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Rain Longson, Self Interview 2010

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Rain Longson, Self Interview 2010

June 25th, 2014 - Vancouver, BC

Rain Longson, Self-Interview 2010

1.) When is the first time you realized you were an artist?

Unofficially that was when I could hold a crayon and make a mark. Officially when I sold my first piece of art. A stranger saw a pen and ink drawing that I had drawn and he asked me if I’d be willing to sell it to him. He asked me if 200.00 would be enough, I was thinking 50.00 I was thrilled that he offered 200.00. Two hundred dollars was a lot back when I was in high school!

2.) When someone is viewing your work for the first time, what do you hope they’ll see in it? Or, what do you want them to say about your work?

What I hope I’ve been able to do with my paintings is convey the texture of the subject matter, the softness, the roughness, the wetness. With my pet portraits I want the viewer to see the character in the animals faces the way I do and the pets owners do. How each animal has his or her own character.

3.) Who are some artists that you admire and why? What is it, specifically, about their work that draws you to it?

I like Escher and H.R. Giger. Giger because his work is surreal and mechanical/organic. Escher is surrealistic borderline fantasy. I wish I could create illustrations that are so fantastical.

4.) What is it like to be an artist in your community?

I’m still kind of new at being an artist in my community I know there are quite a few around, but I have not met any as of yet.

5.) If you could take a fantasy artist vacation anywhere in the world, where would it be? Your goal would be to soak in art history or to make your own art. Where would you go?

There are two places I’ve thought about for a long time. I would love to go to the artist retreat out on the Sunshine Coast of BC. The Malibu Club camp which is presented by ARTesia Tours and the other is Cozumel, Mexico. I’d love to capture the underwater life.

6.) How do you promote your art?

So far the promotion of my art has been through word of mouth, I’ll talk to anyone. I have several paintings hanging in several locations, veterinary clinics and Dr’s offices. So far that is how I’ve been getting most of my commission work. I have also for the past two months been using Facebook, Twitter, Meetup and a Blog. AND finally this week I finished designing and building my new artist web site. It’s at www.rainlongson.com, please come and check it out. I also have been handing out a lot of business cards, they have the usual contact info on them, but I could not decide on which painting to use so I have double sided cards only difference is the painting used.

7.) Why are you drawn to the media that you use?

I used to work mostly in watercolour or pen and ink. But you don’t get the feel of the paint in watercolour the way you do with acrylic. With acrylic paint, you can get so much more detail especially for hair, fur, mouths and eyes!

8.) How would you describe your style of art?

I describe it as hyper-realism or even possibly photorealism though I'm don't create work that looks 'exactly' like a photo. When working with animals it is really difficult to get them to stay still or even face you.

9.) I’ve noticed that [these subjects, colours, themes] appear often in your work. What attracts you to them?

I love and care for pets, dogs, cats and natural occurring things. I have always had a pet of one kind or another domestic, exotic I wasn’t picky I just like all critters. Everything I have painted from pets to nature has character and sometimes attitude. You can read an animal’s face like a book, if they have had a good life or a rough one and I love to capture that look onto canvas.

10.) Tell me about the classes that you teach and your interaction with students.

I used to teach graphics and illustration. I like teaching because I find that I learn as much from the students as I teach them. Teaching gives me a broader view on how other people respond to design and art.

11.) How has technology helped you market your work?

Let’s see, to start I’m a bit of a geek at heart, so that in itself has helped a lot. Technology helped me market my work, via e-mail, newsletters, e-cards and soon through my newly created web site.

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