We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Blindfish. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with blindfish below.

Blindfish, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

I think anyone creating a graphic novel for the first time probably learns best by reading graphic novels. We all have our favorites writers and artists and there is a lot to learn about plot, pacing, character development, page layout, etc. simply by absorbing the craft from those who seem to know what they are doing.

I try to be consciously aware of how other story-telling media works—graphic novels often closely parallel movies in the way they advance a narrative. I’ve previously worked on storyboards which helps one consider how to construct a narrative, how long to run a scene, or where and when to leave the viewer in suspense.

I think there is a great advantage to both writing and drawing the panels. this allowed me to rely on my drawing skills to drive the narrative. more often than not I would draw the scene first without really knowing what the text would be. I felt this helped in keeping the action fresh from page to page.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is blindfish.
I am an Los Angeles-based artist/illustrator who has done work for the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times, the Orange county Register, the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Time magazine, and Reason magazine to name a few.

I have shown my work in galleries worldwide, most recently in the codex show in Philadelphia, the board AF show at gallery AF in Los Angeles, and at the gallery 30 south which is now in Las Vegas.

I have worked on storyboards for Hollywood productions as well as for broadcast commercials. I was fortunate enough to work for Sylvain Chomet creating backgrounds for one of his movie productions.

The great thing is that many of these opportunities came from people seeing my Instagram page. Social media is an obvious must-do for anyone wishing to promote a project.

I recently self-published a graphic novel called “the cormorant”. This is my first graphic novel. Funding was achieved through a Kickstarter campaign and I am now in production. Although there were many things I needed to learn along the way this experience has been wonderful and exciting.

I think problem solving is one of the greatest services an artist provides a client. It is often the role of the artist to clarify or ‘bring to life’ the vision of a client—to quite literally, show a client what they cannot see for themselves. I think my unique perspective and engaging style help separate me from others.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

I previously stated that an important role of an artist is to help problem solve for clients. But this often leads to artistic compromises. The most rewarding aspect of being an artist is when you are creating art for yourself without a client.

Part of making this graphic novel was to create something without the consideration or input of a second (or third) entity. I was solving my own problems and the final product is singularly my vision.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

I think the goal driving my creative journey is pretty straightforward: I love art and the creative process. I love seeing what other artists are up to and the process they go through to create their end product. I simply want to share my art and graphic novel with those who want to see it. It is amazing to me to flip through my Instagram feed and see work from all over the world and to know there are others who are seeing my work and responding (not always positively, but that’s ok) to it. I think it is incredible to bring joy or intrigue to viewers I have never met.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.blindfish-art.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blindfish1/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/blind.fish.16
• Twitter: https://x.com/blindfishArt