Artist Interview – Kristen Vardanega

Who are you and what do you do?

My identify is Kristen Vardanega, I am a 28-12 months-outdated artist and illustrator based in Salt Lake Town, Utah. I share my do the job underneath the moniker Minimal Very small Egg, and my perform can be identified at littletinyegg.com, or @littletinyegg on social media.

Why do you do what you do?

Simply just place, I appreciate earning items and I like generating people today smile. I inject a whole lot of my perspective and humor into my perform. When I started off undertaking observational operate like sketching factors from my each day lifetime, the entire world all around me arrived alive. I started seeing colors and compositions that sparked my interest everywhere- that standpoint and joy are a must have to me.

You use so numerous vivid colors, do you have any that you favor?

I love coloration! I am most impressed by combos, particularly those that I uncover in mother nature and the landscape all around me. Periwinkle skies, peachy rocks, and lush environmentally friendly landscapes are some of my beloved points to depict.

What conjures up your art?

So several things! I locate myself most drawn to create soon after investing time outdoors hiking or biking, my activities in nature tell every thing that I do. I have usually cherished illustrated guides, vintage scientific illustrations, zines, tarot cards, graphic novels, block printing, bugs, birds, Swedish textiles, and ornate cowboy boots.

How and when did you get into art?

Immediately after my parents noticed I could draw on your own in my home for several hours at a time, they purchased me a sketchbook at the age of six, and I have held one particular ever considering that. I studied graphic structure in faculty, obtaining my stride in electronic art and illustration, but my physical sketchbook practice is what grounds me and informs every thing I make.

How has your practice changed over time?

I used to develop fairly irregularly, and ordinarily only with a concluded venture in brain. These days, I attempt to make art on a much more regular basis, even if there is not a set function or design and style intention, aiming for a every day sketchbook practice the place I can pull from an array of concepts to make far more completed or thoughtful pieces.

What is your favorite piece of artwork that you’ve made? Why?

Oh, such a really hard issue! I really feel like my most recent perform is often my most most loved. I a short while ago concluded a commission for a friend’s son’s bedroom that I really appreciate. It is a gouache portray that combines some pictures I’ve taken in my preferred areas in Utah and Montana with a determine motivated by a image of my companion. It is a unique piece, I’m glad it will are living in somebody’s home who I know and value!

What’s the finest piece of art guidance you have been provided?

An individual the moment advised me that in order to be taken critically as an artist, you have to be prolific. Making a large body of function inevitably results in ties amongst parts, pushes your capabilities, and teaches you what you like. Anytime I get caught up in striving to make my hottest get the job done a masterpiece, I recall that my art isn’t a person singular painting, it is my overall human body of function, and my task is to hold editing and incorporating to it.

What is just one artwork tip/system you can share with us that you come across definitely helpful?

Continue to keep a sketchbook! Draw every thing and everything, without having judgment or setting up. I like to attract with materials I simply cannot erase, like coloured pencils or pens, which leads to a ton of interesting possibilities and trouble-fixing (and “ugly” drawings too!).

Do you have any key guidelines or techniques you use to salvage a piece when you make a slip-up?

If a piece is missing a little something or feels also flat, I will choose a photo of the piece and transform the photo to black and white, which will help me see the values better. If a thing is really ruined, there is no disgrace in turning the sketchbook website page or setting up about, numerous iterations of the similar issue are typical and vital to the art-building process.

What is your favorite Strathmore paper? Why?

I love the 500 Collection Mixed Media Softcover Artwork Journal! They are my favorite sketchbooks for portray in gouache and watercolor. I have also been playing with the Toned Tan Blended Media paper, which is super thick and has a good heat-colored floor to paint on!

What artwork elements could you not are living without having?

I would have to say gouache paint, I could shell out all day mixing hues, and its water-based character can make it uncomplicated to journey with and thoroughly clean up. For sketching, a great juicy brush pen in black or sepia is a have to-have.

What types of hues are you drawn to for your artwork and why?

My most loved colour suitable now is eco-friendly, I like how a lot of variants there are, and detect greens all around me in nature. I am also influenced by the a lot of various colors of the sky, from light pink to deep blue-grays.

Who are your major influences?

I was definitely influenced by illustrated books developing up and cherished the loose figurative drawings of Quentin Blake, Eric Carle’s textured lower-outs, and the charming illustrations in Antoine de Saint-Exupery’s The Very little Prince. We had a handful of Monet prints hanging in my childhood dwelling, and I would drop myself in the brush strokes and color options.

More just lately I have discovered myself drawn to the function of John James Audobon, Hilma Af Klint, and Carson Ellis. All of the artists I stick to on Instagram encourage me and advise my perform every day!

What is the most frequent art-linked question you get from your followers?

The most prevalent issues are about the sketchbooks I use to paint in, which are the 500 Collection Combined Media Sketchbooks from Strathmore. I also get queries about how I make so much do the job, which just arrives down to my routine. I make certain to sit down for at minimum 30 minutes every day to draw, even if it signifies environment a timer and throwing my cell phone throughout the space!

Internet site/social media inbound links:

My internet site is www.littletinyegg.com and I am @littletinyegg on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube!