Friday Art Feature – Teal Newcomb

I’m intrigued by the name of your website, Metal Kirin Illustration.  Where did the name come from?
The name is meant to symbolise something like contrasting duality, Metal = modernity and industry, and Kirin = nature. I’ve been meaning to push my artwork in this direction, especially including some darker themes/emotions contrasted with lighter, more delicate images. I haven’t finished much of anything in this theme well enough to upload it because it’s very difficult for me to properly visualise, a lot of my ideas on this theme tend to be somewhat chaotic.

What medium(s) do you use to create your art?
I’m pretty multimedia these days, but I mostly work with watercolor. I love experimenting with new mediums though, and I also use markers, pens, gel pens, gouache, acrylic, and pretty much anything else I can find to play with, I’m also trying to get back into sculpting.

Low Gravity by Teal Newcomb

Your dragons are quite beautiful.  You obviously enjoy painting them.  Where does your love of dragons come from?
I’ve always loved fantasy, ever since I was little. I couldn’t watch a lot of TV, and we didn’t have any video games until I was older, so I mostly read books and played pretend, and I had a pretty active imagination. It’s funny though, I can directly trace my liking for dragons back to my childhood love of horses, which lead to an interest in unicorns (my childhood bedroom was pink and yellow with unicorn wallpaper, haha), which deepened my my love for fantasy in general, and lead to a love of dragons starting in maybe 2nd grade. I drew dragons constantly as a child, it’s hard to get bored of something you can be so creative with.

I like your “furries”.  When did you start painting them?
I started drawing furries in 8th grade, I think. I enjoy combining different creatures, and human animal mixes are a lot of fun, especially when it’s a human female mixed with something that’s not usually considered feminine or conventionally attractive, like a monster or a lizard, I like the contrast between sexy/not sexy, pretty/ugly.

Jarri Kurosawa by Teal Newcomb

Who are your favorite artists?
I draw so much inspiration from so many different artists, I don’t even know who to list here as my favorits. Wayne Barlow is a big favorite, as is Mike Mignola, I’ve been on a big Moebius/ Jean Giraud kick lately, and I love Hayao Miyazaki’s work, especially his insanely detailed line art in his manga “Nausica”. Aside from fantasy art, I draw a lot of inspiration from comic book artists, science/scifi concept art and illustrations, and nature themed artwork, as well as nature itself.

Do you have a favorite out of all your art?
My current favorite is probably my recent ACEO painting “Occultus Morsus”. I wanted to see how far I could push myself in terms of detail level, so put maybe 15 hours into it, I even used a magnifying glass to painstakingly dab at bits of paint and gel pen to make sure they blended just right. This is the first time in years that I’ve created artwork I like enough that I’d be reluctant to sell it.

Occultus Morsus by Teal Newcomb

What do you enjoy doing when you are not painting?
I have quite a few hobbies outside of my art, I’m a decent knitter, I’ve been learning to needle tat and sew, and I enjoy cooking. I also love to be outside, biking, hiking, swimming, kayaking, being outdoors has always been very cathartic, I’m trying to get back into the habit of working out regularly.

Thank you Teal, for taking the time to do this interview.  I’ve enjoyed seeing your art and getting to know you.

Drop by every Friday to meet more fabulous artists.  Next week I’ll be featuring artist Sarah Aiston.