• Tell me a bit about yourself

I am a calligrapher and illustrator, a font designer and mural painter. I hail from beautiful Portland, Oregon but was born and raised in New Mexico.

• What is the name of your Shop?

Octavine Illustration It is named after my great Aunt Octavine. Octavine was my great aunt. She gave me my first calligraphy set at age 11. She wore bloomers and sang opera at Carnegie Hall.

• Please describe your creative process

I have a rather methodical process in which I must first conceive of the painting or alphabet completely in my head first. I then make a loose sketch. Using tracing paper I resketch and resketch and resketch the idea. Tracing paper is my savoir as it allows me to make multiple erasures and even do-overs and then make a direct transfer of my final product. I hate mussing up my fancy French paper with erasure marks and my paint does not take as well once it has been erased upon.
After I complete the image and perfect it completely on the tracing paper, I transfer it to the fancy French paper.
Then I paint using gouache, a water based paint. I usually use a very limited color palette, only about 4-5 colors.

• That inspires you? Where do your ideas come from?

Before I begin a project I look through my design library. Gaining inspiration from photographers, illustrators, advertisements and magazines infuses me with creativity and barrages me with ideas. I order boxes upon boxes of ephemera from estate sales on ebay and simply pour through them when in need of new images, fonts or layout ideas.

• How did you get into your craft?

I began by creating a marriage contract in Hebrew calligraphy for a friend about 10 years ago. As word spread, I began to receive commissions for calligraphy and then illustration work. Over the years the business has grown and I have calligraphed and illustrated numerous marriage contracts, invitations, public murals, logos, tattoos, concert posters and even a wine label.

• Apart from creating things, what do you do?

I love to go to shows. My sister is a local band promoter so I like to see all the up and coming local Portland bands as well as big touring acts. I also like to walk my large dog, Belle and I enjoy reading historical fiction and mystery novels. And I’m an avid watcher of Law & Order reruns.

• How do you promote your work?

My blog, My Etsy Shop and My Flickr.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!