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Featured Artist - Kiriko Moth
by Reece Notley and T.A. Moore
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How did
you get started in art? Do you recall the first "true" piece
you’ve done? Do you still have it?
I first
started seriously drawing and creating art when I was three,
and I had pretty much decided to pursue a career in
illustration by the time I was 10. I took whatever art
classes were offered through grade school, took vocational
courses in commercial art in high school, and majored in
graphic design and illustration in college. For awhile I
thought I’d play it safer and go for graphic design, but
after a couple of internships I was already bored with it,
and decided I’d tough it out and try for an illustration
career. So, since I’ve been making art all of my life, I
count my first true piece as being the one that felt like my
best accomplishment after I switched gears back to
illustration. It’s called
‘Heron’s Feathers’, and since it’s only from
2005, I do still have it!
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Do you
know what the stories are behind your paintings, how the
characters got to where they are?
I
usually don’t, but sometimes I create stories after the
fact. My ideas for illustrations usually form around a
single element – a flower, a color scheme, a pose – and then
I build everything up around that element. Almost like
putting together a puzzle. I feel that my illustrations have
stories in them, but I often don’t look for them…I leave
that interpretation up to the viewer.
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Are the
paintings all set in the same ‘world’ ?
I have
no established world, so not really. I do come up with
worlds and lofty plans for epic series of illustrations set
in them, but my attention span is short and I’m always
flirting with new and better ideas.
Have you always wanted to draw fantasy art?
Always
wanted to, because I’ve always been a fan. I’ve loved
dragons and knights and castles since I was very young. My
definition of fantasy has expanded greatly since then, but I
feel that almost all my pieces have some aspect of the
fantastic in them. However, I really envy artists who can
draw the most mundane things or scenes and make them look
‘fantastic’! |
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Which
painting gave you the most satisfaction when you completed
it?
That’s
a tough one…I’m more prone to feeling let down after I
finish a piece! The homestretch of an illustration is
exciting and heady and then…it’s over. It’s like that
depression you get after you come back from a really
exciting vacation. I’m slightly exhausted and I’ve already
forgotten all the struggles of the piece, I just remember
the good times and already miss them. I lose some of the
connection I had with the art while I was making it. It’s no
longer an active part of me, and sometimes I lose the
feeling of it being MY creation, if that makes any sense at
all.
I guess
if you ask which piece I liked the most after I finished it?
I’d have to go with
‘Clockwork Wings’. It started out as a
throwaway scribble in my sketchbook and turned into a sort
of iconic piece for me. It’s not perfect by any means, but
it’s one of the few pieces that I can look at and honestly
say that I don’t want to change or fix some part of it.
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What
medium do you prefer to work with?
I draw
my line art in traditional pencils and inks, and I color in
watercolor, Prismacolor, or Photoshop. I like the
combination of ink with Photoshop, because I can get a
similar feel to those old art nouveau ads and posters.
What has been the hardest piece that you’ve done?
The
best candidate for that dubious honor would be
Floodwaters.
Perspective is not my friend, so even though I had good
references, the architecture was extremely trying.
If you could say anything to the people who like your
art, what would it be?
I would
say, Thank you! Having an audience is what keeps me going. I
do draw for my own pleasure, but it means so much to me to
have people to share my work with.
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Anything else you’d like to add?
It’s a
sad note, but I’d like to bid a fond farewell to Realms of
Fantasy magazine. They started when I was still a teenager
and I had always dreamed of having my art in the pages of
that magazine. In 2007 they became my first commercial
freelance client. I was honored at the opportunity they gave
me and I really regret that the magazine won’t be
continuing. Realms of Fantasy will be missed!
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Kiriko Moth's Bio:
I have been drawing and painting since a very young age,
ever since I learned that art was a way to make tangible the
things we could never have in real life. I've always known I
was going to be an artist; it's so much a part of me that
even if it wasn't a career path, I'd still be drawing all
the time.
I was
born in Sacramento but grew up in Santa Fe and Nashville. I
graduated from Middle Tennessee State University with a BFA
in graphic design and illustration, and decided to return to
Northern California. I now live in San Francisco, which is
just an incredible city. I'm working at immersing myself
more in the art community here in SF - I really hope to get
to be a part of the amazing local scene.
I have
dabbled in just about every method and medium that I can get
my hands on, but I currently work almost exclusively in ink
with digital color. I love to mix the traditional with the
new - my work begins in pencil and ink on bristol paper,
which I then scan and color in Photoshop.
I draw
inspiration from many artists, but some of my favorites
include Alphonse Mucha, Michael Whelan, John Jude Palencar,
Thomas Canty, and Michael Parkes.
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