Artsy Fartsy Tuesday 7/12/11-Winston Starling
Today’s Artsy Fartsy Artist is Winston Starling, of Lone Wolf Media. His drawings of modern day cowgirls are fun and refreshing. I love the free flowing, comic book look of his work. All the women in his drawings are the strong, sexy type. I like that. Winston is a born and raised Texan, and that is where he creates his art.
4. What awards have you won?
No awards yet.. Although I do believe one of the best awards one can receive is when people spend their hard-earned money to buy your products.
5. Do you have a funny story related to your work?
It has to do with the mural for The Bent Lens. This was my first mural commission, so I practiced at home on a piece of sheetrock on an easel. Since I had to use a projector to aid with getting the outline of the image right, I had to drape a black sheet over the easel, the projector, and myself to block out all light so I could see the image on the sheetrock. It was like a vintage photographer using those old cameras with the fabric pulled over their heads, only it was like a tent! It was quite cramped in there haha!
6. Are you working on something new?
I am putting the finishing touches on a charcoal portrait for a client. It was a different type of project for me, since charcoal is not my regular medium, but I am pleased with how it came out, thankfully! I also do custom leather work, so I am working on an order for some fashion cuff bracelets and a rifle sling right now.
Bio:
Being a good artist mostly means you have the patience to keep erasing until you get it right.Ever since I was very young, I have always been drawing something. Seeing pictures in books, or watching a movie would cause me to grab a pencil and paper and start scribbling out my own version of what I had seen. Encouraged by my parents, especially my Mom, I continued to explore the world of art. Although I have never had any formal art training, I have devoured quite a few art, drawing, and anatomy books. Now, at age twenty-seven, and after much experimentation and practice, I have finally settled into what I think is a unique illustrative style. My major inspirations have been the works of Norman Rockwell, classic pin-up artists such as Gil Elvgren, and vintage advertising and illustration art of the early to mid-twentieth century.Leathercrafting started as a hobby with me when I was in my early teens. With tools I gradually assembled, I would create basic craft projects such as wallets, and eventually moved on to belts and holsters. As with most hobbies, it one day took a back seat to other things and I set it aside for a while. Recently, I have taken it back up with a determination to design totally unique premium accessories. My approach to leather, is viewing it as an art medium, rather than just a canvas for tooling.
Winston did the cover for a book that was just recently published, Jamie’s Garden, written by
Nancy Ruth Henderson. Available on Amazon.
Be sure to go to his website, http://www.lonewolfcowgirlart.com/ There are some great fun products there for sale. ( I love the route 66 coffee mug )
And the best, fun part of today’s Artsy Fartsy Artist is, Winston wants to give one lucky reader a coffee mug of their very own. There are several different designs to choose from, all created by Winston. Just go to his website, click services and products, then click on the western art mug logo. Pick which coffee mug you like, and leave a comment. I will randomly pick a winner on Sunday July 17th at 5pm MST. Good luck.
High Noon
ConC Rosie
Winston answered some questions for me, and sent some fun facts about his work and life. 1. How long have you been creating your art? Professionally for about three years. I started my online sales with five print designs on Myspace, back when it was still popular. That is where I started to build contacts in the western community. The networking opportunities just continued to grow with Twitter and Facebook. 2. Why did you choose your particular medium? Though I tried pretty much every medium, I was always most comfortable with pencil on paper. Nothing matched the feeling of control it gave me, which is very necessary since I tend to be a bit detailed. The influences of classic comic book art, as well as the illustrative and commercial line art of the early Twentieth Century were key as I attempted to make my drawings as artistically appealing as possible. 3. What do you consider your greatest achievement? It’s a tie between painting a mural for the optical boutique, The Bent Lens, in downtown Bozeman, MT, and illustrating the blog banner for the new Annie Justin blog written by Thea Marx for Justin Boot Co. (viewable on the Justin America section of JustinBoots.com)
Bent Lens
Funky cowgirl logo
CBD logo
Jamie's Garden published cover
Natalie Stovall fiddle
I really like the Woman of the West two tone mug!
Wow, his work looks so unique. I’ve never seen artwork like this!
I love the I’ll Be Waiting two-tone mug! *crosses fingers*
The coffee mug I’d want is ringer mug (looking for love)
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