Liz Markus
This issue, eMuse staff member Llewellyn McEllis introduces us to an artist she has known for a long, long time. In her own words, Liz Markus was not born on a dark and stormy night, but that hasn't stopped her flair for the dramatic and compulsive. She currently lives, works, and "works" in a tiny apartment in a 1920's Art Deco medical building with her boyfriend, sometimes children, and a lizard named Banjo. The interview she gave is as unique as her artwork.
eMuse: I have actually had the pleasure of watching you grow into yourself as an artist over a period of about seven years, but you were an artist before I even met you. How old were you when you first started creating, and at what point did you know you were meant to be an artist?
Markus: The youngest examples of my doing anything "creative" were from when I was three. My stick people had high heels and three fingers and it was very important for them to be indoors. I guess I could say the first time I drew a stick person with five fingers was a turning point in terms of being an artist; obviously I cared enough to
try and get it right early on.
eMuse:What mediums did you like to work in early on, and how have you evolved over time?
Markus: Mostly pencils and pens. I was never really big on crayons unless I was coloring in a book. I liked using the BiCs I would find in my mom's pen can, and colored pencils, and I'd draw these little huts. I also liked working in acrylics on a canvas pad I got for my birthday.
eMuse: What is your favorite medium now, and why?
Markus: Watercolor and india ink. I'm a control freak, so being able to have complete control over something considered to be a "freeing" medium, you just swish it around and see what it does, it's kind of thrilling to control that precisely. And the effects are kickass.
eMuse: Do you have any formal training?
Markus: Sorta. I've taken classes at community colleges, and they've helped a lot in terms of learning some technique and experimenting with new stuff.
eMuse: What are you thoughts on formal training. Do you think it is necessary for an artist, or is it all about creativity?
Markus: I'm very conflicted on the subject of formal training. As someone who's obsessive compulsive and also fairly childish, there's a large part of me that says "everyone else has done it that way, if you DON'T do it that way, you're not a real artist, you never will be, you'll always be doing it 'wrong'"... but then I read the stories about the people who just pick up a hunk of charcoal after a cookout and start scratching away... I think there is something to be said for just doing what you need to do, and if you get stuck, read a book or find a tutorial to help you find a solution, and then apply that to the future. There has to be a balance. It can't be all or nothing.
eMuse: Who are some of your artistic influences, and why?
Markus: I actually try very hard to not be influenced by anyone else's work, because it brings up constant comparisons: "Oh, my painting will never be as rad as that", etc. I will say I enjoy the work of modern pinup artists, Olivia, Marcus Gray, Jennifer Janesko.
eMuse: What is your absolute favorite piece that you've created? What do you love about it?
Markus: "Wings". I love absolutely everything about it, there is nothing I would change. The joy I had in creating it, and getting to look at it whenever I want to, it's like a child that's grown up to be really, really happy.
eMuse: Do you have any big projects you're working on right now? If so, can you tell us a little bit about it?
Markus: Actually, my biggest project right now is finding a new apartment so I have some space to actually do work. Rental spaces for artists in my area (San Jose) are out f my price range, and I haven't really been able to work on anything for a few months now because there's simply no space for me to work, leave my stuff, and come back later. I will say that once I get the room to work freely, I will be doing a series of joke ink paintings, some sad food pieces (cupcakes and sorrow and the lot), and a lot of Dead Cat.
eMuse: Great! We really enjoyed learning more about you and look forward to seeing more from you in the future. Thank you for taking time to talk with us.
For more information on the art of Liz Markus, please visit her website: http://www.brainfreezy.com/
© 2008 eMuse-
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