Chewing Pencils

This weeks Feature Artist comes from the land of the long white cloud. Bee is one of Chewing Pencil’s most regular visitors and has some wonderful insight into the art world. As a mark of respect, the next Chewing Pencils Group Project will be to guess how old she is…(cheeky grin).

NAME: Bee Mackey
AGE: Ummm … is this where I threaten slow death by paper cuts?
LOCATION: Blenheim, South Island, New Zealand.
SITE URL: http://beemackey.blogspot.com/

How long have you been drawing cartoons?

Not Long. I cannot say I drew cartoons since a tiny child. But as a child I lived by and drew from my imagination which was hugely fueled by an incredible love of books. Life always appeared to me to be larger than life which spilled out in the form of stories and drawings. Oodles of doodling created many worlds of characters, these were more often cartoon characters than anything else.

One day a nordy giant trod on my books, art and stories and buried them deep in the earth, until recently. These early characters, like the Sars character featured above or below or left or right (!) have begun to appear again, apparently they’ve been digging for yonks! Tiny shovels, I suspect:0) So the journey from accounting and finance began. The only way out of this analytical world was find an extramural cartooning and illustrators’ course that I could do between clients and work. But tripped up on the cartooning bit of the course. It had me feeling like I had arrived, although my drawing was waaaaaaaay behind:0)

What made you start to think more seriously about making some money out of it?

It has been a natural progression as more of my art work has begun to be noticed.

Have you done any formal training?

If so, what and where? Short extramural course which I mentioned above, which no longer exists because lack of interest - Institute of Business Studies - Auckland. Mostly self taught.

Where was your first cartoon published?

This is a blurred line as I got talked into the world of signwriting for two years. My cartoons and art work were sold as part of the job. I hated this period, but in saying that I gained an explosive amount of knowledge.

What materials do you use to create your work?

Canon laser paper, 80 gsm and 120gsm (Canon paper is less dusty and crusty), mechanical pencils, Indian ink, calligraphy pens, Artline pens, colour pencils, acrylics and watercolours etc. Then there’s the plywood, jigsaw, sandpaper etc., for props, vinyl, canvas etc.

What hardware and software do you use?

Macs (mostly) and PCs (networked together), Wacom Tablets, Microtek scanner, Epson colour laser printer, Versa Camm digital printer. Corel Graphic Suite, Corel Painter IX and Adobe Photoshop Elements. These are the main ones.

From where do you draw your inspiration?

Life. Absolutely everything/anything that kicks my imagination into gear is fair game with reading and writing being biggies.

What are some of the resources you’ve found most helpful?

For me it’s books. I stalk secondhand book shops for books to add to my ever growing library. Such a cheap option and you don’t have to return them, they are always on hand. So no library fines! Books are how I learn.

What is the best piece of advice you have EVER been given? The worst?

While riding a crabby horse (the sideways kinda mover), my riding instructor shared a vital life secret. “Always think forward, forward, forward. ” And yes it worked! Those words are what I apply to my life. Thinking/visuals creates reality! Good, bad or the ugly!

The worst is not worth mentioning and is only when you allow other people’s limitations to have an impact on your life. Wear, bathe-in and chew a lot of garlic:0)

Take us through the process you use to create one of your drawings:

It’s never the same as the subconscious goes through many processes. But the masterpiece can sometimes happen during warm-up on the back of a printed piece of laser paper that I have recycled. Recycling paper can be a great $ saver by using it in your warm-ups.

How long does it generally take to create one piece?

Can be anything from 10 mins to ummmm … ‘how long is a piece of string’ sort of scenario.

What do you find the hardest to draw?

Perspectives! I have caught a glimpse of me drawing perspectives and I have had to take out a restraining order!

What do your friends and family think of you being a cartoonist?

Partner understands … big cartoon fan, the rest, “Yes but, what do you for a real job?”

Matt: Ah, yes. I’ve heard that about both of the jobs I do!!

What do you think is the best part about being a cartoonist?

There are so many reasons: bringing the imagination to life, sharing the laughter, the freedom of self-expression and speech, to name at least two:0)

Anything else you’d like to say….

Don’t underestimate doing warm up exercises! Dance with your drawing tool (on paper/computer if you like:0) before plunging into the white unknown. It can help make your lines smooooooother and heaps more professional looking.

P.S: Don’t forget your vehicle can be a great source of advertising! Get a sticky digital print made (make sure it is a removeable vehicle sticky kind if your car is the love of your life!) and toon around the countryside and advertise!

P.P.S ALERT! If you are even thinking of grabbing a web page grab your dot com address early as I have had mine stolen and parked as have many others. The dot net address doesn’t quite cut the mustard for ease of use!

Over and out!

Thanks Bee! Make sure you take the time to visit Bee’s site and leave a comment or two!