Pears, Pears, and more Pears!

This week's feature is Pears, @pearsdontrot a local creative within our community! The start off by mentioning what they've been into as of recently "Recently I've been focusing a bit more on practicing tarot and learning about astrology cause those are some things I'm pretty interested in. I've been offering tarot readings to my close friends and it's so fucking cool. Making art is cool because it's something visually pleasing that can really make someone think or even find solace in, and reading tarot or teaching someone about astrology is great because you can kinda offer that same thing in a more 'practical' way. I haven't been making too much art recently because of that but I bought some canvases the other day and I am very excited to work with them." Well I look forward to what gets put onto those canvas for sure and they continue by mentioning a couple of local creatives as well "Some of my favorite artists from the valley as of right now are @csifue @octoabe @vall3yrat @cowheist.x @perpetual.purgatory @lorak77 @edwinvoyager @pillowsnake956 and @diseasefreak. They're all so incredibly talented and truly inspiring. I love their work." I'll be sure to check out those who I do not know, but the ones I do know definitely create some amazing work.

What can you tell us about your art and the style you have? Did you have any other styles before and if so how has it changed since then? "I guess you could say my art is just how I perceive things. I feel like I've always had the same style more or less. I think the only thing that actually changes is my skill level and my ideas. It's just how my little human brain sees certain things, and then I put it on paper or canvas or whatever it is I put it on." As they mention "the only thing that changes is my skill level and my ideas" as we continue to work and continuously grow with it as well we are bound to change one way or another. Keep at it for sure!

Looking through your work you really add in details to the expressions/faces of these characters and what are your thoughts on details? Is it important? What would you say is an important factor in your work? As they explain "Facial expressions are one of my favorite things to work on, especially eyes and around the eyes. I like how the effect of sunken eyes or dark circles can change the way a character looks. I really enjoy using hatching as a shading technique. I'd say those are pretty important things that make my art mine. I also try to keep things looking mostly cartoony and use bright colors that really stand out. I try not to make my art look too realistic. I think it's more fun that way." For sure we each have our own styles and what we enjoy as Pears mentions "I also try to keep things looking mostly cartoony" and especially with the colors. It does not only make them "cartoony" but also gives them character.

Is there anything you would like to experiment with? " There's so many things I wanna experiment with. I wanna practice using paints more, spray paint, colored pencils, and charcoal. I wanna make more collages too and try out ceramics. I'd also really love to try out stop motion animation and claymation. I think it'd be a shame if I don't get around to making some fun little animations." I can totally imagine your work in like animations/claymations for sure! That would be so cool to see.

Is there a certain process before you get creative or do you just get to it? "I never really know how to answer this question but usually I'll get an idea and then sketch it out. If I like it enough, I'll start thinking about the colors and try to imagine how it looks or any other little details and from there, I'll decide what medium I wanna use. Usually the image in my head has a certain texture to it and that's how I decide." Damn imagining the texture? That's actually pretty interesting. I just tried thinking about it and its something else. I think about colors or what I want to use when I'm feeling creative, but I never thought of the texture or it's just something I add along the way.

How would you like to grow with your art? As they say "I'd like to work on different techniques that I can use to capture the images in my head better like perspective and different facial expressions and things like that. I'd also like to continue learning about different metaphors and symbolism to include in my art that can almost tell the story behind the piece on its own, kind of like tarot. I also plan on making my own tarot deck eventually when I have more knowledge on it." With their interests with tarot cards and as they mention "tell a story behind the piece on its own, kinda of like a tarot." I'm not very knowledgeable when it comes to tarots, but I do know they each have a meaning and a certain artwork/figure to them. I can see what Pears means by having their artwork coming off with a story/symbol because a tarot card is a symbol for sure. I can imagine it and it has me curious on what Pears shows us next.

How do you get textures to pop off? As Pears explains " I love creating different textures by going back in and shading with lines. Usually I'll use a black pen to do that but it depends on the medium. Shading with black is something I enjoy doing often if it works with the piece. I like the contrast it adds." I did notice the pen work on some of them and it really does bring out the texture Pears was going for in the involved piece it was added in. I'll look over the work again and see the different textures!

What do you use specifically? Is this work done with some sort of pen?? The continue by explaining "As of right now, most of what I make is either done with marker, pen, or oil pastels. Most of my supplies is pretty standard stuff that you could find at Walmart. I use BIC and Sharpie markers to color stuff in and colored gel pens. For the little details I use an ultra fine point black Sharpie and for the even littler details I use a .5 Sharpie roller. Can't go wrong with a good ol' permanent marker." Really specific instruments, but again it gets the job done as Pears wants it to so I understand the specifics. Can you spot which are done with which? I can see the pen for sure.

Pears shares their thoughts on the local valley scene,

" I'm still pretty new to the local creative scene. It all started when EdwinVoyager gave your account @outinthe956 a shoutout and I decided to follow. Before that I had little to no idea about all of these amazing artists here in the valley, but I'm really glad to be a part of it now. It's so cool to be aware of the scene and be connected with all of these talented individuals, even if I might not know them all personally. I'm really grateful for it."

Along with one final comment,

"Big ass shout out to EdwinVoyager for not only being super talented but also for introducing me to the local scene. I wouldn't have been here without that little push. Go check out his music and his art, it's straight fucking fire. And check out my account if you're interested in seeing more of what I have yet to make."