my work is often guided by these two principles from Freeman Tilden, the father of interpretation:

1. I. Any interpretation that does not somehow relate what is being displayed or described to something within the personality or experience of the visitor will be sterile.

IV. The chief aim of interpretation is not instruction, but provocation.

As I mentioned in my thesis draft, if you just replace the word “interpretation” with “art” then you get my artist statement- my core beliefs as an artist.

The current form of my project follows this strategy. Here is how I envision my final work to interact with the viewer. With my current ten illustrations, there is always something that relates to the audience, i.e. something that connects this phenomenon in nature to the viewer’s life (in interpretive terms: a tangible connection). For example: I use a wedding dress and tuxedo to denote the gender and relationship between the female and male deep sea anglerfish. The squirrels make their calls to each other on cell phones. A praying mantis is praying her rosary in confession. So these familiar elements in the illustrations draw in the viewer and it makes what is happening in the scene more personal. This is Tilden’s first principle.

Each illustration however, cannot tell the whole story or all the really cool facts that I found in my research (try as I might!). I’m not a skilled enough illustrator to convey why each reproductive strategy is an evolutionary advantage to the species. Tilden, in my defense, would say that’s okay, that I shouldn’t overwhelm with viewer with too much information. What I do want to accomplish with my work is the same goal of any interpretive program- to inspire the audience to want to learn more.

I plan to offer that opportunity. In my final exhibition, I envision the 10(+) illustrations to exist as art objects, hung against a neutral gallery wall. They are all well-crafted and have a clear point to convey. At the end of the gallery wall exists a small bookshelf with numerous identical notebooks- small intimate objects. A sign invites to viewers to take one and sit in a chair provided nearby. Within the pages of the book are small black and white reproductions of the illustrations, but this time, the emphasis is on the pages of text to further explain the background and natural history of the full color illustrations they just witnessed. It is my hope that the audience will actually read what I have to say.

Okay, so the details about how the book will look aren’t perfectly worked out, but I believe that I’m finally negotiated this sensitive relationship between text and image. At least for this immediate project anyway.

Reflections: The Process

Within this past week, I’ve finished my first draft of my written thesis, as well as my 10th full-scale pencil drawings. As I look back on this past month, I honestly don’t remember anything other than working in the studio. It’s just a blur of working at my desk until midnight, going home, sleeping, dreaming about IP, waking up, and doing it all over again. That fervor and work ethic kinda scares me. I’m not sure if I could be that kind of full-time studio artist because I’m afraid I would be missing out on life by staying in the studio all day. I need diversity in my work- not working on the same drawings over and over again. Especially these drawings, which are so formal and structured and methodical and detail-oriented. I’m proud of my high aesthetic expectations I have, but I’m also looking forward to loosening up my approach after IP. I need much more spontaneity and fun in my work. I also miss being engaged with other human beings (at least, with those exist outside of the studios) and being outside (I partially blame the winter).

I’m not regretting this past month at all, but it’s just a realization that I couldn’t live/work like this for the rest of my life. I’m very proud of what I accomplished- I pushed myself very very hard. Accomplishments include doing 75 concept drawings in 3 days, my first 40+ studio work week (on top of regular class and working at Sweetwaters), and working on IP everyday since December 27. But at what cost? How many opportunities did I pass up to hang out with friends during my last semester of college? Will it all be worth it in April at my final exhibition?

I found the following quote:
“A professional is someone who does the things he loves, even on the days that he doesn’t want to do them”

And I found that very relevant.

I’m thinking like this because I’m considering just how much more I want to continue in my current direction with my project. For each new drawing I start, that means another more 30 hrs (pencil, ink, watercolor, document, matt) and $40 in materials (framing and matting). So I’ve finished 10 drawings…do I have the time and energy to invest in another 5 drawings, know that it means 150 hrs and $200? Or more importantly, could I focus my energy in a different direction that would make for a richer IP experience than sticking it out just to have 15 straight illustrations? I think so.

I’m taking today off from the studio, just for more perspective and reflection. In the last month, I’ve proven to myself that yes, I can work at this pace. But I’ve also learned that if I am to sustain my creativity and love for what I do, I need to have better work habits- a system where there is more room for different on-going projects, more spontaneity, fun, and interaction with other people and the world outside of my studio. I recognize that while I do need a strict studio practice to fulfill my creative projects, it can’t be my only way of working. If my work is in response to the world around me, what would happen if the only world I surround myself in is my studio?

What does this mean for the immediate future? Monday is my self-imposed deadline for finishing the pencil drawings and I’m happy to put down the pencil for a while. But before I pick up my pen and start inking over the drawings, I’m going to take a step away to work on other, but related projects:

-I’m really excited to have my ranger presentation at the Sh/aut cabaret on the 15th. I’m going to take some time to write out and rehearse: Single is Safer: Mother’s Nature’s top reasons why you’re better off being alone” I’ve got some great examples and am going to do some quick fun hand-drawn illustrations for the Powerpoint. I also think it’d be very easy to apply the text and images to something I can exhibit in April.
-I also need to focus on writing up the paragraphs to accompany each final illustration I’ve worked on this past month.
-And I’m excited to start building my website as well (I already own www.michael-liang.com).

So I should be okay if I take a week or two break from these final illustrations, right? I’ll be here over Spring Break anyway.

Okay, phew. That’s quite the brainstorm.

Oh yeah, and I’m doing alright. I don’t feel overly stressed or anxious about all this. I know this is all part of the learning process.

Finally! An update

Okay kids, I'm overwhelming this blog with my latest thoughts and work. I apologize.